Her Rebirth.

"Amelia, what are you doing here?"

Amelia let out a small sigh. She had never expected that Sera would be living here, let alone be her neighbor. If she had known, she would have probably avoided staying here.

Amelia turned to the delivery man with a smile as she took her food. After the delivery man left, Amelia turned back to Sera.

"Sera."

Sera looked at her and strode towards her.

"Why didn’t you call when you were found? Why not even a text? Do you even know how worried I was?"

Amelia looked at her, confused, and raised a brow.

"What are you talking about?"

"You went missing, didn’t you?! They didn’t do anything to you, did they?"

Ohhh, that’s what she was talking about. Amelia had chosen to lock away that incident far in her mind because, somehow, it reminded her of her days in the dungeon. Especially when...

Retch.

Amelia clutched her stomach as it churned painfully, bile threatening to rise in her throat.

Sera’s face scrunched up in worry, and she reached out to Amelia.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concern evident in her eyes.

"Stay away!!!" Amelia shouted harshly.

Sera stiffened, her hand freezing mid-air, shocked by the sudden outburst. The harshness of Amelia’s reaction caught her off guard, but more than that, strangely, it stung. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Then she bit her lip.

Something was obviously wrong with Amelia, she needed to take her to the hospital quickly.

She reached out again, but Amelia furiously swatted her arms away.

"Stay away from me!"

Sera, obviously frustrated, lashed out back. "Like fucking hell I would." She ran a hand through her hair, exhaling sharply. "I swear to god, if not because you look like you are about to die right now, I would have fucking left you."

Amelia barely registered the words. She was weak and couldn’t fight much. All she knew was that she felt irritated by everything around her, and everything felt suffocating.

Without giving Amelia a choice, Sera slung her arm over her shoulder and pulled her towards the elevator.

Sera managed to carry Amelia to the underground garage of the apartment, which was filled with various luxury cars, ranging from Bugatti to Ford. It wasn’t surprising, the high-rise apartment complex catered to elite college students who wanted to live off-campus but still stay close to school.

Sera pulled out her keys, pressing a button. A baby pink Maybach chirped in response, its headlights flashing.

"You’re going to the hospital," she muttered, shoving the passenger door open before carefully helping Amelia inside.

Amelia didn’t argue; she was too exhausted to fight.

---

Sera drove through the streets like a madwoman, her fingers tightening around the steering wheel with every passing second.

Amelia was getting worse. Her breathing was uneven, and she looked disturbingly pale.

As soon as they reached the hospital, Sera barely spared a second before yanking the door open and calling for help. Nurses rushed forward, placing Amelia onto a stretcher and wheeling her away.

Sera followed closely behind, refusing to let her out of her sight.

It wasn’t until Amelia was stabilized and placed on an IV drip that the tension in Sera’s shoulders finally eased.

---

Kai’s expression darkened as he stared at his laptop, his strokes on Poppy’s fur becoming harsher by the minute, making the small creature squirm slightly under his touch. But Kai didn’t notice. His attention was fixed entirely on the screen.

Amelia hadn’t returned yet.

It had been over thirty minutes , far too long for a simple takeout delivery. His jaw tensed as his fingers hovered over the trackpad, switching between different surveillance feeds of her apartment. The cameras captured nothing out of the ordinary, but Amelia was nowhere to be seen.

Where are you, Amelia?

The urge to get up, grab his keys, and drive straight to her apartment was nearly unbearable. He had given her space, had even entertained the ridiculous idea of letting her roam freely for a while. But now, with no sign of her, with the minutes dragging longer than they should, a familiar frustration burned in his chest.

His fingers curled against the armrest of his chair, gripping it so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He shouldn’t have let her leave in the first place.

---

After what felt like hours, the doctor finally removed his gloves with a sigh.

"She’s stable," he told Sera, glancing at Amelia’s file. "But the pain was caused by trauma, not a physical condition."

Sera tensed. "...What do you mean?"

"She’s experienced something severe enough that her body is reacting to it. Even if she doesn’t realize it, her mind is still processing the distress, and it’s manifesting as physical pain." The doctor’s gaze softened. "I’d strongly recommend she see a therapist. This isn’t something that will go away on its own."

Sera frowned. Trauma?

Was it because of the kidnapping incident? Is that why Amelia had been harsh towards her? Suddenly, she felt guilty. If she hadn’t mentioned it, Amelia wouldn’t have gone through so much pain.

She turned to Amelia, who didn’t react much. She merely lay there, her gaze fixed on the ceiling, her face devoid of any emotion.

After ensuring that she was okay, Amelia was finally discharged but not before the doctor called her to his office, once again advising her to go for therapy and even writing a recommendation letter to a top therapist.

---

The car ride was silent, except for the hum of the engine.

Sera kept glancing at Amelia, who sat quietly, staring out the window as the city lights blurred past them.

Finally, Amelia broke the silence.

"...Thank you, Sera."

Sera turned her head slightly.

"For what?"

"For helping me," Amelia murmured. "For not leaving."

Sera let out a short laugh, shaking her head. "Like hell I was gonna leave you in that state."

Amelia paused as she studied Sera. She had always thought of Sera as reckless, arrogant, a little brash, and too quick to speak her mind. At first glance, she seemed like nothing more than a spoiled princess, sharp-tongued, confident to a fault, and very annoying. But sitting here now, and thinking about all her moments with Sera... Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all.

Beneath all that boldness, she wasn’t cruel or selfish. She was someone who cared in her own way, someone who didn’t turn her back, even when it would have been easier to. And, in a way, that was... cute.

A soft smile rested on Amelia’s lips. "I know we didn’t start off on the right foot," she admitted, tilting her head slightly. "But that doesn’t mean we have to end on the wrong one either."

Sera didn’t respond right away, but Amelia noticed her grip on the steering wheel tighten slightly.

Then she heard Sera click her tongue as if she was annoyed.

"Well, since you so desperately want me to be your friend, I’m not so heartless as to reject it."

Despite trying to act nonchalant, Amelia noticed the small reddening of the tip of Sera’s ears.

She chuckled.

"Yes, thank you for accepting my request," she replied teasingly.