"Are you happy?" Rachel threw the question back at me.


    I pondered for a moment before responding, "Habit is a scary thing."


    ncing at the screen of my phone, I recalled how panicked I was when Steven declined my call.


    Was I truly happy after getting married? Well… It felt like "happiness" was just beyond my grasp.


    First, I was inexplicably murdered, then inexplicably resurrected… or rather, reincarnated into the


    body of apletely stranger woman. And, inexplicably, the person lying next to me was the person


    I had mistaken as the murderer — Steven.


    It seemed as though all the dramatic events one could possibly experience had happened to me.


    I couldn''t help but wonder: if these things happened to someone else, how would they cope? Could


    they handle it better than me?


    In such a tense, suspicious, and dangerous environment, I struggled to find a way to survive, let


    alone find happiness.


    "I don''t yearn for love anymore." Rachel shrugged. "I promised my mom to go on a blind date. It''s at


    seven tonight, so I''ll be leaving soon."


    Though Rachel agreed to the blind date, I could tell she wasn''t happy about it.


    "Are you sure you want to do this?" I wanted to talk her out of it, but I didn''t know how.


    "If I don''t get married soon, my mom is going to drive me crazy." Rachel sighed, feeling suffocated


    by her family.


    "For Zion''s sake, I have to get married as soon as possible. You know my mom. She won''t stop


    bothering him until I do, " Rachel said helplessly.


    Her mother had grown paranoid and controlling after experiencing heartbreak. During Rachel''s


    school days, she once publicly scolded a male student in Rachel''s research group, which made


    Rachel extremely embarrassed.


    Indifferent to Rachel''s emotions, she consistently imposed her own notions of what was best for her


    daughter, an approach that felt stifling and suffocating.


    "I want to take a bet too." Rachel took a deep breath. "Who knows, maybe marriage is my


    reincarnation, right?" She smiled at me.


    I remained silent, recalling what she had just told me a while ago: "Try trusting someone


    unconditionally for a change, will you? After all, life is a gamble. Who knows, you might make the


    right bet?"


    Indeed, even if she lost the bet, she had nothing to lose either.


    Nodding in agreement, I picked up my phone and dialed Steven''s number once more.


    I wanted to take the bet… to try trusting him unconditionally for once.


    Yet, Steven declined my call once again, sending me into a state of panic.


    Could he have fallen into Yasmin''s deception too?


    Rachel departed for her blind date.


    Under the gloomy, rainy sky, I watched her leave and noticed a car parked nearby. I was Zion''s, I


    could tell at a nce.


    It was evident that Zion harbored feelings for Rachel too, but the two seemed like prickly


    hedgehogs, afraid of hurting each other with their spines if they got too close. So, they chose to


    maintain their distance, staying where they were.


    N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    Standing in the rain, surrounded by the earthy scent of the rain, I couldn''t shake off the feeling of


    impending doom.


    Leo motioned for me toe inside, away from the rain.


    Returning to my room, I sat in the empty bathtub and continued calling Steven.


    With each call he declined, I redialed. After several attempts, his phone was permanently switched


    off.


    I buried my head in my knees.


    Trusting someone unconditionally, as simple as it might sound, was proving to be an


    insurmountable challenge.