Reborn to Watch Him Regret Choosing My Twin Chapter 02

Reborn to Watch Him Regret Choosing My Twin Chapter 02

He died early and left me with a truth I couldn’t stomach.

I followed him soon after.

When I opened my eyes again, it was the night of our engagement. I was holding Sterling’s phone. My sister’s message was right there on the screen.

[Sterling, I took something. If you don’t come save me, I’ll find some random guy.]

This time, I quietly marked it as unread. Just as I was about to set the phone down, a hand clamped around my wrist. The pain made me wince.

“Clara Nash! What the hell are you doing?”

I looked at him, bitter. His perfectly styled hair was a mess. The tie I’d knotted for him was crooked. His eyes were shot through with veins, almost savage.

It was the first time I’d seen him panic for someone else. “Nothing. Your phone lit up. I was bringing it to you.”

He snatched it from my hand.

He read the message, his throat bobbing. Not a single word of explanation. He turned and bolted out the door.

His shoulder slammed into mine. Half my body went numb from the impact.

After that came the ruined bed. The tangled bodies. My parents, weeping with joy, announcing the engagement swap.

I accepted all of it.

On the day my wedding was repurposed for my sister and Sterling, I boarded a plane and started a three-year trip around the world.

Maybe that comment from my college roommate rattled my sister again. My mom called. The first call in three years.

We hadn’t spoken in so long. We barely knew how to talk to each other anymore.

“Hello?”

Silence hung between us after that.

“Mom. What’s going on?”

I broke the ice first. She hesitated, then grabbed the lifeline.

“No—nothing. Are you doing okay in Switzerland?”

“Mom. I’m in New Zealand.”

She sounded flustered.

“What? When did you—your posts—”

I didn’t want to hear her scramble for excuses.

“That was six months ago. Just tell me what you want.”

“You’re still so—”

So hard to love. Not sweet like your sister. I’d heard those words enough to fill two hours without repeating myself.

She finally got to the point.

“It’s been three years. A girl your age, all alone out there—it’s not safe. And you’re not getting any younger. You still haven’t found a boyfriend. Your sister worries about you.”

Worried about me. Or worried Sterling might still be hung up on me.

We both knew the answer.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. I thought three years away would cool things down for everyone.

Clearly, they didn’t need to cool down. They’d always protected my sister. I was just the obstacle that got in the way of their favoritism.

“What are you trying to say?”

My mom’s voice went sheepish on the other end. She must’ve heard the ice in mine.

My dad stepped in, playing the stern father. “That’s how you talk to your mother? Three years, and not a word from you.”

“Come home. Your mother and I found a match for you. Get married while you still can. Stop making the whole family worry.”

My mom chimed in.

“It’s the Grant family’s son. We know them well. He’s been back from the U.K. for three years now, still single. His father worried sick about him. Perfect timing. You two can meet.”

I was a little surprised.

Grey Grant. He was kind of our childhood friend too. He just never talked much. He’d follow us around and not say a single word all day.

My sister thought he was good-looking at first and tried to get close to him. But he was too cold. Even as a kid, he carried himself like the whole world owed him something.

Sterling got along with him okay. They played basketball together a lot. Every time I asked to tag along, Grey would shoot me down with that ice-cold face.

I always thought he hated me.

Not long after, we went to college. He did what his family wanted and went abroad. Six years, gone.

“He’s okay with this?”

I couldn’t help asking.

My mom’s laugh was bright. “Of course. You think we’d just spring this on him?”

I tapped the railing, a dull rhythm. My fingers curled inward. “Fine. I’ll fly back tomorrow.”