Chapter 4

My fingers twitched.

In my last life, I always believed Faye was the one who sent those things to my dorm.

When I was too sick to get out of bed, I would hold that scarf and truly believe someone out there cared about me.

But hearing her say it now made my skin crawl.

I looked straight at her. "You sent them?"

"Yeah," she said with a small smile. "I even picked out the scarf myself."

"What color was it?" I asked.

She blinked, caught off guard. "It was gray."

I had to hold back a laugh.

The scarf had been dark blue. There was a tiny silver button sewn into one corner. I had never been able to throw it away.

Faye saw the look on my face, and something in her expression finally cracked.

Just then, the sound of high heels clicked against the stone path.

Haley stood under the porch, her hands in her coat pockets. She looked like she had not heard a word we said. "Are you two finished?"

Faye quickly fixed her expression, soft and gentle again. "Ms. Dunn, I was just giving Jasper his jacket."

"You gave it to him. You can leave now," Haley said.

Faye did not argue. She lowered her head and walked past Haley.

After she was gone, Haley turned to me. "Did you do that on purpose?"

"I was testing her," I said.

"And what did you find out?"

I stepped closer and met her eyes. "I found out I used to be blind."

Her expression did not change, but her ears gave the slightest twitch.

She grabbed the jacket from my hands and shoved it back against my chest. "Jasper."

"Yeah?" I said.

"Stop acting crazy in front of me," she said.

I caught the jacket. Then I lowered my head and took a quiet breath, catching the faint scent on it. "Then you should stop keeping secrets from me."

She paused for a second. Then she turned and walked away like she had not heard me at all.

*****

Three days later, I almost fell down the stairs.

It wasn't because I tripped. My heart seized so hard that my vision went black. My legs turned to jelly, and I couldn't stay on my feet.

I grabbed the railing and held on for a long time, my palms slick with cold sweat.

I was all too familiar with this feeling.

In the last month of my previous life, it had happened over and over again.

It always started the same way. My fingers would go numb. Then came the fluttering in my chest, the dizziness, the long, sleepless nights.

Later, even water tasted bitter. When I lay in bed, it felt like a heavy, wet blanket was pressing down on me, stealing the air from my lungs. I couldn't breathe.

Back then, Faye would sit by my bed. She would look worried and tell me to rest.

I actually believed her.

This time, I pulled out my phone and called Haley.

She picked up right away. "Speak."

"I'm at home," I said.

"And?"

"Are you coming to get me?" I asked.

There was a brief silence on the other end. She sounded like she was about to laugh out of frustration. "Jasper, you—"

I cut in, "My heart is fluttering again."

The line went quiet. When she spoke again, her tone had completely changed. "Don't eat anything. Stay where you are. Don't move. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

She arrived in seventeen minutes.

When she walked in, she didn't even bother to close her umbrella. Rainwater soaked the shoulders of her black coat. A private doctor and two bodyguards followed right behind her.

My father tried to ask what was going on, but she didn't even look at him. She simply pointed at me. "Take him."

Leaning against the sofa, I almost laughed.

In my past life, this had been the scene I hated most. But now, seeing it happen again, I felt safe for the first time.

Haley walked over and looked at my pale face. She frowned. "Can you walk?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Then get in the car," she said.

I reached out and caught her sleeve. "How many days are you going to lock me up this time?"

She looked at me, her expression cold. "That depends on whether you're going to die."

When the door of Hilltop Estate closed behind us, I heard the familiar electronic lock. It gave a soft beep.

In my past life, that sound used to make me angry. This time, it calmed me down.

Haley left the doctor with me. She stood by the door, her voice cold. "Jasper, I don't have time to play games. Stay here. No visitors. Don't go into the kitchen. Don't take any medicine I haven't approved. Give me your phone."

As I handed it over, I asked, "Is this a prison, or are you protecting me?"

"Do you think you get to choose?" She took the phone from my hand. "If you keep talking, I will cut off the internet."

"Go ahead," I said, watching her. "As long as you're here."

She froze for a second. Then she shoved my phone into her pocket and turned to leave.

At the door, she paused. "Don't go into the last room on the second floor."

I smiled a little. "What happens if I do?"

"I'll break your legs." Then she walked out and slammed the door.

The doctor drew my blood and gave me medicine. Dinner was so plain that it barely tasted like food.