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Evelyn didn’t go to school that day. She had taken leave, planning instead to see what her fiance actually looked like.
Before leaving, she received a call from her mentor.
“Master!” Evelyn’s eyes grew misty. Having lived another life, hearing a familiar voice like this stirred emotions only she could understand.
“Evie, are you doing okay now?”
“I’m fine, Master!” Evelyn couldn’t figure out why her mentor would ask such a thing.
“I’m calling because there’s something I want you to do.”
“Please tell me, Master!” Anything her mentor entrusted to her, she would take on without hesitation.
“I want you to save someone. His name is Stellan Iverson. Find him, and help him.”
Evelyn frowned. “Stellan Iverson? Who’s that?”
“You’ll have to find out for yourself. But he has done you a kindness.”
Evelyn was even more confused. Why don’t I know anything about him doing me a kindness?
“Evie, I know you’ve come back to life,” Her mentor explained. “You went through life and death, and your chance to start over is connected to him. So, in a sense, he’s done you a kindness, no?”
Evelyn froze in shock. Master even knew I’d come back to life?!
“Master, what on earth is going on?”
“I’ll tell you slowly in time. For now, just do what I’ve asked.”
“Alright, I understand.”
When she hung up, Evelyn’s heart was tangled in questions she couldn’t untie.
My rebirth, this world suddenly rolling back to the past–1 thought I was the only one who knew. But Master already understands everything! Why? Forget it. I’ll just wait until I can meet him in person and get to the bottom of it.
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“Evie, aren’t you going to meet your fiance? Come on!” Penny reminded her.
“Alright.” Evelyn went out with her mother.
On the way, Penny chattered nonstop. “That Stellan boy is pitiful. He’s completely paralyzed, worse than your father. What a tragedy. He used to be an heir of a powerful family, and now he’s fallen to this…”
“Wait, Mom, what did you just say? Stellan? What’s his full name?” Evelyn caught the important
part.
“Stellan Iverson, the Iverson family’s son.”
Evelyn fell silent. Stellan Iverson?! Master’s request had been about him, too, claiming he’d done me a kindness. But in my past life, I never even knew a Stellan Iverson! What’s going on? And now my fiance just happens to be the very same person Master told me to save. Is this fate?
“Evie, what’s wrong?” Penny asked in concern.
“Nothing, Mom. Let’s go. How much farther is it?”
“Not far. Our village isn’t big–just from one end to the other.”
“Water… Water… Ingrid, bring me some water!”
Inside a rundown house, the man looked at the older woman before him. She scowled but turned to fetch water, grumbling the whole time.
“I must have been cursed to end up taking care of you. All you do is lie there, pissing and sh*tting yourself. Can’t you eat less, drink less? What a nightmare. You stink to high heaven!”
She poured the water but didn’t feed it to him. Instead, she tilted the cup and let it spill, forcing him to catch what little he could with his mouth.
Stellan only managed a sip; the rest splashed down his face and soaked into the blanket.
“How dare you treat me like this!” Stellan was furious, but when he tried to clench his fists, he had no strength at all. He was like the living dead, completely immobile.
“Hah! And why not? You should be grateful for even a mouthful. You think you’re still some powerful heir? You’re not even worth a dog now! What right do you have to act high and mighty with me?” the woman sneered.
“Get out! Out! Get out of here!” Stellan roared in helpless rage.
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The woman snorted. “Tch. If it weren’t for the high salary, you think I’d bother with you? I wouldn’t even step foot in this room! Worthless cripple!”
The older woman stepped out and immediately ran into Evelyn and her mother. “Who are you looking for?” she asked.
Penny replied, “Ma’am, we’re here to see the Iverson heir.”
That cripple actually has visitors? The woman found it strange. She had been caring for Stellan for a year, and no one had ever come looking for him.
“Who are you? What business do you have with him?” she asked warily.
“He’s my daughter’s fiance. We came to see him.”
The woman had heard about the arrangement before. Still, she thought the girl before her was doomed–what kind of future could she possibly have with a fiance like that?
“Go on in, then,” the woman said carelessly.
As soon as Evelyn and Penny entered the house, an overwhelming stench hit them. Both instinctively covered their noses.
“Why does it smell so awful in here?” Penny was baffled. Her own husband was paralyzed, yet she always kept him clean, and their house never carried such a foul odor.
“Get out! Out! Didn’t I tell you to get out?!” Stellan’s furious roar came from inside, mistaking the noise for the woman’s return.
Penny jumped in fright. “Goodness, that temper… He doesn’t seem very easy to deal with,” she whispered nervously.
But Evelyn stayed calm. She walked forward and looked at the man lying on the bed. His face was gaunt, his features sunken, his body little more than skin and bones. His hair had grown long and messy, clearly untouched for ages.
He looked utterly unkempt, yet, hearing the strength in his voice, Evelyn judged his condition wasn’t hopeless. He still had enough vigor to shout.
When Stellan lifted his eyes, he saw a young woman enter his line of sight. The evening sun streamed through the window, casting a halo of light around her. She looked as if she had walked straight out of that glow.
For a moment, Stellan was stunned. This isn’t a dream, is it? Other than that woman, someone else actually came into this room?
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“You’re Stellan Iverson?” Evelyn asked softly.
Not a dream. This is real!
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Stellan’s expression quickly hardened with suspicion. “And who are you? What are you here for?”
Penny stepped forward to explain. “Hello, Mr. Iverson. This is my daughter, Evelyn, the one engaged to you.”
“Don’t try to trick me! Your daughter came to see me before, and she didn’t look like this!” Stellan snapped.
A year earlier, Alba had sneaked over to see her fiance. When she saw Stellan’s crippled state, she lashed out viciously, cursing him to die early and sneering that he was way out of his league. She had sworn she’d never marry him.
Stellan remembered that day clearly. That venomous woman and the girl standing before him now were nothing alike.
“Here’s the thing, Mr. Iverson,” Penny explained quickly. “The girls were switched at birth. Alba has now returned to her biological parents. This is Evie, our real child–the one who truly has a marriage contract with you.”
Stellan said nothing. He couldn’t care less about such melodrama.
“Just say it. Why are you here? To warn me too? To tell me to break off the engagement and stop dreaming above my station?”
Evelyn looked at him steadily and said, “I came to save you.”
Save me?
Before Stellan could even react, Evelyn pulled back his blanket.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” he roared.
“Saving you. How can I help you if I don’t take a look?”
Send Gifts
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10
B
