Chapter 4Another Life, Another Favor

Summer vanished in a blur.

Before I knew it, the first day of school had arrived.

My new mother had already enrolled me in the same international academy Charlotte attended—the same one Aiden and I had gone to in our previous life.

On the first day, I got into the car early. When Charlotte pulled the door open, I greeted him with a cheerful smile. “Morning, brother! Mom said we’ll be going to and from school together from now on.”

Charlotte’s hand froze mid-air.

Then, without a word, he sat down in the seat furthest from me.

The next day, I did the same.

And the day after that.

And the one after that…

This went on for nearly two months. I noticed that while Charlotte never responded to me, acting as if I were invisible, something had shifted. Sometimes, when I was running late for breakfast and rushed out into the courtyard, I’d find him waiting by the car, his backpack already slung over his shoulder.

Suppressing my surprise, I’d just smile and say, “You’re a good guy, you know that, brother?”

He would just give me his usual flat glance, turn, and get into the car without a word.

But—

This time, when he got in, he led with his right foot!

A small smile tugged at my lips.

Interesting. Things really were changing.

One afternoon, I waited by the main school building long after the final bell, but Charlotte was nowhere to be found. He wasn't answering his phone.

As I paced anxiously, a sudden, sharp jolt of memory hit me.

I remembered.

In my past life, around this time, something major had happened right outside the school gates. I had been cramming for exams, desperate to catch up with the curriculum, so I only heard snippets of gossip. Whispers about someone from the Hawthorne family causing a scene. Talk of their kid getting into serious trouble.

Years later, I overheard someone mention that the future head of the Hawthorne empire, Charlotte, had his face deliberately slashed during high school.

Could it be… today?

No!

There was no time to think.

I immediately texted our driver:

If you don’t see me at the front gate, don’t wait. Come find me in the alley behind the school.

Then I broke into a dead sprint, my feet pounding against the pavement as I raced toward the back alley.

Charlotte, please be okay!