After living with Alistair for half a month, things had calmed down, though he was always busy, hardly ever appearing at home. I often found myself scrolling through photos of him that his fans had posted online.
When I saw one I particularly liked, I would save it.
It made me happy and proud to think that there were so many fans who loved him just as I did.
One night, Alistair texted me saying he could come home early.
On a whim, I decided to cook him a nice dinner.
I bought the vegetables and was on my way home when, suddenly, the car tire went flat.
I got out to check and realized the tire had been punctured by something.
Without thinking, I called Alistair.
But before I could hear his voice, my phone was snatched away and thrown to the ground.
Something was pressed over my mouth.
And then, everything went black.
When I regained consciousness, I found myself tied up, held captive in an abandoned floor of a building. There was only one person in front of me.
He was holding a phone.
"To save your daughter, bring 30 million in cash and come alone. I'll be waiting here for you."
Because I had died once before, I didn't panic.
Instead, I remained calm.
Until the man turned around, and I saw a face identical to Robert's.
"Robert?"
I instinctively called his name. The man stepped closer and pinched my chin.
"If it weren't for you setting up that trap against Robert,"
"How would I, Erick, have made it this far?"
"I'll tell you, everything you and your family owe us," I caught a crucial piece of information.
Erick.
Given how similar they looked, it was easy to deduce they were brothers. His anger grew, and he slapped me across the face.
"If you hadn't framed my brother, would he be in prison?"
"Would he have committed suicide in jail out of guilt?"
"I'll tell you this, I want more than just your money. I'll drag you and everyone you love to hell with me."
"This building's basement is already rigged with explosives."
"As soon as your father brings the 30 million, I'll set it off. The debt you owe me and my brother, we'll settle that in hell."
A chill ran down my spine.
The time I'd gotten to enjoy in this life had already been a luxury.
If heaven was going to take it all away, I would rather it be me alone, rather than hurt others. Just then—
Alistair appeared.
He was still in the tuxedo from the banquet, hurriedly rushing here.
"No, Alistair, go, hurry!"
I screamed, but before I could finish, tape was pressed over my mouth.
I wanted Alistair to leave, to never come near me again.
What Erick wanted wasn't money—it was my life.
But I didn't even have the chance to speak.
When Erick saw Alistair, he sneered.
"Who are you?" Alistair extended his hand, trying to calm Erick down.
"Don't you want money? I have a lot, a lot of money. If you let Kinley go, I'll give it all to you. I won't call the police. I'll pretend like nothing happened."
I shook my head, tears welling in my eyes. Alistair had already died for me once. I couldn't bear for him to die again.
I tried to speak, but no sound came out.
Erick laughed. "If I decided to take your life, would you let me?" Without hesitation, Alistair answered.
"Yes."
"Yes."
Erick laughed louder, but without agreeing, the situation remained stuck.
Soon, my father appeared, holding a bag of cash. Seeing me tied up and bruised, his eyes immediately filled with tears.
His voice trembled as he spoke.
"I'm Ernesto, I'm Ernesto. I brought the money you wanted. Let my daughter go. The matter with your brother, it was me—don't involve my daughter. If you want my life, take mine."
Erick's eyes reddened.
"Ernesto, I'm of course going to take my brother's life. You think I would let that go?" Watching two of the men I loved most suffer for me, I wished I could just disappear from this world.
But I was tied up, unable to move, my mouth sealed shut with tape. Erick took the opportunity to humiliate us.
"Who will kneel for me, so I can see if you really mean it?"
As soon as he said this, Alistair took the bag of money from my father's hands and immediately kneeled.
"I've brought the money. Do you want to check if it's all there?"
Erick didn't say anything. He probably thought that the bag of money had changed his mind.
Alistair, seeing Erick stay silent, stood up and walked slowly to him. When Erick looked at the money in the bag, Alistair lunged at him, throwing him to the ground.
Erick instinctively pressed a button.
Beep.
"Sir, take Kinley and go!" Alistair shouted.
His years of fitness training allowed him to hold Erick down with ease.
But Erick was no pushover and fought back fiercely.
My father stumbled forward, grabbing Erick.
"Little Alistair, take Kinley and go. The biggest regret of my life is this. From now on, take good care of her."
Erick laughed maniacally, lying on the ground.
Then a group of police officers swarmed in, surrounding Erick.
"You think you can escape?" he yelled. "Let me tell you, I've planted bombs in this building's basement. One minute left. Only twenty seconds now! No one gets to run. We'll die together, hahahahahaha!"
...
But one minute passed.
The entire abandoned building remained silent.
"Erick looked absolutely incredulous."
"What's going on? Where's the bomb I planted?"
"Why hasn't it exploded?"
Erick, completely defeated, was held by the police, unable to move.
Alistair untied me and ripped the tape from my mouth.
"Let's go, let's go."
I was scared and anxious.
Even if there was only a sliver of hope, I had to try.
Alistair held me in his arms, comforting me through my panic.
"Kinley, don't be afraid. I suspected there might be a bomb. When I came here, I had already called the police. I've been stalling for time, giving the police enough time to disarm it. As you can see, I was right. We're safe."
The tension that had been weighing on me finally lifted.
Using the last bit of my strength, I whispered, "How… did you know? Did you… also… reincarnate like me?" My father was talking with the police on the side. He took off his jacket and draped it over me.
"After you told me about Robert last time, I suspected it wasn't this simple. I had people investigate him and found out he had a brother, someone he was very close to. Recently, he'd been buying explosives. I didn't think he'd be so reckless, not even fearing the law. It's my fault. I thought you'd be safe in the city, but I didn't realize he was following you."
"I'm sorry, Kinley. I didn't protect you well."
I cried as I held him in my arms.
Thinking about how just earlier, he had knelt before a petty man without a second thought, sacrificing his dignity for me.
How fortunate I was to have someone as wonderful as Alistair.
How blessed I was to have him.
