Reborn at Eighteen The Billionaire's Second Chance novel Chapter 210

Chapter 210

Elara

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He dragged a hand through his hair, disheveling it further, and when he spoke again his voice had dropped to something quieter, almost raw. “I said I never claimed to believe her story. I haven’t made any judgment about what happened in that pool. That’s why I had Atlas pull the security footage immediately. Every camera around that pool, every angle. I made sure nothing could be tampered with or destroyed before the police could review it.” He paused, his eyes boring into mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. “The truth will come out, Elara. I made sure of it.”

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think past the roaring in my ears as his words sank in, rearranging everything I thought I knew about last night, about his priorities, about where I stood in the hierarchy of people he protected. “You… you got the footage?”

“The second you went into the water. Something flickered across his face–fear, maybe, or the ghost of it. “Before I even pulled you out, I told Atlas to secure every recording. Nobody touches those files except the police.”

He leaned forward again, and this time when he reached for me I didn’t pull away. His hand settled on the bed rail near mine, close enough that I could feel the heat of his skin. “I need you to know something, Elara. I need you to understand this. His voice dropped even lower, rough with emotion I’d never heard from him before. “When I saw you fall into that water, when I realized you couldn’t swim and

you were going under- He broke off, jaw clenching as if the memory physically pained him. “Do you have any idea how terrified I was?”

My throat closed up entirely. I could only shake my head, mute and trembling.

“It reminded me of that day.” His eyes held mine, dark and intense and filled with something I was afraid to name. “When you were

sixteen. When that instructor threw you into the deep end and just left you there to figure it out. I was upstairs in my room and I heard

the splash, heard you screaming, and by the time I got down there you were already under.”

His hand moved, closing over mine before I could pull away. “I jumped in without thinking. Didn’t even take off my shoes. And when I

pulled you out, when I felt how hard you were shaking, how you couldn’t stop crying…” He swallowed hard. “I promised you then that I

would never let anyone force you into water again. That I would never let you drown. I meant that promise, Elara.”

The tears came before I could stop them, hot and bitter and impossible to contain. Because I remembered that day too. I remembered the terror of the water closing over my head, the burning in my lungs, the certainty that I was going to die alone while people watched from the edge. And I remembered Julian pulling me out, holding me while I sobbed against his chest, his voice fierce and protective as he told the instructor to get the hell off the property and never come back. I remembered feeling safe in his arms. Feeling like maybe, just maybe,

someone actually cared whether I lived or died.

But I also remembered my other life. The one where I’d died alone in the freezing Atlantic with Lily’s ashes clutched to my chest and Julian’s wedding reception still going strong back at Blackwood Estate. Where he’d chosen Sloane over me at every single turn unit there was nothing left of me to choose.

“Too late,” I whispered, the words scraping my raw throat. Julian, you’re too late,”

His face went white. “What?”

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9:54 Fri, Mar 27

Chapter 210

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I tried to pull my hand away but he held on, not hard enough to hurt but firm enough that I couldn’t escape without a fight I didn’t have

the strength for. “You’re telling me this now. About being scared, about old promises, about pulling security footage to protect me.”

The tears were coming faster now, blurring my vision until all I could see was the dark shape of him leaning over me. “But where were

you when I needed you before? When Victoria had me attacked in that alley? When I was being destroyed on social media? When your

entire family was treating me like garbage and you just… let them?” My voice broke. “You’re here now, sitting by my hospital bed like you

care, but it’s too late, Julian. It’s all too late.”

“Elara- His voice was hoarse, strained in a way I’d never heard before. “I don’t understand. What do you mean it’s too late? Too late for

what?”

But I couldn’t explain. Couldn’t tell him about Lily, about dying in the ocean, about coming back to this moment with all my memories intact and my heart already broken beyond repair. Couldn’t make him understand that every kind word he spoke now just reminded me of all the times he’d chosen silence instead. All the times he’d let Sloane and Victoria and his whole damn family hurt me while he stood by

and did nothing.

He moved closer, his free hand coming up to my face, fingers gentle as they brushed away the tears streaming down my cheeks. The tenderness of it made something in my chest crack wide open, spilling out all the grief and longing I’d been trying so hard to bury. “Tell me,” he said softly. “Tell me what I did. Tell me how to fix this.”

I closed my eyes, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze any longer. His thumb traced the curve of my cheekbone, achingly gentle, and then I felt the wet heat of his tongue as he licked away a tear that had escaped down to my jaw. The intimacy of the gesture–so raw, so unexpectedly tender–sent a shiver through my entire body.

“Are you scared?” His voice was barely a whisper now, his breath warm against my damp skin. “Is that what this is? Are you afraid?”

The concern in his tone, the genuine worry, was almost more than I could take. I opened my eyes to find him mere inches away, his expression stripped of all its usual careful control. He looked devastated. Lost. Like he was watching something precious slip through his fingers and didn’t know how to hold on.

‘No,‘ I whispered again, and this time the words came out broken, ragged with all the pain of two lifetimes. Julian, you will never

understand it.”

I didn’t push him away when he gathered me into his arms, when he held me against his chest like I was something fragile that might shatter if he let go. I just cried–for the girl I’d been in my first life, for Lily, for every moment I’d waited for him to choose me and he d chosen her instead. I cried until I had nothing left, until I was empty and exhausted and numb, and through it all he just held me, one hand cradling the back of my head while the other rubbed slow circles on my back.

‘I’m sorry,” he murmured into my hair, over and over like a prayer. I’m so sorry, Elara, I’m sorry.”

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