Chapter 2

The boy was wearing a basketball uniform and holding a ball, standing under a tree in the shade. His hair was slightly damp, and his handsome face was covered in shadows. He was looking over here.

It was Gerard Robertson!

What was he doing here? In this time, I met him even earlier than in the previous life...

I stood there, unsettled, until Sebastian's voice brought me back to reality, and I realized that Gerard had already disappeared.

After that, I was becoming increasingly restless.

The next day, I calmed down my emotions and went to class with my roommate. On the way, I ran into a senior I knew. The senior helped me carry my luggage when I first arrived and then started pursuing me passionately. Yet now, he seemed to avoid seeing me as if I were a disaster.

Even my roommate noticed something was off.

"What's wrong with him? He used to approach you eagerly, but now he pretends not to see you?"

Curious, my roommate asked around and found out that the senior had recently been beaten up.

She looked at me with a complex expression.

"Allison, the campus tough guy next door declared that you are his girlfriend."

My roommate thought I was just embarrassed by such a bold claim, but little did she know that I was so scared that I could hardly breathe.

In my previous life, I only got to know Gerard after establishing a relationship with Sebastian.

At this time in my previous life, Gerard shouldn't have known me yet.

5.

I had thought that I would not have any interaction with them in this life, but it seemed that it would be difficult to avoid them.

Relying on the minutiae of the memories of the previous life, I finally located that place. However, unexpectedly, I saw an acquaintance from the previous life here.

She was not yet fifty, but her hair was already half gray.

The woman looked into my eyes and smiled gently.

On the return bus, there was only one empty seat left.

As I approached, I noticed the person next to it was asleep, his face obscured by a hat.

I sat down quietly, lost in thought about everything.

Just as I was deep in contemplation, the driver suddenly braked hard, and immediately a chorus of curses resounded in the carriage.

In the midst of the chaos, the person next to me stirred, as if he was about to wake up.

"Allison."

His voice that reached my ears was like a haunting whisper, unforgettable and chilling.

I turned mechanically, like a puppet, and when our eyes met, I was struck with a fear so intense it rendered me speechless.

I clenched my fists so tightly that my fingers were digging into my palms, and I struggled to keep myself calm.

I had only vaguely suspected that he was Gerard before, but now I finally knew for sure that he was Gerard.

I adjusted myself, just staring at him in confusion without speaking.

Gerard's smile deepened, leaving me bewildered.

After a long silence without him speaking, I remained tense, like a puppet was being pulled by a string.

Gerard seemed exhausted and soon fell back into a deep sleep.

My mind was in turmoil, tangled with countless threads I couldn't unravel.

The memories of the previous life surged forward powerfully, so forcefully that I almost couldn't sit still.

Sebastian, usually so reserved and aloof, blushed and declared his love for me, while Gerard, standing by, had gripped my chin painfully, forcing me to declare my love for him over and over.

I was sweating profusely, as if the seat had been covered with dense thorns, compelling me to seek escape.

As I got off the bus, I glanced back to see Gerard still asleep in his seat. Even so, I dared not relax and ran desperately as if being pursued.

I ran until I was exhausted, finally stopping to catch my breath, hands on my knees.

"Allie." The voice, so tender and melodic, however, made me shiver uncontrollably.

It was the nickname they had given me in my previous life.

I forced myself to look up and found Gerard smiling at me.

6.

It was like a nightmare; my legs gave way, and I collapsed to the ground.

His steps were graceful, yet they drew closer and closer. With each step he took, my heart seemed to be trampled under his feet, inducing intolerable agony.

He forced me to look up, savoring the fear and despair in my eyes as if admiring a work of art.

"I finally found you."

Gerard yanked me up as if I were a cloth doll and firmly confined me within his embrace.

My eyes widened, my mind unable to process anything.

At this time in my previous life, I didn't have this nickname yet.

His hand traced my brows, my cheeks, finally resting on my lips.

"Allison, it was only after you died that I realized how important you were. This time, I won't share you with him."

Hearing this, my heart sank into despair.

His kisses rained down on my neck, and Gerard cruelly bit down hard.

He was like a demon, devouring my hope and leaving me with nothing but endless despair.

The wind rustled the grass, rising and falling like waves.

For me, at this moment, it felt like I was in hell.

7.

No! I must by no means replicate the life of my previous incarnation!

I refused to live a life without hope again!

I eventually regained sobriety from terror and lashed out at Gerard with punches and kicks, only to be effortlessly subdued by him.

He picked me up with one hand and threw me straight into his car.

I tried to escape by opening the door, but he was prepared, tying me to the seat with a rope.

I struggled desperately, biting his hand until it was bloody and raw.

Gerard, however, felt no pain as if, smiling, he pressed me down on the seat and bit my chin vindictively. He bit with all his might, and with just one bite, the pain was so severe that it made me shed tears.

In the end, I was still locked up in his villa in the suburbs.

Gerard, who had also been reborn, was completely as mad as he was in the previous life.

Once I calmed down, I tried to communicate with him. He, however, repeatedly made me pledge that I would not leave. Whenever what I said was not this, he would firmly seal my mouth, depriving me of the opportunity to speak.

I hated it when fate played a cruel joke on me, when what I thought was hope turns out to be even deeper despair.

I refused to eat or drink, and though only two days passed, it felt like ten years.

That night, I dreamt of my mother, and in the dream, I saw that she had never given up searching for me during the ten years that I was missing.

I pitied others for their gray hair, never imagining my mother in the dream would look even more aged.

I woke up with tears streaming down my face, vowing silently that I would survive and leave this place to see my mother again.