Rebirth Into My Second Chance

I nestled deeper into Max's embrace, my cheeks aflame with a blend of embarrassment and nervousness. In matters of love, I realized I needed to be braver. After all, Max had never harmed me; it was I who foolishly kept pushing him away. "Max..." Once back in the room, I leapt from his arms, taking charge for a change. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down for a deeper kiss.

At that moment, he led me to the floor-to-ceiling window, perhaps intending to share an intimate moment there. But as fate would have it, my foot accidentally hit a button on the floor, and the window swung open.

Beyond lay an expansive garden, illuminated by lights and a fountain, causing me to recoil in surprise.

"Nervous?" Max's husky, magnetic voice murmured in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Yeah, could you close the curtains? The garden's right there," I mumbled, trying to hide, reaching for a throw on the couch to cover myself.

"But you look even more enticing with your cheeks all flushed," Max teased, pulling me closer, burying his face in my neck, and even giving a playful nip.

The garden was bustling with gardeners attending to the plants.

"Max, you're insane," I said, worried that someone might glance up and catch us in our passionate moment.

"A little crazy, maybe. That's what happens after being ignored for six months," he replied, his tone a mix of longing and gentle reproach.

I dared not make a sound, but Max, intent on teasing, pressed me against the glass, the friction making me almost cry out.

His face in the glass, all sharp and sneaky-looking, seemed to get a kick out of my freaking out.

"What's there to fear?" he smirked, clearly pleased with my reaction.

He moved in again, and I couldn't help but let out a yelp. A gardener outside seemed to hear me, glancing up briefly before looking away. Embarrassed and frustrated, I struggled against him.

Then he reassured me, "The glass is triple vacuum-sealed and privacy tinted. No one can see inside."

His words nearly brought me to tears, and in my indignation, I stomped on his foot. But he didn't stop. Pushed me against the glass again my body going against my brain, just swept up in the way he touched me.

"Max is a jerk," I thought, as I fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, not even knowing how I got back to bed.

The sound of water from the shower eventually woke me. Max, evere attentive to cleanliness, was rinsing off. It was always the same: I'd pass out during, then wake up immediately after.

When the water stopped, I quickly closed my eyes, pretending to sleep.

Max came out, slipped into bed beside me, his cool touch making me shift uncomfortably before I somehow drifted off again.

In my dreams, I saw my parents waving, promising me the best life, a future without strife or competition.

There was the love of a brother, the affection of elders, the adoration of many.

They had left me at an orphanage where Hannah promised to always care for me, and Richard swore he'd always look out for me, his sister. I smiled in my dream, feeling blissful yet sad.

My parents thought they were doing

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what was best for me, unaware that their good intentions paved a road of hardship. Hannah despised the world Richard blindly followed her, and was merely a pawn in their game. RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only