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    bChapter /bb101 /b

    ALINA’S POV

    “I have been reborn.”

    55 vouchers

    As soon as the words were out of my mouth, a strange wave of lightness washed over me. It was like unburdening a secret I had been carrying for too long.

    I waited for Talia to say something, anything.

    She blinked. Then blinked again.

    “Okay.” She finally said.

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    “Okay?” I asked, stunned.

    “Yeah. You’re telling the truth, right?” She asked in a calm tone.

    “Yes, I am. I swear.” I responded quickly.

    “Alright then.” She shrugged.

    “How are you so calm? I mean, I just told you that I’ve lived this life before, died, and was reborn,and you just go with it?” My tone wavered between confusion and disbelief.

    It’s not like I wasn’t happy she believed me. I was. It made everything easier. I just… I mean, if I were in her shoes, I’d be skeptical, maybe even freaked out.

    “I mean, sure it is hard to believe. This sounds like something straight out of a movie,” Talia said, “but the fact that you’ve mentioned it before made me realize you’re not joking.”

    “I have?” I asked, confused, trying to recall when I might have said something like that.

    “Yeah. When I asked how you suddenly knew how to fight,” she reminded me. “You might not have said it directly, and I might have waved it off, but it kept bugging me.”

    “Oh.” I said, not knowing what else to say.

    “It all makes sense now. Why you suddenly showed up at my door apologizing. Why you, who always listened to Seraphina and chased after Adrian all day, suddenly can’t stand them. And most of all, you, who hated Mr. ckwood, now love him.” She listed each point with a nod of understanding. b“/bWhat exactly happened in this past life of yours?” She asked curiously.

    “Everything was pretty much the same… until the night of my engagement to Lucian. I was reborn that exact day,” I told her. “But in my past life, I didn’t change that night. I kept fighting Lucian until I pushed away everyone who cared about me.” My voice dropped.

    “And I left?” Talia frowned. “I find it hard to believe I would leave you just because you said so.”

    17:53 Thub, /bbSep /bb18 /bN

    53

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    “I thought you did. But on the day I was killed… Seraphina told me you had found evidence of what they were up to and bwere /bgoing to show it to me. But they killed you before you could. All along, I thought you left the country to be with your parents. I never knew you were dead, killed. And it’s all my fault.” I stared at my hands, ying with my fingers as the waterworks began again.

    “Hey, hey. I’m right here, okay? I’m fine. Nothing’s going to happen to me.” Talia cupped my face gently in her hands.

    “I’m bso /bsorry, Talia. I’m sorry for being a horrible friend and for trying to push you away when all you’ve ever done is look out for me.” I ced my hands over hers.

    “I thought we were done with the apologies the day you came to my house, morning after your engagement, if I’m not mistaken.” She reminded me softly. “No need for apologies, baby.”

    “I know. I just… I owe you and Lucian so much.” I told her.

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    “Well, you’ve got this lifetime to make it up, and I know you won’t mess it up.” She smiled at me.

    “I won’t.” I promised, shaking my head.

    “Good.” She wiped my tears away with her thumbs. “Now, what role does Jacobi y in all of this?b” /b

    “Well, after Adrian and Seraphina tricked me into signing Lucian’s empire over to them, they kidnapped me and took me downtown. That’s where I met Cobi. He was one of the guys asked to keep an eye on me. He’s a good guy, just made a lot of bad decisions trying to survive. Luckily, he took a liking to me. Said I reminded him of his sister. He was the one who taught me how to fight and defend myself.”

    “I see.” She nodded, eyes fixed on mine.

    “He was so kind to me, always making sure I had something to eat. He was going to help me escape, but… he was shot before we could get far. Right in front of me. One bullet. Straight to the head.” The image shed before my eyes again, cold and vivid.

    “Where was Lucian all this while? I fail to believe he would just watch you suffer and do nothing.” Talia said.

    I ignore the shock of hearing her call him Lucian for the first time and continued.

    “After I kept pushing him away, he finally decided to let me go and be with Adrian. He thought it’d make me happy. After that, he left the country. When he realized what was happening and tried to get to me, he got into a fatal ident. Adrian and Seraphina had cut his brakes… and he didn’t realize until it was toote.” My eyes blurred with tears. “In the end, I was stabbed and burned to death in an abandoned warehouse, all alone.”

    Before I could stop it, the memory yanked me under. I could feel the mes licking my skin again, the heat crawling up my blegs /bas I weakly tried to escape.

    I didn’t even realize I was screaming, wing at myself, until Talia’s voice broke through.

    b“/bAlinab!/bb” /b

    “Alinab!/b”

    b53 /b

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    I could hear her voice through the sound of the burning mes but it sounded distant, like it wasing from beyond the fire.

    “Listen to the sound of my voice. It isn’t real. You are safe. You’re safe, baby, I’m right here.”

    I felt her pull me into her arms, grounding me, whispering again and again that I was okay. Slowly, the mes faded.

    “I can’t begin to imagine the pain and torture you must have endured… but whichever higher power is up there gave you another chance to make things right, and so far, you’ve been doing a great job. Don’t let your past life hold so much power over you, baby.” Her voice was warm and steady in my ear as she continued to murmur words of encouragement.

    I breathed in herforting scent until I could finally calm down.

    “Thank you.” I whispered.

    “I’ve got you, baby.” She pulled back to look at me. “You’re not alone, Alina, not anymore. You don’t have to do this alone. I’m going to help you destroy every single person that’s ever hurt you. That’s a promise.”

    Talia’s expression was fierce, dangerous. A look that told me that she didn’t n to y by the rules, and she never would.

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