Chapter 4: Truly Reborn

INDY

I sprinted upstairs where I knew my designated room was located. I hadn’t been here before, but I knew the layout in the back of my mind—naturally, I was the one who wrote it. Pausing in the hallways, I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself after the intense interaction. 

It took a while before I finally calmed down. Then, the moment everything became clear, I slapped my cheeks multiple times, hoping to transport myself back to my small apartment. 

“This truly can’t be real,” I muttered, shaking my head while pacing back and forth. 

However, everything felt so vivid! Since the slap on the cheek didn’t work, I proceeded to slam my head against the wall. That should do the trick, right? 

“Have you lost your mind?” 

I turned to the side and saw Lucio, the second Windsor, around the same age as Lucinda. In fact, the two of them were childhood friends before having a massive fall-out when Lucinda’s uncle assassinated the Queen Windsor, their mother. 

Their whole lore was quite complex, but the gist was that Lucio also hated Lucinda. Well, everyone hated Lucinda. 

“I mean, you’ve already been crazy for a long time,” he continued, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he stared condescendingly at me. “However, this just takes it up a notch.” 

As he continued speaking, I took the time to study his features. He was as handsome as I had written him. He had a friendlier face than his brother, but his eyes also showed a lot of depth and pain. 

“Can you slap me?” I asked, hoping for this to be the final straw. 

An incredulous look crossed his face. “You’ve really lost your mind. What kind of scheme are you plotting now? Do you want us to pity you after you pulled that stunt? No—that crime?” 

I bit my lip as he continued to lecture me. 

“Clara is an omega. She needs more nurturing. She is working in our household because she needs money to raise her brothers. She hasn’t done anything wrong, but you’ve tormented her. You used your power as the daughter of the Lord Justiciar to bring about injustice in this household.” 

“If it weren’t for the fact that you and my brother are mates and that my father isn’t indebted to your grandfather, then you would have been kicked out long ago. You wouldn’t even be able to step into this household.” 

“I wish you would just disappear.” 

“Trust me,” I whispered. “I do too.” 

I said it quietly, but with his heightened senses, he must have heard me. 

“What?” he asked, appearing in disbelief at what he had just heard. 

I ran my fingers through my hair. “Trust me,” I repeated, looking into his eyes. “I also want to get out of this place.” 

He was stunned for a couple of seconds before a humorous chuckle escaped his lips. “Well, that’s the first time you said something like that. Reverse psychology, is that it? That won’t work this time around.” 

“You nearly killed Clara. If it weren’t for me finding the situation early, then you would have succeeded in your evil plan.” 

I waved him off, feeling my head ache even more. 

The longer I stayed here, the more real everything felt. 

“See?” he exclaimed. “You don’t even care about what you did. That’s the kind of person you are.” 

“My brother has been through a lot,” he continued. “You’re making it harder for him to live his life peacefully.” 

I looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity in them. I knew how much Lucio admired his older brother, and a big part was because Rome was the one who comforted Lucio when their mother died. Their father, the Wolf King, had always been busy, so Rome acted like a father to his brothers, especially to Lucio. 

“Don’t worry,” I said right away. “I won’t bother him from now on.” 

He scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. “Like I’m going to believe that. I best be on my toes from now on. You must be planning something even grander.” 

He walked past me, bumping against my shoulder forcefully in the process. I stumbled to the wall, hitting my head. I closed my eyes once more and massaged my temples. 

“Well, I really do feel the love,” I muttered sarcastically. 

Observing my surroundings, I recognized the colorful door at the very end of the hallway. I knew it was mine because it was painted gold—a stark contrast to the natural wood color of the other doors. Lucinda had always been extra in many ways, and she made sure to make it known to everyone. 

I walked briskly to the room, slamming the door shut once I arrived. I flinched the moment I saw the interior. It was even worse than I had imagined. I also loved color, but this was just too much. All of the bright colors were uneasy on the eyes, and they made my head hurt even more. 

Still, I went to the bed and closed my eyes, processing everything that was happening. One moment, my mom was telling me to die, and the next second, I felt like I actually did. However, instead of spawning in the afterlife, I was in my book—the one that had been the subject of my curses. 

Was the universe taking revenge on me for making the main characters suffer so much before they could achieve a happy ending? Or did my readers succeed in their black magic and successfully transform me to become the most cruel character in my story? 

Either way, I already knew that I wasn’t dreaming. I opened my eyes again and went to the windows, opening them slightly. I gasped in amazement the moment the view revealed itself. The sun was just about to set, casting a magical glow on the garden and the overlooking view of the entirety of the city. 

At that moment, I realized that I didn’t have the luxury of looking outside of my window. It had been a long time since I had done so. In fact, I didn’t remember a time when I felt this relaxed. The world, which was so beautiful, appeared bland in my eyes because I was stuck in a mundane routine. 

I placed my hands on the ledge of the window and closed my eyes, inhaling the late afternoon breeze. I didn’t know if the universe was playing a cruel joke on me or if it had taken pity on my older body. 

Back then, it felt impossible to live for myself. 

However, with this chance, I might be able to live peacefully as I wanted.