Rebirth Into My Second Chance

When I struggled to my feet, nearly tumbling down, he reached out to steady me. "Can't protect the kid if you're too famished to stand upright, huh? Doesn't seem like you care all that much about him." His words were a thinly veiled attempt to gauge where my affections lay - with Max or with the child.

"I'll have someone accompany you to Serenity Bluff to enjoy the show. I need to swing by Hilton Enterprises. With Max out of the picture, it rightfully belongs to me now. Claude is hardly a concern." Despite the situation, he seemed as vibrant as ever, not at all like the downtrodden soul I remembered from another life.

As he turned to leave, pausing at the threshold but not looking back, he remarked, "Claire, had you been brave enough to drug me earlier, you might have won."

Immediately, I regretted not using the weapon Claude had provided...

"Perhaps I just wanted us to die together," I said, feigning strength.

He chuckled. "I won't let you die again."Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

After he left, two of Richard's bodyguards came in to escort me to the car.

My mind kept replaying his words - what did he mean by not letting me die again?

At Serenity Bluff, the air was crisp and clear following yesterday's rain. The cabin in my memories seemed like the beginning and end of a cyclical fate.

Richard's bodyguards, leading the way, brought me a chair. "Watch from here. This spot overlooks the cabin without making us too noticeable."

I had barely sat down when I saw Kate, herding two girls out of the cabin, her foot connecting with a knee in a clear signal to kneel. "Kneel down. If you dared to be someone else's mistress, you should've seen this coming! You're carrying a child that shouldn't exist."

Before she could finish, a bodyguard wheeled out & woman of

unmistakable grace of

ét

even in a wheelchair. Draped in a luxurious dress, adorned with jewelry, she was far from the humble orphanage director she was presumed to be.

She was a wealthy matriarch.

With a gesture, she held the girls' chins, lamenting, "The director raised you to be useful, not to become baby factories."

The girls, tearful yet defiant,

declared, "Even if given another chance, we'd choose our children! We made mistakes, but our children are innocent! They don't deserve. this. We'll work hard to support them! Didn't the director make the same choice when she had Richard?"

Their resolve was clear, but Hannah merely laughed. "I had him to use him as a tool for my vengeance. He doesn't deserve my love." This explained why Richard always seemed to lurk in the shadows, enduring silently.

"Richard is truly pitiable."

"To have you as a mother is his misfortune!"

"Hopefully, he won't have to endure a mother like you in his next life."

Furious at their taunts, Hannah commanded, "Beat them! Keep beating them until they learn. If they don't listen, beat them harder!" Kate, with a heavy heart, raised her whip and brought it down with force.

Hannah applauded the brutality. "Good, that's how you teach them It's my fault for not disciplining them sooner. Now, let's correct that mistake. Get the gasoline, set it on fire"

Panicked, I stood up, remembering my own demise in flames, triggered by the command to "Douse it and light it up!"