My Reborn Admirer Wins Over My Heart (Oriana) novel Chapter 245

Chapter 245 Destiny

Oriana flushed as the group of elders crowded around her Instagram, squinting through their reading glasses and chuckling to one another.

Thankfully, she didn’t post much–mostly science content and the occasional lab photo- otherwise, her comments and notifications would have exploded by now.

They were all scrolling with surprising seriousness when one of them, Alberto Chavez recently retired comrade–suddenly slapped his thigh. “Oriana, in this group photo on your Instagram–this guy here looks familiar. I swear I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

Another man leaned closer. “Which one? Show me.”

“It’s that group photo she posted last month–the Multi–Disciplinary Team one. The tall guy, back row, middle.”

“Let me see… Wait–he does look familiar. Actually, I think I’ve seen him when he was younger.”

“Really? Let me take a look!” Bryan fished out his own pair of glasses, curiosity piqued.

“Who’s that?” At that exact moment, a deep, cold voice cut through the chatter.

The tone made the hairs on the back of Oriana’s neck stand up. A chill ran down her spine. She hurriedly snatched her phone to check the photo herself.

The tall man in the middle of the last row…

Her eyes focused–and her breath caught.

Leo.

How could it be him?

She blinked in disbelief, her thoughts spinning.

Meanwhile, Alberto was still staring at the photo oblivious to the tension that had descended on the table.

Randolph poured him a glass of wine, shaking his head. “Give it up. With your memory, you couldn’t recognize your own reflection.”

Everyone burst into laughter. “Last Thanksgiving,” one of them chimed in, “Alberto came to visit. I took him shopping, and he pointed at some tall guy in a luxury store–bodyguards and all–saying he looked familiar.”

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“That’s nothing,” another added. “Just the other day, he saw a game ad on Instagram and claimed the guy in it looked familiar too. Turned out it was just some celebrity!”

“Alberto, your memory’s legendary!”

The group roared with laughter, teasing mercilessly.

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But suddenly Alberto froze, eyes wide. He slapped his thigh again and shot. from face flushed with excitement.

“I remember now!” he exclaimed. “That’s it–the people in Oriana’s photo, and the ones I thought I’d seen before–they’re the same! I saw them years ago. They were the five schoolchildren the captain saved with his life during the Ashford Earthquake!”

The once–boisterous private room fell silent, heavy with a shared grief that time had never fully erased.

A wave of sorrow rippled through the men’s faces, dimming the light in their eyes.

“Yes,” one of them said quietly. “After Niall passed, quite a few people came to thank us–to repay his kindness–but we turned them all away.”

“In our line of duty, serving the people is what we’re supposed to do,” another added softly. “We never thought about repayment. Doing what’s right was enough.”

“So when they came to me, I refused their gifts. Never thought that after all these years, they’d grow up so accomplished–and that by some twist of fate, they’d end up on the same team as Oriana. It’s… destiny, isn’t it?”

“Truly,” someone murmured.

Oriana sat in stunned silence.

From Alberto’s description, it wasn’t just Leo–there was Kai, and Ethan too.

She recalled Lily telling her how inseparable the five of them were.

Now she finally understood why. It wasn’t just friendship–it was a bond forged in life and death.

At that moment, Micah’s hand tightened around hers.

Oriana turned toward him. Their eyes met, and simultaneously, both whispered the same name-“Luna.”

Oriana froze, realization dawning.

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“So that’s why she connected with them so easily she said quietly.

Micah’s expression turned cold. His tone carried a sharp edge. “Stealing credit for fate’s

mercy.

Oriana’s gaze dropped, shadows deepening in her eyes.

“She betrayed my parents‘ wishes,” she said softly

Micah’s jaw tightened, anger flashing across his face. “And those five–blind fools th are–never even realized it.”

In their previous lives, they had given everything to pave the way for Luna, risking their own lives for her without hesitation.

Yet the very person who truly deserved their gratitude and protection was the one Luna stole her beloved from–and cruelly drove to her death.

Every last one of them had been fooled, too blind to see the truth.

Oriana stared at him, taken aback by the intensity of his emotion.

“Micah… what’s wrong?”

He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to rein it in. The storm in his eyes gradually subsided.

After a long pause, he spoke again–his tone controlled, but his words heavy with resolve.

“Leave this to me,” he said. “I won’t let your parents‘ sacrifice be wasted on an outsider.”

Oriana opened her mouth, about to say that she never wanted to take advantage of Leo and the others‘ goodwill.

But before she could, Micah interrupted, voice steady but unyielding. “Whether you accept it or not,” he said, “those things rightfully belong to you–and to your parents. Anyone who tramples on that kind of sacrifice doesn’t deserve to keep it.”

Oriana fell silent, a faint numbness creeping into her chest. Bitterness followed close behind.

Across the table, Bryan and the other comrades remained blissfully unaware of the couple’s private exchange. The reunion had turned emotional again–stories flowed, old jokes resurfaced, and soon the tears returned as the men hugged one another, laughing and weeping all at once.