Noah spent the next hour sitting alone in silence, trying to sort through the memories that had come rushing back the moment he opened his eyes in this second life.
He hadn't wanted to remember.
He wished he could bury everything, every scream, every betrayal, every drop of blood he had seen that night.
But he couldn't.
Because no matter how much he wanted to forget, his mind remembered everything with terrifying clarity.
Every word William had spoken.
Every smile.
Every lie.
Every touch that now made his skin crawl.
And worst of all...
The moment he realized that the man he had once trusted more than anyone had been the one who destroyed everything.
Noah closed his eyes tightly.
His fingers curled into the sheets beneath him.
Hatred rose in his chest like poison.
It spread slowly through his veins, cold and burning at the same time.
If he let himself think too much, he knew what would happen.
He would lose control.
And right now, he couldn't afford that.
Not yet.
Not when he had just been given another chance.
Noah took a slow breath and forced himself to calm down.
'First… I need to stay alive.'
Then,
'I need to protect my family.'
Only after that,
'William can die.'
The thought came so naturally that Noah almost startled himself.
In his previous life, he had never once wished death on anyone.
Even after discovering William's betrayal, he had still wanted answers before revenge.
But that Noah was dead.
The Noah who had loved too easily and trusted too blindly had already died on that bed.
The Noah who remained now...
Would never be weak again.
Eventually, the exhaustion caught up to him.
His body still felt heavy from the emotional storm inside him, and for the first time since waking up, Noah realized just how tired he was.
He turned toward the bed in his room.
Then immediately stopped.
The scent hit him first.
William.
That faint expensive cologne mixed with the familiar warmth of someone who had spent countless nights in the same bed.
Noah's stomach twisted.
Disgust washed over him instantly.
Just standing there made his skin feel unclean.
He used to love that scent.
Used to find comfort in it.
Now it made him feel sick.
He looked at the bed as though it belonged to a stranger.
No...
Not a stranger.
A monster.
For over a month, they had been sharing the same bed under the excuse of "building intimacy."
Their families had encouraged it, believing that giving them time together would strengthen their relationship before marriage.
And it had worked.
Back then.
Noah had slowly lowered his guard.
He had let William into his space.
Into his life.
Into his heart.
And eventually,
He had married him.
A bitter smile touched Noah's lips.
'How pathetic.'
He had once believed every soft look.
Every gentle touch.
Every whispered promise in the dark.
But now he knew the truth.
William had never loved him.
He had only wanted to own him.
And Noah could no longer bear even the thought of lying in that bed again.
Without hesitation, he turned and left the room.
The room next door had always been his refuge.
His youngest brother's room.
Whenever Noah felt lonely as a child, he would sneak in and sleep there, curled up beside his brother like he was still a child who feared thunderstorms.
Now the room was empty.
His brother was still overseas, studying at university, completely unaware of the tragedy that had awaited him in another life.
Noah stood in the doorway for a moment, staring quietly.
Then he stepped inside.
The room still smelled faintly familiar.
Safe.
Warm.
Untouched by betrayal.
He walked to the bed and lay down slowly, staring at the ceiling above him.
For the first time since waking up, the tightness in his chest eased slightly.
Just a little.
His body sank into the mattress.
His eyelids grew heavy.
And before he could stop it...
Sleep pulled him under.
Darkness.
Then blood.
Noah was standing in the middle of his old home.
But it no longer felt like home.
The house that had once been filled with warmth now felt cold.
Silent.
Wrong.
The air smelled metallic.
His chest tightened.
He knew this place.
Knew this moment.
"No…"
His voice came out as a whisper.
And then he heard it.
Laughter.
William's laughter.
Noah turned sharply.
And suddenly...
He was there again.
It had started in the second year of their marriage.
At first, everything had seemed perfect.
William had been attentive.
Gentle.
Almost too perfect.
He remembered how everyone praised him.
How people envied Noah for marrying someone so devoted.
Even Noah had believed it.
For a while.
Until the cracks began to show.
Late nights.
Strange perfume.
Lipstick stains.
And whispers from people who pitied him behind his back.
William had been cheating.
With men.
With women.
With anyone who amused him.
And strangely...
That hadn't been what broke Noah.
Because even then, Noah hadn't truly loved him enough to feel his heart shatter.
What hurt more was what came after.
The cruelty.
The contempt.
The way William slowly stopped pretending.
"You slept with whoever you wanted," Noah had shouted one night, his voice trembling with anger. "So why do you care what I do?"
William had looked at him with complete indifference.
Then laughed.
"Huh. Because I'm tired of seeing your face."
Noah froze.
William stepped closer.
"You can't satisfy me."
His voice was cold.
"You were never worthy of being my husband."
The words had struck harder than any slap.
Noah remembered staring at him in disbelief.
Then anger took over.
"Then divorce me."
William's eyes darkened instantly.
"What?"
"I said divorce me," Noah snapped. "I'm not your toy."
For one second,
William's expression changed.
The charming mask slipped.
And Noah saw something ugly underneath.
"You think I'd let you leave?"
Noah had turned toward the door.
But before he could take a second step...
William grabbed his wrist.
Hard.
Noah winced.
"Let go!"
He struggled.
But William was stronger.
Far stronger.
And when Noah fought harder,
William smiled.
A terrible smile.
"Don't worry," he had said softly. "I'll take you home."
His grip tightened.
But what he had actually meant that time by 'home'?
It was that empty house, lifeless...
"No…"
Noah whispered in his sleep.
His breathing turned uneven.
Sweat gathered at his temples.
In the dream, he was being dragged through the front doors of his childhood home.
His heart pounded violently.
Something was wrong.
The house was too quiet.
Too still.
Then William called out,
"Clark, did you finish?"
Footsteps.
A man appeared upstairs.
And then,
Another man emerged from the dining room.
Dragging Noah's brother by the hair.
Blood smeared across the polished floor.
Noah's scream tore through the silence.
"Brother!"
He fell to his knees beside him.
Shaking.
Begging.
Crying.
But his brother never opened his eyes.
Never moved.
Never breathed.
And William,
William just stood there smiling.
"Noah," he had said softly, "are you looking for the others?"
Noah looked up.
And William smiled wider.
"Don't worry."
His voice was almost tender.
"They're already buried."
"No!"
Noah jolted awake.
His eyes flew open.
His body was trembling violently.
For a few seconds, he couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't separate the nightmare from reality.
Then slowly,
He realized where he was.
The empty room.
The soft afternoon light.
The silence.
No blood.
No death.
No William.
Just a nightmare.
But Noah's hands still shook.
Because he knew it wasn't just a dream.
It was memory.
A memory waiting to happen again...
If he failed.
Noah slowly sat up, pressing a hand against his chest as his breathing steadied.
His face was pale.
His eyes were darker than before.
And for the first time since returning,
The truth fully settled inside him.
This was no longer about revenge.
It was about survival.
Because if he made even one wrong move,
William would destroy them all again.
Noah lowered his gaze.
Then whispered into the empty room:
"This time…"
His voice was soft.
But colder than ice.
"I'll ruin you before you can touch my family."