Chapter 6
That opportunity came sooner than Isabel expected. She wasn’t attending school that day, having already taken leave.
She planned to meet the man and see what he was really like.
Just before leaving, her phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, her heart skipped a beat.
“Master.” Isabel’s voice trembled, her eyes misting over. Her master was Baxter Harper.
Having lived a second life, the sound of a voice that truly cared for her struck a deep emotional chord.
“Isabel, are you alright now?” her master asked gently.
“I’m fine,” Isabel replied, confused by the question. “Why do you ask?”
“I need you to do something for me,” Baxter said.
“Of course,” Isabel answered without hesitation. “What do you need?”
“I need you to find someone–Blake Yates. Locate him and help him,” her master instructed, his tone unusually serious.
“Blake?” Isabel repeated, frowning. The name didn’t ring a bell. “Who is he?”
Her master’s voice carried a note of mystery. “You’ll find out when you meet him. This man has done something significant for you.”
Isabel’s confusion deepened. No one named Blake came to mind, let alone someone who had helped her.
Sensing her doubt, Baxter added, “Isabel, I know you’ve been reborn, that you’ve experienced life and death. Your reborn is connected to him. Isn’t that enough reason to help?”
Isabel froze in shock.
Baxter knew about her rebirth.
“What… what is this all about?” she stammered, her voice unsteady.
Her master remained cryptic. “In time, all will be revealed. For now, just complete this task for me.”
Isabel bit her lip and nodded. “Alright, I understand.”
After ending the call, her thoughts churned with unanswered questions.
She had believed her rebirth was her secret alone.
The realization that Baxter was aware left her deeply unsettled.
What had happened after my death?‘ she wondered.
She pondered for a long while but couldn’t piece it together. Determined to visit Baxter in person when the chance arose, Isabel pushed her questions aside.
“Isabel, we need to leave soon to meet your fiancé. Get ready,” Hannah said, stepping into the room.
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“Alright,” Isabel replied, following her foster mother out the door.
As they walked, Hannah couldn’t stop talking.
“Poor Blake,” she began, “he’s completely paralyzed, far worse than your father. It’s such a tragedy. He used to be a young master from a wealthy family, and now he’s ended up like this…”
“Wait, Mom. What did you just say? Blake? What’s his full name?” Isabel interrupted, suddenly alert.
“Blake Yates,” Hannah answered. “He’s the child of the Yates family.”
The name struck Isabel like lightning.
It was the same name her master had mentioned.
Her thoughts raced. Blake. Baxter had asked her to help someone named Blake.
Her master had said Blake was connected to her rebirth. But in her past life, she had never met anyone by that name.
‘This can’t be real, Isabel thought.
Her fiancé was also named Blake.
“Are they really the same guy?” she wondered.
This didn’t feel like coincidence–it felt like fate.
“Isabel, are you alright?” Hannah asked, noticing her daughter’s silence.
Isabel shook her head, pushing her thoughts aside for now. “I’m fine, Mom. Let’s keep moving. How far is it?”
Hannah chuckled lightly. “Not far. Our village isn’t that big. It’s just from one end to the other.”
20
Inside a decrepit house, a hoarse voice called out weakly, “Water… water… Stacy, get me some water.”
A middle–aged woman with a scowl glanced at the bedridden man before begrudgingly moving to fetch the water.
Her grumbling didn’t stop.
“Unbelievable,” she rolled her eyes and continued, “what did I do to make me end up with taking care of you? All you do is lie there, messing the bed like it’s a toilet. Can’t you eat or drink less? The smell in here is disgusting.”
Stacy returned with a cup of water but made no effort to help him drink properly.
She sloppily poured it into the air, forcing him to catch what he could with his mouth.
Blake managed only a few sips before the water spilled over his face and soaked the blanket beneath him.
“How dare you treat me like this!” Blake growled, his anger surging.
He tried to clench his fists but found his hands too weak to move.
Trapped in his useless body, he felt like nothing more than a corpse.
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Chapter 6
Stacy sneered. “Dare? What are you going to do about it? Be grateful you even get water.
“You think you’re still some young master? You’re worse than a stray dog now. Don’t even try to act tough with me.”
“Get out! Get out of here!” Blake screamed, his voice trembling with fury.
Stacy snorted. “If I weren’t being paid, do you think I’d waste a second in this room? You’re pathetic, a worthless cripple.”
She turned to leave, nearly colliding with Isabel and Hannah at the doorway.
“Who are you looking for?” Stacy asked, her tone curt and suspicious.
Hannah stepped forward politely. “Ma’am, we’re here to see Mr. Yates.”
Stacy’s cycs
narrowed as she gave them a once–over. Visitors for Blake? The idea seemed ridiculous.
She had been here for a whole year, and few people had come.
“Who are you, and why are you here?” she asked sharply.
Hannah responded calmly, “He’s my daughter’s fiancé. We came to check on him.”
Stacy vaguely remembered hearing about this engagement but couldn’t suppress her pity as she glanced at Isabel.
What a misfortune for this young girl, being tied to a man in such a pitiful state.
“Fine, go ahead,” Stacy said indifferently, waving them inside.
As Isabel and Hannah stepped in, the stench of decay and neglect hit them like a wall.
They instinctively covered their noses.
“Why does it smell so awful?” Hannah asked, confused and horrified.
Her husband, Samuel, was paralyzed, but she always made sure his room was clean and pleasant.
“Get out! I told you to leave!” Blake’s angry voice roared from within, assuming it was Stacy again.
Hannah flinched at the sound, hesitating at the doorway.
“Goodness, what a temper! He sounds… unpleasant,” she muttered nervously.
But Isabel didn’t falter.
Calmly, she stepped further into the room to face the man on the bed.
Blake was a pitiful sight. His skeletal frame, sunken cheeks, and greasy, unkempt hair made him look more ghost than man.
Years of neglect clung to him like a shroud.
Even so, his voice still carried strength, a sign that something within him refused to give up.
As Isabel entered his view, Blake’s vision blurred.
The light from the setting sun framed her figure.
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20
It was like she was coming down from heaven.
For a moment, he was stunned.
Blake thought to himself, ‘Am I hallucinating? Is someone other than Stacy really standing in front of me?‘
“Are you Blake?” Isabel’s soft voice cut through the silence.
Blake blinked, realizing she was real.
His gaze sharpened, suspicion creeping into his expression.
“Who are you? What do you want?” he demanded.
Hannah stepped in, trying to ease the tension. “Mr. Yates, this is my daughter, Isabel. She’s the one you’re engaged to.”
Blake’s eyes narrowed further, his voice rising in defiance. “Don’t try to fool me around. Your daughter’s been here before, and she doesn’t look like this!”
A year ago, Amelia had secretly visited Blake.
When she saw his paralyzed state, her words were laced with cruelty. She cursed him, wished for his death, and mocked him relentlessly.
She had called him a daydreaming fool and vowed she would never marry him.
Blake would never forget that day.
The venomous woman he had met then was nothing like the calm, composed girl standing before him now.
Hannah quickly interjected to explain. “Mr. Yates, the girl you met before wasn’t our biological daughter. There was a mix- up at the hospital when they were born.
“That was Amelia, and she’s returned to her real family. This here is Isabel, our true daughter, and the one actually engaged to you.”
Blake listened to her explanation with a blank expression, his interest in their melodramatic family history nonexistent.
“What do you want?” he asked coldly. “Are you here to warn me? To tell me to back off and stop having delusions about the engagement?”
Isabel met his icy gaze without flinching, her voice calm but resolute. “I’m here to save you.”
“Saving me?” Blake was caught off guard.
He hadn’t yet processed her words when Isabel suddenly reached forward and lifted the blanket covering him.
“What are you doing?” he bellowed, his anger erupting.
But Isabel remained calm and unfazed by his outburst. “Saving you,” she said matter–of–factly. “How can I help you if I don’t take a look?”
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