Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 9

Meanwhile, on the other side of town.

Looking around his own modest apartment, Lucian wasn't adapting nearly as well as Amber.

He tossed his backpack onto the living room sofa—a piece of furniture that wasn't luxurious, but was kept meticulously clean and tidy. Next to the tea station sat a fresh vase of sunflowers, placed there by Amber when she had come over that morning to wake him up for school.

She had always maintained these little habits. Even ignoring the massive mansion from his past life, this modest two-bedroom apartment—which was already significantly better than Amber's place—was filled with her personal touches.

Normally, at this time of day, they would have just gotten home from school. He would sit in the living room doing homework or reading, while Amber headed into the kitchen to whip up dinner for the four of them.

For a split second, Lucian zoned out, almost hallucinating her voice. "Go read or do your homework. I'll take care of dinner and clean up the house."

Despite being just a high schooler, Amber had been cooking and looking after people since she was ten.

Whenever Grace closed the diner late or was too exhausted to move, it was always either Amber or Arthur doing the cooking.

The hours before evening study hall used to be the most lively time in his home. Even though he had always found the noise annoying, the sudden, absolute silence in the apartment left him feeling deeply unsettled.

He walked into the bathroom to wash his face, only to find the towel he had used that morning still sitting in the basin, soaking in dirty water.

A foul, damp smell hit his nose, making him physically gag.

Every afternoon, Amber used to come in and fold his blankets, organize his closet, and thoroughly wash all his towels.

Since she hadn't shown up today, he either had to do it himself or wait for his mother to handle it.

Ultimately, he refused to lift a finger. He walked into his bedroom to lie down, only to see the blanket he had kicked off that morning still lying in a tangled, ugly heap on the mattress, almost as if it were mocking him.

Feeling a sudden surge of irritation at the perceived slight, he took a deep breath and opened the fridge. There were no high-end sports drinks or the expensive infused waters he had grown accustomed to drinking as a billionaire.

Amber used to stock the fridge every single day with fresh drinks, some of which she made by hand.

With a frustrated *thud*, he slammed the fridge door shut. Did they really think he couldn't survive without their family catering to him?

He pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocked the screen, and pulled up Joanne's contact, whom he had just added that day.

In his past life, having her contact info was his greatest unfulfilled wish. Even if they never spoke, just being able to quietly scroll through her social media updates would have made him incredibly happy.

Being reborn was amazing. He finally had everything he had never dared to dream of.

[Joanne, did you make it home safely?]

She was busy doing who-knows-what and didn't reply right away.

He didn't care. He kept typing:

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