Her Rebirth.

Amelia plopped on her bed with a quiet sigh as she stared at her phone. The room was silent, too silent for her liking. There were no soft meows from the little feline nor the annoying teasing from Kai.

Amelia had always prided herself as someone who loved to be alone. She believed that being alone did not necessarily mean she was lonely , that was until now. She felt lonely.

As much as she did not want to admit it, she missed Poppy and Kai so much. But as much as she missed them, she couldn’t go back. She had left because she wanted to let go of her feelings for Kai, after all.

But still... Amelia’s fingers gently rubbed the screen of the phone... Did Kai not care that she had left? He hadn’t called, not to mention even sending a text.

She had thought that maybe he had feelings for her, but it seemed like she had been overthinking things. Maybe she had been mistaken all along. Maybe Kai had never cared the way she thought he did. If that was the case, then good , she had made the right choice by leaving.

So why did it still hurt?

She exhaled sharply, pushing the thought away. This is for the best, she reminded herself. It’s better to let go now than to cling to something that was never meant to be. There was no need to waste her time on a one-sided love even though a part of her really wanted that love.

She was really hypocritical, wasn’t she? 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Just as she closed her eyes, a loud bang rattled her door.

"Bitch! Open the door!"

Amelia groaned, rubbing her temples. And here she thought the silence was unbearable, turns out, Sera was worse. How did she come to the conclusion she was cute? Because she wasn’t cute AT ALL!

Dragging herself out of bed, she trudged to the door and unlocked it. The moment it cracked open, Sera pushed her way inside, dressed in a blue crop top and pink shorts, her hair tied into a short, messy ponytail.

"What the hell took you so long?" she huffed.

Amelia folded her arms. "What do you want, Sera?"

Sera grinned, raising a wine bottle and shaking it. "Was bored. Thought I’d crash here."

Amelia arched a brow. "Don’t you have books to read?"

"Ahh, don’t be such a party pooper, Amelia." Sera plopped onto the couch, kicking her feet up like she owned the place. "Besides, you look like you need a drink."

Amelia sighed, closing the door. Was she that obvious?

Sera studied her for a moment, her grin fading slightly. "Alright, spill it. What’s wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

Sera rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. You look like someone ran over you. Twice."

Amelia forced a small smile. "I’m fine."

Sera bit her lip, hesitating before muttering, "You know, you were the one who offered to be my friend. But if you won’t even talk to me about what’s bothering you, then what kind of friendship is this?"

Amelia blinked, caught off guard.

Sera looked away, gripping the neck of the wine bottle. "I just... I thought we were past that stage where we had to pretend everything’s fine. You’re my friend, Amelia. And friends talk."

A lump formed in Amelia’s throat. She hadn’t expected Sera to care this much. Maybe she was right , maybe she needed to speak to someone.

She hesitated, then exhaled. "Peradventure..." She faltered before continuing, "If I had feelings for someone, but I don’t want to be with them... And I think they might have feelings for me too, but I just—" She swallowed. "I want to erase my feelings because I’m scared of getting hurt again. But no matter what I do... I can’t. What then?"

Silence filled the room.

When Amelia finally looked up, she found Sera staring at her, wide-eyed. Did Amelia just become vulnerable with me?

Then, in an instant, a knowing smirk spread across Sera’s lips. "Holy shit," she breathed. "You’re in love with Damien!"

Amelia stiffened. "That’s not—"

"Don’t even try to deny it." Sera leaned forward, eyes practically sparkling with amusement. "It all makes sense now. You are scared of falling in love with him because of what happened with Ace, sigh?"

Well, it’s not because of Ace, but it’s not like Sera would believe in rebirth anyway, Amelia mused before clarifying, "It’s not Damien, it’s Kai."

"Kai..." Sera muttered. "Isn’t that your fiancé?"

Amelia nodded her head.

Sera leaned back, whistling. "Damn."

Sera didn’t have a deep impression of Kai, probably because she had never spoken to him and had only heard about him from rumors and only seen glimpses of him at banquets.

So she asked carefully, "Sorry if it seems I’m prying too deep, but why did you fall for him?"

"I think everything went wrong the moment I moved in with him."

Sera gasped in surprise. "You were living with him all this time?"

Amelia shrugged. "Yeah. And honestly, that time was... one of the best. He was really supportive. Annoying as hell sometimes, but also... caring. I can’t even pinpoint when it happened because it was just—" She shook her head. "A buildup of so many little things. And I got scared. So I..."

You ran away from him, didn’t you? Sera interrupted and exhaled dramatically, shaking her head. "Girl... you really don’t make things easy for yourself, huh?"

Amelia shot her a glare, but Sera only laughed.

Then, her expression softened. "Look," she said, tilting her head. "I get it. You’re scared. You think if you let yourself feel again, it’s only going to end in pain." She took a slow sip of the wine before continuing, "But you can’t live like that, Amelia. Life isn’t about running away from what might hurt you. It’s about taking the risk, enjoying the ride. Because you were hurt by one person doesn’t mean another will do the same."

Amelia swallowed, gripping the hem of her shirt. "But what if he does?"

Sera grinned, handing her the bottle. "Then you cry, get drunk, and move the hell on. That’s what wine is for."

Amelia let out a breathy chuckle despite herself.

Sera clinked her glass against the bottle. "Here’s my advice: Drink up. Stop overthinking. And, for once in your life, let yourself feel."

Amelia stared at her for a long moment before sighing. Maybe, just maybe , Sera was right.