The Drifter's Memoir of a Second Life

My fingers clenched around the candy, its stiff edge almost cutting my palm.

Indeed, in our previous lives, he had been convinced that my only purpose was to be a blood bank and organ donor to Susie.

Since Susie still died after I donated my kidney, that meant I served no purpose in this life, and the Grants had no reason to bring home a loser like me.

I smiled, violently wiping the tears I couldn't fight back as I told myself—the old Yvie Grant was dead and I would live only for myself.

As I returned inside to my quiet corner in the orphanage, a big black sedan soon stopped outside the gates of the orphanages.

Soon, the caretaker was leading an elderly gray-haired man inside, and the other children were at once abuzz, flocking toward him like a swarm of locusts to present their gifts.

"Hello, Sir!'

"Let me sing for you, Sir!"

"Can you look at my drawings, Sir?"

I alone sat at that quiet corner, looking like a complete outsider.

As such, Carl Simpson noticed me right then and slowly trudged through the crowd with his cane toward me.

"What are you doing here all alone, sweetie?" He smiled at me. "Do the rest of the kids not like you or something?"

I shook my little head as I looked up and handed him the candy that had gotten warm because I had held on to it for so long.

"Would you like some candy?" I asked with a calmness and maturity that didn't suit my age.

Carl appeared surprised even as he took the candy, unpeeled the wrapper, and put it in his mouth.

"Hmm. It's so sweet." He smiled pleasantly, studying me before asking, "What's your name?"

"The caretaker said my name is Yvie…"

"Yvie…" He breathed the syllables and nodded. "Would you like to come home with me? As my granddaughter?"

Silence ensued all around us, and every other child was staring at me jealously.

Still, I nodded without hesitation. "Okay."

"Good, good!" Carl smiled as he took my hand in his warm palm that also felt a little dry. "From now on, your name shall be Ruby Simpson, for I hope you will become a precious gem in the future too."

Understanding the admiration and expectation in his words, I unwittingly clenched tightly on his palm in turn.

And with that, I became the precious gem of the Simpson family.

Carl himself treasured me, personally teaching me to read and write, and on philosophy.

His children were usually busy but always returned home with novel gifts and genuinely cared about me.

And the one who doted on me most was Yannick, who was ten years older than me.

There was a gentle smile on his stoic face the first time we met, and he said to me then, "No one will ever get to lay a finger on our princess."

He kept saying it so much that it had become his motto ever since.

Enveloped by such love, I virtually forgot the pain of my past life.

I worked hard in my studies, always being at the top of the class since grade school, with every type of trophy and certificate lining the cabinets in my room.

After I finished high school, I didn't hesitate to pursue medical school.

In the end, I knew that Susie's illness would always be the Grant family's kryptonite and the blade of a guillotine that still loomed over me.

Nevertheless, in twenty years, I became the youngest and most famous surgeon and researcher in medicine.