Rebirth Into My Second Chance novel Chapter 283

I bit down hard on the man's arm that was holding me captive. He jolted awake, staring at me in the moonlight, and I shrank back, startled by his reaction.

It didn’t take long for him to regain his senses. His eyes, filled with a fierce intensity, locked onto mine. Suddenly, he grabbed my chin, and I struggled to breathe as pain shot through me. With his free hand, he traced a small freckle on the bridge of my nose. "Beautiful," he murmured.

I tried to cry out for help, but only muffled sounds escaped my lips.

“Trying to leave?” His voice was cold, yet weak.

“I won’t kill you. Just tell me, who are you?”

I could only manage a few more muffled sounds.

“Can’t speak?” He looked at me skeptically, and I nodded, too scared to utter a word.

“Then you better not tell anyone I’m here.”

I nodded obediently, and only then did he seem satisfied.

“Go on. Leave.”

His grip loosened, and he slumped back, exhausted.

I seized the opportunity, scrambling off the bed. The man curled up again, shivering as if he were in an icebox. I opened the door to leave but paused to glance back at him. I couldn’t just abandon him like that. I tucked a blanket around him, turned the air conditioning to heat, and shut the window before slipping out.

I didn’t understand what was happening, but this man looked just like Max. There had to be a story here.

He couldn’t die—not when Max’s whereabouts were tied to him.

I returned to my room and tried calling Max, but there was still no answer.

It was late, and I couldn’t sleep.

When I ventured back to the room I’d left the mysterious man in, the door was ajar. I distinctly remembered closing it.

Inside, the room was empty. Even the bed was neatly made, as if nothing had happened.

Was it all a figment of my imagination?

A sliver of relief washed over me at the thought of Lily being safe.

But it was clear that the princess knew of my connection to Lily, though she couldn’t figure out just how deep it ran.

She wanted to see which I would choose—Lily or the Goodwin sisters.

“Any news on Max?” I gestured to Max's photo.

Helen understood instantly, shaking her head. “Mr. Hilton’s assistant assured us that Mr. Hilton is currently safe.”

I nodded, keeping to myself the encounter with the man who resembled Max from the night before.

I typed a message on my phone.

“I’ll meet with her for breakfast. You handle escorting the Goodwin sisters back safely.”