The Return

Isabella’s POVSeven Years Ago (Claire) The restroom floor was too cold for a twenty-one year old me who still wanted to live.I remember sitting there, my back against the wall, trying to breathe through the tightness in my chest. My hands were shaking so badly that I had to press them against my thighs just to feel like I still had control.But I didn’t. I mean, I once did but not anymore.The pills were already in my system, burning down my throat.My heartbeat felt slow… too slow. My vision kept fading in and out, like someone was controlling a switch.When I finally forced myself to look in the mirror, I almost looked away again.I didn’t recognize that girl. Puffy eyes. Dry lips. Messy hair. And a face that didn’t look like it could carry any more pain and heartbreak.Everything inside me felt numb. Empty. And then heavy again.My fingers slipped from the sink. I remember that clearly.One moment I was standing… Next, the floor came up fast.Someone shouted my name, at least

Last Updated : 2025-12-05

We Meet Again

Isabella’s POVThis was definitely the best moment of my life yet. Everything was going so well. TraceGuard had sold out. Mira was getting more beautiful and smarter. Life was so good, and now it was even better with my best friend, Nora, in it. Plus, I needed a bit of distraction and readiness before I started executing everything I had planned.She saved my life seven years ago. It wasn’t a bad idea to call her that. Or was it?“Here, drink this.” She passed me a shot of vodka, and I gulped it down, dancing while she sang. We had been hanging out lately, and this was yet another one… a karaoke date with alcohol on a spree, especially now that Mira had gone sightseeing with her nanny, Marie.I was enjoying the moment a little too much but still couldn’t help thinking something might ruin these happy days of my life.She slumped into the sofa, drunk. “Isabella, do you have a family?” she asked with the mic on. It was going to be a long day. Thankfully, I had bought out the whole place

Last Updated : 2025-12-05

The Plan

Isabella’s POVAiden’s voice hit me with a force I was not prepared for.He called my name, the one I had buried with every part of the girl I used to be.“Claire?”I froze. My back stiffened. My mind stopped for a moment. I felt my heartbeat spread through my chest like someone knocked on a locked door.I slowly turned, and his eyes were already searching mine. He looked so sure of what he said, even though he whispered it like he was scared of being wrong.I had imagined this moment many times.But not like this.Not in a karaoke room with his drunk sister sleeping on a sofa.Not when my mind was already stretched thin from everything that had happened.I swallowed. “I am not Claire,” I said quietly.He stared at me like he did not hear me well.“Isabella,” I continued, steadying my voice. “My name is Isabella.”His brows came together slightly. “You look exactly like her.”“Well, I am not her,” I said, lifting my chin a little just to give myself the strength I needed. “I don’t kno

Last Updated : 2025-12-05

Harder Than It Ever Hurt

Claire’s POV Flashback “The number you dialed is not responding..” beep beep I sighed. That was the same response I kept getting each time I tried to call Aiden. I had been feeling unwell lately and even missed my period. It bothered me so much that I was forced to visit the hospital even though I didn’t have much money but only the little I was saving for my rent, which would be due in two weeks. Since Aiden wasn’t picking up my calls, I had to go alone. But this was so unlike him. For the past five weeks, I had only seen him once, and that was the day our eyes met while I was behind the counter working as a waitress at the café that finally offered me a job, despite me being a college dropout. I couldn’t approach him to ask why he had been missing or avoiding me. That was because his strict and mean father, Donovan Hale, was with him. I also noticed the pretty woman sitting beside Aiden. She was tall. I could tell, even while she was seated. She was very beautiful, the kind o

Last Updated : 2025-12-05

Unwanted Encounters

Isabella’s POV“Mommy, are we going somewhere?”Mira’s tiny voice broke the silence in the room and snapped my attention away from my phone. She was seven years old, yet her voice still sounded small and silvery, like that of a four-year-old. I never understood why. Sometimes it worried me. Other times, like now, it just made my chest ache.I knew I had stayed too long on my phone. I had ignored her for longer than I should have, and I hoped she would understand. I was staring at Donovan’s picture, scrolling through his company profile, studying his growth, his partners, his weaknesses. I needed to know where to hit him from. If I wanted to do this properly, I needed a plan. A real one. Not the one set on anger or impulse.I locked the phone and dropped it beside me on the sofa. Then I looked at my daughter and smiled, my eyes soft as I took in the face I had made with my own body and blood.“Yes, sweetie. We are going somewhere,” I said. “Do you want to guess where?”I let my voice r

Last Updated : 2026-01-12

The Bracelet

Aiden’s POVThe laptop keys kept clicking under my fingers as I scrolled hard and fast, reading every single line on the screen like my life depended on it.Isabella Schneider.Only child. Born and raised in Germany. Married but currently a widow. One child. Wealthy background. Married into serious money. Old money type. The kind that does not show off but controls things quietly. Her husband was a powerful German businessman with deep political ties.Everything about her screamed foreign. Nothing about her said New York. And yet, here she was. Living here. Starting fresh. Acting like a woman with nothing to hide even though I had a growing feeling that she does.I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my jaw slowly.Something was wrong.Germany was better off than New York in so many ways. Better systems. Better structure. Better stability. So why would a woman like Isabella leave all that behind and settle here?It did not make sense.And then there was the child.That little girl.I c

Last Updated : 2026-01-12

All Chapters of Her Second Life: Chapter 1 - Chapter 6

The Return

We Meet Again

The Plan

Harder Than It Ever Hurt

Unwanted Encounters

The Bracelet