The sound of the audiobook faded little by little.
First the narrator's voice grew distant... then it cut out completely.
Valeria felt her consciousness rising slowly to the surface, like waking from a very deep sleep.
Her eyelids were heavy.
But finally... she opened them.
For a few seconds, her mind couldn't process what she was seeing.
The ceiling above her wasn't the white of a hospital.
It was high, elegant, with delicate moldings carved from pale wood. A crystal chandelier hung from the center, catching the sunlight that streamed through an enormous window.
Valeria blinked several times.
Where am I...?
She sat up slowly in the bed.
The bed was large, with a canopy of sheer fabric that draped softly around the edges. The sheets were smooth, embroidered with delicate details.
Nothing in this room looked modern.
Everything was antique.
But not old.
It was... refined.
Valeria looked around carefully.
There were dark wood furnishings, meticulously carved, a thick rug in muted tones, a vanity table with an oval mirror, and a small table holding fresh flowers in a vase.
She got out of bed cautiously.
The wooden floor was warm beneath her feet.
She walked to the window.
When she drew the curtain aside, her breath caught.
Outside, there were no streets.
No cars.
No buildings.
There were enormous, perfectly tended gardens, stone pathways, tall trees, and beyond them, what was clearly the courtyard of a grand estate.
Valeria studied the landscape closely.
The fountains.
The carriages parked near the stables.
The clothing worn by the workers in the garden.
Everything...
Everything seemed to belong to another era.
Her mind began to race.
"This can't be..."
She walked to the vanity.
There was a large mirror.
When she lifted her gaze to it... her heart lurched.
The woman staring back at her from the mirror was not the same one she had seen her entire life.
Her face was different.
More delicate.
More perfect.
Her skin was fair and smooth, almost like porcelain. Her eyes were a deep, dark green that shimmered with a strange intensity. Her lashes were long, and her nose fine and elegant.
Her hair... It was dark chestnut, straight from the roots, but at the ends it fell in soft natural waves that reached the middle of her back.
Valeria raised one hand slowly.
The woman in the mirror did the same.
Her body was different too.
Slimmer.
More graceful.
The figure of someone young.
Very young.
She didn't look older than twenty.
And she was beautiful.
Not a striking beauty... but a soft, refined beauty that seemed lifted from an old painting.
Valeria was so absorbed in studying her reflection that she didn't hear the door open.
"Lady Valery..."
The voice made her turn.
A young woman in a maid's dress had just entered the room. Her hair was pinned up, and she carried a tray with water and a few items.
The girl gave a small curtsy.
"I'm glad to see you awake, Lady Valery."
Valeria felt a chill run down her spine.
The maid looked up with concern.
"Are you feeling better?"
Valeria took a few seconds to respond.
"I..."
Her mind was trying to sort through everything.
The maid continued speaking respectfully.
"We were so worried when you fell ill this morning."
Valeria frowned slightly.
"This morning?"
"Yes, Lady Valery. When young Master Eric announced his engagement."
The world seemed to stop for an instant.
The words echoed in Valeria's mind like a bell.
Eric...
Valery...
The story.
The audiobook.
Her heart began to pound.
The maid kept talking, oblivious to her reaction.
"We thought you might need rest, so Lord and Lady Field ordered that no one disturb you."
Valeria breathed slowly.
Her mind was quick.
It had always been.
She had worked at the stock exchange making decisions in seconds.
And now her brain was connecting every piece.
The audiobook.
The story.
The protagonist.
The Field family.
And the name the maid had just used.
Lady Valery.
The same Valery.
The girl from the audiobook.
Valeria... or now Valery... felt her body tremble slightly.
But she managed to keep her composure.
"I'm fine."
The maid sighed with relief.
"I'm glad to hear it, Lady Valery. You're always so strong."
She set the tray on the table.
"I've prepared water for you to wash and your clothes for the day."
The maid smiled warmly.
"I knew you'd feel better after some rest."
Valery returned a soft smile.
The maid seemed accustomed to her gentle nature, so she didn't suspect anything unusual.
After arranging a few more things, she curtsied again.
"If you need anything, just call for me."
And she left the room.
The door closed gently.
Silence returned.
Valery walked slowly to the mirror again.
She studied her reflection for a long time.
She didn't need any further explanation.
Everything was too clear.
She had died.
And she had been reborn.
In the body of Valery Johnson.
The protagonist of that sad story she had just been listening to.
The young woman who loved Eric Field in silence.
The young woman who was destined to live a life of suffering... watching the man she loved marry another.
Valery rested her hands on the vanity.
Her green eyes shone with a light completely different from the one the original Valery had carried.
Because she was not that weak girl.
She was Valeria.
A woman who had survived betrayals, workplace pressure, and heartbreak without falling apart.
She studied her reflection calmly.
Then she smiled slightly.
"Well..."
Her voice was composed.
"That's not going to happen."
A plan was already forming in her mind.
Because if she really was inside that story...
Then she also had the chance to change it.
And the first thing she thought was something very simple.
She was not going to stay in love with Eric Field.
If the story wanted to turn her into a woman destined to suffer...
Then she would do something different.
She would change her fate.
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