Reborn Without You

Christopher's cold, detached voice cut through the air, sharp and grating.

Amelia turned and met his dark, unreadable eyes. He was still the same, blindly believing she and Evelyn were in the wrong, standing unconditionally on Nicole and Nathan's side.

Christopher didn't wait for Amelia to speak. His gaze shifted to Nicole, and his cold, hard tone softened just slightly. "Let's go in and have breakfast."

He didn't even glance at Evelyn. Without another word, he stepped into the hospital room with them and closed the door behind him.

Amelia stared at the closed door, fists clenched so tightly her nails nearly dug into her palms. Christopher's indifference made her eyes grow even colder.

How had she endured that kind of neglect for so many years? The thought was almost laughable. If she hadn't clung so desperately to getting a response from him and had left earlier with Evelyn, maybe her daughter wouldn't have faced such a tragedy in her last life.

"Mommy, I feel a lot better now. Can we leave the hospital today?"

Amelia looked down at her sweet, obedient daughter, and her chest tightened even more. "No matter who ever tries to bully you, you can't just endure it, do you understand?"

Evelyn nodded earnestly. "I understand."

-

After finishing the discharge procedures, Amelia took Evelyn to see her own mother, Claire Lane.

Claire lived in a villa out in the suburbs. It was a little far from the city, but the air was fresh and the scenery beautiful.

Amelia's parents had long been on the verge of divorce, but her father, Jonathan Sinclair, had refused to agree. In the end, Claire simply moved out and made a home for herself.

Amelia liked bringing Evelyn over to chat with Claire and spend some time together.

Evelyn was overjoyed to see her grandmother and ran into her arms, cuddling up and acting like a pampered child.

Claire laughed as she scooped Evelyn up. "Oh my little granddaughter, you've grown taller! What do you want to eat today? Grandma will make it just for you."

"I want smoked ribs!"

"All right, Grandma will make it for you."

After a few minutes of coaxing Evelyn, Claire let her run upstairs to watch TV on her own.

Then she turned to Amelia. "It's Wednesday. How did you find time to come by?"

Amelia settled into a chair. "How's business been lately?"

Claire managed her own enterprises, but recently things hadn't been going well. Profits were down, and she was practically operating at a loss.

Her business was also why Jonathan had been dragging his feet on the divorce. They had been married for years, and dividing their assets was complicated. Their interests were deeply intertwined, and ending the marriage wasn't easy.

Jonathan had long had a mistress, who had given him two children, which explained his ongoing dislike for Amelia.

After Amelia married Christopher, Jonathan tried to win her over, hoping to leverage Christopher's connections for his business. But Christopher had never cared for her, so he naturally had no interest in her family affairs.

Because of that, Jonathan flew into a rage, yelling at Claire for giving birth to a worthless child.

Claire just shook her head. "Same as always."

Amelia looked down at her hands. Over the years, she had sent extra money to her mother whenever she could, but she hadn't paid much attention to the details of Claire's business.

In her previous life, she had thrown herself entirely into Christopher. It wasn't until two days before Evelyn's death that Claire's business finally declared bankruptcy.

Amelia said, "I'll send you another sum in a while. You can use it to adjust the company's internal operations. The old model is outdated and can't keep up with the times. You could also invest in emerging industries like new energy. Any old-fashioned leaders in the company? Replace them if needed."

Claire frowned at her. "Where did you get the money? Did Chris—"

Amelia cut her off sharply. "No. I'm planning to divorce him."

After so many years of marriage, Christopher had never cared about the Sinclair family's affairs. Even when her family was on the brink of bankruptcy, he never lifted a finger to help. Meanwhile, Nicole had gone abroad to study and ran out of money, and he had wired her millions without a second thought.

If it hadn't been for Amelia's uncle stepping in, her mother might already have been buried under billions in debt.

Claire's eyes softened as she looked at her daughter, tinged with pain. She sighed. "It's my fault for not being capable. If someone had your back in your family, you wouldn't have suffered so much in the Zephyr family."

She turned her face away, tears glistening in her eyes. "You had to endure all this before even thinking about a divorce."

"It's all in the past."

Amelia shouldn't have insisted on marrying Christopher back then.

A woman in love always thought that running the household and raising the children would make a man fall for her.

-

Amelia left Evelyn with Claire.

Her resignation had been approved, and she was heading to Zephyr Group to complete the process.

In the company lobby, she ran straight into Christopher.

He was dressed in a black suit, striding purposefully toward the exit, as if something urgent had come up.

Amelia's expression was calm and neutral as she stepped aside to let him pass.

Christopher had always treated her as if she were invisible, habitually ignoring her. No matter how she greeted him or tried to make herself seen, he acted as though she didn't exist.

"Chris, over here!"

Outside the main doors, Nicole waved cheerfully at him. "Why are you coming down to meet me? I could've gone upstairs myself."

For a moment, Amelia thought of how he had never once shown such thoughtfulness for her, not in wind or rain. It seemed that as long as it was someone else, Christopher's attitude would always be different.

She calmly looked away, no longer caring about what was happening between them.

Then she stepped into the elevator and rode up to the fifth-floor HR department to submit her resignation.

Emily Caldwell from HR looked a little surprised. "You're really resigning? I thought you were just joking around."

Everyone knew Amelia was just a lowly assistant, and she didn't handle any real projects. Most days, she was fetching tea and coffee for meetings, running errands. Because she had to go home and take care of her daughter, complex tasks were out of the question.

Even though Christopher barely acknowledged her, she had always followed him eagerly. Now, suddenly wanting to leave without any obvious reason seemed impossible—like the sun rising in the west.

Amelia didn't want to say more. Her face was cold as she simply replied, "Yes."

Emily couldn't help rolling her eyes internally.

Amelia was just a small-time assistant, yet she was acting all high and mighty. Today, Christopher's girlfriend had come to the office and the entire group chat had exploded. Everyone was talking about how poised and impressive she was. She was freshly back from studying abroad, holding dual PhDs in financial technology and aerospace engineering.

She and Christopher were truly a power couple.

Emily figured Amelia probably realized she couldn't compare, felt small and insecure, and decided to quit because of it.

Emily said in a serious tone, "Your resignation is processed. Mia, just a piece of advice. Wherever you go next, don't waste time thinking about people you shouldn't."

When Amelia heard that, she was silent. For the first time, she realized how unworthy her former self had really been.

All this time, she had loved Christopher so deeply. Yet to everyone else, it had looked like nothing more than one-sided obsession and foolish infatuation.

Everyone could see it but her, and she was only now waking up to it. Maybe the last life had been God's punishment.

Amelia took a quiet, deep breath.

She cast Emily a calm, measured glance. "Thanks for your concern, but I don't need any advice regarding my career."

Stepping out of HR and down into the lobby, she saw Christopher and Nicole still there.

In the past, she would have wanted to run into Christopher every day. But now, the sight of him just made her feel annoyed. She stepped forward, intending to leave.

Unexpectedly, Christopher called after her in a slow, deliberate voice. "Amelia, take a cup of coffee up to my office for Nikki."

Nicole immediately chimed in. "Chris has been telling me for ages that you make amazing coffee, Mia. He says you're perfect for these little tasks and that you're so capable. I could never do all the delicate things women do.

"Oh, and the coffee has to be hand-ground. I can't stand instant coffee," Nicole added.

Amelia paused mid-step and glanced at her. "Actually, I think instant coffee suits you better. It's cheap and easy, just like you."