Chapter 2 Rebirth

I slowly opened my eyes and felt a sharp pain throbbing in my head, as if I had fallen from a great height and crashed into the ground. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to make sense of what I was feeling, then opened them again and looked around in confusion. The place seemed strangely familiar, and with every passing second, the details became clearer and clearer. Rows of chairs lined the sides of the room, and several people sat quietly, holding files in their hands while waiting for their turn.

My breathing quickened, and suddenly my eyes widened as I stared at my surroundings.

I knew this place well.Far too well.

This was the interview waiting room.

I quickly sat up straighter and placed a hand against my chest, feeling the rapid beat of my heart. It was strong and real, leaving no room for doubt.

“I'm alive...? I was supposed to be dead" i whispered

The question slipped from my lips in a trembling whisper.

The moment I said it, memories flooded back into my mind all at once. I remembered the fall, the blood that had covered everything, James's betrayal, Lena, and the last words I had spoken before losing consciousness completely.

“If there is another life, I will never marry someone like you.”

My lips trembled, and a shiver ran through my body.

“No... that's impossible.”

I immediately began checking my body like a madwoman ...my hands, my legs, my face. Everything was intact.

I looked around once more, searching desperately for a logical explanation while asking myself if this was all a dream. But no matter how much I tried to deny it, the truth was right in front of me.

I had come back to life.

My gaze dropped to my formal clothes and then to the file in my hands, and I froze.

“This is the interview day...”

I whispered the words as the shock inside me deepened.It was the day that had changed my entire life.

In my previous life, this had been my only chance to obtain an important position in one of the biggest companies. I had worked hard for years to reach this moment. Yet when the time came, I threw everything away with my own hands. I hadn't failed the interview because I wasn't qualified. I had deliberately given wrong answers after seeing James here.

Back then, I was so deeply in love with him that I placed him above myself and above my own future. When I learned that there was only one available position, I made my decision without hesitation and gave the opportunity to him, convinced that his success was more important than mine and that his happiness was worth any sacrifice.

How foolish I had been.

I slowly stood up, still trying to understand what was happening around me, then tightened my grip on the file and headed toward the interview room. My steps were different this time—steadier and more certain. There was no fear paralyzing me as there had been before, and no hesitation making me doubt myself.

The moment I entered the room, my eyes landed on James.

He stood there confidently, as if he owned the entire place. He wore the same face, the same smile, and the same arrogant look that I had once found attractive, but now it only disgusted me.

He turned toward me, looked me up and down, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

“Oh, you're here? Still carrying that file as if it means something? I remember when you used to carry my reports at university. Some habits never die.”

I looked at him coldly without answering. In my previous life, that wasn't what he had said.

I remembered clearly how he had approached me back then.

“Even if you don't succeed, it's okay. In the future, you'll have a husband who will take care of you.”

He had said it with a gentle smile.

At the time, his words had felt like a beautiful promise, as though I truly mattered to him. That was why I loved him even more, and why I gave up my dreams so easily for his sake.

But now, I saw those words for what they really were nothing more than a way to take advantage of my feelings.

I walked past him without saying a single word, as though he didn't exist at all. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of annoyance crossing his face, but I didn't care.

I entered the interview room and sat down confidently. Placing the file in front of me, I lifted my head toward the three people seated across the table. The questions began, and this time I didn't hesitate to answer any of them. I responded with confidence and precision, drawing on everything I had learned through years of study and research. Despite the passage of time, I had never forgotten the things I had learned with passion or worked hard to master.

My voice remained steady, and my gaze never wavered. I was no longer the girl who sacrificed herself for a man.

While answering one of the questions, I noticed the man seated in the middle shift slightly. Throughout the interview, he had seemed completely uninterested, but something had changed. He slowly raised his head and looked directly at me for the first time.

His voice was calm, yet it carried an authority that immediately drew everyone's attention.

“What value will you bring to the company?”

I froze.

It wasn't because of the question.

It was because of his face.

The moment I saw him clearly, my breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened in shock.

That face was far too familiar.

“You?”

The word escaped before I could stop it.

I stared at him in disbelief and muttered,

“Your features...”

Suddenly, the memories returned. I remembered that quiet student from university, the young man who was always silent and isolated. The students had even given him the nickname “the mute” because he rarely spoke to anyone.

I had always defended him whenever I heard people mocking him, saying that everyone had reasons and circumstances others knew nothing about. I had even tried more than once to talk to him and become his friend, but I had never succeeded.

I looked at him again, unable to hide my astonishment.

He had changed so much.

He had become far more handsome and mature, and the strength of his presence and natural authority made him completely different from the image I had kept of him in my memory.

I continued staring at him for several moments.

“You... the mute?”

I said it out loud, the shock still clearly written across my face.