Rebirth Into My Second Chance

Gabrielle arrived.

The moment she saw me, her eyes widened in surprise before she gestured for her maid to stash the groceries in the kitchen and then grabbed my hand. "Claire, why didn't you join Claude at the golf course?"

I remembered how, after my death, Gabrielle was perhaps the only one in the Hart family who truly cared for me. I couldn't help but feel a soft spot for her as I linked my arm with hers. "Mrs. Hart, what delicious goodies did you bring? Let me help you with them." She patted my hand affectionately. "You love apple pie, don't you? I specially asked the Hiltons' chef to come over and bake some. His apple pie is second to none; it's Mr. Hilton's favorite."

At the mention of the Hiltons, my thoughts inadvertently drifted to Max, and I blurted out without thinking, "The Hiltons' chef must be the best in Crestview Metropolis, right? Mr. Hilton is really kind to you, Mrs. Hart."

"Yes, my brother has always been good to me, even though my parents were unhappy when I impulsively married your Uncle Hart. They wanted to cut ties with me back then. Now that they've passed, I've been able to reconnect with the Hiltons."

I saw a flicker of sorrow in her eyes that she quickly masked. From her words, it seemed Mr. Hilton wasn't the tyrant I feared. And that shirt probably wasn't his either.

Still, in the whole of Crestview Metropolis, only a few could afford to dine at the Golden Gateway Hotel. It seemed I needed to find a way to check the surveillance footage.

"Mrs. Hart, let me give you a hand."

are meant for surgery, not kitchen work." As she spoke, she handed me a freshly squeezed glass of juice: "This orange juice is from the Hiltons' orchard. They specially grow them because Mr. Hilton loves

hardly heard of the

wary of the juice, I pretended to sip it before setting

keen. Maybe the orange juice

was ready, its aroma filling the air, Mrs. Hart urged, "You might not

I you

piece of apple but

pie

LOUMS

on guard, but not wanting to raise suspicion, I replied, "I'll

seemed pleased with my behavior today. Looking at the feast laid out before us, I realized it was futile to keep up my defenses when there appeared to be no one outside I could turn to

any male I spoke to would mysteriously start avoiding me the next day. It turned out he had used his status as my guardian

back, it was nothing but

then, Ronald came to mind as