Her Rebirth.

"Amelia... I..."

"You don’t need to explain yourself, Lilac. We were both wrong in some ways, but the fact that you expect we might come to accept that we’re sisters after everything you’ve done is just ridiculous and laughable." She laughed, feeling Amelia’s emotions rush through her, then continued, "And you did that all for my attention! That answer just makes everything worse. Maybe I would have understood and might have even attempted to become sisters with you if you’d done all you did out of hatred or revenge—but attention? You’re telling me you couldn’t do other things besides hurt me to gain my attention? And when I tried to become close to you later down the line, what did you do? You turned my own brother against me, scoffed at me with your mother, and all that was for attention?!"

"Amelia... please just listen to me," Lilac pleaded.

"There is nothing to listen to, and there is nothing further to discuss, Lilac. I’d appreciate it if you left my home now."

Lilac looked down, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"Alright, Amelia... I’ll leave."

Lilac walked past Amelia with one last look at her and left. As she came down, she saw Kai leaning at the doorway, a cold look in his eyes.

"The only reason you’re still breathing," he said evenly, "is because I want you to live a very long life... filled with suffering and pain."

Lilac’s eyes narrowed, and the sorrowful expression she had once donned was no longer there. Instead, it was replaced with one filled with mockery. "What have I done to deserve this kind of hatred?"

Kai cocked his head slightly. "Don’t you already know?"

A twisted smile curled Lilac’s lips. "You and I... we’re not that different. We both wanted the same thing. We just used different methods. I don’t see what’s so wrong with that."

She brushed past him, her shoulder grazing his deliberately, and then added, "I don’t know why you think your methods are better than mine."

She stepped out into the corridor, and Kai watched her retreating figure in silence, his expression growing colder by the second.

Once she had fully disappeared from view, Kai pulled out his phone.

"Keep eyes on her," he ordered curtly. "I want to know where she goes, who she speaks to, what she eats. No contact unless I say otherwise. And..." He paused. "Assign two more to watch Amelia discreetly. I don’t want her stepping out of this house without me knowing. From now on, I want to know every single thing she does, every single person she talks to, and every single place she goes."

"Yes, sir."

Kai found Amelia still in the guest room, seemingly lost in thought.

He spoke gently. "How did it go?"

Amelia stayed quiet for a moment, then let out a breath. "Strange... but okay. I think."

She turned to face him, her eyes distant, lost in thought. "It was like her words... stirred something in me..." She stopped before she could say any more.

The original Amelia’s feelings were contradictory toward Lilac, filled with immense hatred and, at the same time, immense affection, and it had almost overwhelmed her. If she had let those emotions take over, she might’ve forgiven her without thinking. Or worse, she might’ve attacked her out of sheer rage.

She was worried that the original Amelia’s emotions might start affecting her decisions. That she might become someone she couldn’t control. Every single day, she found herself becoming more like Amelia and less like herself. She hadn’t really worried about it before, but now...

"Amelia..." Kai called, "you were lost in thought."

Amelia looked at him. How she wished she could tell Kai that she wasn’t the original Amelia, but someone else.

What if he thinks I’m insane? What if I lose him?

Kai stepped closer, his face filled with obvious worry. "What are you thinking about?" he asked again, sounding quite concerned.

Amelia hesitated, biting the inside of her cheek. Then, after a long pause, she said quietly, "Kai... if someone told you there was a different soul inside a body, someone entirely different from who everyone believes they are... would you think that person was crazy?"

Kai’s brows lifted slightly, but instead of shock or judgment, amusement danced in his eyes with a glint of fascination. "Are you kidding?" he said, a faint smile curving his lips. "I’ve read too many stories, Amelia. Reincarnation, transmigration, souls from another time or world inhabiting someone else’s body, it’s always fascinated me. I used to read books surrounding that theme when I was younger. Still do, sometimes."

Her breath caught in her throat. She hadn’t expected such an answer—

Maybe... just maybe she could...

He added, with a little tilt of his head, "So no, I wouldn’t think that person is crazy. I’d probably ask them a hundred questions and then sit quietly to listen to the answers."

Something loosened in her chest, fear, perhaps. A part of her that had been tense and afraid slowly uncoiled. With trembling fingers, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked him in the eye.

"What if I told you..." she began, her voice barely above a whisper, "that I’m not the original Amelia Cosgrove but another soul. Someone else entirely."

Kai didn’t flinch. His eyes didn’t widen in disbelief. He simply looked at her, quiet and thoughtful, as though he’d already suspected it somehow.

Well, it did explain a lot of things he had been suspecting like, for example, how did she change overnight? And why had this change occurred after she had attempted suicide and was almost on the brink of death?

There was one answer: the original Amelia had probably died during the incident... or had she died before he saved her?

"Then I’d ask," he said, stepping closer, his eyes gleaming in curiosity, "who are you, really? And how did you end up here?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Amelia’s eyes welled up, a soft gasp escaping her lips. She hadn’t realized how much she needed someone to ask her that, not with suspicion nor looking at her as if she were crazy, but with understanding.

She let out a shaky breath. "Then... I’ll tell you everything."

Mass release: 2/4