hotmtlnovel Chapter 153 I Did That
Chapter 153 I Did That
[LINA]
I was in my room, surrounded by the familiar comforts of a past I thought I'd lost forever. My heart raced as I realized what was happening.
Experience tales at empire
I wasn't 34 anymore. I wasn't the broken woman mourning the loss of everyone I loved.
I was young again. Before the tragedy. Before the loss.
I don't know how it happened. At first, I thought it was just a dream, but it felt far too real to be an illusion.
This had to be a second chance—a chance to rewrite everything!
This time, I wouldn't let it happen. This time, I would save them all.
"Lina, are you up?"
The knock on my door startled me, but the voice on the other side froze me in place. It was a voice I never thought I'd hear again—a voice I'd mourned for years.
Cole's voice.
He was alive!
I stumbled out of bed, my legs trembling as if they'd forgotten how to carry me.
When I flung the door open, there he stood. My brother. My twin. The other half of me I thought I'd lost forever. His face was familiar, yet surreal, a cruel trick of fate, or perhaps the most merciful blessing.
Without thinking, I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. Tears streamed down my face, unbidden and unstoppable.
"Cole," I whispered, my voice shaking, "you're here. You're really here."
He stiffened in my embrace, clearly taken aback. With a soft chuckle, he gently pushed me away and flicked my forehead like he always did when I was being "
too
much
."
There was no time to craft a perfect plan. No time to think rationally. My mind latched onto one idea—extreme, desperate, and reckless.
But desperate times called for desperate measures.
I had to stop whatever would happen at the Ashford mansion. I had to ensure Eve chose Cole this time. If my happiness was the price to pay, then so be it.
I closed my eyes, summoning every detail from the CCTV footage I'd pored over in the past, back when I was desperate for answers.
Lily Ashford had gone to the garden, where Daniel had been waiting for her. He rejected her, of course. But Eve, hiding behind a tree, had overheard everything. When she tried to leave, Daniel noticed her and stopped her.
And that was when everything fell apart.
Daniel confessed his feelings to Eve, and she, for reasons I'd never understand, accepted his courtship. That single moment had set the wheels of tragedy in motion.
I clenched my fists. That moment was what I had to stop—at all costs.
I have one plan. And if I wanted this plan to work, I needed someone I could trust, someone capable of outmaneuvering Cole.
There was only one person.
Dylan. My bodyguard. My first and only love.
If anyone could help me pull this off, it was him.
I couldn't turn to Mom and Dad for help. They'd ask too many questions, and it might jeopardize everything. Besides, Father was out of the country with Mother right now. Even after all these years, they were still in their honeymoon phase.
This was my life's purpose of having a second chance. Even if it meant resorting to extreme measures. Even if it meant risking everything.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself. "So be it," I whispered to the empty room.
This were our second chance. And I wasn't going to waste it.
=== ???? ===
Coming face to face with Dylan now, memories of the past surged through me like an unstoppable tide. Every detail, every moment, came rushing back, threatening to overwhelm me.
Dylan was a war orphan, a child hardened by unimaginable suffering.
From an age when most children still played with toys, he had known only survival. He'd been a guerrilla fighter, a child soldier forced to bear arms in battles that should never have involved him.