📖 The Story Continues
The story doesn't end here.Continue reading the full story adaptation below and discover what happens next.
Reborn to Love Mr. Right – Episode 04
Arianna stood in the middle of the gym with both feet planted firmly on the floor, almost afraid that one blink would return her to Hayden’s arms as her life drained away. Her lungs filled without pain. Her body felt young, strong, and untouched by the crash that had condemned her to a wheelchair. Around her, basketballs bounced and students shouted, unaware that a dead woman had just awakened among them.
The coach’s whistle cut through the noise. “Arianna, Ivy, get ready. You two are up in five.” At the sound of Ivy’s name, Arianna turned sharply. Across the court stood the girl who would one day confess to sabotaging her car, now wearing a school uniform and an innocent smile.
Ivy looked younger, but Arianna could already recognize the calculation behind her sweetness. In the previous life, she had dismissed Ivy’s constant dependence on Derek as harmless friendship. She had even bought gifts for her, defended her, and apologized whenever Ivy claimed to feel excluded. Knowing how that kindness would be repaid made Arianna’s stomach twist.
She checked the date beside the scoreboard once more. This was not merely a memory; it was the day of the volleyball match during senior year. She remembered it because she had deliberately played badly for Ivy and later endured extra training while Ivy went out with Derek. What had seemed like a tiny sacrifice then had been one of hundreds that taught them both she could be controlled.
“Hey.” The familiar voice came from behind her. Arianna went still before slowly turning to face Derek. He looked exactly as he had when she first loved him—handsome, confident, and dressed in clothes she had paid for without ever mentioning the cost.
For one dangerous second, her body remembered affection before her mind summoned the truth. She saw him standing over her wheelchair, calling her disgusting. She heard him accuse her of heroin addiction and watched him walk away after Ivy admitted they had caused the crash. The boy before her had not committed those crimes yet, but the selfishness that would make them possible already lived in his eyes.
Derek mistook her silence for devotion, as he always had. “Go easy on Ivy when you’re on the court,” he said. “She’s on her period today.” There was no greeting and no concern for Arianna, only another instruction designed to protect Ivy. He spoke as if her obedience were as natural as breathing.
He glanced toward the vending machines by the gym entrance. “And when class is over, get her a soda.” Arianna remembered obeying that command in her first life. She had bought the drink with her own money, only to find Derek wiping sweat from Ivy’s forehead while they laughed about Arianna’s clumsy performance.
The humiliation no longer cut the way it once had. Instead, it exposed the pattern she had been too infatuated to see. Derek had trained her to serve Ivy long before he stole Taylor Industries. Every small surrender prepared Arianna to make a larger one, until signing away a company seemed no different from fetching a soda.
“This is Derek from senior year,” she thought, studying him with cold clarity. He did not yet own her accounts or control her father’s business. Her father was alive, her body was uninjured, and Hayden had not spent years believing she was happy without him. Fate had returned Arianna to the point where every disaster could still be stopped.
Her hands curled at her sides. In the life that had ended on a ballroom floor, she had given Derek everything and received betrayal in return. This time, she would protect what belonged to her. She would expose every lie, keep Ivy far from her family, and repay their cruelty before they ever had the chance to destroy her.
Derek frowned when she failed to respond. He was accustomed to Arianna watching him with open admiration, eager for any task that might earn a smile. Her steady gaze unsettled him. “Did you go deaf or something?” he demanded, stepping closer.
His irritation might once have sent her scrambling to apologize. Now it seemed almost pathetic. Derek’s authority over her had never come from wealth or power; it came from the love she freely gave him. The moment that love died, he was only the driver’s arrogant son ordering the Taylor heiress around in a gym.
“In case you’re too dense to understand,” he continued, sharpening each word, “lose to Ivy on purpose.” He leaned near enough that anyone watching might mistake the exchange for intimacy. “Did you hear me?”
Arianna glanced past him at Ivy, who was stretching beside the net while stealing expectant looks in their direction. Ivy clearly knew what Derek had asked. Her supposed physical discomfort had not stopped her from preparing to enjoy a victory purchased through Arianna’s humiliation. The two of them had been conspiring in plain sight even then.
The old Arianna would have nodded quickly and worried that refusal might cost her Derek’s affection. The woman who had died knew that his affection had never existed. She also knew the value of letting an enemy believe a command had been obeyed until the moment consequences arrived. Her anger cooled into resolve.
“Yeah,” Arianna said softly. Derek’s shoulders relaxed, confidence returning at once. He heard submission because that was all he expected from her. Arianna let the pause stretch until his satisfied smile began to form.
Then she met his eyes. “I heard you.” There was no warmth in her voice, no anxious need to please him. The difference was subtle enough that Derek could not name it, yet strong enough to erase his smile.
“Loud and clear,” she added. The whistle blew again, calling the players toward the court. Arianna walked past Derek without waiting for permission, enjoying the strength in every step and the shock of being the one to leave him behind.
At the service line, she picked up the volleyball and felt its familiar weight settle into her palm. Across the net, Ivy offered a confident little smile, certain the outcome had already been arranged. Arianna smiled back as she raised the ball, knowing this would be the first promise to Derek she intended to break.
