Chapter 2
Alicia's POV
The car slowly drove down the tree-lined avenue. When that white mansion appeared before me, my heart clenched painfully.
Kensington Manor. My home.
White columns gleamed golden in the sunset, roses bloomed in the English garden, and the air was filled with a faint floral fragrance. Everything was exactly as I remembered—beautiful and elegant, yet it reminded me of those painful memories.
Tears instantly welled up in my eyes.
As soon as the car stopped, a tall figure came running from the house next door.
"Alicia... you really came back."
Steven Mitchell—my childhood playmate, son of the family's private physician Dr. Mitchell.
"Steven?" I feigned surprise, my voice trembling slightly. "You still remember me?"
"Of course I remember," he approached a few steps, his voice choking. "We used to play in the garden together as kids. After you disappeared, I looked for you every day... prayed every day for you to come back..."
Seeing the pain and longing in his eyes, I almost couldn't help rushing over to hug him.
Just then, the manor's front door opened, and a frail figure stood timidly at the top of the stairs, holding a suitcase.
Rose Kensington. My supposed sister.
After I disappeared, my grief-stricken parents had adopted her, hoping to fill the void left by their lost daughter.
She looked so fragile, with a sickly flush on her pale cheeks and large eyes filled with anxiety and fear.
"Sister... I'm Rose... you... you finally came back."
She carefully set down her suitcase and hurried toward me. "I'll move out of your room right away. This was always your home. I... I was just staying temporarily. I shouldn't have taken your things..."
Seeing her terrified and anxious state broke my heart!
Memories from my previous life flooded back—Rose had never hurt me, never! On the contrary, she always silently endured my senseless coldness and malice. After our parents died, she used her frail shoulders to hold up the entire household, staying by my side through life's darkest moments.
She prepared three meals for me every day, held me as I cried myself to sleep each night, and when I was on the verge of a mental breakdown, she spent all her savings to get me the best therapist...
And I had treated her as the culprit who stole our parents' love!
"Rose..." I opened my arms proactively, tears streaming down my face. "My sister..."
Rose froze, clearly not expecting me to be so emotional.
"Sister?" She looked at me in disbelief, her eyes full of shock.
I rushed over and hugged her tightly, so hard, as if trying to make up for all the debt I owed her in my previous life.
"We're family," I said through tears, my voice trembling with emotion. "I will NEVER let you move away! There's plenty of room here—we'll stay together forever!"
Rose's tears burst forth like a broken dam. "Sister... really? You really don't blame me? I thought... I thought you'd hate me for taking your place..."
"Silly girl!" I hugged her even tighter. "You didn't take anyone's place! You're my beloved sister, always and forever!"
Carol and Howard watched our embrace in shock, tears in their eyes. Steven's eyes also reddened.
"My daughters..." Carol choked out. "You're finally reunited..."
Dinner was sumptuous, all the dishes I'd loved as a child. The family sat around the table, seemingly happy, but my heart was a mix of emotions, tears ready to fall at any moment.
"Tomorrow I'll take you shopping," Carol said gently. "And we need to handle your transfer paperwork."
"And the trust fund matters," Howard added. "You're the family's primary heir—there are some legal procedures to handle."
After dinner, I retired to my room early. The room was kept exactly as it had been when I was little—princess bed, pink canopy, shelves full of dolls. On the vanity sat an exquisite scented candle.
"I prepared it especially for you," came Carol's gentle voice behind me. "Lavender scent—it helps with sleep. You loved this fragrance most as a little girl."
Her eyes sparkled with loving light, as if I were still that little girl who needed to be coaxed to sleep.
My nose instantly stung. "Mama... thank you for remembering these things. I thought... I thought you'd forget my childhood habits."
"How could we, silly child?" Carol stroked my hair gently. "All these years, we've kept your room exactly the same, hoping that someday you'd come back."
Night fell, and the manor grew quiet. I sat on the edge of my bed, heart anxious and uneasy, hands clenched white. In my previous life, this was when Gabriel's voice first appeared.
When the clock struck 9 PM, the faint lavender scent filled the room. My eyelids grew heavy, and my consciousness gradually blurred.
Then, that voice that haunted my dreams spoke.
"Alicia..."
A gentle, sacred voice.
"I am your guardian angel Gabriel. Child, I can feel the pain and fear in your heart."
Tears instantly blurred my vision like a flood!
Gabriel! My guardian angel! If only I'd listened to him in my previous life...
"I will protect you and your family," Gabriel's voice said gently. "But you must trust me completely and follow my guidance."
"YES!" I responded frantically in my mind, trembling with excitement. "I trust you! I'll listen to everything you say!"
"Your father faces danger," Gabriel continued. "Soon I will tell you how to protect him. And your stepmother Carol—she will also encounter disaster."
Memories crashed over me like a tidal wave, each scene cutting my heart like a knife.
The equestrian club, on a sunny afternoon.
In my previous life, Gabriel had warned me: "Don't let your father go to the equestrian club tomorrow—he'll be in mortal danger!"
But back then I thought it was just hallucinations and ignored it.
The next day at 10 AM sharp, Howard went to the equestrian club as planned, and then... that life-changing phone call came. A nurse's trembling voice told me that father had fallen from his horse, his spine broken, and was already gone by the time he reached the hospital.
"NO!!! DADDY!!!"
I remembered my own heart-wrenching screams, remembered how I knelt on that cold hospital floor, sobbing...
It was all my fault! I had killed my beloved father!
The night before the charity gala.
Gabriel had also pleaded: "Don't let Carol go to the charity gala tomorrow—there will be fatal danger on the road!"
But father's death had already completely shattered my mind. I nodded mechanically, then turned and forgot immediately.
The next evening at 8:30, Carol went to the charity gala full of anticipation, only to be killed by a drunk driver at the intersection...
"MAMA!!! NO!!!"
I could never forget what I saw when I arrived at the scene—Carol lying in a pool of blood, her beautiful face already pale as paper...
Hospital rooftop, a night of despair.
The pain of losing my parents ate at my heart like venomous snakes. I stood at the edge of the 20-story rooftop, my heart filled only with endless darkness.
"It's all my fault... I killed them both..." I cried hysterically.
Rose rushed onto the rooftop, crying as she ran toward me. "Sister! Don't jump! Please don't leave me!"
But I was already completely consumed by guilt and despair, and jumped without hesitation...
Snapping back from the painful memories, I trembled all over.
"I... I'll listen to you!" I said to Gabriel excitedly. "Please tell me what to do! I can't lose my family again!"
"Very good, child," Gabriel said with relief. "When danger comes, I will warn you in time. Remember, you must believe every word I say without hesitation."
"I SWEAR!" I clenched my fists, nails digging deep into my palms. "Whatever you say, no matter how incredible it sounds, I'll do it!"
