Chapter 5
A quiet month passed. Mom was getting better every day. She was finally able to move around, even if it was just in a wheelchair.
The care facility was out in the suburbs, with a huge ginkgo forest outside the window. By late autumn, the ground was blanketed in golden leaves.
MOM sat in her wheelchair, watching them fall, and her cheeks started to regain some color.
I put school on hold, worked at a convenience store near the hospital during the day, and spent my nights with Mom in her room. Life was poor, but peaceful.
Until one day, I caught a news segment on TV at the convenience store.
[Michael Stone, CEO of Stone Holdings, just tied the knot with his childhood sweetheart, Evelyn Grant. Celebrities from all walks of life attended the lavish ceremony.]
On the screen, Michael stood beneath a lavish arch of flowers in a tailored suit, Evelyn beside him in a white wedding gown. The two faced the pastor, exchanging their vows. “I do.”
I’d heard those two words in person in my past life.
That day, security stopped me at the entrance. My school uniform still carried the sharp scent of hospital disinfectant. I’d yelled “Dad” into the hall, but my voice was completely drowned out by the wedding March. Later, the guards dragged me away. I fell on the curb, My palms scraping against the concrete and bleeding. When I looked up, the wedding live was broadcasting throughout the giant screen right in front of me.
Michael was proposing a toast, the guests applauded, and Evelyn wore a smile on her face.
No one cared about a sixteen–year–old girl crouched
on the side of the road, crying so hard that she almost couldn’t breathe.
This time, I just stood by the shelves in the
convenience store, watching the wedding on TV, and realized my heart wasn’t even racing.
It didn’t hurt anymore. Maybe it was because I’d already been through the pain once before.
I picked up the rag and kept wiping down the shelves.
But things didn’t end just because I stepped back.
Three days after the wedding, Mandy rang me up again, and I didn’t pick up. She then sent me a
Message: [Nina, Michael wants you to come home. He has something to say to you. Sunday at 3 PM. Don’t be late.]
I glanced at it and didn’t reply.
She sent another one: [Don’t think you can hide forever. We’ll track down your MOM’s hospital eventually. If you don’t want trouble, you’d better do as you’re told.]
I took a screenshot.
In my previous life, I was terrified by threats like that and showed up at the Stone Residence, only to be humiliated by Evelyn for two hours, and she made Me
call her MOM.
I didn’t go this time. Back then, I actually called her MOM. Just remembering it now still made my stomach twist.
But this time, I wasn’t about to go.
I replied: [I, Nina Stone, have changed my phone number. This number will be deactivated in three days. For any legal matters, please contact My attorney.]
I didn’t have an attorney, but she didn’t know that.
I sent the message, and never received a reply from Mandy.
That Sunday at 3 PM, I sat under the ginkgo tree at the nursing home, reading some essays to MOM. The sun was warm, and the breeze smelled faintly of
Osmanthus.
MOM dozed off as I read.
I closed the book and watched her peaceful face. Suddenly, I remembered that back then, at this exact time in my previous life, I was kneeling in front of Evelyn, My Mouth full of bitterness as I called her
MOM.
Now, I was here instead.
That was the point of being reborn. Not for revenge.
But to stop kneeling.