Chapter 8

Gabriella’s POV

I was just leaving the lab when Ryder Gomez, my laboratory classmate, blocked my path. “Come on, Gabriella, why are you so cold? Just give me one chance!” Other students gathered around, eager for drama.

I sighed, facing my persistent admirer. “Look, Ryder, like I’ve told you a hundred times—I’m focused on my PhD right now. Dating isn’t on my radar.” He’d been trying for months, refusing to take no for an answer. Ryder stepped closer, insisting I come to a party he was organizing.

Before I could shut him down for the hundredth time, a tall figure stepped between us. “She said no. What part of that isn’t getting through?”

I knew that voice. I knew that stance. Kayden. Even in a parallel life, I’d recognize him anywhere. Things escalated fast. The guys started shoving each other, and I jumped in to break it up. The last thing I needed was campus police getting involved.

“Stop it!” I yelled at Kayden, pulling him back. “What is wrong with you? Did you not get my message?”

“I rejected you too, remember? So what’s with this stalker behavior?”

“And this is between me and Ryder—what gives you the right to play bodyguard?”

Kayden deflated like a punctured balloon. He looked at me with wounded eyes. “What gives me the right? How about the fact that I love you?”

I laughed bitterly, not wanting to make more of a scene. I grabbed his arm and dragged him around the corner of the science building. That’s when I really looked at him. His eyes were red-rimmed, like he’d been crying. Six months had aged him years.

When he caught me staring, tears spilled down his cheeks. He grabbed my hand, holding on when I tried to pull away. “Gabby, I finally found you. I’m not letting go again.” His voice cracked. “I know you’re still mad, but I swear I’ll do better.”

“All these years, I thought Charlotte was different—this pure, genuine person compared to all those fake socialites. But she was the biggest fake of all. She played me for my money, and that baby… it wasn’t even mine.”

“Charlotte never loved me. She just wanted my bank account. God, I was such an idiot thinking she actually cared.”

“She planned the whole thing—needed some sucker to bankroll her real life with her boyfriend and their kid. She completely betrayed me.”

The revelation stunned me. Charlotte had never really loved him? Looking back at my past life, it felt like karma had finally caught up.

Chapter 9