Chapter 5 Second Chance

Hyera exhaled deeply, her heart caught in a strange tangle of disbelief and hope.

Ken chuckled softly as he looked at her stunned expression and shook his head. "What's with that look? I am your official boyfriend, you know. Of course I came to see what happened."

Hanabi smiled warmly and helped Hyera sit up, then busied herself gathering her daughter's things. She knew about Ken and her daughter's relationship-but she had always believed young people should manage their own affairs.

"I'm fine," Hyera said, forcing a small smile. "I just woke up and... my head still hurts a little."

But her voice trembled, betraying the whirlwind of emotions inside her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the wall mirror.

She turned her head.

Slowly, she got up and walked toward it. Her fingers reached up, gently brushing against her face.

Youthful. Clear skin. Soft features untouched by time or trauma.

It wasn't makeup. It wasn't a dream.

This was real.

A wild thought surged through her mind-so intense it made her heart pound.

Suddenly, she bit her finger. Hard.

"Aw!"

The sharp sting shot up her hand, and tears welled in her eyes. But she smiled.

It hurt-and that meant it was real.

She spun around and clutched her mother's arm, her voice panicked. "Mom! Mom... you're thirty-six this year, right?"

Hanabi blinked at her daughter's strange expression and tear-streaked cheeks. "Yes, but... what's with the sudden question? You never remember my birthday, and now this?"

Without answering, Hyera threw her arms around her mother and held her tight, burying her face in her neck.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so, so sorry. I'll remember it forever from now on. I swear."

Hanabi tapped her gently on the forehead, her expression soft and full of love. "Silly girl... What are you apologizing for? I'm not upset. Don't cry anymore, okay? If my little princess cries her eyes red like this, how is she supposed to find her prince?"

She looked around the room, searching for a familiar face-but Ken was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, right," she said, suddenly remembering. "He got a phone call and had to rush out."

But before she could say more, Hyera pulled away and shook her head.

"No, I don't want to find a prince. I just want you, Mom. I want to stay by your side-forever. I don't need anything or anyone else."

Hanabi's eyes softened even more as she hugged her tightly again. "You silly girl..."

But to Hyera, it wasn't silly.

From her mother's words, from everything around her... she had confirmed the truth.

Something so impossible, so unreal, yet undeniably real.

She had been given a second chance.

She had been reborn.

Back to five years ago.

...

Sherwood Family Estate

The sky darkened gradually, thick clouds swallowing the fading daylight. The wind howled outside, and the rain-steady, relentless-lashed against the windows with soft thwack, thwack sounds.

Inside the quiet room, Hyera curled up in her mother's arms, tears still wet on her cheeks. No one knew how long she had cried before exhaustion finally claimed her. Her breathing slowed, her body relaxed, and she drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Hanabi continued to gently pat her back, as if trying to lull away every trace of pain from her daughter's heart.

Hearing movement, Nanny Pia came rushing in with a tray of milk and a slice of cake. Her steps paused at the doorway as her eyes fell on the sleeping girl in Hanabi's arms. She lowered her voice and asked tentatively, "Madam... is Miss Hyera not going to class again today?"

Hanabi gave her a soft, warning glance and raised a finger to her lips. "Shhh," she whispered, signaling Nanny Pia to lower her voice.

Then, with great care, she tucked Hyera beneath the covers.

"It's pouring outside," she said quietly. "How could I let her go out in this weather? What if she catches a cold? She just got discharged from the hospital-I'm not letting my baby girl set foot in there again. Not today. Go tell the driver there's no need to wait by the gate. She's not going to school."

Nanny Pia nodded. "Yes, Madam."

But as she turned to leave, she couldn't help letting out a long sigh. How many days has Miss Hyera skipped school now? she thought. She must've fallen far behind... If she doesn't catch up, she'll be at the bottom of the class again.

Still, what did it matter? The young miss was the heiress to the Sherwood family. The school itself had been built with the old master's donations. Who would dare fail her?

As she stepped out of the room, Nanny Pia caught a glimpse of Hanabi's eyes-red-rimmed and watery. Her heart ached, but she didn't dare linger. She turned away in silence and left.

Sometime in the deep hours of the night, Hyera woke with a start.

She'd had a nightmare-one so vivid it made her break out in a cold sweat. In it, she saw that woman-Kehlani-her so-called stepmother, strangling her real mother with her own hands.

Hyera sat up in bed, breath ragged, and slowly got to her feet. She walked barefoot across the floor and looked out the window.

The old Sherwood estate stood on the outskirts of City B, far from the noise of downtown. Years ago, her grandfather Maverick Sherwood had chosen this peaceful location to recover from an illness, and the place had remained in the family ever since.

The estate itself was a unique blend of Eastern elegance and Western sophistication. Antique vases stood beside sleek marble columns. Oil paintings hung near wooden calligraphy plaques. It was strange-but beautiful.

Outside, the June rain hadn't let up. It continued to fall in steady sheets, soaking the gardens and pattering softly into the flower pot on her windowsill.

Hyera stared out at the dark sky.

So many questions filled her head.

'Should I tell Mom the truth? Should I tell her that Dad already has another woman outside? That Silvia and Tim exist? That everything they built... will eventually be stolen by those two?'

But what proof did she have?

She bit her lip hard.

Even she still couldn't fully believe she had come back from the dead-reborn into her younger self.

'If even I can't understand it... how could Mom possibly believe me?'

She placed her hand flat against the glass, rain thudding gently on the other side.

No... not yet.

There was too much she didn't know. Too much she couldn't explain. If she said something now, would it just sound like a child's nonsense? Would her mother dismiss it... or worse, worry even more?

She had to think.

Had to plan.

This time around... she would be smarter. She would protect her mother. Protect everything that had been taken from her.

But first... she had to figure out what to do next.

***