Chapter One: The End Of Innocence
"No! Please! Stop it!" Diane pleaded.
The sharp crack of the belt went through the cold room.
"Aah!" Diane's scream followed, as she fell to her knees on the hard wooden floor.
Adrian was standing over her with the leather strap clenching tightly in his fist.
"Please, Adrian! I've done everything you asked!"
Diane shielded her bruised arms as best she could, trembling. "Why won't you stop?"
"Everything?" Adrian's laugh was like the hiss of a serpent.
He raised the belt again. "Stop? You really think you deserve mercy after how pathetic you've been?"
He swung it down. The sound of leather hitting against skin one more time made even his own hair stand up.
In the corner of the room, Evelyn was leaning against the wall. She crossed her arms.
She was smirking as she watched Diane crumple further onto the floor.
Evelyn decided to force a chuckle. "Our poor Diane, this is almost too sad to watch. Almost."
"I did it for you!" Diane raised her tone, and her voice started breaking as she turned her red face to Adrian.
"I stole from Gabriel! I ruined his life because you told me to! I thought we were going to be together!"
Adrian's eyes closed for a second; his mouth curled into a sneer.
"Together? With you? Don't make me laugh, Diane." He leaned down, gripping her chin roughly to force her to meet his eyes.
"You were useful. That's it. You played your part perfectly, but now? You're just a burden."
Diane shook her head violently, her golden hair clung to her damp cheeks.
"I thought you loved me! You told me you did!"
Adrian raised his left eyebrow. "Love you? Who could ever love a criminal like you? A woman who can't even do her job properly?"
"Adrian... I—"
"Those green eyes... are the reason why I hate you, Diane."
He shoved her face away, and she collapsed onto the floor again. Her chest heaved as her sobs wracked her whole body.
Evelyn decided to speak while she could barely hide her smile.
"You really thought Adrian would marry you, didn't you? Poor little Diane, always so gullible. So stupid."
"I'm not stupid!" Diane cried as she glared at Evelyn through her tears. "I'm not stupid! I trusted him! He promised—"
"Enough." Adrian interrupted, and Diane immediately fell silent, shrinking back from him.
He took a step closer.
Adrian was dominating, evil, sadistic...
"You're lucky you're even alive after everything. Do you even know how pathetic you look right now?"
'Pathetic...? she asked herself. 'You ruined me... you manipulated and lied to me...'
Diane was fourteen when it all began.
Her stepmother, Rachel, told Diane that her father sold her to Ravenwood's family. He had his new heir, a male this time...
A boy that Rachel gave birth to... he was supposed to inherit Hoffman's wealth.
There was no need for Diane anymore since she wasn't suited anyway.
For years, she'd believed her father had sold her to the Ravenwoods for money.
But Adrian had shattered that illusion in a single moment.
"Your father didn't sell you," Adrian stated just after she'd stolen Gabriel's fortune for him.
"Your stepmother kidnapped you. She needed to get rid of you to secure her place in that miserable family. Convenient, isn't it? That she handed you right over to my father."
The truth had broken something inside Diane.
Her stepmother, the woman who had pretended to care for her, had been the architect of her suffering all along.
But nothing had hurt more than Adrian's betrayal.
For years, he had been her lifeline, her savior.
He had found her when she was drowning from the whips of his father, then trapped in a loveless marriage with Gabriel Frost, the wealthy plastic surgeon who had built an empire of real estate across the country.
Adrian had promised her freedom, love, and a life together.
And she had believed him.
Diane allowed him to use her, whispering sweet promises into her ear until she agreed to steal Gabriel's money, his estates, his entire legacy.
She had filed for divorce and handed everything over to Adrian, trusting that they would start a new life together.
Now, here she was, broken and humiliated, as Adrian laughed at her with Evelyn by his side.
"Why?" Diane forced herself to whisper.
She looked up at Adrian. "Why are you doing this to me? I gave you everything. I ruined my life for you."
Adrian crouched down in front of her. "And that's exactly why you're so pathetic, Diane. You thought I'd want someone like you? A woman who would betray her own husband for money?"
"I did it for you!" Her voice cracked as a strained, sorrowful scream escaped her throat, so raw and trembling, like glass shattering in the stillness.
"I thought you loved me!" she mumbled in silence again.
"Love you? You're nothing but a pawn. A means to an end. And now that I've got what I wanted, you're worthless to me."
Diane's breath hitched. Her body began to shake by the force of her sobs.
"Please," she murmured. "Please, Adrian. I'll do anything. Just don't leave me like this. I... I have nothing else left..."
Evelyn laughed again.
"Oh, Diane, you're even more pathetic than I thought. Begging? Really? Do you have no pride left at all?"
Adrian straightened, tossing the belt aside as if even holding it disgusted him.
"She never had pride to begin with," he said coldly. "She's always been weak. That's why it was so easy to use her."
Diane's head snapped up.
Everything was so clear right now... She was so stupid to believe him, so young to fall for his promises.
"I loved you... I loved you, Adrian! And you used me like I was nothing..."
"You're right," Adrian replied. "You are nothing."
The words hit Diane like a blow, and she crumpled onto the floor once again.
She had nothing left—no home, no family, no love.
Adrian had taken everything from her, and now he was walking away, leaving her broken and alone.
"Come on, Adrian, just do it before your father returns."
Adrian nodded. "You're right." He drew a pistol.
"No, no! Please!" Diane gasped, her eyes widened immediately at his aim. "Don't do this!"
"Goodbye, Diane... thank you for Gabriel's money."
-Bang! Bang!-
Two bullets struck her throat, and she crumpled to the ground like a petal falling from a rose.
Crimson spread quickly across her body as she closed her eyes...
'If... if I had just one chance... I would change it all... I would change everything...'