Chapter 2

I lowered my gaze, avoiding Mrs. Thorne's desperate stare.

"Mrs. Thorne, the idea of bringing someone back from the dead is far too fantastical. I truly can't help you."

Disappointment clouded Mrs. Thorne's face, but she clung to my hand desperately.

"Skylar, our families have been close for generations. Please, have pity on me. Just save Tristan's life!"

The Thorne family wielded immense power. If I refused, they would find a way to make me bend.

I was still trying to devise an escape when the room door burst open.

"Mom, why are you wasting time talking to a con artist?!"

Tristan, pale, leaned against the doorframe, his eyes sharp.

"Don't play coy! You're just trying to play hard to get, to raise your own value!"

The moment he spoke, I knew it for certain: Tristan had also been reborn.

But Mrs. Thorne was still persistent:

"Tristan, the doctors have given up all hope! Skylar is your last chance!"

He sneered, his face etched with calculation.

"I'll find my own way."

"Besides, Brooke is the *real* innate conduit. With her by my side, I can overcome any challenge!"

When he spoke of Brooke, his voice was filled with an undisguised fondness.

In my last life, Tristan always said that if it weren't for saving him, I wouldn't have lost our child, and he would have cherished and loved me forever.

He spoke of love, yet in his heart, Brooke was the only one.

Now, he'd returned with his memories, and I was no longer useful to him. Naturally, he wouldn't give me another chance to entangle myself with him.

This time, I just wanted to protect my family and sever all ties with the Thornes.

"The Life-Exchange Ritual, it defies the natural order. There's always a price, a bitter backlash. Mr. Thorne, your wisdom is a blessing."

I spoke calmly, then bid Mrs. Thorne farewell.

As I reached the elevator, Tristan's voice cut through the air behind me.

"Stop right there!"

I didn't pause, instead pressing the down arrow.

The next second, he lunged, grabbing my wrist and pinning me against the wall.

My heart pounded as I looked up at him, terrified.

"Mr. Thorne, what are you doing?! I've already refused your mother. Just let me go!"

He stared at me, a cruel curve on his lips.

"Stop acting, Skylar. You instinctively touched your stomach just now."

"That movement was exactly like it was in your last life, right before you gave birth."

"You came back too, didn't you?"

Since I was exposed, I dropped all pretense, looking at him coldly.

"So what? What do you want?"

Tristan scoffed:

"Everything you owed me in the last life, I'll collect from you in this one."

"I'm warning you, stay away from Brooke, or I'll make sure your parents spend the rest of their lives in jail!"