Chapter 3

Reborn, I wasn't sure if this flight would crash again. I guessed Leo wasn't sure either, which was why he was waiting.

Ten minutes before the plane doors closed, I grabbed my luggage, preparing to get off the plane. The flight attendant asked me, confused, "Ma'am, is everything alright? Do you need any help?"

I said, "I suddenly have a fear of flying, and my heart feels uncomfortable."

"I'm voluntarily ending my trip."

After the flight attendant consulted with the pilot, they let me leave.

I returned to the boarding gate, standing by the glass window, watching the plane taxi to the runway. Then it gradually ascended, disappearing from my sight.

I had thought about warning the people on the plane that it might crash. But rebirth felt too ethereal. I was afraid they'd think I was crazy. So, I could only pray in my heart for their safe journey.

I sat in the airport for three hours, constantly staring at Leo's chat logs.

After dropping me off at the airport, he had immediately gone to meet Stella. They met at a hotel. He had screenshotted the group-buy room details and a delivery order for condoms, sending them to her.

He asked her, "Is there anything else you need me to prepare?"

She replied, "I heard men aren't so good after twenty-five. Are you ready?"

He answered, "Maybe not for others, but for you, you'll be the one screaming you're done."

Shortly after that message was sent, a notification popped up on the screen: a consumption record. The details showed a pharmacy, male enhancement products.

I took photos of all the content in their chat and then took a cab to the old house where Leo and I used to live.

Leo and I were college classmates. Though he struggled financially, he was handsome and academically gifted, which made teachers and classmates alike want to look out for him.

My mother, who was also his professor, was especially kind. She often invited him home for dinner and bought him clothes and daily necessities, treating him almost as her own son.

At that time, I only saw him as a classmate. I never thought about dating him.

It wasn't until shortly after college graduation that my mother passed away from cancer.

Leo, along with other classmates, came to mourn my mother. But while others left, he stayed. He helped me tirelessly with all the funeral arrangements.

My father had left when I was very young. After my mother passed, I felt like an orphan. Friends and relatives urged me to be strong. But those two words were easy to say, yet so incredibly difficult to embody.

Thankfully, Leo stayed by my side during that time. He told me, "Iris, I'm here for you."

"Your mother was so kind to me. Now that she's gone, I'll take care of you for the rest of my life."

At first, I didn't want to accept his kindness. A part of me was afraid of falling for him. But no matter how hard I tried to push him away, he remained steadfastly by my side

Everything changed on the first anniversary of my mother's death.

Grief-stricken, I drank too much. I kissed him wildly, tearing at our clothes and pulling him onto the bed. He didn't refuse me. His touch was nothing but gentle.

The next morning, I told him we could pretend it never happened.

But Instead, he immediately asked me to marry him. I was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly refused.

"I don't want you to marry me out of gratitude."

"You've already repaid your debt to my mother."

He didn't say anything, just got dressed and left. I thought he would never come back. But to my surprise, less than an hour later, he reappeared, breathless, with flowers, a ring, and breakfast.

"I want to marry you because I genuinely love you, Iris."

"Not for anyone else, only for you."

That ring, which he bought with all the money he had, is still on my hand today. Even though he bought me many other rings later, I never replaced it.

I opened the door to the old house. Having been empty for so long, the air seemed to float with endless dust.

The familiar scene made me feel like I was witnessing Leo's proposal again. I chuckled self-deprecatingly.

I took off the ring on my right ring finger and placed it on the console by the entrance. Perhaps he and I were a mistake from the very beginning.