Chapter 2 The Memories She Overlooked

For a few seconds, I couldn't move. Jared's hand was still on my shoulder, and the way he touched me felt completely wrong against everything I remembered. Three years ago, I would have leaned into him without hesitation. I would have trusted that smile and believed he cared about me. I would have felt safe simply because he was beside me.

But I had already seen what this same man was capable of. I had watched him stand beside my hospital bed while I struggled to breathe, and I had watched him give what belonged to me to Chloe while my newborn baby was taken from me. Now he was standing in front of me as if he could never hurt me, while I was the only one carrying the memory of how our story had ended.

I wanted to move his hand away from my shoulder, but I stopped myself. I couldn't suddenly start behaving strangely around him. If I changed too much, Jared might become suspicious and start wondering what was wrong with me. So I forced myself to act normal, even though every part of me wanted to pull away from him.

Jared looked at me for a moment, as if he could tell that something had changed. His hand slowly fell from my shoulder, and his expression changed.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I quickly changed my expression so he wouldn't notice the fear in my eyes. I couldn't tell him the truth. I couldn't tell him that I knew he would hurt me and betray me. So I forced a small smile and tried to think of an excuse that wouldn't make him suspect anything.

"I'm fine," I said quickly. "I just feel a little tired."

Jared stared at me for another moment before nodding. "You should rest then."

His concern confused me. This was the same man I remembered standing beside my hospital bed while I was dying, yet now he looked genuinely worried about me. I didn't know whether I should believe the kindness he was showing me or be afraid of the person I knew he would eventually become. For now, I decided it was better to watch him than to make any assumptions.

I looked around the room again and remembered exactly where I was. Three years had passed, but now I was back at the beginning. I still didn't know why I had been given another chance, but I knew I couldn't waste it. I had three years to change everything that had happened before. This time, I would pay attention to the things I had once ignored and look for the truth before it was too late.

As I tried to remember those three years, one particular memory came back to me. It had seemed completely normal back then, something I hadn't thought twice about. But now that I knew how everything had ended, I couldn't stop wondering if I had missed something important.

The memory was from a few months before my grandfather died in my first life. I remembered coming home one evening and finding Chloe in the study with Raymond. At the time, I hadn't thought much of it because Chloe had always been close to him. But now, I remembered the way they stopped talking the moment I walked into the room and how quickly Chloe had hidden the papers she was holding. Back then, I had simply smiled and walked away. Now, I couldn't stop wondering what had been on those papers.

I couldn't remember everything about that evening, no matter how hard I tried. Some parts of my memory were still unclear, like pieces of a puzzle I couldn't put together. I didn't know what the papers were about, and I couldn't remember what they had been discussing. But I could still remember the strange feeling I had when Chloe hid them. At the time, I had ignored it. Now, I wondered if that small moment had meant more than I realized.

I couldn't ask Chloe about those papers directly. If I suddenly started questioning her about something that had already happened, she would know something was wrong. Instead, I decided to keep it to myself. I would wait for the right opportunity and find out what those papers were about without letting Chloe know I was looking.

Before I could think about it any further, the sound of the bedroom door opening pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw Chloe standing at the doorway. She had a warm smile on her face, the same familiar smile I remembered from my first life.

"Evelyn, you're awake," she said as she walked into the room.

For a moment, I simply stared at her. Seeing her alive and standing in front of me after remembering how everything between us had ended made my chest tighten. Chloe didn't seem to notice my reaction. She walked closer with the same easy smile, as if nothing had ever happened between us.

Chloe came closer and sat beside me on the bed. "You scared me," she said softly. "You suddenly became quiet, and I wasn't sure if you were feeling sick."

I looked at her carefully. Her voice sounded genuinely concerned, and there was nothing strange about her expression. In my first life, I would have been comforted by that concern without thinking twice. Now, I found myself studying every little thing she did, wondering how someone who looked so caring could one day become part of the reason I lost everything.

"Are you feeling better now?" Chloe asked. "You were quiet when I came in."

"I'm fine," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" she asked.

I paused for a moment. In my first life, I would have told her everything without hesitation. Chloe had always been someone I trusted, someone I believed I could talk to about anything. But things were different now. I couldn't afford to tell her what was going through my mind.

"I was just thinking about the baby," I said, forcing myself to relax. "I guess everything is starting to feel real now."

Chloe smiled and placed her hand gently over mine. She reassured me that everything would be fine and that I didn't have to worry so much. Her words sounded exactly like the kind of thing she used to say to me in my first life.

I listened quietly, but this time, I didn't let myself feel comforted by them. I watched her instead. There was nothing unusual about her expression, nothing in her voice that gave me a reason to accuse her of anything. And that was what made it harder. I had no proof that the Chloe standing in front of me was the same woman I remembered.

Chloe glanced toward the door before looking back at me. She mentioned that Jared had been worried when I suddenly became quiet and thought I should get some rest. I nodded and thanked her, pretending that her words didn't affect me.

Hearing Jared's name brought back memories I didn't want to think about. In my first life, I had never questioned the closeness between him and Chloe. I had trusted both of them completely. Now, even something as simple as hearing his name beside hers made me wonder how much I had failed to notice.

After a few more minutes, Chloe finally left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I waited until I heard the door close before letting my expression change.

My mind returned to the papers I had seen in Raymond's study. I still didn't know what they were about, but now I couldn't ignore the feeling that they might have been important. If I wanted to understand what had really happened to me, I needed to start with the things I had overlooked the first time.

And the first place I would look was my grandfather's study.

I was about to get out of bed when another piece of the memory suddenly came back to me. I remembered Raymond standing behind his desk with those papers in his hand while Chloe stood across from him. I couldn't remember everything they had said, but I remembered Raymond looking toward the door before lowering his voice.

Then I remembered something else.

There had been someone else in the room.

I couldn't see his face, but I remembered the sound of his voice.

"Evelyn must never know."

My breathing stopped.

I didn't know what they had been talking about, and I didn't know who the man was. But there was something about his voice that made the memory feel different from everything else I had remembered since waking up.

I had heard that voice before.

Not just in Raymond's study.

I had heard it beside my hospital bed on the night I died.

And suddenly, I wasn't sure that Jared and Chloe were the only people who had wanted me dead.