บททั้งหมดของ Reborn: Blood Bag No More, I Am Their Ruin : บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

Mila Collins was given a week to live but for six days she had been all alone in the hospital when her family lived in the same city. They say your life flashes before eyour eyes when you die but all Mila Collins could see was the ceiling tiles above her hospital that she had been staring at for six days.Her kidneys had stopped working, and a machine hummed beside her doing what her body no longer could. Her skin felt thin as paper. Every breath tasted like metal, and somewhere beneath the beeping she could hear the quiet sound of her own time running out.She was twenty nine years old.The door opened, and for one foolish second her heart lifted. Maybe this was the moment. Maybe her family had finally come to say goodbye.Her mother walked in first, holding a printed sheet of paper at arm's length like it smelled bad."Do you know what this room costs per night?" Margaret Collins said, not bothering with hello. "Do you have any idea?"Mila tried to answer, but her throat was too dr

Mila did not sleep that night.She lay in the dark with the tiny bracelet in her fist and let her mind work. In her first life she had been too tired and too grateful to ask questions. Now every question stood in a row like a lit window, and she meant to open every one of them.But questions cost nothing. Answers cost money and she only had two thousand dollars to her name.She needed more fast and she had to secure it where no one in the Collins house would ever look.The answer came to her the way every memory did now, clear as printed ink. She remembered a regional lottery, three weeks away. A jackpot that had rolled over for two months. A headline she had read once thinking that some people were simply born lucky.She remembered every winning number. She chose to get her tickets in a small town two hours away. She chose a corner shop with a tired clerk and a flickering sign. Wearing a gray hoodie with her hair tucked under a cap, she paid for four tickets in cash and registered he

Mila's hands did not start shaking until she got to the back stairwell.She pressed her spine against the cool plaster and let out a breath she has been holding for two lifetimes. A laugh claws up her throat, and she has to clamp her palm over her mouth to trap it.She just told The Cavan Wended to say please.She could not believe she was still that Mila Collins who once apologized to a chair after bumping into it.In her first life, she would have taken that glass and run as far as she could. She would have murmured sorry, then spent the night replaying the moment in shame. She remembers being that girl so clearly that it feels like a story about a stranger.But tonight, when his fingers snapped in the air, something inside her went perfectly still. It was the same stillness she felt in the hospital right before the world went dark. Only this time, it felt like waking up.I am not afraid of you.She meant every word and that is the part that thrills her most.She smooths her dress,

After the car comes to a stop at the Wendell Group tower, the driver directs Mila to the front desk before driving off after she exits the car. A woman at the front desk looks up before Mila can say a word. "Miss Collins? Forty second floor, they're expecting you." Mila does not ask how the woman knew her face. The elevator rises so quickly her ears pop. At the twentieth floor it stops, and a woman in a tailored white suit steps in. She is tall and poised, with sleek dark hair and a name tag that reads Serena Martins, Chief of Staff. Her eyes slide over Mila slowly, from her plain shoes to her unpainted nails. "You're the new intern." "I suppose so." "On Mr. Wendell's personal floor." Serena's smile is polite and chilly. "That's very unusual. Most people wait years and some people wait forever." "I didn't ask for it." "No one ever does." The doors open, and Serena steps out, then pauses and looks back. "A word of advice, Miss Collins. He doesn't keep strays. If he's intereste

After she leaves, Cavan does not go back to his desk. He stands at the window with his hands in his pockets and listens to her heels fade down the corridor until the sound is gone. Behind him, leather creaks. "Well," Theo says. "That went about as badly as I'd hoped." "Get out of my chair." "She told you it was none of your business. To your face while on your turf." Theo pops a mint into his mouth, delighted. "Do you know how many people have talked to you like that in ten years? Same number who've told you to say please." "Theo." "I'm just saying, I think I'm in love with her. You’ve truly met your match." Cavan doesn't answer. He is looking at the glass of water on his desk. Theo follows his eyes and grins. "Graham told me you had them bring that up at seven this morning. You hate drinking water." "I was thirsty." "At seven a.m. For a drink you rarely ordered in your life." "Say another word and you walk home." Theo mimes zipping his mouth. It lasts about fou