REBORN: Not Another Mistake

At Peace

CHAPTER TWO: At Peace

The warmth of sunlight hit my face, soft and golden, spreading across my skin. I lay still for a moment, confused by the sensation. There was no darkness pressing against my eyes. No cold stone beneath me. No iron door sealing me in.

Only warmth.

So this is what death feels like?

I had expected something darker, something colder. I had expected silence and emptiness, not this golden light filtering through my closed eyelids.

I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the brightness.

I stared around in confusion.

White curtains, cream-colored walls, a large bed. A familiar dresser beside the window.

Sunlight.

Actual sunlight.

I brought my hands forward and stared at them. They weren't thin and bruised anymore. They were smooth and soft.

My fingers trembled as I touched my face.

No cracked lips or sunken cheeks and no blood. I tried swallowing and the pain wasn't there.

Was I finally in heaven?

I stumbled out of bed and ran toward the mirror.

I gasped.

The woman staring back at me was someone I hadn't seen in years.

Young, alive and healthy.

I touched my reflection and she touched me back.

My heart began pounding.

"No..." I whispered and stepped backward.

This couldn't be real.

I looked toward the bedside table. There was a phone sitting there. I grabbed it with shaky hands. The date on the screen made my blood run cold.

I knew that date.

I remembered it.

It was exactly the day my father told me about his debt, the day he asked me to marry Lucian.

Today was exactly the day my entire life changed.

My knees nearly gave out. I grabbed the edge of the table.

"No." My voice cracked. "No, no, no..." I whispered, shaking my head in disbelief.

I wasn't dead.

I was here. Before the marriage, before the betrayal, before the dungeon, before Lucian.

A sob escaped me.

I was given another chance.

My fingers dug into my palm at the realization. This time? I wasn't going to waste it.

A knock at my door made me flinch.

"Lydia? Are you awake?" Selene's voice came through. Light and cheerful.

"Lydia?" She knocked again. "Are you all right in there?"

I forced myself to take a deep breath, and released it.

"Yes," I managed to say, my voice steady despite the pounding of my heart. "I'm awake."

"Good. Father wants everyone in the dining room in an hour. He said it's important."

My hands trembled beside me. I pressed them against my thighs to steady them.

"I'll be there."

Her footsteps retreated down the hall. I listened until they faded completely, and then I let out the breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

I changed into a simple dress and stared at myself in the mirror once more.

"You got this," I whispered.

I went downstairs.

The moment I entered the dining room, the memories came rushing back.

My father was seated at the head of the table with my stepmother beside him.

And across from her was my stepsister, Elena. I stared at her in disgust.

My stomach twisted and my hands turned to fists by my side.

This was the same person who had held my hand when I cried. The person who told me I was the only sister she could trust. The person who had manipulated me into revealing pieces of Lucian's life. The person who had ultimately caused my death.

She smiled at me. "What are you looking at?" she questioned.

I forced myself to look away. "Nothing." I swallowed.

My father cleared his throat.

"Sit down."

I sat.

The same command, the same tone.

For a second, my old instinct returned.

Lower your head. Don't argue, don't make things worse.

"There's something I need to discuss with you," he started.

Here it comes.

I kept my expression neutral, careful not to show any emotion.

"Yes, Father?"

He cleared his throat, and for a moment, he looked almost ashamed. But then the mask settled back into place, and he was the same cold, calculating man I had always known.

"I've made a mistake," he said. "A serious mistake. I borrowed money from a man... a dangerous man. And unfortunately, I couldn't repay him."

I stayed silent.

In my first life, I had gasped and asked questions worried. I had immediately tried to find a way to help and had willingly offered myself up like a lamb to slaughter.

This time, I said nothing.

My father frowned. Maybe he had expected a reaction, maybe he had expected me to leap in and try to fix things, the way I always did.

"I'm telling you this," he continued, his voice hardening, "because I need your help. The man I borrowed from, Lucian Bianchi—has offered me a way to settle the debt. A way that will save our family."

I let the name roll through my mind. Lucian Bianchi. The man who had locked me in a dungeon and left me to die.

"Lucian Bianchi," I repeated aloud, my voice flat.

"Yes." My father leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with desperation. "He's a powerful man. Very powerful. And he has agreed to settle the debt in exchange for a wife. A wife from this family."

He paused, his eyes meeting mine. "I thought you would be the most suitable candidate. Selene isn't old enough."

There it is.

The same words. The same expectation.

In my first life, I had felt a flash of hurt at being chosen over Selene. I had known, deep down, that my father didn't value me as much as her and had accepted that. I had always accepted everything.

But this time, I heard the truth behind his words.

He was offering me up because I was easier to control. Because I would go along with it without complaint. Because I had spent my entire life agreeing to everything.

But not this time.

"No." I swallowed.

The word hung in the air.

My father blinked. "Excuse me?"

"No," I repeated, my voice calm but firm. "I won't do it. I won't marry Lucian Bianchi to settle your debt." I lifted my head up high.

Silence stretched for a while. My stepmother's mouth dropped open and Selene's eyes widened with surprise. My father's face slowly turned red with anger.

"Lydia." He spoke through gritted teeth. "I don't think you understand the situation. If I don't repay this debt, our entire family will be destroyed. We'll lose everything. The house, the business, our name. We'll be ruined."

I stared at him for a while. "I'm not marrying him," I blurted.

"You are my daughter." My father snapped.

"And that doesn't make me responsible for your debt." I shouted back.

His face reddened more as he stared at me in disbelief.

The old Lydia would have apologized.

She would have cried and would have begged him not to be angry.

But now, this Lydia did none of those things. I looked directly at him.

"You made the decision to borrow the money. You can make the decision to repay it." My hands tightened on my dress as I let the words come out, suppressing the fear that settled inside me.

My stepmother slammed her hand against the table. "How dare you speak to your father like that?"

I didn't flinch, instead, I turned toward her.

"How dare you expect me to marry a stranger because of someone else's mistake?"

Nobody said anything again. They were all too shocked at what I had done.

Without waiting, I turned and walked away.

I had barely reached the hallway when I heard my father shouting behind me.

"Lydia!"

I didn't stop.

For the first time in my life, I walked away from him and I was happy about it.

I made it upstairs before my hands started shaking. I closed the bedroom door and leaned against it.

I had done it. I had said no.

I took a deep breath, walked toward the window and stared outside.

Maybe I could leave. Maybe I could disappear before Lucian ever saw me. Maybe I could build a completely different life.

I closed my eyes and inhaled the fresh air that screamed freedom.

When I opened my eyes, I saw black cars entering the estate gates.

The smile on my face disappeared.

Three.

No.

Four cars.

My heart began racing. I knew those cars. I had seen them before.

A familiar figure stepped out of the first one.

Tall, broad shoulders, black suit with the same cold expression.

I knew exactly who it was even without looking at the face.

Lucian.

My fingers tightened around the curtain.

Why was he here?

I watched him walk toward the house and my breathing became shallow.