Rebirth: Love me Again - Chapter 330

Chapter 330: Bound by Magic, Broken by Blood
 

[LINA]

I first noticed something was wrong with Cole when his usual air of cold arrogance turned into something else—something distant, almost vacant.

My brother was never the warmest person, but at least he was present. Sharp. Calculating. But now? Now, he was just . . . gone.

At first, I thought it was just him being his usual broody self. Cole had never been one to smile or make small talk, and honestly, that was fine by me. But then the changes became impossible to ignore. He was always in a daze, like his body was here, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. His silver-gray eyes, usually sharp like a blade, looked dull. Hollow.

The first time I asked him about Eve, he didn’t answer. He just pressed his lips together, tight as a locked vault, and walked off without a word.

The second time, I caught him alone in the lounge, staring blankly at the untouched glass of whiskey in front of him. Cole never left a drink unfinished.

“Hey,” I said, sliding into the seat across from him. “Is everything okay with you and Eve?”

His jaw tensed. For a moment, I thought he was going to answer. Instead, he just exhaled sharply, stood up, and walked away. Not a single word. Just . . . gone.

That’s when I knew something was seriously wrong.

Most days, he was either locked up in his room or out for hours on end without saying where he was going. And whenever he was home or out ther, he wasn’t alone.

Zen.

That man never left his side.

Zen was Cole’s right-hand, his personal shadow, but lately, he had turned into something else entirely—a watchdog. Wherever Cole went, Zen was there. Silent. Watchful. Like he was waiting for something to happen.

It didn’t sit right with me.

Cole was a control freak. He never let anyone hover over him like that. And yet, he let Zen tail him without complaint.

Something was going on.

I just didn’t know what.

But I was going to find out.

It happened so suddenly that I barely had time to react.

One evening, just as I was settling in for the night, the front door swung open. The sound of heels clicking against the marble floor echoed through the house, sharp and urgent.

Mom was home.

I blinked in surprise. She never came back unannounced. Hell, sometimes she barely came back at all. I expected her to at least greet me—maybe pull me into one of those usual, tight hugs that smelled like expensive perfume and long-forgotten childhood memories.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she brushed past me without a word.

Straight toward Cole’s room.

I frowned. “Mom?”

She didn’t even look at me. Just kept walking, her pace brisk, her expression unreadable.

Something was wrong.

I hurried after her, my heart picking up speed. “Mom, what’s going on?”

No answer.

Then, from behind Cole’s door, voices.

Low. Urgent.

I recognized my mother’s voice immediately, sharp with tension. Then Zen’s, calm and measured as always. But Cole? Silence.

That was the part that scared me the most.

I had never seen Cole back down from an argument—not with our parents, not with me, not with anyone. And yet, in that moment, he said nothing.

I pressed my ear against the door, my fingers curling into fists.

Then, before I could fully process what was happening, everything spun out of control.

Luggage was packed. Flights were booked. And before I knew it, we were at our private airport, boarding our jet heading straight to my mother’s home country.

It all happened too fast. Too sudden.

I barely had time to breathe, let alone ask questions.

But one thing was clear.

Something had happened.

Something serious.

And whatever it was . . . it was bad enough to make my mother come rushing home. Bad enough to make Cole—Cole—go along with it without a fight.

“What’s going on here? Did someone die? Is Grandfather or Grandmother alright?” I asked, looking between my mother and Cole.

Because honestly, that was the only reason I could think of for this level of chaos.

“No, they’re fine, honey,” Mom said absentmindedly, barely glancing up from her phone.

Okay . . . then what was with the emergency evacuation?

I turned to Cole, expecting at least some explanation from him, but he just sat there, staring blankly out the window with the kind of hollow, dead-eyed expression you’d see on a malfunctioning robot.

Dylan was looking at him like he was going to go crazy at any moment.

Not. Normal.

I was about to press for answers when Mom suddenly spoke into her phone again, her voice sharp and businesslike. My ears perked up at the name she mentioned.

Zen.

I instantly leaned in, pretending to adjust my seatbelt as I focused on her conversation.

“. . . As soon as we cross the ocean, the spell will be broken. That’s how it always works. You take that as your cue to charge into her house,” Mom instructed in a hushed but firm tone. “I’m making sure I take them to see an Abularyo back home to clear any lingering spells on Cole or Lina.”

I froze.

Spells? Abularyo?

What the hell was she talking about?

But before I could ask, Mom’s voice dropped an octave, turning sharp as a knife.

“Kill? No. I want her alive,” she said coolly. “I will teach her a lesson myself for doing this to my son.”

A chill ran down my spine.

Okay. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions, but the way she said that . . . yeah, it sounded less overprotective mother and more mob boss giving an order.

I swallowed, suddenly very aware that my mother and father might have more in common than I was comfortable admitting.

And whoever this woman was—the one my mother was planning to ‘teach a lesson’—I had a feeling she’d be wishing for death instead.

Mom ended the call, then turned to me with a dazzling smile, her entire demeanor shifting from cold-blooded murderer to loving mother in 0.2 seconds.

“Honey, I know you have a lot of questions right now,” she said sweetly, reaching over to pat my hand. “But trust me, everything is going to be just fine.”

I opened my mouth—then promptly shut it again when her phone rang and she picked up without missing a beat.

I sighed and threw my hands up in defeat.

Fine. I’d just sit here like a good little kid and wait for answers. Again.

But the wait was killing me.

I crossed my arms and sank into my seat, shifting uncomfortably as my mind spun with a million questions.

Meanwhile, Cole was still unresponsive, Zen wasn’t here to give me the real story, Dylan was all silent at the side, all attention to my brother like he was an international terrorist, and my mother was apparently running an international revenge operation from first class.

Yeah.

This was shaping up to be one hell of a trip.