Her Rebirth.

"Ave Maria, gratia plena..."

A man with a full head of grey hair sat quietly, taking a drag of the blunt between his fingers as the sonorous voice of the choir sang in the background. His eyes were closed as he fiddled absentmindedly with a string of jade beads in his other hand.

The man was Song Yue, the head of the Song family, a behemoth both in the corporate world and the underworld of Country C. Despite being in his late seventies, Song Yue was still very much feared, and his name brought terror to whoever heard it.

Amidst the voices in the background, his ears picked up the faint steps before him. His eyes snapped open, and before him stood a huge, bulky man with a large scar crisscrossing his face. The man bowed.

"Master... The young master has refused to come back."

A loud, amused laughter filled the air, then Song Yue took another drag of his cigarette before saying, "He does take after his mother, after all." He paused and then added, "Tell him his inheritance, if he does not come back, he will be removed from the line of inheritance."

The man bowed and left, closing the mahogany door behind him, leaving the room once again silent except for the sound of the choir.

"Et in hora mortis nostrae. Ave Maria..."

---

Kai leaned back in his chair, one hand lazily draped over the armrest while the other spun a silver pen between his fingers. His phone screen flickered, displaying a single message. After reading it, a quiet chuckle slipped past his lips. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"The old man is serious this time," he mused, tapping the screen before tossing the phone onto his desk. "Looks like I have to go."

Standing nearby, Secretary Wen adjusted his glasses. "Master Song has been waiting for you," he said carefully. "He misses you."

Kai’s amusement only deepened. His lips curled into a sneer, though his gaze remained indifferent. "Misses me? That man doesn’t ’miss’ people. He keeps them on a leash, like obedient dogs. And I..." His fingers tightened slightly around the pen. "... am not one of them."

With a sigh, he leaned forward, flicking open his laptop. There, on the screen, was an image of Amelia. She was asleep, with a faint trail of drool at the corner of her lips. This was a sight no one else had seen, but one he had kept for himself.

His eyes darkened as he traced the image with his gaze. Then, he murmured,

"Wait for me, Amelia... I’ll be back soon."

The screen dimmed as he snapped the laptop shut. He stood up, walking with large strides, with Secretary Wen beside him.

"Prepare the jet. I leave for Country C tonight."

---

Alice chewed at her fingernail frantically, her nerves fraying with every passing second. What did he mean? The way he said it, it seemed like Amelia had a special identity apart from being the daughter of the Cosgrove family. But if she couldn’t get answers from him, it seemed she’d have to gauge Amelia for herself.

She spun toward her assistant, who had been standing quietly at the door. "Call Amelia," Alice snapped.

The assistant hesitated. "She’s—"

"Did I stutter?" Alice’s eyes flashed with irritation.

The assistant rushed out, making her way across the studio floor where Amelia stood. On Amelia’s face was a serious expression as she engaged in a conversation with a few other models.

"Miss Cosgrove," the assistant interrupted. "Alice is calling for you."

Amelia didn’t even look up. "I’m busy right now."

The assistant blinked, flustered. "It’s Alice Sandalwood calling. You must come. Do you even know who Alice is?"

A tense silence settled over the group. One of the models stifled a laugh, while another shifted uncomfortably.

Amelia finally lifted her gaze with mild annoyance. Before she could respond, Alice herself appeared with a polite smile.

"I apologize for my assistant’s rudeness," Alice said, then turned to glare at her assistant. "You’ll apologize, won’t you?"

The assistant hurriedly bowed her head. "I’m sorry, Miss Cosgrove."

Amelia looked at them both with an indifferent stare. There was no smugness, no visible satisfaction, just cool detachment.

Alice’s fingers twitched. Why does she look at me like that? It made her uneasy, but she quickly masked it with a bright smile.

"I was hoping to talk to you for a bit," Alice said, tilting her head, attempting a more friendly tone.

Amelia raised a brow. "I’ll be done soon. You can wait."

Alice felt a flicker of irritation. Wait? No one made her wait. How dare she?

Still, she forced herself to nod, though her nails dug into her palm.

After a few more minutes, Amelia finally made her way to Alice’s dressing room. She stepped inside with her arms crossed. "Alright, what did you want to talk about?"

Alice hesitated for a second, then put on her most charming smile. "I just thought... we should be friends."

Amelia studied her for a long moment, then smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. "Are you sure that’s all you want?"

Alice swallowed. "Yes." Unsure of what Amelia meant. She couldn’t possibly know of her infatuation with Damien, could she?

Amelia nodded. "Alright then." And then turned to leave. But before she could take another step, Alice’s hand shot out, gripping Amelia’s wrist.

Amelia paused in her steps. Slowly, she turned her head, her eyes filled with irritation. "Why are you holding me?" Her voice was quiet, but one could sense the annoyance in it.

Alice’s breath hitched. "I—"

Amelia sighed, gently prying Alice’s fingers off. "If you think Damien and I are in a relationship, we aren’t. I’m engaged to someone." Her tone was calm. "So I’d advise you to quench whatever thoughts you have."

"But you know he has feelings for you, right?" Alice asked quickly. "So what use is the fact that you are engaged if he still has feelings for you?"

Amelia’s lips curled into a cold smile. Of course, she knew Damien held some sort of feelings for her, she wasn’t that dense, but as long as it didn’t affect her work, honestly, she didn’t care.

"And what does that have to do with me?" she said smoothly. "His feelings are his own problem, not mine."

Alice stiffened, surprised by her answer. "But—"

Amelia took a step closer, her expression still calm. "If you think his feelings will change anything, you’re mistaken. I have priorities, and they don’t include entertaining pointless affections."

She glanced at Alice’s hand, still slightly curled as if she wanted to reach for her again, before looking back up. "If you’re so concerned about Damien’s feelings, perhaps you should focus on making him see you instead of worrying about me."

With that, she turned on her heel, walking out of the dressing room without a glance back.

Alice’s throat tightened as she watched Amelia walk away, hatred curling in her chest. The way Amelia looked down on her with irritation and indifference... Despite Amelia assuring her that she and Damien had nothing going on, the hatred didn’t reduce, it only grew.