- 11 hours ago
Rekindled Love In Error Engsub Watch🍿🍿🍿
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:03My stepbrother, Sebastian, was drugged.
00:05I undid my own clothes and dedicated my first time for my stepbrother.
00:09I fantasized about this scene countless times.
00:12I really wanted him. His big manhood.
00:16When I got pregnant, parents pressured him to marry me.
00:19The same day Sebastian agreed, he got a car incident.
00:22He was an ice hockey star and billionaire.
00:25I didn't care that he'd never skate again.
00:27I still wanted to be his bride.
00:28I thought he'd be grateful.
00:31I thought we'd grow old together.
00:32Until our wedding night, the estate caught fire.
00:35I woke up choking and my first thought was to get him out.
00:39Instead, he smashed a vase over my head.
00:42It's you! You destroyed me!
00:45Don't think I don't know you orchestrated that night?
00:47Did you this thirsty?
00:49But I will never love you. I love Sienna forever.
00:53Now you can go to hell!
01:00I woke up to Sebastian's ragged breathing from the next room.
01:04I opened my eyes.
01:06Familiar walls.
01:07No wedding decorations.
01:08No smoke.
01:10I'd been reborn.
01:13Ellie.
01:14Get me some water.
01:16I checked my watch.
01:18I'd come back to the night he was drugged.
01:23The memory hit me all at once.
01:26The blood blurring my vision.
01:27The fire eating through my skin.
01:29It felt like it was happening again.
01:32Every instinct I had said, run.
01:34Get as far from Sebastian Holt as possible.
01:36I hadn't even grabbed my shoes when he appeared in my doorway.
01:41Sarah, I already called Sienna.
01:43Go pick her up now.
01:45Quickly.
01:46I knew the drug tearing through him.
01:48He needed release.
01:49Was Sebastian reborn too?
01:51Obviously this time he called Sarah because he didn't want to sleep with me.
01:55Grabbed my keys and slipped past him sideways.
01:57Walking fast for the door.
02:01The address Sebastian gave me was near the arena district.
02:05An apartment building a few blocks from the practice facility.
02:08So Sebastian and Sienna had been living together this early.
02:11He said I destroyed his love life.
02:14He wasn't wrong.
02:15Sienna spotted my car and yanked the door open, dropping into the passenger seat.
02:20She looked panicked.
02:21I caught a flicker of satisfaction in her eyes.
02:24How is he?
02:26You'll see when you get there.
02:27I didn't want to talk to her.
02:29Not because I was jealous.
02:31Because neither my mom nor I had ever trusted her.
02:34Sienna Walsh had been a charity case my family sponsored through school.
02:37At first my parents adored her.
02:39She was driven.
02:41Brilliant.
02:42Dad and mom personally flew her out to Chicago to start college.
02:45I always thought her eyes looked calculating.
02:48I told myself I was being paranoid.
02:50Then one night, she called dad crying.
02:53Some drunk guy had cornered her outside a bar.
02:56He rushed over, and she threw herself against him.
02:59The second he arrived, arms around him, face buried in his chest.
03:03She was dressed very provocatively, rubbing her breasts against dad's chest.
03:08And her genitals were also rubbing wildly against dad's body.
03:12Dad froze with both hands in the air, looking like he'd touched a live wire.
03:16Mom pulled up 30 seconds later and saw the whole thing.
03:23Sienna cried and said she thought of dad like a father.
03:26She'd been so scared she hadn't thought.
03:28My parents said all the right things.
03:31But after that, she was never invited to the house again.
03:34And dad never dealt with her directly.
03:36Mom wasn't stingy.
03:38She had her assistant wire, Sienna, $50,000.
03:41The night before Sienna was supposed to fly out, she came to say goodbye.
03:45And she walked right into Sebastian.
03:48He'd just gotten back from his graduate program in Vancouver.
03:51Fresh off two seasons playing in the Western Hockey League.
03:54First round draft pick.
03:56Already a name, people said with a little extra weight.
03:59The next day, Sienna returned every dollar and told mom she'd thought it over.
04:03She was going to work first, save up.
04:06Do things right.
04:07Sebastian was heading out the door when he heard her say it.
04:10He looked at her.
04:10Plain clothes, steady eyes, and something in his expression shifted.
04:15A month later, Sienna joined the Holt organization.
04:18Personal executive assistant to Sebastian.
04:21I told him she wasn't what she looked like.
04:23That getting close to him was a strategy.
04:26Ellie.
04:27Not everyone thinks about romance all day like you do.
04:30Less than a year later, she had a key to her apartment.
04:33I drove fast.
04:35Ellie.
04:37Being upset doesn't mean the rest of us want to die.
04:40Sienna walked into the building.
04:41I stayed in the car and stared at the steering wheel.
04:44I knew exactly what was happening up there.
04:47I wasn't jealous.
04:48In my last life, my death had taken my parents down with me.
04:52That was what finally made it clear.
04:54What I felt for Sebastian was poison to him.
04:57Just being loved by me cost him something.
05:00Ellie.
05:01He's your brother.
05:03Whatever twisted thing you felt for him drove him to another country.
05:07He has me now.
05:09Let it go.
05:10Sebastian had known.
05:11He'd known all along that I had feelings for him.
05:14And he'd left for Vancouver to get away from me.
05:17If I'd known that sooner, I wouldn't have.
05:20Last time, watching him suffering and barely conscious, I wouldn't have reached for my own
05:24buttons.
05:25You're an adult now.
05:27It's time to find someone right for you.
05:29She was afraid I'd cling to Sebastian.
05:31I wouldn't.
05:33Not this time.
05:34Whatever I'd felt for him was gone.
05:40Sebastian came down in his sleeping clothes.
05:42Where were you last night?
05:44The marks on his neck were obvious.
05:45His voice was rough, lazy.
05:47I went to see my friend Jess.
05:49Jess was my best friend.
05:50Sebastian had met her.
05:51He still thought to check where I'd been.
05:54Maybe he'd made peace with things too.
05:56Maybe we could just be siblings again.
05:58Normal.
05:58I almost let myself feel hopeful.
06:00I know you look down on Sienna's background.
06:03Think she's not good enough.
06:04But she's the woman I'm going to marry.
06:05And you're gonna treat her with respect.
06:07When had I ever looked down on where she came from?
06:09I must have shown the confusion on my face.
06:11Drop the act.
06:12She put herself on the line fixing a mess you made.
06:14She paid for your mistakes with everything she had.
06:16What does that mean?
06:17You're gonna tell me the drug wasn't from you?
06:20Sienna is a decent person.
06:22She wanted to wait until our wedding night.
06:24You took that from her.
06:25I didn't.
06:26I said it loud and clear.
06:28Yes, I had feelings for Sebastian for years.
06:30But I would never have done something like that.
06:32We had dinner out.
06:33Came home.
06:34I drank the milk you left on my nightstand.
06:35If it wasn't you, who?
06:36Last time, I never understood why Sebastian didn't investigate.
06:40I assumed he'd been compromised outside the house and was too ashamed to dig into it.
06:43He thought it was me.
06:44That's why he hated me so much.
06:46Enough to want my parents to burn with him.
06:48Enough to make sure our six-month-old baby never saw the world.
06:52Something bitter sat in my chest.
06:54My eyes burned.
06:55Believe me or don't.
06:56But it wasn't me.
06:57Sebastian's bedroom door opened.
06:59Sienna stepped out wearing his dress shirt, looking like a startled rabbit.
07:04Sebastian, is Ellie angry at me?
07:05His eyes were a clear warning.
07:09Ellie's not angry.
07:10She's happy for us.
07:12Sebastian's right.
07:13Congratulations, you two.
07:15Sienna saved Sebastian.
07:17I'll talk to mom and dad.
07:18I'll make sure they agree to the wedding.
07:20A flicker of triumph crossed Sienna's face.
07:22Sebastian watched me like he was looking for the trap.
07:24Let him look.
07:25He was willing to die for her.
07:26Even knowing what she was,
07:28I wasn't going to let my parents carry any more risk because of me.
07:31Don't make things hard for his parents.
07:33I know I'm not what the family expected.
07:35I just want to be by his side.
07:36Sebastian pulled her close.
07:38Sienna showed me the look of someone who had already won.
07:41Ellie, your brother kind of wrecked my shirt.
07:43Can I borrow something?
07:45Last month you didn't wear the dress I gave you.
07:47You said you didn't like it.
07:47Why not give it to Sienna?
07:49He had given it to me for my birthday.
07:50I hadn't worn it because I was saving it.
07:52Giving away something he gave me.
07:54A small thing.
07:54And I knew it.
07:55I felt it anyway.
07:56Then I didn't.
07:56Sienna put on my dress and did a little spin.
07:59Asking Sebastian if she looked beautiful.
08:01Ignoring me completely.
08:02None of it touched me.
08:03This time I just wanted my parents and me to be okay.
08:06Mom and dad got back from vacation after two weeks away.
08:09The day they returned,
08:10Sebastian told them he was marrying Sienna.
08:12When I got home,
08:13there were broken pieces of a teacup on the living room floor.
08:16Mom sat beside dad,
08:17rubbing slow circles on his back.
08:19Her face was stone.
08:20Sebastian sat across from them,
08:22expressionless.
08:23Mom.
08:24Dad.
08:25I went straight to them and wrapped my arms around them both,
08:28fighting my eyes.
08:29Their faces softened immediately,
08:30but he was already ruffling my hair.
08:32Mom pulled me onto the couch.
08:34You're grown and you're still doing this.
08:36Sebastian wants to marry his assistant.
08:38What do you think, Ellie?
08:43Sebastian's eyes came to me too.
08:45I think it's great.
08:47Sienna and Sebastian are good together.
08:49You really think that?
08:50Mom, Sebastian is 26.
08:53He gets to choose his own life.
08:54We should support him.
08:56Whether you like Sienna doesn't matter.
08:58What matters is Sebastian wants her.
08:59After the wedding,
09:00they can have their own space
09:01and I'll live with you two forever.
09:03That softened their faces a little.
09:05I caught Sebastian's eye and gave him a small nod.
09:07Our whole lives.
09:09Mom, dad.
09:10After we're married,
09:12Sienna and I will take care of you both.
09:13Please.
09:14Sebastian knelt on the floor in front of them.
09:16I pushed again from the other side.
09:17They looked at each other.
09:18Then they gave in.
09:19Sebastian got his wedding.
09:20This time,
09:21the tragedy didn't have to happen.
09:23I felt the tension drain out of my hands.
09:25After mom and dad went to bed,
09:26I went up to my room.
09:28I'd just opened my journal
09:29when the door swung open without a knock.
09:31Sebastian.
09:32He glanced at the journal.
09:33His face changed.
09:35I barely stood up
09:36before his hand closed around my throat.
09:38Ellie.
09:39Write more of your disgusting thoughts about me.
09:44What are you talking about?
09:49Sebastian picked up the journal.
09:52You kept a whole diary full of this
09:54when you were in high school.
09:56He'd read my diary.
09:56I was furious and humiliated
09:58and I shoved his hand off me.
10:00I grabbed the journal and threw it at him.
10:02What do you want from me?
10:03I helped you get what you wanted
10:04and it's still not enough?
10:05I had feelings for you.
10:07That was my mistake.
10:08I don't anymore.
10:09What else do you want?
10:10You love looking at my private things?
10:12Go ahead.
10:13But the guy I'm writing about isn't you.
10:17You actually said yes to my brother?
10:19You want to be my sister-in-law?
10:21She was so loud.
10:22Two people at the next table looked over.
10:23I reached up and covered her mouth.
10:25I ran into him a few days ago.
10:28We just...
10:29My face was getting warm.
10:30I clicked.
10:31Okay, but tell me everything.
10:33He asked you out six months ago
10:35and you turned him down?
10:36How did you end up here?
10:37Her brother, Grant Walsh,
10:39had asked me out six months before my rebirth.
10:41At the time, my whole heart was Sebastian's.
10:43I said no.
10:44Coming back and fixing what I'd gotten wrong
10:46didn't change Sienna's behavior.
10:48She was in my house every day,
10:51marking her territory,
10:52making sure I knew my place.
10:54Even after I stepped back completely,
10:55she didn't stop.
10:56I needed to get out of the house.
10:58I went to a bar and had a few too many.
11:00And when I was dizzy and trying to find the bathroom,
11:03some guy cornered me in the hallway.
11:05I was about to cry from panic
11:06when Grant appeared out of nowhere
11:08and dropped the guy with one punch.
11:13When Grant pulled out a handkerchief to wipe my face,
11:15I laughed out loud before I could stop myself.
11:19Grant!
11:20Who carries a handkerchief in this century?
11:22What are you, 80?
11:24Do you have any idea what this cost?
11:26Doesn't matter.
11:27A napkin would have worked better.
11:28He thought about it,
11:29nodded,
11:30and threw the expensive handkerchief in the trash.
11:34Ellie says it,
11:35Ellie gets it.
11:36One handkerchief,
11:37and suddenly we were talking every day.
11:39Whenever I was low,
11:40I'd message him,
11:41and he always had some ridiculous thing
11:43that landed exactly right.
11:44After my rebirth,
11:45the only time I felt like I could breathe
11:47was when I was talking to Grant.
11:49Don't billionaires have better things to do
11:51than text all day?
11:52Because it's you,
11:52I don't want you waiting even a minute.
11:55I've basically had my phone in my hand
11:56for three weeks straight.
11:57So this was what being loved felt like.
12:00Sebastian had never given me anything close.
12:02This time around,
12:03I wanted to know what it felt like for real.
12:05I told Grant,
12:06yes,
12:07I kept a journal.
12:08Lately,
12:08the man in it was Grant.
12:09I didn't know if Sebastian had read it this time.
12:11When I got home,
12:12the notebook was sitting neatly on my desk.
12:15Sebastian was gone for days.
12:17Good timing.
12:17I used the space to tell mom and dad about Grant,
12:20the heir to the Walsh family.
12:21I held their hands
12:22and made them promise to stay with me.
12:24Always.
12:24They patted my head and said yes
12:26like I was being adorable.
12:27I didn't care.
12:28They'd agreed
12:29and I was holding them to it.
12:30That evening,
12:31Sebastian brought Sienna home for dinner.
12:32She was wearing something expensive enough
12:34to somehow look elegant.
12:36Mom and dad were polite.
12:37Nobody caused a scene.
12:38After dinner,
12:39we all settled in the living room.
12:41Sebastian,
12:42Sienna,
12:42we're not standing in the way away of your wedding,
12:45but there are things we need to say first.
12:47Sebastian's gaze kept drifting towards me
12:49throughout the evening.
12:50It made my skin crawl.
12:53Sebastian's getting married.
12:55Ellie has a boyfriend.
12:56To make sure there are no arguments down the road,
12:58I want to be clear now.
12:59Married or moved out,
13:00you each get half of what we leave behind.
13:02That doesn't seem fair.
13:03Ellie's a daughter.
13:04She'll marry out of the family.
13:06Splitting it evenly
13:06is just handing assets to strangers.
13:08You're not even part of this family yet
13:10and you're already telling us how to run it.
13:12Isn't that a little early?
13:17Ellie's boyfriend isn't trying to get his hands
13:19on our money by dating her, is he?
13:21He pulled Sienna a little closer.
13:23I'd actually say this split is unfair, too.
13:25Ellie's adopted.
13:26I don't mind supporting her forever.
13:28She can marry whoever she wants
13:29and stay in the house.
13:30That's generous enough.
13:32Mom and dad's expressions
13:33went somewhere dangerous.
13:34Who told you Ellie was adopted?
13:37That's impossible.
13:39Ellie is the one who...
13:41Elissa is our biological daughter.
13:43You're the one who were adopted.
13:47Mom and dad were among the first people
13:49from their small town to go to college.
13:51They graduated, moved to the city,
13:53built something.
13:54When it started to go well,
13:55they came back for the people
13:56they'd grown up with,
13:57brought a few of the younger ones
13:58to Chicago to give them a start.
14:00Sebastian's father was one of them.
14:02The town was poor back then.
14:04Your mother ran out on you
14:06and your dad when you were small.
14:08Your father was a good driver
14:10and a good son.
14:11He didn't want to leave your grandmother.
14:15Your grandmother didn't want to be the thing
14:17holding him back.
14:18So she made the choice herself.
14:21Sebastian's face was blank with shock.
14:23Even I was hearing this for the first time.
14:26Your grandmother's last wish
14:28was for us to bring your father
14:29and you to the city.
14:30We said yes.
14:31You just started walking.
14:32Things didn't go the way anyone planned.
14:35Your father was killed in an accident
14:36within six months.
14:37He was barely 25.
14:39He left you behind at not even two years old.
14:41Mom's voice was steady
14:42but her eyes weren't.
14:43I was pregnant.
14:45I looked at this tiny little boy
14:47alone in the world
14:47and we talked it over
14:48and we said yes to taking you in.
14:50Sebastian's expression kept shifting.
14:52You're making this up.
14:54You want to cut me out of the inheritance
14:56so you're inventing a story.
14:57More disappointment settled into dad's face.
15:00He looked at Sebastian
15:00without the warmth that was usually there.
15:08Mom and dad aren't lying.
15:10Junior year of high school
15:11when you were in the hospital
15:11with that flu
15:12I noticed your blood type
15:14didn't match.
15:16I brought the chart to mom.
15:18That's when she told me
15:18we don't share blood.
15:20That was also when I started to love him.
15:23Completely.
15:23Every page of every journal.
15:25His mood was my mood
15:26and there had been years
15:27all the years
15:29before the last month
15:30of his senior year
15:30when he was actually
15:31a good older brother.
15:33When mom and dad were working
15:35he was the one
15:35taking care of me.
15:37I spent more time with him
15:39than I did with either of my parents.
15:41There was a stretch
15:43when I'd watched a horror movie
15:44and couldn't sleep alone.
15:45I crawled into his room
15:47every night.
15:48His classes were brutal
15:49but he would sit with me
15:51patient
15:51until I fell asleep in his bed.
15:54Then he'd take a blanket
15:55to the chair in the corner.
15:57In the morning light
15:58with his eyes closed
15:59and his face relaxed
16:01every piece of him
16:02seemed to glow.
16:04That version of Sebastian
16:05fit every quiet dream
16:06I'd ever had.
16:07I did his laundry
16:08without telling him
16:09straightened his room
16:10when he wasn't looking
16:11put a hot mug of something
16:12on his desk every night.
16:13I thought I was hiding it.
16:14I wasn't.
16:15He saw it in how
16:15I looked at him
16:16and then that pink journal
16:18nailed it permanently
16:19into something shameful.
16:20This is a lie.
16:22You're making it up
16:23to give the estate
16:24to the girl
16:25you're actually related to.
16:27Sienna's voice
16:27had gone sharp.
16:28She worked inside
16:29the Holt organization.
16:31She knew exactly
16:32what half the estate meant.
16:39Sebastian's expression
16:40was unreadable
16:41for a long moment.
16:42This can't be real.
16:43You're doing this together.
16:46All of you.
16:47If you don't believe us
16:48we can run a paternity test.
16:50The results say
16:51you're not our blood.
16:52I'll give you a starting season
16:54and step back.
16:55Just had to go to Ellie.
16:57Dad was done.
16:58The love he'd always shown
16:59Sebastian wasn't in his voice anymore.
17:01The reason Sebastian
17:02had always been so certain
17:03I was the adopted one.
17:04Last time
17:05I had told mom
17:06to be honest with him
17:07about which one of us
17:08was bi.
17:08illogical.
17:09I didn't want
17:10our already complicated
17:11dynamic made worse
17:12by him feeling
17:13obligated to me.
17:15Sienna's eyes
17:15were doing calculations.
17:17Sebastian understood
17:17what dad was saying.
17:19Do the test
17:19and it means
17:20choosing to fight Ellie
17:21for what was left
17:22and cutting the cord
17:23on everything
17:24between our family
17:25and him.
17:25He didn't take the test.
17:29Even with Sienna pushing
17:30he just looked at me.
17:32I looked back at him.
17:34Nothing moved inside me.
17:36After that night
17:37Sebastian barely came home.
17:39Without him taking up
17:40space in my head
17:41I felt lighter.
17:42I didn't realize
17:43how much of my energy
17:44had been going
17:45toward managing that weight.
17:49Grant and I started
17:50spending more time together.
17:53He kept showing up
17:54asking to formally
17:55meet my parents.
17:56His future in-laws
17:57he called them
17:58completely straight-faced.
18:00I walked in one afternoon
18:01and mom was making soup
18:02while dad sat
18:03at the kitchen counter.
18:04She called me over
18:05to taste it.
18:06I told her it was
18:07the best thing
18:08I'd ever had
18:09which made her glow.
18:10Mom, can we buy
18:11another place?
18:12She paused.
18:13For Sebastian?
18:14For the wedding?
18:15Not exactly.
18:16Sebastian had pushed
18:16the wedding date out
18:17two years for reasons
18:18I couldn't figure out.
18:19But even with him
18:20barely home
18:21sharing walls with him
18:22felt wrong
18:22especially with our rooms
18:24right next to each other.
18:25I want you to get me
18:26a place.
18:27Mom pinched my nose.
18:31Already trying to escape?
18:33You just grew up.
18:37I'm not escaping
18:38I want you and dad
18:40to come with me
18:40give this house
18:41to Sebastian.
18:42Part of it was
18:43the distance from Sebastian
18:44part of it was
18:45that last time
18:45this house was
18:46where we all died
18:47the walls
18:48still made me uneasy
18:49before mom could answer
18:50there was movement
18:51from the living room.
18:53Sebastian
18:54at dinner
18:55at dinner
18:55mom and dad
18:55seemed to have
18:56put the hard
18:57conversation behind
18:57them.
18:58They kept putting
18:58food on my plate
18:59and Sebastian's
19:00Sebastian's eyes
19:01came to rest on me
19:02again
19:02like they'd been
19:03doing lately.
19:04Dad
19:05Ellie just graduated
19:06she shouldn't just
19:07be sitting around
19:08she should come
19:09work at the company.
19:09I was sure
19:10I'd heard wrong
19:11he couldn't stand
19:12to be in the same
19:12room as me
19:13why would he want
19:13me in his office
19:14every day
19:15before I could
19:15object
19:16dad nodded
19:17good
19:18you should get
19:19real experience now
19:20before life gets
19:21more complicated
19:21I don't want to
19:23I want to be useless
19:24dad can support me
19:25now
19:25and when I get
19:26married my husband
19:27can support me
19:27I deployed
19:28full effort
19:29puppy eyes
19:29dad must have
19:30noticed something
19:31had shifted
19:31between me
19:32and Sebastian
19:32he assumed
19:33it was the
19:34inheritance
19:34conversation
19:35and he'd been
19:35quietly trying
19:36to smooth
19:36things over
19:37between us
19:41at this rate
19:41no one's gonna
19:42want you
19:42and you'll end
19:43up depending
19:43on your brother
19:44for the rest
19:44of your life
19:47dad was joking
19:48Sebastian
19:49inexplicably
19:50was not
19:50Ellie's welcome
19:51stay home
19:52I'll take care
19:53of her
19:53as long
19:53as she needs
19:54the way he was
19:55looking at me
19:55had something
19:56in it
19:56I didn't want
19:56to name
19:57it made
19:57my skin
19:58crawl
19:59after dinner
19:59mom and dad
20:00went for a walk
20:01I did my makeup
20:02a soft
20:03deliberate look
20:04and got ready
20:04to meet grant
20:06I hadn't even
20:06made it out of
20:07the hallway
20:07before Sebastian
20:08caught my arm
20:09are you avoiding
20:10me
20:10did he seriously
20:11need to ask
20:12his eyes
20:13had an anger
20:14in them
20:14I couldn't
20:14account for
20:15do you actually
20:16want to see me
20:18if you didn't
20:18have those feelings
20:19for me
20:19I would have
20:20treated you
20:20like a real sister
20:21I held his gaze
20:22I don't have them anymore
20:24but I felt for you
20:25burned up in the fire
20:27last time
20:29his grip on my shoulders
20:30tightened
20:31sharp enough
20:31to hurt
20:32and then
20:32at those last two words
20:34his hands went still
20:36you were reborn
20:37you were reborn too
20:39he let go
20:45so you're running
20:46from me
20:46going off to marry
20:47some random guy
20:48is that how little
20:49you think of yourself
20:50his expression was
20:51something I couldn't read
20:52angry maybe
20:53regretful
20:53and something under it
20:54that looked like it
20:55refused to accept
20:56what was happening
20:58what random guy
20:59at that
21:00he looked startled
21:01then briefly
21:01something like hope
21:02crossed his face
21:05the man in your journal
21:06this
21:07grant
21:09you made him up
21:10he'd seen the journal
21:11and apparently
21:12he'd decided from what I wrote
21:13that grant was some kind of
21:14street level con artist
21:16all I'd written about
21:17was how he'd helped me
21:18that night outside the bar
21:19and then the things
21:20we did together
21:20wandering through an outdoor market
21:22on the edge of the city
21:23going to a live show
21:24watching grant play drums
21:25at a venue downtown
21:27under the stage lights
21:28loose and confident
21:29with half the women in the crowd
21:31losing their minds
21:31I'd been one of them
21:33yelling myself hoarse
21:34apparently I had described
21:35a charming screw-up
21:36who preyed on rich girls
21:37he's a good person
21:39I pushed past Sebastian
21:43and he's not some deadbeat
21:46there was heat in my voice now
21:48come work with me
21:50meet real men
21:53you'll see what you're
21:53walking away from
21:54then I remembered
21:55grant had mentioned
21:56our families were in the middle
21:57of closing a deal
21:59fine
21:59I was curious
22:00honestly
22:02private grant
22:04the one who dragged me
22:05to flea markets
22:05and crowds
22:06surfed at concerts
22:07I wanted to see
22:09what he looked like
22:10when he walked into
22:10a room in a suit
22:11and made an entire
22:12boardroom nervous
22:13Ellie just
22:14stay close to me
22:15I'll look after you
22:16like a brother should
22:17I moved his hand
22:18off my arm
22:19something impatient
22:20rose in my chest
22:21that's okay
22:23I'll have my parents
22:24and my boyfriend
22:25for that
22:25Sebastian went cold
22:27I felt it
22:28and I still walked out the door
22:32on the street
22:33I made a mental note
22:34to push harder
22:34on the new apartment idea
22:40Grant was waiting outside
22:42in a casual jacket
22:43forehead creased in thought
22:46what are you thinking about
22:49wondering what else
22:50I can find
22:51for us to do
22:51he folded me
22:52against his side
22:53and I thought of something
22:54Jess had said once
22:56she said her brother
22:57spent his early 20s
22:58being exactly
22:59what everyone expected
23:00reckless
23:00loud
23:01careless
23:02with money and people
23:03then their grandfather
23:04handed him the company
23:05and put him through
23:06two years of the most
23:07intensive reshaping
23:08of his entire personality
23:10the result was
23:10someone almost
23:11unrecognizable
23:12steady
23:13calculated
23:13kind of man
23:14who made a room
23:15fall quiet
23:15when he walked in
23:16she'd said it
23:17like a complaint
23:17I'd laughed
23:18and said I'd never
23:19want a man like that
23:20Jess asked what I did want
23:21I said I wanted someone
23:22who'd still come out
23:23and play
23:23we were both laughing
23:25when Grant walked in
23:26with a bowl of fruit
23:26and stood in the doorway
23:28looking completely
23:29at a loss
23:29I looked at him now
23:31sideways
23:32Grant
23:32have you been doing
23:33all this
23:34the markets
23:35the shows
23:36the driving around
23:37at midnight
23:38because you thought
23:39that's what I wanted
23:40he hesitated
23:40you don't like it
23:42I knew it
23:43I felt something
23:44turn over slowly
23:45in my chest
23:49when I'd loved
23:50Sebastian
23:50without him knowing
23:51I'd asked him once
23:52carefully
23:52what kind of girl
23:53he was drawn to
23:54he said quiet
23:55steady
23:55for years after that
23:56I made myself
23:57smaller around him
23:58he thought it was
23:59maturity
24:00it wasn't
24:00Grant had taken me
24:01bungee jumping
24:02scuba diving
24:03and to a racetrack
24:04and somewhere in all of that
24:06I'd remembered something
24:07about myself
24:07that I'd always loved
24:09the feeling of my heart
24:10going too fast
24:11Grant was five years
24:12older than me
24:12and somehow loved
24:13exactly the way I did
24:14like someone who'd never
24:15been told to tone it down
24:18just be yourself
24:20you don't have to
24:21keep up with me
24:22Grant held on
24:27I was scared you'd think
24:28I was too old
24:29or boring
24:31or insufferable
24:32his voice had this quality
24:33like a complaint
24:34but soft
24:35and it made me laugh
24:36before I could help it
24:37I'm going to need to do
24:38a full inspection
24:39for the insufferability levels
24:42Grant laughed
24:42and tried to get away
24:43from my hands
24:44and I thought
24:45this is what it feels like
24:46being loved back
24:48Sebastian had never given me
24:49a single second of this
24:51wanting someone who doesn't want you
24:53is the whole problem
24:53I thought
24:54that was always the original sin
24:59I started at the company
25:01and immediately understood
25:02why Sienna had been on edge
25:04since the moment I walked in
25:05she'd been Sebastian's assistant
25:06on paper
25:07in practice
25:07she was running the floor
25:08like she'd already signed a prenup
25:11I came in as a junior associate
25:13on the projects team
25:14and I pushed hard
25:15to keep my name
25:15out of any introduction
25:16dad was supportive
25:17he thought starting at the bottom
25:19built real judgment
25:20Sienna treated my arrival
25:22like an occupation
25:23three separate attempts
25:24to make things difficult
25:25in the first two weeks
25:26and I ignored all of them
25:28mostly I kept my desk
25:29and avoided the executive floor entirely
25:31it held up for two weeks
25:32then the day came
25:33when Grant was scheduled
25:34to walk into the building
25:35for a deal meeting
25:36I ran into Sienna
25:37in the break room
25:37while I was waiting
25:41Sienna
25:42I'm not here
25:43to take anything from you
25:44not Sebastian
25:45not your standing
25:46in this company
25:46I'm here because
25:47dad wanted me to come
25:48that's it
25:49no one else was around
25:50I said it plainly
25:52I don't believe you
25:57she looked at me
25:58like I'd said something
25:59in a language
25:59she'd decided not to speak
26:01I picked up my coffee
26:02that's your choice
26:03all I could think about
26:04was the look on Grant's face
26:05when he realized
26:06I was already here
26:07then she grabbed my arm
26:09there was a brief
26:09sharp struggle
26:10and then Sienna
26:11threw the contents
26:12of her mug
26:12against her own wrist
26:13and forearm
26:14the sound she made
26:15was loud enough
26:15to pull in most of the floor
26:18Ellie
26:19you act like you
26:20support us to our faces
26:21and then you follow
26:21your brother here
26:22and now this
26:23her voice carried
26:24people were filing in
26:25from every direction
26:26I know you hate me
26:28but scolding me
26:29isn't going to make me
26:30walk away from Sebastian
26:31the employees around us
26:32were wide eyed
26:33already running the math
26:34on the drama
26:35she's his sister
26:37that's wait
26:37so this is a whole thing
26:39management is going to be
26:40stuck in the middle
26:41of a family war
26:42who does he side with
26:44when he shows up
26:44either way he loses
26:46the noise closed in
26:47like walls
26:48my eyes were burning
26:50I have a boyfriend
26:52I said it loud
26:55sure
26:56you've got a fake boyfriend
26:57to make your brother jealous
26:58we've all seen that move
27:00you chased him
27:01to his own company
27:01and now you're
27:02playing innocent
27:03I slapped her
27:07it was reflex
27:08the second my hand connected
27:10I knew I'd handed her
27:11exactly what she wanted
27:13she just
27:14everyone saw that
27:16that's Sebastian
27:17old sister
27:18hitting his fiance
27:19because she's in love
27:20with her own
27:21I raised my hand again
27:23Sebastian came around
27:24the corner
27:24Grant was beside him
27:26Grant walked straight to me
27:27he was in a fitted suit
27:29the version of him
27:30that closed nine figure deals
27:31and put entire front offices
27:33on the back foot
27:34sharp
27:34clean
27:35the kind of presence
27:36that made a room
27:37recalibrate itself
27:38but I knew he wouldn't
27:39turn that sharpness on me
27:40I grabbed his hand
27:42without looking at Sebastian
27:43Sienna
27:45look at him
27:45that's my boyfriend
27:47he's better looking
27:48than Sebastian
27:48he has more money
27:49than Sebastian
27:50and he actually loves me back
27:52and I love him
27:57Grant's expression
27:58went from anger
27:58to something that looked
27:59a little like trying
28:00not to smile
28:01he stood up straighter
28:02you think I don't know
28:03what you're doing
28:04you don't want me
28:05near this company
28:06on one side
28:07you're scared
28:08I'll get too close
28:09to Sebastian
28:10on the other
28:11you're scared
28:12I'll use my share
28:12of the family assets
28:13to have a say
28:14and how this place runs
28:15I glanced at Sebastian
28:16my mouth pulled
28:18into something cold
28:19this is the woman
28:20you chose
28:22for her
28:23you were willing
28:23Sienna hadn't processed
28:25what was happening
28:25she turned
28:26and pressed herself
28:27against Sebastian
28:28Ellie hates me
28:29she burned me
28:30she hit me
28:31Sebastian
28:32I know I'm not
28:33good enough for you
28:34but
28:34I took a step forward
28:35I knew Sebastian
28:37loved her
28:37I knew my parents
28:39genuinely loved Sebastian
28:40and that I'd spent
28:41the last several months
28:42trying to make everyone
28:43happy by letting him
28:44have what he wanted
28:45I'd been wrong
28:47with Sienna involved
28:49there was no version
28:50of this family
28:50that didn't eventually
28:51come apart
28:52Sebastian
28:55I didn't go after her
28:56check the footage
28:58one of the watching
28:59employees spoke up
29:00the break room
29:01camera's been down
29:02maintenance
29:03hasn't gotten to it yet
29:04but the building's
29:05AI unit
29:06it was stationed
29:06right outside the break room
29:08even without a full
29:09video record
29:09it should have
29:10picked up audio
29:10should tell you
29:11pretty clearly
29:11you started it
29:15people noticed
29:16the unit standing
29:17just outside the
29:18break room door
29:18it blinked its camera
29:20eyes at the crowd
29:21and offered a small
29:22mechanical smile
29:23looks like my girlfriend
29:24has excellent taste
29:25in tech
29:26this model uploads
29:28all audio and visual
29:29data to cloud storage
29:30automatically
29:31permanent record
29:32you can pull anything
29:34going back as far
29:35as you want
29:36the color drained
29:37out of Sienna's face
29:38something close to panic
29:40my stomach tightened
29:42Jake pull it
29:43Sebastian said
29:44no expression
29:45Sebastian you don't
29:47believe me
29:47pull everything on file
29:49related to Mrs. Walsh
29:50while you're at it
29:50Sebastian didn't answer
29:52her
29:52I stepped in right
29:53behind him
29:53all of it
29:55everything that unit
29:56has ever recorded
29:57near her
29:58you think money
29:59gives you the right
29:59to invade my privacy
30:01Sebastian your sister
30:02is humiliating me
30:03Sebastian's face
30:04was working through
30:05something complicated
30:06this model
30:07is male presenting
30:08and has never recorded
30:09anyone in a private space
30:10Grant said
30:11in the tone of someone
30:12reading off a spec sheet
30:13just public areas
30:14the absolute deadpan delivery
30:16made me bite down
30:17on a laugh
30:18he pressed my hand
30:18quietly
30:19the fallout from Sienna
30:21spreading what she'd
30:22spread about me
30:22meant I handed in my
30:23notice that same afternoon
30:24when I went up to
30:25Sebastian's office
30:26to leave my resignation
30:27he watched me
30:29with an expression
30:29I couldn't name
30:31so
30:32Grant Walsh
30:33is actually Grant Walsh
30:34yes
30:35so you can relax
30:36I'm not chasing you
30:37I'm not fighting you
30:38for the inheritance
30:39and if you want to
30:39marry Sienna
30:40I'm not stopping you
30:41my voice was polite
30:42distant
30:43I've never talked to him
30:44like that before
30:45Sebastian
30:46I hope we both
30:47get to be happy this time
30:54Grant came to the house
30:56for dinner on the same day
30:57Jake delivered
30:57the footage results
30:58I didn't ask
30:59what was on it
31:00but my walking away
31:01had cut off
31:02whatever Sienna
31:02had been building toward
31:03and that felt like enough
31:04mom and dad
31:05took to Grant immediately
31:07dad especially
31:07they spent most of dinner
31:09talking about business
31:10and by the time
31:11dessert came out
31:11they were finishing
31:12each other's sentences
31:13after Grant left
31:14mom pulled me into her room
31:15since Sebastian
31:16and Sienna got together
31:17I've been worried about you
31:19my chest tightened
31:20did mom remember too
31:21she saw my face
31:22and smoothed my hair back
31:24you think I don't know
31:25why your father and I
31:26pushed back so hard
31:27on the wedding
31:28we had our own reasons
31:29but you handled it so well
31:32and now look at you
31:33I exhaled slowly
31:34she didn't know
31:35neither of them knew
31:37that was good
31:38Sebastian wouldn't make
31:39the same mistakes twice
31:40and our family would be okay
31:42the night before Grant's
31:44and my engagement party
31:45Sebastian came home late
31:47I thought it was mom
31:48when he knocked
31:48I didn't lock the door
31:50he came in
31:50and pulled me against him
31:51and the smell of whiskey
31:52hit me immediately
31:53Ellie
31:54I was wrong
31:56don't get engaged
31:57to someone else
31:58be with me
31:59I pushed against him
32:00as hard as I could
32:01and kept my voice low
32:02you've lost your mind
32:03marry me
32:04we stay a family
32:05all four of us
32:07isn't that what
32:08you always wanted
32:12you don't love me
32:14so what is this
32:15I couldn't get free
32:16I do
32:18I just didn't know it
32:19until it was too late
32:20he stepped back
32:21and held my shoulders
32:21looking at me directly
32:24I don't love you anymore
32:25the red in the corners
32:26of his eyes
32:27was visible now
32:27I don't buy that
32:28years don't just disappear
32:29Sebastian
32:30I told you
32:32whatever I felt for you
32:34was incinerated
32:34in that fire
32:35in our last life
32:36both his hands
32:37were trembling
32:38his eyes were wet
32:39I was wrong
32:40I was wrong
32:41I'll say it to anyone
32:42I'll get on my knees
32:43in front of mom and dad
32:44I'll spend the rest of my life
32:45making it right
32:45just come back
32:47standing there watching him
32:48I felt something
32:49almost like grief
32:50not for him
32:51but for the version of me
32:52who would have fallen apart
32:54at the sight of this
32:54I'll sign everything over to you
32:56every asset
32:57every share
32:58I'll spend what's left of my life
32:59earning it back from zero
33:00I couldn't tell if he was drunk
33:02or broken
33:03or both
33:03I put everything I had
33:05into shoving him back
33:06Sebastian
33:07mom and dad
33:08don't know anything
33:09about our last life
33:10don't blow that up
33:11I'm asking you
33:12to let this go
33:13he moved
33:14toward me again
33:15I said it
33:15steady and quiet
33:16do you want to lose
33:17the last thing we have
33:19because that's what this does
33:20he stopped
33:21the pain on his face
33:22was real
33:23I didn't look away from him
33:25Sebastian
33:26I love Grant
33:27the way I used to love you
33:28and he loves me back
33:30be happy for me
33:32I'll be happy for you too
33:33when you find someone
33:34who's actually right for you
33:35I said each word slowly
33:36Sebastian's face went white by degrees
33:39then he left
33:40Sebastian was one of the proudest people I'd ever known
33:43that retreat
33:44that night
33:45he would never put himself through it again
33:47I was sure of that
33:48what was done was done
33:49last time's pain was last time's
33:52holding on to it meant letting it keep costing me things
33:55I chose to let the light in
33:56and I believed
33:57standing there in the quiet after he left
33:59that we would both find our way to something good
34:05I was gonna lose Ellie completely
34:07even if she still called me her brother
34:09coming back the second time
34:10I fought to hold on to what I'd thrown away
34:12in the end I was just a joke
34:13the footage Jake pulled told me everything
34:15about why my parents could never warm to Sienna
34:17she'd been using the office landline
34:19to call her mother
34:20talking about my dad being old
34:21talking about my mom watching too closely
34:23talking about me like I was a lock
34:25she'd already figured out how to open
34:27she was disgusting
34:28she'd gone after my father first
34:30then pivoted to me
34:31and I fell for every bit of it
34:33how did I ever convince myself Ellie had drugged me
34:36Ellie was the most straightforward person I'd ever known
34:38the drug came from Sienna
34:40she'd slipped it to me over dinner
34:41then she'd fixed herself up
34:43and fed me a story about saving herself for our wedding night
34:45and I believed her because I needed to believe something
34:48she needed into the whole family fast
34:50so she took a shortcut
34:51last time when Ellie stood in my doorway looking uncertain
34:54and reached for her own buttons
34:56I still had some part of my brain left
34:58I knew what I was doing
34:59but she was so disarming and I was so weak
35:01and I did something I've never forgiven myself for
35:04then I buried the guilt under outrage
35:06and called it her fault
35:08and blamed it on her
35:09on my parents
35:10on everyone except the person
35:12who'd actually set the whole thing in motion
35:14I came back thinking I'd corrected it
35:16I'd made it worse
35:18I watched Ellie pull away from me inch by inch
35:20no more dropping by to share something funny
35:23no more mug of something hot appearing on my desk
35:26no more of any of it
35:30I heard her on the phone with Grant once
35:32telling him that after they were married
35:33she was going to watch him eat every meal
35:35to make sure he finished it
35:36the jealousy that hit me was so irrational
35:38I scared myself
35:39I spent every day with Sienna
35:41I thought about Ellie constantly
35:42when Sienna went after Ellie in that break room
35:45I'd already decided
35:46whatever the footage showed
35:47I was done with Sienna
35:49and I was going to Ellie's side
35:50I was going to protect her
35:52then Grant walked in and stood next to her
35:54and I understood that I had already lost
35:56the only thing I'd ever actually wanted
35:58Ellie didn't ask me what the footage contained
36:00she already knew
36:01more or less
36:03she'd always protected me from my own embarrassments
36:05even now
36:06knowing everything I'd done
36:08she left the company
36:09and cut off the last route Sienna had to get
36:11wah
36:12tea she wanted
36:13Ellie thought the sacrifice was worth it
36:15she was always worth more than I deserved
36:17the night before her engagement
36:19with the whiskey making me brave enough
36:21to be an idiot one last time
36:22I held her
36:23and asked her to stay
36:24she pushed me out the door
36:26I went back to my apartment
36:27and put into motion the thing I'd been building for weeks
36:30Sienna and her mother had been getting greedy
36:32I'd laid the groundwork carefully
36:34by morning both of them were in a position
36:36they weren't getting out of easily
36:37I hated them
36:38but I was the one who'd let them in
36:40that was on me
36:42Ellie didn't blame me
36:43my parents didn't blame me
36:44that almost made it harder
36:46without her
36:47this second life was going to be darker than the first
36:49that was the cost I was paying
36:51it was fair
36:53I wasn't going to get married
36:54I was going to build what my parents had built
36:56make it bigger
36:57and look at me
36:58that was my penance
37:01I'd chosen it
37:02and I meant it
Comments