SHATTERED WINGS, BURNING SKY
CH¹ : The Day Death Turned Back
Author
🌸 “A tiny beginning, a tiny world—welcome in, dear reader.”
Not the soft, sleepy kind of dark
but, the suffocating silence of oblivion
Oliver's last memory was...
Pain was that all he felt.
It wasn't the kind that screamed or burned - it was the kind of pain that hollowed him out slowly, like the world itself had decided to carve him open and leave nothing behind.
A slow inhale burned his lungs. His eyes opened to... light.
Soft golden light seeping through ivory curtains. The faint scent of cedarwood polish and expensive cologne floated in the air.
His bedding - silk, embroidery with the faint crest of the Bennett family - was warm beneath his fingertips.
Oliver Bennett
*jerked upright*
Oliver Bennett
*heart pounding*
Oliver Bennett
(This... This can't be...)
The tall, ornate mirror across from the bed stared back at him like an old acquaintance.
Oliver Bennett
*breathing quickened*
Him laying on the cold marble floor of the Bennett mansion, blood pooling beneath his cheek.
His vision blurred between light and shadow, his breath ragged and shallow.
Around him, laughter echoed - cruel, mocking, familiar.
Adrian Grieves (Oliver's Ex Boyfriend)
Look at him. Even dying, he's dramatic.
*Voice dripping with false pity*
Steven Bennett (Oliver's older brother)
Pathetic. He's still pretending to be innocent.
*Voice followed, softer, but colder*
Oliver Bennett
*Chest convulsed as trying to speak*
I... didn't...
A sharp kick silenced him. He tasted blood.
Nico crouched beside him - his half brother, the one Bennett family worshipped like a sun.
His smile angelic, but his eyes glimmered with poison.
Nico Bennett
You really believed they'd ever love you?
*whispers*
Nico Bennett
You are just a shadow, Oliver.
And shadows disappear when the light shines.
His father, Duke Bennett, said nothing - just looked away, like he always did.
And that was the moment Oliver finally understood - no one had ever truly seen him. Not the boy who loved too deeply, not the son who begged for approval.
He was invisible, even in his agony.
The light around him dimmed.
And Oliver Bennett died - with his heart full of bruises and unanswered questions.
Oliver Bennett
...What the hell?
His own voice cracked in the quiet room.
He threw the covers aside and stumbled toward the mirror.
A young man with flawless skin and wide, disbelieving eyes stared back.
His hair - silver and slightly missed from sleep - fell gently over his lashes.
No buries, no gaunt cheeks, no deadened gaze... He looked five years younger.
Oliver Bennett
This is... five years ago...
*whispers, almost choking on the words*
The realization hit like thunder.
He gripped the edge of the dresser, knuckles whitening.
Fury rose slow and deep, like molten lava beneath a crust of ice.
He had begged in his first life - pleaded for their affection, suffered in silence, let them strip him down to nothing until there was nothing left to strip
He would not do that again.
Oliver let his gaze settle on his own reflection until it steadied into something unflinching.
The edges of his reflection almost seemed sharper as if the mirror itself could sense the change.
Oliver Bennett
... Never again.
*Voice soft, but the words were colder than steel*
Oliver Bennett
I will break each of you... one by one.
Oliver Bennett
You'll wish I'd stayed dead.
Author
Hi hi, lovely readers! 🌷
Author
This is my very first story!
Author
I'm new, a little nervous, but super excited to share my tiny world with you~ 🌸
Author
Thanks for giving it a read - you're officially a part of my new beginning! 💫
CH² : When Shadows Learn to Walk in Light
The bathwater was hot and fragrant with sandalwood.
Oliver sank into it, letting the heat seep into bones that still remembered the chill of a cold, dirty floor.
Every inch of grime from the past life - both the phantom kind and the real - was scoured away with patient, deliberate motions.
By the time he stepped out, he felt like molten glass reshaped by fire.
He didn't reach for the timid, muted clothes he'd worn before - garments chosen to disappear in.
Instead, he picked a fitted black shirt, it's high collar framing the pale elegance of his throat, and trousers that cut sharp, clean lines down long legs.
Over it, a wine red coat that caught at light when he moved. Not flashy - beautiful, commanding.
In the mirror again, a stranger stared back.
No longer the meek, shadow-like Oliver.
This version's beauty was deliberate, weaponised - a blade wrapped in silk.
He opened and he stepped into the hallway. The hallway outside his room had never felt so still.
When Oliver opened the bedroom door, the usual clutter of morning inside the Bennett mansion slowed to a strange, stuttering silence.
A faint scent of polish and perfume lingered in the air, and down the long marble hall, two maids appeared—arms full of folded linen, laughter trailing after them. They were halfway through a whispered joke when they saw him.
The laughter snapped off like a light.
One maid’s eyes widened; the other actually stumbled, the sheets spilling against her chest.
Behind them, the butler appeared, his posture crisp and haughty as ever. His gaze swept toward Oliver—then froze.
For a moment, the man simply stared, his lips parting slightly, as though unsure whether this was some kind of cruel trick.
Oliver was shining in that perfect suit. His dark hair was styled, not the messy tangle they were used to seeing.
Even the way he moved felt different—each step deliberate, steady, too composed for the boy they remembered.
Maid 1
What's he pretending to be today?
*hissed under her breath*
Maid 2
Is he trying to look like Young Master Nico!?
*whispers*
Butler
*gives a quiet humorless laugh*
He is just jealous of our Young Master Nico...
He heard every word. But he didn’t look at them, didn’t flinch, and only kept walking.
The marble floor gleamed under his steps, his reflection gliding beside him—straight-backed, quiet, unrecognizable.
Oliver Bennett
*walks past them*
By the time he reached the grand staircase, the hum of the mansion had faded completely.
From below came the sound of cutlery, laughter—then nothing.
Oliver climbs down the last step and then he saw his so-called Family : His Father, Stepmother, Elder Brother, Brother-in-law and a cluster of familiar faces - his college friends who had latched onto Nico's glow like moths to flame.
And in the center of all - Nico Bennett.
Flawless, golden-boy, laughter liting like music. Sitting as though the world bent to his every need.
Every head turned. Every conversation froze.
Oliver moves, his coat whispering with each stride, the soft rhythm of his shoes cutting through their derision.
He said nothing. His gaze slid past Nico, past his so called parents, then toward the great front doors that stood like sentinels at the far end of the hall.
The polished brass handles of the great double doors glinted just ahead, sunlight filtering through the etched glass at their top.
Freedom lay a single pull away.
But, before his fingers could close around the handle -
Duke Bennett (Oliver's Father)
Oliver.
CH³ : When Obedience Broke
Duke Bennett (Oliver's Father)
Oliver. ❄
His father's voice cracked through the air like a whip, deep and commanding, yet sharpened by irritation.
Oliver paused - not because the man had ordered him to, but because the sound stirred unpleasant memories.
Memories of him obeying without thought. Memories of fear.
The pause lasted a second. Then his hand moved again, slow, deliberate, towards the door.
Duke Bennett (Oliver's Father)
Did you not hear me? ❄
*tone rose in indignation*
Duke Bennett (Oliver's Father)
Come here. ❄
Still nothing from Oliver.
The shift in the room's air was immediate crawling with tension.
Duke Bennett (Oliver's Father)
GUARDS, Stop Him. ❄
A shuffle of movement followed - heavy boots striking the marble. Two of the mansion's guards approached, large men built on arrogance and habit rather than loyalty.
They's never respected Oliver. To them, he was the forgotten son - the one they could speak down to without consequences.
The first guard smirked as he stepped in front of Oliver.
Guard
*folding his arms*
😏
Guard
Where d'you think you're goin', huh?
*tone dripping with mock amusement*
Guard
Didn't hear His Grace talkin'?
The second flank him from the side, his grin crueler.
Guard
Must be nice, wearin' a fancy suit and thinkin' you're someone now.
Guard
*reached out, grabbing Oliver's arm roughly*
Orders are orders, boy. Turn around.
The contact froze the air.
Oliver's eyes lowered to the man's hand gripping his sleeve - uninvited, unearned.
The moment when he looked up again was almost imperceptible, but something in his gaze had changed.
Oliver Bennett
Take you hands off me
*said quietly*
Guard
*let out a short laugh*
What was that? You givin' me orders now?
Across the hall, Steven's voice sliced in, dripping with disdain.
Steven Bennett (Oliver's older brother)
Just drag him back if you must. He's putting on a show.
Guard
*scoffed, tightening his hold*
You will move when we told you to not before.
Nico Bennett
*leans back in chair, smiling faintly, pretending to be amused*
Nico Bennett
*voice lifting with mocking sweetness*
Careful. He's dressed too nicely today - you might wrinkle it.
Laughter rippled from others.
Across the hall, Duke's voice sliced in, dripping with disdain.
Duke Bennett (Oliver's Father)
*Brows knitted together*
Since when do you ignore commands in my house, huh? ❄
Oliver turned his head slightly, enough for his gaze to find the man's across the expanse of marble and Persian rugs.
The eyes that met the Duke's were not the soft, not the wounded eyes he was accustomed to belittling.
They were clear, cold... unblinking.
Oliver Bennett
Since the moment, I decided I have no reason to obey you.
*says evenly*
A ripple of shock moved through the hall, visible even in the still air - like a shockwave only the heart could hear.
Steven Bennett (Oliver's older brother)
*eyes narrowed*
Devin Bennett (Steven's husband)
*practiced social smile faltered for half a breath*
Adrian Grieves (Oliver's Ex Boyfriend)
*Mask cracked into a frown*
Nico Bennett
*posture faltered just slightly - a pause as if reassuring the person in front of him*
Duke Bennett (Oliver's Father)
💢 YOU DARE -
*voice thick with disbelief*
Oliver Bennett
*Cuts him off smoothly*
Is that your solution for everything now, Mr. Bennett? Order, threaten, break what you don't understand?
His eyes slid deliberately to the two men holding his arms.
Oliver Bennett
Remove your hands.
*instructed them in a calm voice*
The guards hesitate for a moment
Aria Bennett (Duke's Wife)
My God!
Aria Bennett (Duke's Wife)
Listen to him, acting as though he matters in this house.
Oliver looked at her only briefly, his gaze unreadable.
Oliver Bennett
You always did speak too quickly, Mrs. Bennett.
Oliver Bennett
One day that tongue will cost you - dearly.
Gasps sounded in the hall - a servant chocked on the breath she'd been holding.
Steven Bennett (Oliver's older brother)
*💢💢*
Oliver! Watch what you're saying to our mother -
Oliver Bennett
She's not my mother.
*cuts him off without raising his voice, but slicing through Steven's like a scalpel*
The stillness that followed was absolute.
Then with a slow, deliberately movement, he peeled the man's hand off his arm.
His grip was steady - neither violent nor hesitate, just final.
Oliver Bennett
Don't touch me again
The guards hesitated again. Something in Oliver's tone - quiet, sharp as steel - rooted him to the floor.
Guard
You're really pushing it, kid
*Barked out*
Oliver stepped forward. One step. Then another. Neither man dared move again.
He walked past them like they weren't there - like the entire house, with all its titles and wealth and sneering faces, was already behind him.
Without another word, Oliver pushed the doors open. He stepped through it, not looking back, letting the weight of silence he left behind say everything his first life never could.
The doors shut with a heavy, decisive thud.
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