Chapter 1: The End of Dorothy Smith
The golden rays of the setting sun filtered through the large hospital window, painting the room in shades of orange and crimson.
Outside, the city was alive.
People hurried along crowded streets.
Cars filled the roads.
Families gathered for dinner.
Friends laughed together.
Life continued as it always had.
Inside Room 307, however, time seemed to have stopped.
A young woman lay motionless on a hospital bed.
Numerous wires connected her frail body to machines that monitored her weakening condition. The rhythmic beeping echoed through the room, each sound serving as a cruel reminder that her life was slowly slipping away.
Her name was Dorothy Smith.
The youngest daughter of the prestigious Smith family.
Once upon a time, Dorothy had everything.
A loving father.
A protective elder brother.
Loyal friends.
A bright future.
And a heart filled with dreams.
Now she had nothing.
The room was empty.
No visitors.
No family.
No friends.
Only silence.
Dorothy slowly turned her head toward the window.
A weak smile appeared on her pale face.
“So this is how it ends...”
Her voice was barely audible.
The words disappeared into the silence of the room.
For several moments, she simply stared at the sunset.
The sight was beautiful.
Painfully beautiful.
It reminded her of all the evenings she had once spent with her family.
Back when everything had been perfect.
Back when she had still been Dorothy Smith—the beloved daughter of the Smith family.
A lonely tear slid down her cheek.
“My life really played a cruel joke on me.”
A soft laugh escaped her lips.
Yet there was no happiness in that laugh.
Only bitterness.
Only regret.
Only pain.
Her body ached.
Every breath felt heavier than the last.
Her chest felt as if someone were slowly crushing it.
The doctors had already explained her condition.
There was no miracle coming.
No treatment left.
No hope.
Death was simply waiting.
And Dorothy knew it.
Surprisingly, she wasn’t afraid.
What frightened her wasn’t death itself.
It was everything she would leave behind.
Everything she had failed to protect.
Everything she had lost.
Slowly, her eyes drifted toward the ceiling.
Memories began surfacing one after another.
The happiest moments appeared first.
Her father teaching her how to ride a bicycle.
Her brother carrying her on his shoulders.
Family dinners filled with laughter.
Birthday celebrations.
School festivals.
Vacations.
Memories of warmth.
Memories of love.
Memories that now felt as though they belonged to someone else.
A person she no longer recognized.
Because the Dorothy of today was nothing like the Dorothy of those memories.
Everything had changed.
Everything had been destroyed.
And she knew exactly when it started.
It started with her.
No.
It started with the person she trusted the most.
Her stepsister Sophia.
The girl she had welcomed into her life without hesitation.
The girl she had loved like a real sister.
The girl she had protected countless times.
The girl who ultimately ruined everything.
Dorothy closed her eyes.
Even now, she could still remember the day they met.
Her stepsister had appeared frightened and lonely.
A young girl searching for acceptance.
Dorothy had immediately taken pity on her.
She introduced her to friends.
Shared her belongings.
Defended her whenever anyone criticized her.
She treated her like family.
Like a true sister.
Never once questioning her intentions.
Never once suspecting the darkness hidden beneath that innocent smile.
Another tear escaped.
“I was so blind.”
The words came out broken.
For years, people had tried warning her.
Her friends.
Her brother.
Even her father.
Everyone noticed things Dorothy refused to see.
Everyone sensed something was wrong.
But Dorothy had always defended her.
Without fail.
Without hesitation.
Whenever someone criticized her stepsister, Dorothy would become angry.
Whenever someone expressed concern, Dorothy would dismiss it.
She thought everyone was being unfair.
She believed she was protecting an innocent person.
How foolish she had been.
The truth was that everyone had been trying to protect her.
But she had pushed them away.
One by one.
Until there was nobody left.
A painful ache spread through her chest.
Not physical pain.
Emotional pain.
The pain of realizing her mistakes too late.
If only she had listened.
If only she had paid attention.
If only she had trusted the people who genuinely cared about her.
Maybe everything would have been different.
Maybe her family would still be happy.
Maybe her father wouldn’t have suffered.
Maybe her brother wouldn’t have sacrificed so much.
Maybe she wouldn’t be lying in a hospital bed waiting to die.
But regrets were meaningless now.
Time couldn’t be reversed.
The past couldn’t be changed.
And she had nobody to blame except herself.
The machines beside her continued beeping steadily.
Each sound felt louder than before.
As if counting down the final moments of her life.
Dorothy slowly raised a trembling hand.
Her fingers looked weak.
Fragile.
Nothing like they once had.
A bitter smile appeared on her face.
“Look at me.”
Once, she had been admired by everyone.
Now she barely recognized herself.
Dark circles rested beneath her eyes.
Her skin had become pale.
Her body had grown thin.
Years of stress, heartbreak, and suffering had stolen everything from her.
Even her reflection had become unfamiliar.
She lowered her hand.
Her thoughts wandered once again.
This time toward someone she had spent years trying to forget.
Someone she had never stopped loving.
Asher.
The name alone caused her heart to ache.
A sad smile appeared on her lips.
The love of her life.
The one person she wished she could see before dying.
The one person she wished she could explain everything to.
Unfortunately...
That would never happen.
Their story had ended long ago.
Not because she stopped loving him.
But because he stopped believing in her.
The memory still hurt.
At one point, Asher had trusted her completely.
He understood her better than anyone.
He had always been there for her.
Whenever she was sad.
Whenever she was afraid.
Whenever she needed support.
He was there.
Then everything changed.
Lies began spreading.
Misunderstandings piled up.
Manipulations destroyed years of trust.
And standing behind it all was the same person.
Her stepsister.
Like poison slowly spreading through a body, she had destroyed every important relationship in Dorothy’s life.
One by one.
Until there was nothing left.
Eventually, Asher began looking at Dorothy differently.
The warmth disappeared.
The trust vanished.
The affection faded.
Only disappointment remained.
Then came hatred.
The look in his eyes that day remained etched into Dorothy’s memory forever.
It had hurt more than any wound.
More than any betrayal.
More than any humiliation.
Because she loved him.
And despite everything, she still did.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“I never got to tell you.”
Her voice trembled.
“I loved you.”
The room remained silent.
No answer came.
No miracle happened.
Only the steady sound of machines filled the air.
Dorothy laughed softly.
Even now, she was pathetic.
Thinking about someone who probably hated her.
Someone who likely wouldn’t even care if she died.
Yet she couldn’t stop herself.
Because love didn’t disappear that easily.
Love lingered.
Even when everything else was gone.
A painful cough escaped her lips.
The monitor reacted immediately.
Its rhythm became slightly unstable.
Dorothy ignored it.
Instead, her thoughts shifted toward her family.
Her father.
The strongest man she had ever known.
A man who spent his entire life building an empire.
A man who loved his children more than anything.
Because of her mistakes, he had suffered immensely.
The company’s collapse had nearly broken him.
Dorothy remembered seeing the exhaustion in his eyes.
The disappointment.
The pain.
Yet despite everything, he never abandoned her.
Not once.
Her father continued supporting her until the very end.
And she had never properly thanked him.
Then there was her brother.
Her greatest protector.
From childhood until adulthood, he had always stood beside her.
Whenever someone bullied her.
Whenever she cried.
Whenever she needed help.
He was there.
Always.
Even after she pushed him away.
Even after she ignored his warnings.
He never stopped caring.
And now she would never see him again.
Fresh tears flowed freely.
“I am sorry.”
Her voice cracked.
“I’m so sorry.”
The apology was years too late.
But it was all she had left.
The room grew darker as night slowly arrived.
The final traces of sunlight disappeared from the sky.
Only the city lights remained visible through the window.
Beautiful.
Distant.
Unreachable.
Dorothy’s breathing became heavier.
Her chest tightened.
The pain intensified.
She knew what was happening.
The end was approaching.
Slowly.
Inevitably.
She wasn’t ready.
She wanted more time.
Just a little more.
Enough to apologize.
Enough to fix her mistakes.
Enough to protect the people she loved.
But fate wasn’t interested in her wishes.
It never had been.
A weak sob escaped her lips.
“I don’t want to die.”
The confession slipped out before she could stop it.
For the first time, fear appeared in her eyes.
Not fear of death.
Fear of regret.
Fear of unfinished goodbyes.
Fear of never being forgiven.
Her vision began blurring.
The lights above her seemed distant.
The room spun slightly.
She struggled to breathe.
Each inhale felt harder than the last.
The machines beside her reacted immediately.
The beeping grew faster.
Sharper.
More urgent.
Yet Dorothy barely noticed.
Her thoughts were elsewhere.
On her father.
Her brother.
Her friends.
Asher.
Everyone she loved.
Everyone she had lost.
A weak smile appeared on her face.
Despite everything, she still wished for their happiness.
Even now.
Even at the end.
“My father...”
She whispered.
“My brother...”
Her breathing became uneven.
“My friends...”
Tears continued falling.
“And Asher...”
Her voice broke.
“I hope all of you can be happy.”
The monitor suddenly emitted a loud warning sound.
Red lights flashed.
Alarms echoed through the room.
Footsteps rushed toward the door.
Doctors and nurses hurried inside.
Voices filled the room.
“She’s crashing!”
“Quickly!”
“Prepare emergency treatment!”
Chaos erupted around her.
But Dorothy barely heard any of it.
The sounds felt distant.
Like echoes underwater.
Her consciousness was fading.
Slowly drifting away.
The faces of the people she loved appeared before her one last time.
Her father.
Her brother.
Her friends.
Asher.
A gentle smile formed on her lips.
“If only...”
A tear slid down her cheek.
“If only I had another chance.”
The words were barely audible.
The monitor’s rhythm weakened.
The doctors continued fighting.
The nurses refused to give up.
But fate had already made its choice.
Dorothy’s vision darkened.
The world around her disappeared.
The final sound she heard was the desperate beeping of the machine beside her.
Then silence.
And Dorothy Smith took her final breath.
“A life filled with regrets ended beneath the city lights, unaware that fate had not yet finished writing her story.”
