Chapter 2. Second Chance

When Serena opened her eyes again, she was greeted by a dreamy pink light.

After a momentary blur, Serena's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly rubbed her eyes.

This place...?! Was it... her home? Her bedroom?!

How could this be?! Hadn't she died from massive bleeding after the miscarriage?!

But this pink canopy was exactly like the one on her princess bed from her memories!

Turning her head, she glanced around. Serena suddenly sat up from the bed. "This... really is my room!" She scratched her head, even more confused.

How could this be? After my father passed away over a year ago, Clint sold this property to someone else...

When she first found out he was selling her father's only property, she had rushed to his office to confront him.

At that time, her father had already passed, and his attitude towards her had completely changed.

The warmth from before was gone, replaced by coldness and impatience in his sharp, deep eyes. "I'm selling Bram Knowles' house! And..." His thin lips curled slightly, his expression full of disdain. "Let me tell you something. Bram always fancied himself a gentleman, hated indulgence and excess, right? Well, I'll sell his house to someone who owns a nightclub. Soon enough, his 'beloved home' will become everything he hated..."

Knock knock knock...

The sound of soft but clear knocking broke through the flood of memories.

"Who is it?!" Serena instinctively asked, her voice filled with wariness and alertness.

The next moment, tears suddenly welled up, blurring her vision.

The voice coming from outside the door was, incredibly, that of her mother, who had died alongside her father in a mysterious car accident. "Serena, it's mom! You little lazybones, the sun's already up, and you're still not out of bed! I was afraid you'd sleep too late, and breakfast would get cold, so I brought it up for you."

"Mom!" she choked out softly, speaking to herself. "Is this heaven?! Have I finally been reunited with you in heaven?!"

When she didn't open the door, the knocking resumed. "Serena, why are you silent? Are you still asleep?!"

Afraid her mother would leave, Serena hurriedly wiped her eyes, jumped out of bed, and, forgetting to put on shoes, rushed to the door.

"Mom!" As the door swung open, she saw the long-missed, loving face of her mother. Serena's tears streamed down her face. "I've finally seen you again!"

Nola looked at her daughter in surprise. "Silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about? Don't we see each other every day?!"

The joy of the reunion between mother and daughter overshadowed everything, and Serena automatically ignored the confusion in her mother's eyes.

With the excitement of a young deer, she leaped straight into Nola's arms, nearly knocking over the tray in her mother's hands.

Nola muttered with a mix of helplessness and affection, "You're already twenty-four years old, how can you still be so reckless?!"

Serena froze for a moment, suddenly looking up in shock at her mother. "Mom, what did you say?! I'm twenty-four?!"

When she died, she was only twenty-five, and both her parents had passed away in that tragic car accident when she was twenty-five.

"Yes!" Nola set the tray aside on the small table, reaching up to touch her daughter's forehead. "You're not running a fever! How could you be so confused that you've forgotten how old you are?!"

"Then why am I at home? Didn't I already marry Clint?!" Serena asked in disbelief.

"You said Clint was away on business, and you were feeling lonely, so you came back home to stay for a few days."

Serena patted her head, remembering that when she was twenty-four, she had indeed stayed at her parents' house for a few days, but it wasn't because she felt lonely. It was because Clint had asked for a divorce, and after a huge argument, she had run back home in a fit of anger.

To avoid worrying her parents, she had lied.

A troubling yet thrilling thought shot through her mind like a lightning bolt, and Serena couldn't help but blurt out, "Then... what about dad?! Is he still here?!"

"Yes, he's downstairs having breakfast!"

As she looked at her mother, who seemed to be staring at her like she was an alien, Serena stood frozen for a moment, then pinched herself hard on the arm.

"Ouch! That hurts!" She rubbed her arm, murmuring to herself, "This isn't a dream, right? I... I must have... traveled back in time!"

Nola seemed to not recognize her own daughter, who she had carried for ten months and given birth to. She looked at Serena with suspicion. "Serena, what's wrong with you today?!"

Serena grinned, cupped her mother's face, and gave her a big kiss. "It's nothing! I'm just too happy!"

Then, she dashed past her mother, barefoot, running downstairs.

As she turned the corner on the stairs, she saw from a distance the back of her father, who was sitting at the dining table, eating seriously.

Her eyes welled up again, and she quickly sniffed, calling out carefully, "Dad!"

Bram turned at the sound of her voice. Seeing his beloved daughter, his usually serious expression softened. "Serena, come, sit with me and have breakfast!"

If this had happened before, Serena would have ignored him and gone back to sleep.

But now, after having died once, Serena regretted her previous childishness. She only wanted to cherish the second chance she had to be with her parents.

Sitting next to her father, Serena propped her chin in her hands, gazing at him with a silly smile.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" he asked.

"No! Nothing!"

"Then why are you staring at me like that?"

"Uh..." Serena blinked, unsure how to explain, when suddenly, the maid-Darcy, approached and respectfully said, "Miss, there's a phone call for you."

"A phone call?!" Serena frowned. "Who is it? Why didn't they call my cell phone?"

"It's Mr. Beckett. He said he called your cell, but no one answered, so he called the landline."