All Chapters of Rebirth: Cutting Ties Before It's Too Late: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Christian's POVGiselle Morris looked at me, her brows drawn together, but didn't say a word. That was just who she was.Ever since we were kids, one cold look from her could send an entire school building into silence. But I knew it was more than that. She had just never been good at putting her feelings into words.Back in our freshman year, I came down with a high fever and had to stay home from school. After classes, Giselle slipped three days' worth of notes through the crack under my front door without sending me so much as a text.Every year on my birthday, she was always the first person to leave a gift on my desk. It wasn't without reason that I fell for her.In my previous life, that video haunted me. I spent the rest of senior year distracted and depressed. My grades crashed, and I bombed the college entrance exam. Instead of getting into my dream university, I ended up at a community college.This time, I wanted to make a different choice. I would stay as far away fro

Chapter 2

Christian's POVI stared at my bedroom door, my mind taking me back to a memory from long, long ago.During the winter when I was eight, Mom walked into the living room holding a little girl's hand. She wore an oversized black coat, her hair hiding most of her face.Mom crouched before me and said, "Chris, this is Giselle. From now on, she'll be living with us."I ran over, grabbed Giselle's hand, and looked at her with a grin. "Nice to meet you, Giselle. My name's Christian."Her hand stiffened in mine for a second before she quietly pulled it away.Mom sighed and explained that Giselle's parents had passed away in a car accident. From then on, our home would be hers, too.I remembered secretly knocking on her bedroom door then. "Giselle, I'll share half my strawberry cake with you if you promise to cheer up."She never opened the door, but I could hear her crying underneath her blanket.From that day on, I followed Giselle everywhere like her shadow. She ignored me at first,

Chapter 3

Christian's POVSpencer's eyes reddened on cue. "I don't deserve to ask you for help, but I really do want to learn. Can you please forgive me?"The classroom fell silent. Everyone's eyes landed squarely on me.Giselle clicked her tongue. Leaning back against her chair, she looked past me at Spencer, who was still kneeling on the floor. "Get up. I'll teach you."Immediately, the whispers around the room amplified."See? Even Giselle's taking Spencer's side.""Christian's being way too petty. The guy's already on his knees, and he still won't forgive him.""I thought Giselle and Christian were childhood besties. Why is she speaking up for Spencer?"In my previous life, Spencer's dramatic apology had caught me off guard. The very next day, rumors started spreading in the class group chat.People said I had taunted him just because my grades were better, pushing him to kneel and apologize in front of everyone.Then, anonymous posts appeared on the school forum, spinning elaborat

Chapter 4

Christian's POVI met Giselle's gaze as calmly as I could. "That's none of your business."Her hand froze midair.When I was ten, I was practically attached to her. If she went to play tennis, I would sit on the sidelines, hugging her water bottle. If she went to the library, I would sit across from her, flipping through picture books.I told her everything, and she was always the first person to find out about things in my life—when I got a perfect score, when a teacher praised me, or when I spotted a cute orange tabby on the street.She was someone I would rush home just to talk to.At that time, I had told her, "From now on, you'll know everything about my life."She hadn't even looked up, but I knew her lips had curved into the faintest smile. "Sure."Later, after I grew up, I realized that I was probably nothing more than an annoying tagalong to Giselle. Now that the tagalong had finally left on its own, she wasn't used to it.After the meal, Giselle stopped me outside th

Chapter 5

Third-Person POVGiselle stared incredulously at the honor roll. Every word on it felt like a foreign language."He's studying abroad? That's incredible.""Wow. I want to be like him one day."The crowd around the board hadn't even dispersed when Giselle sprinted out of the school gates. Spencer called after her twice, but she never looked back.She clenched her phone and ran across three intersections. By the time she arrived home, sweat had soaked through most of her clothes.She took the porch stairs two at a time. Seeing that the front door hadn't been shut properly, she pushed it open.Christian's father, Alex Cooper, was sitting on the living room couch. Hearing the door, he looked up. The surprise on his face quickly faded into indifference when he saw who it was."Mr. Cooper," Giselle blurted out, still somewhat panting. "Why is Chris studying abroad?"He narrowed his eyes and sighed heavily. "The day he came home from that karaoke party, he told us he'd decided to stu

Chapter 6

Christian's POVWhen Hannah and I landed in Hamdon, Albian, it was drizzling.She wheeled a black suitcase and a silver one ahead of me. Looking back, she caught me tilting my head up to let the rain fall on my face and laughed."First time abroad, Christian?""Yeah."I lowered my hand. The raindrops landed in my palm, cool against my skin—and honestly not much different from the rain back home.The air, however, smelled of coffee and buttered bread. The airport announcements came in a thick Albianic accent. All at once, the world felt so much bigger.Standing in the middle of it, I was no longer the small-town guy trapped in a hopeless crush.Hannah was the top student, the kind of genius who scored full marks in the exams year after year."Come on," she said. "I'll show you around."We wandered through Tramaques Square. A street violinist was performing there, so I dropped two dollars into his violin case. He winked at me and played a tune I had never heard before.Hannah

Chapter 7

Christian's POVMy automatic question exposed me. Giselle stared squarely at me. "What happened in the next ten years?"I averted my gaze from her face and looked into the distance. "In my previous life, I did terribly on my exams after seeing that video. You confessed to me, saying how you've always been in love with me."Her breathing grew heavier."Then Mom fell ill," I continued. "She called you because she wasn't feeling well, but you never answered. You'd gone to pick up a drunk Spencer instead. Mom collapsed alone in the living room. No help came."I took a quiet breath. "You told me that from then on, you'd be my home. I believed you. After we started college, you and Spencer ended up at the same university. I'd ask you out, but he was always there."When we went to the movies, he'd sit beside you. When we went out to eat, he'd sit across from you. He said he'd just moved to a new city, that he didn't know anyone except you."I argued with you about it, but you just call

Chapter 8

Christian's POVI pressed play on my phone. "You wanted to know why I missed one of my exams, didn't you? Well, Spencer stole my exam admission ticket."Giselle froze."That day, you brought him home to comfort him, and he took the opportunity to steal my admission ticket. He probably didn't expect that I'd installed a surveillance camera in my room."In the footage, my bedroom door slowly cracked open. Spencer tiptoed to my bedside and made sure I was fast asleep. Only then did he walk over to my desk. He unzipped my pencil case and stole my admission ticket.Giselle stared at the screen, incredulity all over her face. Her lips parted slightly before she pulled out her phone and made a call. It rang once before the call connected."Giselle?" Spencer answered with audible surprise. "You finally called me! Where on earth have you been? You didn't show up for orientation, and I was worried sick. Why didn't you tell me anything? You have no idea how worried—"She cut him off. "Did

Chapter 9

Christian's POVAfter Giselle left, my life finally became peaceful.Two weeks later, a message popped up in our class group chat. Spencer's exam results had been revoked. Giselle had written the report and turned in the USB drive as evidence herself.I didn't join the conversation. I flipped my phone face down on the desk and went back to writing my lab report. Outside the window, a flock of pigeons burst into the air, their wings tracing crooked lines across the sky.When I finished and headed back to my dorm, I noticed a crowd gathered outside the building. As I got closer, I saw candles covering the ground, carefully arranged into the shape of a heart.Standing in the center of it was Giselle, holding a bouquet of red roses. There was no telling how long she had been waiting. The crowd quietly parted, making a path for me. Whispers rippled through the strangers around us. I stopped and looked at her."I've gotten to the bottom of what happened with your exam admission ticke

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