Reborn as the Billionaire's Son

James’ POV What the f**k is going on? My eyes fluttered open. White ceiling. Sterile walls. The beep of a heart monitor filled the room. Definitely not the afterlife. A woman gripped my hand, eyes brimming with tears. “You made it, son. We’re so happy you’re okay.” She looked older. Expensive pearls. Perfect makeup, despite the smudge from tears. A man I assumed was her husband stood behind her, thin, sharp, and silent. They didn’t look familiar in any way. “We’ve hired the best doctors,” he said. “You’ll be back to normal in no time.” Normal? The previous morning: The noise coming from my window woke me up. Ever since my parents and I had moved in to this apartment, my sleep schedule had been determined by the whims of my neighbors. They were very early morning people, 4 am type morning people. I lay there too lazy to get up. It was still too early. What would I be doing up by this time? I thought to myself as I pressed my head deeper into my pillow hoping that somehow doing so would drown out the clanging pots and religious music being played through my window. I stared at my phone for a little while. No notifications. No messages. I managed to squeeze in two extra hours of sleep somehow and I got up still not feeling quite as refreshed as I wanted to. I had moved back to my parent’s place, one of the worst decisions I had made, after finishing college. My uncertainty regarding my future gnawed at me every waking day. My parents liked to tell themselves that we were not poor, but our living situation told a different story. I had mixed feelings about my life, on one hand I was grateful I could eat at least and I had the basic things I guess, but on the other hand was a hunger a gnawing deep within me that never seemed to let up. Because I knew things could be better, they should be better. I dragged myself to the bathroom I shared with my father. I opened up the bathroom, and the pungent odor of urine greeted me. I did my best to flush it away and opened the windows knowing my father would complain. I waited until the atmosphere was bearable and then I brushed my teeth and cleaned up. I went to the living area where my mum had already prepared breakfast and was now about to go get ready for work. “Good morning mum.” “Good morning son, how did you sleep?” “Good,” I lied. I didn’t like how I was made to feel bad about not putting up with the situation, so I just lied. It was much easier that way. “I need you to go pick up some things for me later, okay? I’ll give you the details before I leave for work.” She said, hurrying to her bedroom after setting breakfast on the table to get ready. My father slouched on the couch already switching between stations. He rarely slept in his bedroom due to the noise that came from the neighbors. He had made complaints several times, but nothing had been done. Rather than move he decided we continue to live in the same place because it was cheap. And so that had been my life for seven years. The happiest days of my life had been those I spent in college, which was sad because I didn’t really have anything going on for myself, no girlfriend, barely any friends because I always tried to save and make the most of my allowance. It was one of those normal mornings. I tried to always keep myself positive, but more recently I felt a part of me dying more each day. My self-confidence was in the dumps, but somehow, I held on to life with the hopes that I would wake up to a different reality one day. I left the house and I got my things. I put in my earbuds, a cheap imitation of the real thing, but hey at least they worked, and I went out to complete my errands. I tried listening to a podcast to get my mind off things but it wasn’t working today. So, I just walked unable to hide from my thoughts. I was particularly annoyed with the girl that blew me off the previous day. Ruth, I had approached her one random day and got her number, she seemed nice and I regularly fantasized about when she would become my girlfriend. I had seen the signs that she didn’t really care for me, but I willfully ignored them. She tossed me crumbs of affection. Just enough to keep me hoping. “I hate my life,” I murmured to myself as I stood at the corner of the street. “How can other people seem so happy?” I continued to myself as I watched others pass by a light and hope in their eyes I had long since lost. The thought of hanging myself had crossed my mind before, but I could not risk condemning myself to an afterlife filled with torture. And so, I condemned myself to this, day after day, week after week, month after month. I was about to cross the road and I thought I checked the road clearly before crossing, when suddenly I heard a shout. A horn blaring. My head snapped in the other direction to see an oncoming vehicle that had been driving on the other side of the road. The only thought that crossed my mind in that moment was relief. It was finally going to be over, and I didn’t have to do it myself. Everything went dark. There was no pain. Nothing. At least for a while. “He’s waking up, he’s waking up.” Oh no, I thought to myself.