Rebirth Into My Second Chance

I had just made it back to the Hart family estate, and there was Claude, standing right by the entrance as if he'd been waiting for me.

The deep lines of worry on his face seemed to disappear the moment he laid eyes on me.

However, as I approached, his expression morphed back into one of stern concern. "Why are you back so late, and not a single call?" he demanded.

Stunned, I couldn't help but wonder if, in my previous life, he had waited at the door for me too, especially since I had spent the night at a hotel and only returned home at dawn.

"Couldn't you have called me instead?" I retorted, my smile cryptic and laced with insincerity.

His confusion was palpable.

Challenging him like this was out of character for me; usually, I would just mumble an apology and beg him not to be mad. But today, I confronted him directly.

"Claire Floyd, you're part of the Hart family, and we have rules here..." he started rambling, but I was too impatient to listen. Dodging past him, I sprinted inside, shouting over my shoulder, "I get it! Keep it up, and I'm moving out!"

I didn't glance back to gauge his reaction, but oddly, arguing with him felt exhilarating.

Once in my room-still my own, as I hadn't moved into the master suite yet-I sprawled out on the bed, gazing at the bracelet on my wrist. Everything was still here. Perfect. It felt incredible to be in my body again, to sleep in my own bed after what felt like an eternity. Thud, thud-

Claude was knocking on my door.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Pulling the blanket over my head, I yelled, "I'm sleeping, leave me alone!"

But he persisted, "Claire Floyd, we need to talk."

Reluctantly, I got up, curious about what he wanted to discuss this time around. In my past life, it had been about his engagement to Kate.. Back then, I'd made a fuss, foolishly confessing my feelings and begging him not to marry her.

In my past life, I foolishly thought I'd die if he married Kate.

I remembered causing a scene over Kate's beloved necklace too.

But Claude was likely here over that old grudge.

The necklace incident had been an

accident; I was playing with the cat, Kate tried to join, but the cat wasn't

having it in my attempt to wasn't

prevent the cat from scratching her, I

accidentally broke her necklace, and that's when Claude appeared,

finding Kate in tears.

"I just wanted to pet Claire's cat, but she seemed unwilling," Kate had sobbed, looking utterly vulnerable.

Claude, moved by her tears, had almost decided to give Kate my cat, but thankfully, my cat made its displeasure clear.

Scared, Kate quickly retracted, "Never mind, I'm not much of an animal lover after all."

With these thoughts, I opened the door, leaning casually against the frame. "What did you want to talk about?"

Claude eyed me up and down, then disdainfully tugged at my shirt. "Whose shirt is that?"

It dawned on me then-I had grabbed some random shirt to wear after mine had been torn apart at the hotel.

Realizing this shirt wasn't mine, I now had a lead on identifying the mysterious man from room 6088.

Maybe my inability to suppress a smirk is what really irritated Claude; his annoyance was clearly palpable. "Claire Floyd, I don't care what you do outside, but once you're back here, remember the values of the Hart family. You're a reflection of your mother's upbringing

His words prompted a scoff from me. "So, you're knocking on a young woman's door late at night to lecture me about virtue and decency?"