Chapter 2: Rebirth & A Painful Truth
Evelyn gasped, bolting upright in bed.
Her breath came in short, ragged bursts. Where was she?
The scent of fresh linen filled the air. Sunlight streamed through the large windows, casting warm patterns across the walls.
This isn't the hospital…
She turned sharply, her gaze landing on a familiar vanity mirror across the room. A teenage girl with wide, panicked eyes stared back at her.
Her own reflection. But younger.
Her heart pounded as she reached for the phone beside her bed. Her hands trembled as she checked the date.
Five years ago.
She had gone back in time. She was fifteen again.
Tears burned her eyes, but she refused to cry. She needed to think.
Everything she had lost… her family's business, their reputation, her life—none of it had happened yet.
She had a chance.
And this time, she would never make the same mistake again.
A knock at the door made her flinch.
"Evelyn?" Her mother's voice came from the other side.
Her throat tightened. Her mother—alive, happy, unburdened by scandal.
"Y-Yes, Mother," she managed to say.
The door opened, revealing Marianne Ravenshire, graceful and elegant as always. Evelyn's chest ached at the sight of her, knowing the pain she had caused her parents in her past life.
Her mother smiled. "Your father wants to see you before his meeting with Mr. Sterling."
Evelyn stiffened. Mr. Sterling. Adrian's father.
She knew this day. Five years ago, she had already overheard their families discussing a possible engagement between her and Adrian.
That was the moment she had mistaken their casual hopes for fate—the moment she became obsessed with Adrian Sterling.
This time, she knew better.
She wouldn't waste her life chasing someone who would never love her.
This time, she would walk away.
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