Chapter 4: Rebirth

Upon regaining consciousness, Helen Blair found herself lying in bed, shrouded in pitch-black darkness, with no idea where she was.

The air carried a familiar fragrance of aromatic oil. It was her favourite lavender, known for its aid in sleep. She had been using this essential oil every night since her mother passed away when she was 12.

She sat up, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. She found herself lying on a redwood bed with a light gauze canopy. A suspicion rose in her heart. She stretched out her hand to the bedpost and found distinctive carved letters upon it. Upon examination, they turned out to be the all too familiar name, 'Helen Blair'.

As if she heard her mother's soft voice whispering, "Helen, this bed is an antique from the Ming Dynasty, the favourite of your grandpa. Even I didn't dare to sleep on it, yet you, my naughty girl, dared to carve on it! Be careful, if Grandpa knew it in his afterlife, he might teach you a lesson in your dreams!"

As a ten-year-old, she laughed and said, "No, Grandpa won't blame me. Grandpa loved me the most. I want to carve my name on the bed. Then, whoever sleeps in it, will know this bed once belonged to someone called Helen Blair!"

"Silly child, you always have these peculiar ideas!" She seemed to see her mother reaching out to touch her head, and Helen couldn't help but reach her hand out too. Yet the moment she touched her mother's hand, her phantom mother shattered like a burst bubble.

Tears welled up in Helen's eyes.

Mom…

She wiped her tears, sniffed, got off the bed, and looked around at her surroundings. The dim light from within the room revealed assorted furnishings.

The Suzhou embroidery screen standing at the foot of the bed featured noblewomen. A round wooden table was placed in front of the screen. On wooden shelves along the right wall, various antiques were displayed…

Helen rubbed her eyes, hardly able to believe what she was seeing.

Her breathing began to quicken; she turned around, walked to the wall, and instinctively located the light switch. She flicked it on.

The room was suddenly bathed in light.

Helen lifted her gaze to the octagonal palace lamp hanging from the ceiling, its long tassels swaying slightly, and then looked at the furnishings in the room - familiar yet so strange, she gasped.

Familiar because this was the place where she had lived since she was born, the old Blair family mansion. This was her room, where she had lived for 14 years!

What was strange though, how could she still be here? After Amelia Walker entered her life, her father moved them out of the old mansion. The following year, the old Blair mansion burnt down, and all the antiques Grandpa had painstakingly collected over his lifetime were turned to ashes. Though her father later spent a fortune to restore the mansion, earning the praise of the Blair Group's old employees for his nostalgia, the antiques could never be replaced.

Despite all of this, how could she still be here, sleeping on the antique redwood bed that had turned to ashes?

Besides, wasn't she dead? How could she be here? Could this place be heaven?

Helen was momentarily dazed, her mind in complete disarray.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Helen looked towards it. A husky voice, with a Lakewood accent, came from the other side, "Miss, are you awake?"

Helen stared at the door, her heart pounding.

That was... that was Auntie Eva's voice...

But Auntie Eva... hadn't she died from a sudden heart attack when Helen was 15?

Her gaze transfixed on the door, intent as if trying to see right through it.

The voice behind the door faded, and then the door was gently pushed open. A sixty-year-old woman dressed in a white top and black trousers entered.

This short, plump woman had a round face and eyes that crinkled into a line when she smiled.

"Miss, I heard you moving around. Are you hungry? Would you like something?"

As Helen watched her smiling face, her tears sprang up at the sound of the deeply ingrained voice. She went over to Auntie Eva, saying, "Auntie Eva… Auntie Eva…"

Such a warm embrace, the most gentle hands, the kindest voice, her heart surged with grievance. She wanted to break down and cry in her embrace.

Was this a dream or heaven? Whatever it was, please let her stay here, she needed this warmth. She didn't want to remember those horrifying things...

Seeing Helen's tears, Auntie Eva's face expressed her heartfelt pain, "My little girl, why are you crying? Did you have a nightmare? Don't be afraid, Auntie Eva is here."

Auntie Eva opened her arms to envelop her in a hug.

Helen leaned into her soft embrace, the familiar scent of soap enveloping her, and the tears simply wouldn't stop.

It was really Auntie Eva, it was only she who still liked to use this soap for laundry.

Auntie Eva gently patted her back and softly consoled her, "Don't be afraid, Miss. Even though your stepmother is coming soon, Auntie Eva will always protect you."

Hearing the words 'stepmother', Helen, who was weeping, suddenly trembled and looked up at Auntie Eva.

"Your stepmother... is coming..."

Auntie Eva pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped away Helen's tears, her actions delicate and her eyes full of compassion. "It's a tough life (a Lakewood dialect), it's been a long while since your mother passed away, and now the new mistress is about to enter, that Miss Walker might seem kind on the surface but there's something restless in her eyes, I do not like her," she said.

Helen stared blankly at Auntie Eva, unable to react immediately.

Seeing her dazed expression, Auntie Eva assumed Helen was worried about this situation and felt even more sympathetic. She sighed, gently guiding Helen towards the antique redwood bed as she spoke. "There's no need for you to worry, Miss. No matter what, you are the only heir of the Blair Family, no one can bully you. Do not overthink it, relax. You cannot control if it rained, if your mother wanted to remarry, or if your father wants to take a stepmother. Get some good sleep!"

Guided by Auntie Eva, Helen walked slightly dazed, her mind in a whirl.

What happened? What is going on?

As she passed by the large redwood wardrobe, her gaze glanced at it unintentionally. Immediately, her heart pounded. She shrugged off Auntie Eva's hand and rushed to the mirror on the wardrobe.

She clearly saw her reflection in the smooth and bright mirror.

A small and delicately shaped face, a skin so tender and fair, without the freckles that even the most expensive make-up product could not erase. Bright clear eyes, now radiant with an energy, long hair cascading down her shoulders, soft as silk, without any signs of damage from constant perming and dyeing.

Her figure was not yet fully mature, slightly juvenile, but her slender frame already hinted at a graceful charm.

She looked exactly as she did when she was fourteen or fifteen!

Helen stared at her own reflection in the mirror, too shocked to describe her feelings.

An idea suddenly occurred to her, this thought excited and thrilled her! She stretched out her arm and bit into the flesh, a wave of pain coursing through her body, she cried out, but the pain only made her heart race.

Everything was real, not a dream, not heaven!

Auntie Eva beside her was startled. "Miss, why are you biting yourself? You're bleeding!" She grabbed Helen's arm to examine the wound.

At this moment, Helen was too distracted to care. She turned to Auntie Eva impatiently, "Auntie Eva, you're turning 65 this year, right?"

Auntie Eva raised her head and smiled, "You remember quite well, Miss."

Helen was overflowed with excitement. She looked at Auntie Eva, then turned her head to the left where the incensed table was placed. Atop the table was a portrait of her mother, Isabella, with a bronze incense burner before the portrait and a stick of incense stuck in it.

She gradually realized the reality of a scenario that only occurred in novels but was now happening to her.

She had been reborn, back to ten years ago!

That year, she was fourteen!

That year, her mother had been dead for two years!

That year, her stepmother Amelia Walker married Sebastian Carter!

Her chaotic mind suddenly became unbelievably clear. Her wildly beating heart began to calm down.

In the hospital room, Amelia Walker, Ruby Carter, Sebastian Carter, their every word, every sneer, every expression clearly reemerging before her eyes, echoing in her ears like a sharp needle, gradually pricking her heart.

Helen lowered her head, gripping her fists, trembled slightly.

This must be a chance given by the heavens. If everything could be done over, then...

I will seek justice for my mother, for myself!

I will reclaim everything that belongs to me!

I will reduce each and every one of them!

I will make them pay for all the pain I've endured!

"Miss, wait a while, I'll get some medicine for you. It's hot now, and you could easily get infected." Auntie Eva helped Helen to sit on the bed and went to fetch the medical kit from the cupboard.

As Helen watched Auntie Eva's plump figure, her heart, filled with resentment, softened again.

Also... I must protect all those I care about and who care about me. I will ensure their safety and happiness...

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