Reborn at Eighteen The Billionaire's Second Chance novel Chapter 247

Elara

The car ride back to the Bronx felt longer than usual, my body still humming with the residual tension from the hospital, from Julian’s confession, from the impossible alliance we’d just formed. Atlas drove in his characteristic silence, offering me the space to process what had just happened, but my mind refused

to settle.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Julian’s ravaged back, heard the rough edge of his voice when he’d asked for my help, felt the ghost of his fingers tangling in my hair during that kiss that had upended everything I thought I knew about where we stood.

Stop it, I commanded myself. Focus on what matters. The finals. Elena. Exposing Sloane.

But even as I tried to redirect my thoughts, I couldn’t shake the memory of how carefully he’d held me, how his hands had trembled when he’d touched my face, how he’d looked at me like I was the only thing keeping him tethered to this world. .

When Atlas finally pulled up outside my building, I gathered my things and reached for the door handle, but his voice stopped me.

“Miss Vance.” He met my eyes in the rearview mirror, his expression unreadable. “Mr. Vane asked me to ensure you have my direct number. If you need anything–transportation, assistance with the investigation, or simply someone to call–I’m available twenty–four hours.”

I hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Thank you, Atlas.”

“He’s serious about this alliance,” Atlas continued, and there was something almost gentle in his tone now. “About helping you. He wanted me to inform you that he’s been cleared to go home tomorrow morning. The medical team will monitor him overnight. He also asked me to let you know that our investigation team has been dispatched to Florence to locate Elena Castellano’s family. We should have preliminary findings within 48 hours.”

My throat tightened. “I appreciate you telling me that.”

“Just…” He paused, seeming to choose his words carefully. “Be patient with him. He’s not good at asking for help or admitting when he’s wrong. But he’s trying. More than you might realize.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just nodded again and climbed out of the car, my mind spinning with Atlas’s words as I made my way up to the

apartment.

Day One: 11:00 PM

I was still sitting in front of my easel at eleven that night, the canvas before me covered in rough sketches and color studies, when my mind suddenly fixed on an image I couldn’t shake: Julian’s back, torn and bleeding, the wounds still fresh and angry.

Had he remembered to change the bandages? Was he taking the antibiotics? Was anyone even there to help him?

I picked up my phone, my thumb hovering over the keyboard. This was stupid. He had Atlas. He had a whole medical team. He didn’t need me checking up

on him like some concerned-

Like someone who cares, a voice in my head whispered.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I typed: “Did you remember to change your bandages today?”

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1:22 pm

Chapter 247

I hit send, then immediately wanted to take it back. This was crossing a line. This was letting him back in. This was-

The message showed as read almost instantly.

‘Just finished. You’re still awake?”

I stared at the screen, my heart doing something complicated in my chest. He’d answered so quickly, as if he’d been waiting for me to reach out.

“Couldn’t sleep. Too much on my mind.”

“Same here.” A pause, then: “My back is killing me, but every time I close my eyes, all I can think about is the finals. About making sure we have everything we need to take Sloane down.”

Despite everything–despite the exhaustion and the fear and the impossible tangle of emotions he stirred up in me–I found myself smiling slightly. We fell into an easy rhythm after that, texting back and forth about strategy and evidence and the logistics of exposing Sloane’s fraud. It felt safer this way, talking to him through the buffer of a screen, focused on our shared goal rather than the minefield of everything unsaid between us.

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