Rebirth: Love me Again

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BONUS

Chapter for reaching 400PS! Thank you all!🤍 ]

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[EVE]

I stepped onto the school grounds, and felt that familiar intense gazes and whispers.

The gloomy clouds promised snow throughout the day, but nothing was more freezing than the chill creeping into my bones from the whispers and stares surrounding me.

Cole was right behind me, his presence both reassuring and suffocating—like a shadow that wouldn't let me breathe freely.

Hiring bodyguards wasn't uncommon here. In fact, it was almost expected at this elite academy, where status dictated everything.

Many students strutted around with their own guards in tow, flaunting their wealth and connections as if they were fashion accessories, so Cole's presence didn't raise any eyebrows.

Before I belonged to one of them, but now, I would never be one of them; I was just a nobody orphan trying to carve out a place in a world that seemed determined to remind me of my insignificance.

But no matter how much I tried to block it out, their voices reached me—sharp, biting, and filled with venom.

"She's nothing but an orphan."

"Did you hear? Sophie's the real Rosette now."

"Turns out she's the

real

heiress, and the other one's just an orphan playing pretend."

"She acted like she was someone important before, but in fact—she's only a nobody worse than a beggar."

"Now that everyone knows the truth, what does she have left?"

"Even though Sinclair adopted her, the moment he dies, she'll be left with

nothing

."

"There's no way the Rosettes would give someone like

her

a piece of their empire. She's a ghost in their world."

"Her marriage prospects are bleak too. Who would want to marry an orphan?"

Each word stung like a lash, a brutal reminder that I had no family, no one tied to me by blood. If there ever was, they were nothing more than ghosts, lost to me in a world too vast to navigate on my own.

The hollow space inside me—where a family should've been—ached with every step.

Where were they? How could I even begin to find them?

I clung to the only thread I had—the orphanage where Sullivan had found me.

That was where my past began. If I could just trace it back, if I could just find that place, maybe I could start to unravel the mystery of who I really was.

Reality, however, had other plans. There was no chance Sullivan would ever tell me where the orphanage was.

How ironic that the only ones who held the key to my past—the ones who might know where my parents were—were my enemies.

I continued on my way, keeping my head high, forcing myself not to falter.

I felt the judging stares pressing down on me, and I tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

Luckily, they didn't seem to suspect that the guy behind me was Cole. That at least made this bearable.

"You stay here," I said firmly to Cole when he moved to follow me into the classroom. "Outsiders aren't allowed in."

He didn't flinch at my order, instead casually replying, "Are the gossips bothering you?"

"Huh?" His tone caught me off guard—it was colder, sharper than usual.

"If they're bothering you," he continued, "I'll handle it."

I rolled my eyes. "You might be a Fay, but even you can't control every student's mind and stop them from gossiping."

"I can," he said, full of confidence, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I shook my head, exasperated. "Sure you can." Without giving him another glance, I stepped into the room, ignoring the ripple of whispers.

The buzz of conversation faded into an eerie silence. The moment I walked through the door, it felt as if I'd crossed an invisible line, entering an alternate reality where everyone's eyes fixated on me.

I was used to the feeling of being the center of attention, not in a good way because of my reputation in the past. Though the spotlight this time around seemed more intense than usual.

My heart raced as I glanced around the room, only to find Sophie surrounded by a gaggle of admirers, all eager to cozy up to her, drawn by the allure of her new status as a Rosette heiress.

Before all this, Sophie had been just a maid—someone the students dismissed with barely a second glance.

Now, the tables had turned, and she reveled in the attention, basking in the glow of popularity like a sunflower following the sun.

Her laughter rang out, bright and infectious, drawing even more people towards her.

It was comical, really, how quickly allegiances shifted. I recalled the days when Sophie was ignored, when her presence barely stirred a ripple in the social pond.

Now, she was at the center of it all, her every word hanging like gold in the air, the other students clinging to her every syllable as if they were secrets of the universe.

"Look, it's the orphan," a voice called out, breaking the spell.

I turned to see a group of my classmates whispering. My heart sank. Their sneers were daggers, and I could practically feel them piercing my confidence.

"Oh, I heard she's trying to get in good with the Rosettes," another chimed in, her voice dripping with mockery. "As if that could ever happen now."

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to breathe.

Why did their opinions matter?

I had more important things to focus on than petty high school drama. I had my investments, my goals, my life that I was building.

Jessica's group paraded toward me, her posse trailing behind like loyal shadows. In our class, they were the untouchables—the bullies everyone feared, with Jessica at the helm.

Her father and mother held high-ranking political positions, and they have connections with the police and the many judges in the country, so she could get away with anything. No one dared to cross her.

"Well, well, look who we have here," Jessica sneered, flipping her perfectly styled hair over her shoulder. "The orphan girl who got adopted out of pity."