The Black Swan's Final Revenge Pirouette: The 99th Game Was Mine All Along by Kylie Homme

Chapter 11

Leila had been pampered her entire life–people spoke to her in reverent tones, never raising their voices, let alone shouting at her.

Blind with rage, she lunged forward, perfectly manicured nails aimed at Luigi’s face like talons!

Luigi deflected her attack effortlessly, shoving her backward until she stumbled and collapsed to the floor in an undignified heap.

“Security,” he called, voice ice cold, “remove Miss Brown from the premises. Immediately.”

“YOU BASTARD!” Leila’s shrieks ricocheted off the marble floors.

The massive oak doors slammed shut, silencing her hysteria mid–scream.

The day of Ariana’s funeral arrived beneath a weeping sky–gentle rain that seemed to mourn alongside the gathered crowd.

Luigi carried her urn with trembling hands, his movements painfully deliberate as he placed it into the marble crypt. Every moment felt surreal, as if he were trapped in some horrific dream he couldn’t escape. This couldn’t be happening–he couldn’t be burying the woman he had only just realized he loved.

As the final stone was placed, the collective sobs behind him crescendoed.

Ariana had been genuinely beloved. Her radiance had touched countless lives.

Her parents, shattered by unimaginable grief, had retreated abroad, unable to face the ceremony that would make their daughter’s absence permanent.

But everyone else who had known Ariana–from childhood friends to professors, even the barista who had served her daily coffee–had come to pay their respects.

Their grief mingled with the rain, creating a symphony of sorrow that seemed to emanate from the earth

itself.

Luigi knelt before her tombstone, a broken man rendered statue–like in his grief. His fingers repeatedly traced the inscription he had insisted upon: “Ariana Collins Maggiore, Beloved Wife.”

Wife. The title she should have held in life, not just in death.

“Ariana…” Her name caught in his throat, tears falling before he could form another word. Every memory of her smile, her laugh, the way she’d dance around their kitchen on Sunday mornings–all of it crashed over him in waves of regret so powerful they physically hurt.

7.66

He remained kneeling long after everyone had gone, the rain soaking through his expensive suit, his body shivering violently though he felt nothing

That night, having refused to leave her graveside until physically carried away by his security team, Luigi collapsed with a dangerous fever.

his delirium, Ariana

he hadn’t left her behind. In this version, he had recognized the danger, had grabbed her hand and pulled the

he feared he might hurt her, but unable to loosen his hold. “The whole place

they navigated through the labyrinthine hallways. Each step felt like salvation–he was saving her this time. He wouldn’t fail

door appeared ahead, freedom visible through its glass panel, Ariana suddenly

she remained rooted

the dream, the fire had already reached the

his voice crack. “We have to go

looked at him with such profound sadness that his heart

Luigi,” she said softly. “You’re the one who

words hanging between them, she turned and walked deliberately back

inferno.

“ARIANA, NO!”

engulfed her, erasing her from existence in a violent

“ARIANA!”

in bed, gasping for air, his body drenched in cold sweat despite the fever ravaging his system. The dream had felt so real–for those

reach.

his phone on the nightstand–a pathetic ritual he couldn’t break, checking for messages from a number that

Dicmelle: The

All Alor

he could unlock the screen, his bedroom door burst open, his butler’s face ashen with panic: “Sir! There’s an emergency

with bribed

in the rain, mascara streaming down her face,

Luigi approached her slowly. “Put it down, Leila,” he commanded, his voice

to further unravel her fragile sanity. She threw her

from me! First my championship, now my future

with NOTHING!”

her next words.

ago instead of just framing her for cheating!

trouble!”

three years

a surge of strength despite his illness. He lunged forward, desperate to protect the only

fever–weakened body betrayed him–as his fingers nearly

him.

slow as he collapsed forward. Leila, startled by his sudden movement, stumbled backward, losing her grip on