Orion lay back on the sofa, his own body burning with an abnormal, feverish heat.

He drifted in and out of consciousness, forcing himself awake every few minutes, terrified of missing the moment Lemira's IV bag ran dry.

Compared to the sheer psychological torture of the previous night, this physical exhaustion was almost a relief.

Alone in her bed, Lemira strained her ears but heard zero movement from the living room. She had no idea if he had actually left.

The emotional whiplash was suffocating.

He had admitted that he orchestrated their meeting, entirely driven by guilt and a desire to make amends.

Through the hazy fog of her fever, a desperate part of her still wanted to ask him: *Did you ever actually love me? Even a little?*

She wanted to demand whether his ultimate goal was simply to manipulate her into showing mercy to Mrs. Amanda.

But whenever she looked at him, she was so consumed by the betrayal and sheer injustice of it all that the words wouldn't come.

And even if they did, what difference would it make now?

Lemira stared blankly at the ceiling until her exhausted mind finally gave out, pulling her into a heavy sleep.

A long while later, Orion dragged his sluggish body into the bedroom. Seeing that only a sliver of fluid remained in the IV bag, he stayed by her side.

He sat in the chair beside her bed. Several times, he reached out, longing to stroke her cheek, only to force his hand back to his side.

When the bag finally emptied, Orion expertly withdrew the needle, pressing a cotton swab firmly against the puncture mark.

The slight pressure roused Lemira.

She instinctively flinched, yanking her hand back. A bright bead of blood welled up from the injection site.

Orion quickly caught her wrist. "Hold still."

Lemira stared down at the needle mark on her skin. Suddenly, her mind flashed back to their very first encounter-in the university clinic.

That was right after she had been reborn into this second chance at life, burning up with a severe fever.

A shocking realization hit her. *Had Orion Everhart been there in my past life, too?*

She looked up at the striking man before her. In her previous life, he had been the school doctor as well. But they hadn't crossed paths.

Because in her past life, she had been too pathologically obsessed with earning her brothers' approval to notice anyone else around her.

Her devotion to the Langstons had ultimately led to her gruesome end. But had Orion completely vanished from her story?

Suddenly, Lemira remembered the mysterious gamer she had met

online in her past life. His username had matched Orion's exact gaming handle. He was the one who had taught her how to play.

If Orion's goal had always been to get close and make amends... then it all made terrifying sense.

He *was* there in her past life. After her brothers had viciously kicked her out onto the streets, he was the anonymous friend who had wired her a large sum of money.

He was the one who had begged her to cut ties with the Langston family and build a life of her own.

But she hadn't listened. And in the end, Asher had thrown her into a psychiatric ward to rot.

In her past life, her tragic end was entirely her own fault.

Noticing her intense, unblinking stare, Orion shifted uncomfortably. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He rarely gave a damn about how people perceived him.

But she was different.

Lemira pulled her hand free. "Hypothetically. If I had stayed hopelessly devoted to the Langston family sacrificing everything for them just like I used to... What would you have done?"

Orion's brows knitted together. "I would have tried to warn you."

"But we wouldn't have known each other then. How would you have warned me?"

Orion considered the scenario for a moment. "I would have found a way."

"Like... pretending to be a friend online?"

Lemira thought of his exact tactics

aud

from her previous life-teaming up with her in the game, building a rapport, and then subtly trying convince her stop bleeding herself dry for a family that despised her.

swnove

Orion paused, genuinely weighing the possibility, then nodded. "Most likely, yes."

That answer cemented it.

The guardian angel from her past life had been him all along.

Lemira glanced down at the back of her hand. "It stopped bleeding. I feel much better now. You can leave."

Orion's gaze remained fixed on her hand. He didn't move.

When he finally lifted his eyes to meet hers, his expression was a portrait of quiet, devastating heartbreak.