Chapter 14
“Elizabeth, wake up!”
Amidst the cicadas‘ chirping, my body was violently shaken.
Enduring the stabbing pain in my temples, I jerked my eyes open and stared fixedly at the familiar university dorm.
And Olivia leaning over my bedside, waking me up.
I jolted awake.
What’s going on? Didn’t I die?
Is my life flashing before my eyes?
Olivia stared at me in confusion, urging: “Elizabeth, have you lost your mind? Didn’t you have birthday dinner plans with Benjamin today? It’s already ten at night.
I froze, looking at the clock–the time glaring back was-
May 19, 2014.
Only then I knew this wasn’t life’s final reel; I’d been reborn.
Back to Benjamin’s twentieth birthday.
Here, bone cancer hadn’t claimed me yet; these were life’s
years.
veetest
With Olivia rushing me, I dressed and raced breathlessly to our
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meeting place.
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I was three hours late.
Benjamin sat on the bench outside the restaurant, the moonlight
stretching his shadow long. When he lifted his gaze to meet mine, the light in his eyes swirled like liquid jade.
“Elizabeth, you’re late.”
During our reunion that year, I’d only ever seen deep–seated loathing and lingering hatred in his eyes.
Facing that scorching intensity again now, my breath hitched.
The moment our eyes locked, he abruptly stood.
His near six–foot–three frame leaned against my shoulder.
“My birthday ends in another hour and a half.”
My throat tightened instantly.
A second chance at life, only to endure cancer pain again? To have Benjamin despise me once more?
“Sorry,” I stammered in surprise.
Though his eyes shone with anticipation: “Elizabeth, where’s my gift?”
I was caught off guard.
Truthfully, I’d forgotten his 20th birthday amid my part–time work hustle and hadn’t prepared anything.
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My expression froze: “How about street food stall tonight?”
“I’ll plan something special next year.“Y
Fresh from rebirth, I hadn’t adjusted to this new reality yet. How should I face him now?
But twenty–year–old Benjamin was completely devoted to me.
He’d done nothing wrong–should I vent my resentment toward thirty- year–old Benjamin on him?
But what had thirty–year–old Benjamin actually done?
From his perspective, he’d poured his heart out only to face a sudden breakup.
Not even an explanation. Not when he was in and out of ICU five times, not when he feared life was ending and wanted to see me one last time.
All I offered was a single sentence:
“Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me.”
I think if it were me, I’d resent it too.
But even if I were reborn, my genes wouldn’t change. Bone cancer is hereditary.
So at twenty–two, I’d still be diagnosed.
After fighting it with everything I had, I still couldn’t alter my fate.
I don’t know what I did wrong.
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Why must that wretched life repeat itself?
I couldn’t be that selfish–selfish enough to drag Benjamin into my inevitable end.
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The mere thought of him and Victoria being intimate makes my heart wrench with pain.
But my fate is sealed–I can’t ask for more, only step aside.
Just then, Benjamin’s phone buzzed abruptly.
He unlocked it without suspicion. A multimedia message from Victoria.
He tapped open–a photograph.
In it, Victoria wore a sailor outfit that barely covered her private areas, posing seductively.
