A man is falling from a building.
The city watches. Silent. Distant.
No one knows his name.
But I do.
Because that man… is me.
---
My name is Elior Gray.
I was a billionaire.
A man with everything — power, fame, a lover who would've set the world on fire for me.
"A company I built without a wink of sleep, night after night — while the world rested, I was working.".
But it was all an illusion.
Everything I believed in… was a lie.
The company I gave my life to — the same empire I raised with my own hands —
Now belongs to a man who never lifted a finger to build it.
And the one who handed it to him?
Not a stranger. Not a rival.
But her.
Sara Linwood.
The woman I loved .
The woman I thought was mine.
"Turns out, everything I believed in... was nothing but a beautiful lie."
"I guess… I was always alone from start."
Elior's voice trembled, his vision blurred by tears and the blood dripping from the wound on his head.
The wind roared past him as he plummeted — the world slowing down, second by second, thought by thought.
"It was all an illusion… from the beginning."
"No,There was someone who was with me before my company and before my love."
His chest ached, not from the fall, but from the weight of memories.
Faces. Voices. Regrets.
"Mom… sister…"
A faint smile curved his lips — sad, broken.
"I should've listened. I should've stayed with you… not with her."
His breath hitched. "Sara… she took everything. But I let her. I let her in and shut you both out."
"If I had just one more chance… just one…"
"I'm sorry. Mom and sister"
And then—
Silence.
A sickening crack shattered the calm.
People rushed toward him. Gasps. Screams.
"He fell!"
"Someone call an ambulance!"
"Is he still breathing?!"
The world became noise. Distant. Muffled.
Elior's eyes fluttered.
"So… this is how it ends?"
Darkness pulled him in.
---
"Hey Elior, wake up! You're gonna be late for your interview!"
What is this...? Maybe it's what they call... a flashback before death...
"Elior, wake up!"
Wait... something's not right.
Elior slowly opened his eyes.
"Elior!"
A familiar voice echoed. "Are you stupid? You said today was important to you!"
"...Mom?"
Tears started to well up in Elior's eyes.
"Hey, why are you crying? Did you see a bad dream or something?"
Without saying a word, Elior wrapped his arms around his mother tightly.
"Yes, Mom... such a bad dream... I thought I was seeing you after a whole decade."
She gently stroked his back. "Hey, don't cry. It was just a dream. See? I'm here... right beside you, my son."
Elior closed his eyes for a moment, holding onto the warmth.
"Yes, Mom..."
"Now come on, get moving. You've got an interview, and don't forget—you have to drop your sister to school too."
As they spoke, someone stormed into the room.
"Hey, YOU! I'm getting late for school because of you, idiot!"
Maira Gray, age 16—Elior's little sister—stood at the door, arms crossed.
"Are you crying, brother?" she asked with a teasing smirk. Then she exaggeratedly wiped imaginary tears from her eyes and sniffled loudly, mimicking Elior.
"Ohh nooo~ I'm my big brother and I cry like this~!" she said in a fake emotional voice, trying to tease him further.
But Elior, seeing her alive again after so long, simply laughed.
Seeing him laugh, Maira tilted her head.
"Huh? You're laughing? That's… weird. Did you hit your head while sleeping or something, brother?"
"I think my brother lost his mind last night," Maira muttered, narrowing her eyes. "Stupid brother, stupid brother..." she kept chanting like an annoying parrot, clearly trying her best to get on his nerves.
Finally, Elior snapped.
"Even if this is a dream, you're still annoying!" he said and gave her a light smack on the head.
Maira gasped dramatically, holding her head.
"Ohh! You hit me hard! What if my head becomes huge now?!"
"Then maybe it'll match your big ego," Elior replied with a smirk.
"Okay okay, I get it!" she said, shifting her expression from teasing to serious. "I'm getting late. Brother, please get ready fast!"
Elior rolled his eyes playfully.
"Okay, okay! But I can get ready faster if you stop mocking me and start packing your stuff first."
Their mother, sitting next to them watched the whole exchange with a soft chuckle.
Looking at her two notorious kids bickering and she smiled.
---
While getting ready for his interview, Elior muttered to himself in front of the mirror.
"What was that...? It all felt so real," he whispered, adjusting his collar. "The pain Sara gave me... the betrayal from Nathan... it wasn't just a dream, it felt like I lived it."
He paused, staring at his reflection—his hands trembling slightly.
"Uff... thank God it was just a dream," he sighed, forcing a shaky smile.
"God, please… don't ever let that dream come true. I don't want to meet people like Sara or Nathan in my life—not even by mistake."
He closed his eyes for a second, trying to shake off the lingering weight of that nightmare before heading out.
---
Elior finished getting ready and rushed out with Maira, who was already pouting in the passenger seat of the car.
"I'm already late because of you, brother! Now drive fast! If my teacher scolds me, I swear I'll make your life a mess," Maira snapped.
"Okay, okay, calm down," Elior chuckled, turning the key and starting the car.
After dropping Maira off at school, he drove straight to the company where his interview was scheduled—The R&B Company.
"Finally here," he whispered, parking the car. Before stepping out, he muttered to himself, "Elior, that was all just a dream. The R&B Company can't be the same as the one in your nightmare. Let's go."
He took a deep breath and opened the door. But as soon as he stepped inside, his heart skipped a beat.
The lobby, the walls, the lights—even the smell of the air—it was exactly how he had seen it in his dream.
"No way... this can't be real," Elior whispered, glancing around, his steps slowing. "Everything… it's the same…"
Trying to shake off the unease, he rushed to the washroom and splashed cold water on his face.
"It was just a dream… not real," he told his reflection. "Maybe I saw this place in a magazine or something… yeah, that's it. Just a coincidence."
adjusting his blazer, his eyes caught a glimpse of someone walking past the hallway.
He froze mid-step.
It was her.
Sara Linwood.
She passed by without noticing him, casually talking to someone while holding a file.
Elior's breath hitched. He instinctively took a step back, ducking behind a pillar.
No… that's not possible. That was just a dream… she can't be real. Not here. Not now.
His heart pounded in his chest.
"What is happening…?" he whispered.
"Was it all… true?" he whispered to himself. "The suffering… the betrayal… everything?"
His legs trembled. His breath grew shallow.
He staggered into a nearby empty corridor and leaned against the wall, eyes wide, heart pounding.
"Sara… Nathan…" he muttered, his voice cracking.
He shut his eyes tightly—but the memories only grew clearer.
The way Sara looked at him with those eyes—eyes that once held love, but ended up hiding lies.
The smirk on Nathan's face the night he stabbed Elior in the back—both figuratively and literally.
Tears welled up in Elior's eyes.
"It wasn't just a dream," he whispered. His voice trembled. "It really happened… I died."
A tear rolled down his cheek. He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to suppress the sob escaping his throat.
He had come back.
Back to the moment when everything could change.
His breath caught, but slowly, the sorrow in his eyes hardened into something else.
Resolve.
Rage.
Retribution.
His crying face shifted—his brows furrowed, his jaw clenched.
"If it's all real… then Sara… Nathan…" his voice dropped to a cold whisper, "…this time, you'll pay for what you did to me."
He looked at his reflection in the glass.
"But not just payback… I'll return everything you did to me—tenfold."
With that, Elior straightened his shoulders and wiped the last tear from his face.
Elior straightened his blazer, the fire in his eyes no longer flickering—it was blazing.
He stepped away from the corridor, his steps steady, his heart no longer uncertain.
The lamb had returned.
But this time…
He wasn't here to be slaughtered.
He was here to hunt.
As he approached the interview room again, he whispered with a cold smile playing on his lips:
"It will be my sweet revenge on you, darling."
— Elior Gray
To Be Continued...