Chapter 9
I didn’t think I’d ever wake up again.
In the dimly lit rental room, there was a job offer on the table.
The name on it was “Arielle Lowell.‘
Somehow, I’d been reborn into a body with the same name.
This Arielle didn’t really look like me.
No parents, raised in an orphanage.
Barely any relationships at all.
This place was a world apart from the city I used to live in.
The cross pendant still rested in my palm–only now, it was completely shattered, just a string left.
I decided to live as Arielle.
Three years passed in a blink,
I figured it was time to move on.
So, maybe I should get a boyfriend.
Maybe falling in love would finally break me free of Zaiden–not just physically. Emotionally too.
I couldn’t spend the rest of my life stuck on Zaiden.
Especially since, to him, I was already dead.
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Chapter 9
Mike Peterson was my coworker.
He was good–looking and fun to be around.
I really tried.
But it didn’t work.
It just didn’t.
No one but Zaiden could get through to me.
That night, I went out for drinks with Mike to clear the air.
But he got drunk and started spilling everything.
ミ
“I’ll be honest with you, I actually…
“I love my stepfather.”
He was drinking, puking, and crying all at once.
“I just love my stepfather, okay? He’s the only one I’ll ever love in this lifetime.”
***
He stole my lines.
Because of that bizarre connection, we became close friends.
Later, he kept debating whether to come clean to his stepfather.
My advice? “Don’t.
“One wrong move, and you’ll end up being a stray with no stepfather at all.”
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Chapter 9
Just like me, Mike was scared too.
So three years passed, and he still didn’t say a word.
One day, he came over again.
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“Hey, I heard the company’s getting a new CEO from HQ. Total knockout. Even the department heads are dying to see him. Come on, let’s go!”
As we reached the office entrance, a wave of unease hit me out of
nowhere.
The receptionist leaned in with a mysterious look. “This guy’s a big deal- the boss’s son. He used to be CEO at HQ. He disappeared for a while, and no one knows why. Now he’s back, taking over the branch.”
Then we all sat down, and a tall figure walked in.
The streamers burst right on cue.
I looked up–and all the blood in my body froze.
Straight ahead, the man’s face slowly came into focus under the lights.
He wore a thick black coat, like a piece of night itself, blocking out every trace of emotion.
A sharp earring hung from his left earlobe–a small deer, if you looked close enough.
He was Zaiden.
