Reborn at Eighteen The Billionaire's Second Chance novel Chapter 272

Chapter 272

Elara

The September air felt different in Providence–cleaner somehow, like I could breathe without the weight of New York pressing down on my lungs. I stood in front of the RISD dorms, staring at the brick building that would be my home for the next four years, and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Students streamed past me with portfolio cases and paint–stained backpacks. A girl with blue hair was arguing with her parents about where to put her easel. Two guys were hauling a massive sculpture that looked like it might not fit through the door. Everyone seemed to know exactly where they were.

going, what they were doing.

I pulled out my acceptance letter for the third time that morning, just to make sure it was real. The paper had gone soft from being folded and unfolded so

many times.

My phone buzzed. Raven.

‘So?‘ Her voice came through breathless. “How does it feel?”

“I’m standing here trying to remember how to walk,” I said, watching a professor help someone carry a stack of canvases. “It still doesn’t feel real.”

“Well, make it real, because you earned this.” I heard rustling, like she was moving around. “And remember–when I’m running my empire, you get first dibs

on any art positions.”

I laughed. “I’ll hold you to that. How’s your grandma?”

“Driving the nurses crazy, which means she’s back to normal.” Raven’s voice softened. “She keeps asking about you. Says you’re the reason she’s still here.”

“Tell her the hospital food is supposed to be terrible. It builds character.”

“Text me pictures of everything, okay? And Elara?” She paused. “I’m proud of you.”

The words hit somewhere in my chest. “Thank you,”

After we hung up, I forced myself to take a step forward. Then another. I was halfway across the quad when I saw the car.

Julian’s black Mercedes, completely out of place among the minivans and beat–up Hondas. He complicated thing it always did around him now.

out holding two gift boxes, and my heart did that

“You came,” I said.

“Of course I came. He walked toward me, moving carefully. The scars from his grandfather’s punishment still bothered him sometimes, though he tried to

hide it. Did you think I’d miss this?”

‘I didn’t tell you what time I was arriving.”

“Atlas may have mentioned your travel schedule. At my look, he almost smiled. I didn’t ask him to spy. He volunteered.”

I should have been annoyed. Instead, I just felt tired. ‘You brought presents?

“I brought something that belongs to you.” He held out the smaller box. I should have given this back a long time ago.”

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Chapter 272

I knew what it was before I opened it. My father’s pocket watch, the gold casing polished until it gleamed. The crack across the face was gone. When I held it up to my ear, I could hear it ticking–steady, alive.

“You fixed it, I whispered.

It took months to find the right parts. The horologist said the mechanism was salvageable, but it was delicate work.” Julian’s voice was quiet. I know I kept it when you left Blackwood. I told myself you weren’t ready to have it back. But really, I kept it because it was the only piece of you I had left.”

I looked up at him. “I thought you kept it as leverage. Something to use against me if I tried to leave.”

‘No.‘ He stepped closer. I kept it because I wanted time to prove I could fix things. Not just the watch. Everything I broke.” He gestured at it, still in my hands. “Time can’t go backward. But it can move forward. Like us.”

The watch ticked against my palm. I remembered the last time I’d held it, shattered and silent. Now it was whole again.

“Thank you, I said. The words felt too small.

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