Her Rebirth.

Amelia froze.

No wonder he felt familiar earlier.

Just like her, he was the unwanted son of the Blackwood family, Kai Blackwood. Kai Blackwood was a donor child, originally an illegitimate son of the Blackwood family. Before Ace's parents married, his father had been a playboy and had gotten a college student pregnant. She was his lover, and everything seemed to go well until his arranged marriage was announced. Having no choice, he abandoned his lover and her child, Kai.

Ace Blackwood, the legitimate child from the arranged marriage, had been born with several health complications, and Hera Blackwood, his mother, was unable to have another child. But how could she allow her only child to die? He was all she had. So, she took the illegitimate child, killed his mother, and brought him to the Blackwood family to become a donor child. If Ace needed blood, they took it from Kai; if his kidney was bad, they had Kai; if bone marrow was needed, Kai would donate his. This was an open secret in the elite sphere of Country A.

When Ace seemed to get much healthier, the Blackwood family sent Kai abroad, probably because of guilt or simply not wanting an illegitimate child around. No one knew. Kai only came back a year ago, and he had been pretty low-key since then.

The original Amelia had seen Kai for the first time at her engagement party, and she had felt a bit sorry for him because she felt that, though their circumstances were different, they could still comfort each other in some way. But she had noticed Ace's dislike for his brother, so she never spoke to him, and he likewise ignored her. That was how everything had been going until this moment.

"I've always noticed you; it's just that fate never gave us time to speak to each other."

Kai's lips spread into a smile.

"Well, that's good. I was scared for quite a while that you hated me or disliked me."

"You've not done anything to make me hate or dislike you."

Kai looked at her intently before replying, "That is nice to hear, sister-in-law." His smile widened, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. Rather, if one could see clearly, it was cold, devoid of any warmth or emotion.

Amelia noticed it, but she didn't care. She had no reason to. As long as they were not enemies and barely crossed each other's paths, then she was fine.

Amelia, noticing that the rest of the friend group had come to pick up the orange-haired guy, gave Kai back the handkerchief and quickly said, "I have to leave now. You can keep the handkerchief," and turned, following the friend group from behind.

Kai's gaze lingered on her departing figure. His sister-in-law was definitely different. Previously, she would ignore him as if he were some sort of disease. She had also been quite rash and unruly with words, but that was a far cry from what he had just seen.

Had jumping down the bridge affected her brain?

A figure came behind him and said,

"Boss, Master is asking when you will be coming back home."

Kai looked at the handkerchief in his hands.

"Tell him I still have some things to do over here."

---

"When did you and Kai get so close?" Selene whispered to Amelia.

Amelia inwardly sighed. She had already expected the scrutiny, but actually experiencing it was quite annoying.

"We aren't close. I was just apologizing," Amelia clarified.

Selene looked at Amelia suspiciously, not believing what she had said, and Amelia wasn't bothered to further clarify. Whether they believed it or not was none of her business.

Selene and the neon green-haired kid hailed a taxi and took the orange-haired guy to the hospital. Once they had gone, Amelia hailed another taxi to the Blackwood family home.

Once she got home, she saw Ray standing by the door as if he were waiting for her.

Amelia walked past him, too tired to deal with him.

"You reek of alcohol and cigarettes. You were hanging out with those wild friends of yours again, weren't you?" Ray asked spitefully.

Amelia ignored him and reached out for the doorknob, wanting to open the door.

Ray, not expecting to be ignored, became angry.

"Why are you ignoring me? Answer me!"

Amelia held her head, feeling an incoming headache. Ray was still a teenager, so as expected, he had some annoying behaviors, but she really didn't want to deal with any of that, especially not after the event she had just gone through. So she said as gently as possible,

"Yes, I was, and I am currently tired, so please do not disturb me."

Ray frowned at Amelia's indifferent tone, his irritation growing. He stepped forward, blocking her way.

"You're really something else," he scoffed. "Hanging out with those lowlifes when our family's reputation is already in shambles."

Amelia exhaled slowly, resisting the urge to snap at him. She was exhausted, and she really didn't have the energy for this.

"If you have something to say, just say it, Ray," she said, rubbing her temples. "Otherwise, move aside."

Ray crossed his arms, his expression darkening.

"Fine. Grandfather's birthday is in two weeks. The whole family is gathering, and he expects you to be there."

Amelia's fingers paused on the doorknob. Grandfather?

She hadn't even thought about him since she woke up in this body. From what she recalled, the old man was strict, traditional, and wielded immense influence over the Cosgrove family. Even Amelia's father, Mason, couldn't go against him. However, he loved Amelia and spoiled her, though this was mainly out of guilt , guilt that he had forced her parents to marry, which eventually led to her neglect. To make up for this, he spoiled her immensely. However, the original Amelia didn't like this grandfather of hers; in fact, she partly blamed him for the things going wrong in her life. The only time she truly appreciated him was when he organized her engagement with Ace Blackwood.

"Two weeks, huh?" she murmured.

Ray narrowed his eyes.

"You better not embarrass us when the time comes."

Amelia finally turned to look at him, her gaze cool and unreadable.

"That depends," she said evenly. "Will you all give me a reason to?"

Ray stiffened, caught off guard by her tone. For years, Amelia had been the loud, brash troublemaker, easily provoked and reckless with her words. But now, there was something unnerving about her calmness, something he couldn't quite place.

Before he could retort, Amelia turned the knob and pushed the door open. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Good night, Ray," she said, stepping inside and closing it behind her.

Ray stood outside for a moment, his fists clenched. Something was different about her. He just didn't know what.