The Tower Reversed: Back to 18 (Venus) novel Chapter 30

**One Step Changes Everything**
**By Ruby Parker**

Just then, a chilling, hollow voice sliced through the air from the other casket, sending shivers down Larry’s spine.

“Florian, if you keep acting like a spoiled brat, I’ll scatter your ashes myself.”

Larry’s complexion drained of color, leaving him looking ghostly pale. In a fit of rage, he slammed his palm against Venus’s coffin, the sound echoing ominously in the stillness, and shouted, “Who gave you permission to speak?”

A sudden gasp escaped one of the workers. “It’s lifting!” he exclaimed, his voice tinged with disbelief.

Larry’s heart raced as shock washed over him. Sweat trickled down his forehead, a mix of fear and confusion.

“No wonder the seer chose her for the wedding,” a nearby worker murmured, almost conspiratorially. “Mr. Florian seems to listen to his wife already.”

With a voice trembling yet authoritative, Larry barked out commands. “Move! Don’t you dare delay the burial! Carry it steady—if anything goes wrong, I’ll have your heads!”

Eight sturdy men carefully lifted Florian’s casket, their faces grim as they marched ahead, each step a testament to the weight of the moment.

Venus’s casket was far simpler—a plain wooden box, unadorned and light. Only four men were needed to carry it, their burden lessened by the simplicity of its design.

After what felt like an eternity of jarring travel over uneven ground, they finally halted.

They had arrived at the cemetery, a solemn place that seemed to hold its breath in anticipation. The burial ceremony commenced with an air of finality.

“Set them down,” Larry ordered, his voice cutting through the heavy silence.

The two caskets were placed side by side, a poignant symbol of the lives intertwined even in death.

Before the grave was sealed, Larry stepped in front of Venus’s coffin, his demeanor icy. “Sorry, miss,” he said, his tone devoid of empathy. “Your job is to stay with Mr. Florian down there. Rest assured, I’ll send the remainder of the money to your parents. You can rest easy.”

“Alright, seal it.” His words hung in the air like a death knell.

Half an hour later, silence enveloped the cemetery, thick and oppressive. Venus listened intently—no footsteps, no voices. Everyone had departed, leaving her in the cold embrace of the earth. She inhaled deeply, feeling the weight of her predicament, and whispered a command under her breath, her voice barely more than a breath. “Earth divide, dust scatter—banish the taint, undo the binds—break!”

With a deafening bang, the lid of the casket exploded open, sending splinters flying.

The casket erupted from the grave, dirt cascading around her like a storm.

A hole gaped open in the ground, a portal to a world she had just escaped.

Chapter 30: The Ghost Groom

Venus emerged, gasping for breath. “Good thing they didn’t seal it with concrete,” she muttered to herself, relief flooding through her. “I wouldn’t have been able to break out so easily.”

But then, a chilling voice echoed from behind her, sending a fresh wave of dread through her.

“Who are you?”

Venus turned, her heart racing. Perched atop a nearby tombstone was a figure drenched in blood, his face pale as death, and his eyes glinting with an icy fury.

It was Florian.

**Florian Sharp.**

“Is that all? Just your name?” she asked, surprised. “You seem like you came from a wealthy family. Why such a humble grave?”

Florian’s expression remained impassive. “I was an illegitimate child—never even allowed in the family cemetery. Being buried on the Sharp estate’s back hill is already more than I deserve.”

“Illegitimate, huh?” Venus murmured, piecing together the puzzle. “Wait—The Sharps? As in the Sharps of Vueburg, one of the Four Great Families?”

Florian raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise igniting in his crimson gaze. “You don’t look like much—just a country girl in cheap clothes. Didn’t expect you to actually know who we are.”

Venus smirked, a glint of confidence in her eyes. “Oh, I know plenty.” If he truly belonged to the Sharps, then everything made perfect sense.

She had encountered that family before—old money, old rules, rotten to the core.

They were one of Vueburg’s Four Great Houses, still clinging to archaic traditions. Men ruled, women obeyed, and children born outside marriage didn’t even count as human.

Florian was worse than a forgotten son. He wasn’t even officially recognized as one. No wonder his funeral was so shabby.

A sigh escaped Venus’s lips. “Who convinced your family that forcing a ghost marriage would calm your spirit? That’s not a ritual; you’ve only worsened the situation. Making a living girl die for you? That’s a sin. Lucky I showed up, or that poor girl would’ve been buried alive by now.”

“I told you,” Florian muttered, his voice low, almost pleading. “It wasn’t my idea. My family arranged everything. I didn’t even know about it.”

He looked down, guilt washing over him. “By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. My spirit kept appearing beside June, even when I didn’t want to.”

Venus rubbed her temples, frustration mounting. “Of course it did. Once both sides exchanged your name and signed a ghost marriage contract, your soul automatically binds to the living bride. You’re drawn to her without control. The moment she stops breathing, the underworld will seal it. You two will be husband and wife forever.”