Chapter 5

I looked at her, my heart sinking deeper and deeper into despair. She'd forgotten that today was actually my birthday too. Brandon and I were born on the same day, same month, same year. Only one was in the clouds, and the other in the mud.

She immediately summoned the bodyguards to restrain me and threw a combat knife at my feet. Her words were almost merciless. "However much blood he spilled, you'll pay back double!"

I stared at her in disbelief. "Eleanor, are you insane?!"

I began to struggle violently. But she only gave me a glance and ordered the bodyguards to act. Sharp pain instantly shot through my arm, and warm blood immediately welled up. I groaned, cold sweat beaded on my forehead, and I bit down hard, my mouth filled with a metallic taste.

The second cut, the third cut… I didn't know how many times I was cut, only that the pain had turned numb, and everything before my eyes began to blur. I looked at Eleanor's cold face, at the triumphant smirk on Brandon's lips as he lay in her arms.

My heart truly died.

"Enough," Eleanor finally said, stopping the bodyguards. "After you're done, take him to the hospital."

With that, she didn't look at me again, carrying Brandon in her arms as she swept out. I lay in a pool of blood, my consciousness slowly fading. Before I completely lost consciousness, I thought I saw that earthquake again. This time, Eleanor wasn't shielding me. She simply stood by, coldly watching as I was swallowed by massive rubble, not a ripple in her eyes.

Eleanor, this debt for saving my life, I've repaid it.

When I opened my eyes again, the scent of hospital disinfectant hung in the air. Eleanor sat by my bedside. Seeing me awake, her eyes lit up. "I'm sorry," she suddenly said.

I froze.

"Last night, I went too far." She lowered her eyes, her voice filled with regret. "I was so angry at the time; I couldn't control my emotions. I…"

"So?" I cut her off, asking calmly, "Are you saying you regret it?"

She sharply looked up, her lips moved, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, it was just a sigh. "Julian, don't talk to me like that." Her voice softened. "I know you hate me, but Brandon really almost died."

"Eleanor," I looked into her eyes. "You don't need to apologize. Just consider this me repaying what I owed you."

"Owed me?" She frowned, clearly not understanding what I meant.

"Yes." I managed a bitter smile. "In my previous life, you saved my life during the earthquake. In this life, I've repaid you with a life. We're even now."

As I finished speaking, a crash sounded as the chair was knocked over by her sudden movement. Her lips trembled, and her pupils constricted violently in shock. "You… you were reborn too?"