All Chapters of Rebirth: No More Kindness This Time: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

The indicator light flicked on.The 2,000-watt electric pot hummed loudly. In the cramped car cabin, the heavy scent of the creamy meatball soup filled the air.Under normal circumstances, it might have felt like a warm, homely scene. But on a deserted highway in the middle of nowhere, it was practically a death warrant.I leaned back in the passenger seat and scanned the dashboard. The remaining driving range was dropping at a visibly alarming rate."See? Raine knows what she's doing. This power strip works great!" My fiance's sister-in-law, Pamela Kensington, sat in the back seat and grinned smugly as she tossed meatballs into the pot. Beside her, her spoiled ten-year-old son, Toby Vance, was banging his silverware."I want meat! Hurry up and cook!"In the driver's seat, Mason Vance, my fiance, glanced at them through the rearview mirror with a doting smile."Raine, see? This is how it should've been from the start. Family trips are supposed to be about making memories and b

Pamela immediately bristled like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on."Raine! You heartless bitch! How dare you hit a child?"Her hands were slick with grease and broth as she lunged from the backseat and clawed at my hair. I quickly unbuckled my seatbelt and shifted aside to dodge her, my eyes coldly locking onto hers. "Are you trying to flip this car? The road's iced over!"That stopped Mason cold. He instinctively slammed on the brakes, and the car skidded slightly on the slick road. The soup in the pot splashed out and stained the leather seats, leaving a greasy mess."Enough!" Mason yelled, then turned to glare at me."Raine, apologize to Pamela!"I looked at him and felt thoroughly disgusted. This was the man I once thought I could spend the rest of my life with, but when faced with life and death, his stupidity and weakness were more lethal than the blizzard outside.I took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to slap him hard in the face. After glancing out the

The door of the off-road vehicle flung open before a tall man leaped out. In just a few strides, he rushed to my side and caught me just as I was about to collapse."Raine?"I struggled to lift my eyelids, which were heavy and matted with frost. In my fading vision, the man's face slowly came into focus.It was Conrad Cross, my former neighbor and my senior back in high school. I'd heard rumors that he'd gone on to lead a specialized civilian search and rescue team, spending his years rushing into dangerous hellscapes.I never imagined we'd cross paths here."Conrad… Cross…"My weak, hoarse voice sounded like sandpaper scraping my throat. "Don't talk! Stay awake!"He scooped me up into his arms and carried me into the passenger seat of his vehicle. The heater inside was blasting at full power, so very soon, I was enveloped in warmth.He grabbed a thick wool blanket from the storage compartment and wrapped me up tightly from head to toe. Then, he unscrewed a heavy-duty therm

"Mild frostbite. Luckily, she wasn't exposed to the cold for too long. She'll be fine with a few days of rest."After treating the frostbite on my hands and feet, the doctor gave me a few tubes of ointment and stepped out."Eat something." Conrad walked in carrying a steaming bowl of oatmeal and sat by the edge of the bed. He blew on a spoonful to cool it and naturally held it to my lips. I felt a flush creep up my cheeks in embarrassment. "I can do it myself.""Your hands are swollen like carrots. Stop acting tough."He didn't budge and firmly pressed the spoon to my lips.The oatmeal had been cooked until it was perfectly soft. As the warmth slid down my throat into my stomach, tears suddenly started rolling down my face.The despair of dying in my past life violently contrasted with the warmth of the current moment."Why are you crying?"Conrad seemed a little flustered. He set the bowl down and clumsily wiped my tears. "Does it still hurt?"I shook my head and choked,

Now, the Vances were physically ruined, and they were also bound to face prison and crushing debt.Mason, the golden boy of the family and the man they had pinned all their hopes on, would now spend the rest of his life as a cripple.…A year later, the bells of a seaside church chimed softly.Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows and onto my white wedding gown.With Dad's arm linked through mine, I walked step by step toward the man waiting at the end of the red carpet.Conrad stood tall and steady in a perfectly tailored suit. His eyes held only my reflection. When Dad placed my hand in Conrad's, he solemnly said, "I'm placing my world in your hands."Conrad squeezed my fingers tightly in return, and his gaze was firm. "Don't worry, Allan."He turned to me and whispered a vow in a low voice only the two of us could hear, "Raine, for the rest of our lives, I'll be here to protect you."A lump formed in my throat, and my eyes welled up with tears. As he slid th