บท 4: Fate-changing Time Travel
It had already been a month since Winter went back in time, but she still could not get over how everyone kept reacting to her drastic change.
"Pfffttt…! That guy probably has the best reaction so far. Never knew that there would be a day I could faze that ever collected Marcellus Lexington~!"
On her way back home from the café, she keeps recalling what has gone down earlier. It turned out to be much more amusing than she imagined, though the way the crowd gathered wasn't really part of her plan. The unwanted attention bothered her at one point, but what was important here was that she had finally piqued the attention of her target.
"It's still mere attention, though. I've got to earn his interest next time."
There is a reason why Winter wants to do such a thing with a big shot like Marcellus, and that is definitely not because she is his secret admirer or anything.
The thing is, she needs him in her preparation for the future. Being a time traveler, she knows what is going to happen a year from now. Once she turns eighteen-year-old, a certain discovery will shock the world. That is the thing she is bracing herself for –
The revelation of her origin as the long-lost daughter of the Middleton couple.
'I can still remember it clearly – the very picture of my doom in the form of my magnanimous yet deceptive uncle. He showed up out of nowhere, astonishing both me and my elder brother. I thought he was kind and generous, but it was all just a facade…' Winter recalled silently, still haunted by the flashbacks of her past which could very much happen again in the future.
"My uncle and my adoptive sister played me well. After setting up the murder of my parents and making it look like one tragic accident, they went after me and my inheritances. When my father and mother learned that I was still alive a few years ago, they signed a will that said how they wanted to pass down all of their assets and properties to me. Because of that, the other members of the Middleton family could not get their hands on our wealth unless they had me."
Being one of the most prestigious and distinguished families in the country, the Middleton's played their cards with a cheat that was common among a number of well-acclaimed elitists. They were greedy and covetous, but they hid that by preserving their esteemed reputation and respectable image. They were also powerful and influential. Going against them could mean going against the world.
That was why Winter was crushed thoroughly.
Despite being the rightful heiress, she was weak and naive. She was easily overwhelmed and manipulated. Her relatives made everybody believe that they were granting the deceased couple's wish to give their beloved daughter a bright future, but in the end, they only took advantage of her. Even she was deceived – much too much that she had worked herself to death just to make them acknowledge her as one of them.
Winter tried to be perfect, and she knew that she was close to that. She studied so hard to be competent enough, and she followed their orders all the time.
But it was all for nothing.
While they were controlling her, they were also stealing everything away from her – her wealth, her properties, her position as the successor and even her freedom. After they accomplished their schemes, they went ahead and planned her murder. Her uncle and adopted sister killed her before her twenty-fifth birthday. However, as for how exactly they did it, she could no longer remember.
When she miraculously traveled back in time, the last thing she remembered feeling was breaking into millions of pieces as she cried her whole heart out.
'I'm not certain if not recalling how I died is a good thing or not. It's an important detail that I have to prepare for. But at the very least, not remembering has lessened my trauma…' Winter continued to ponder before halting on her tracks and turning back around.
'Still, there is one thing that I am certain of.'
That's when she steels her gaze on this gloriously palatial and imposingly tall building from a distance, which she knows very well as the headquarters of the Middleton Corporation. With a determined expression, she stretches out one of her hands in its direction. She does it as if she wants to reach and grasp it.
Instead of fear and despair, her eyes gleam with hope and resolve.
"I will take back what is rightfully mine…" Winter firmly said as an oath to herself.
"Before the Middleton family finds me, I have to gain power, influence, support and backings from other prominent individuals. I still have a year to do it. Marcellus Lexington will be my stepping stone. That's why I'll have to make sure that he's going to look my way."
With the wind blowing away a few strands of her hair and the warm pool of sunlight cloaking her figure, she stays in that position for the next seconds to come. She tightens her hold on her resolve, not wanting to back out despite everything she has been through. No emotional pain nor doubts will keep her from moving forward. She is more than willing to face the same future, but her fate will be in her hands this time around.
Then again, it is not really her destiny that she wants to curse – it is the people who has turned it into something so cruel.
"Winter? What are you doing?"
Hearing an all-too-familiar voice call her name, she turns her head to the side to find this fine-looking young man.
His sleek, dark hair is as pitch black as the night sky while his mellow-looking irises are as deep blue as the sea. He is wearing what seems to be an office wear – a pair of blue dress pants with a collared white shirt, a blue jacket, and loafers.
Winter is now looking back at her adoptive older brother
His expression appears to be baffled. She takes that it is probably because she has been caught doing something strange. Even then, she just calmly lowers her arm and properly faces him. Her look then turns enigmatic and distant, showing how much she has become estranged from those she once completely trusted yet was given up on at the end.
The first on that list is none other than her ever aloof and reserved sibling.
"Oh, hello there, August," Winter greeted with an apathetic tone.
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