Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 169

Revenge Has Interest 169

169. Reversing Time

2024.01.16.

Dr. Karen told Leah many comforting stories before the surgery to ease her anxiety.

“Once you wake up from your nap, you’ll be able to meet your beautiful children.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Ms. Grace, do you trust me?”

“I do, Dr. Karen.”

Leah replied with a bright smile. If she couldn’t trust them, she wouldn’t have any hope at all.

This time, Dr. Frank approached Leah.

“We’re going to administer anesthesia. You’ll inhale the medicine through your nose. The general anesthesia should last about an hour.”

“Okay.”

Once she was on the operating table, she felt strangely calm. The decision to have the surgery and lying on the hospital bed had been the hardest part.

Suddenly, many memories of her time with Terrence flashed through Leah’s mind.

‘He must be anxiously waiting outside the operating room right now. I have to be strong for him.’

Dr. Frank brought a strange mask and placed it over Leah’s nose and mouth. His face, which had been so clear, gradually faded, and then everything went blank, as if a black curtain had been drawn before her eyes.

She felt light in body and mind, as if floating in a black universe. The many worries and anxieties that had plagued her disappeared like dust.

In this vast universe, human anguish seemed futile.

‘It’s comfortable.’

She felt no pain, as if she were in a completely different space.

But then, a black vortex swirled in the distance and approached Leah menacingly.

‘Oh!’

Leah instinctively struggled, not wanting to be swept into the vortex.

But her body could not move as freely as her mind desired.

In contrast, the vortex grew larger and larger, approaching fiercely as if to swallow Leah in an instant.

‘No! I don’t want to!’

No matter how much she resisted, she was as powerless as a leaf and swept into the vortex.

* * *

How long had she been unconscious? Light seeped through Leah’s closed eyelids.

Someone had drawn back the curtains and opened the window wide, and fresh air from outside rushed in, carrying the sound of birds chirping.

‘Did I finally do it? Where are my babies?’

She felt pleased even in her sleep, thinking that all the procedures were finally over.

“Miss, please wake up.”

It was Sarah’s voice. She had done it after all. She had to ask Sarah to call Terrence.

“Only the bride sleeps in on her wedding day, Miss.”

‘The wedding already happened, with Terrence at Lake Winds Park…….’

No matter, another happiness would come to her when she opened her eyes. It would be a historic day, the beginning of the third act of her life.

“Ugh…… uh!”

Leah opened her eyes wide.

“Oh!”

Leah blinked repeatedly. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a splendid chandelier and a classic painting on the ceiling.

‘Why isn’t it the operating room?’

Then Sarah approached with hurried steps.

“Sarah……?”

“Yes, it’s me, Sarah. So please get up quickly. Have you forgotten what day it is today?”

Sarah’s appearance felt somehow unfamiliar. Leah quickly looked around. A large, ornate bedroom, exotic decorations collected from various trading posts.

‘This is my room.’

Leah Hamilton’s bedroom. Leah jumped out of bed and headed for the dressing table.

Soon, she was shocked to see her reflection in the mirror. Curly brown hair and a tall height for a woman. A face that resembled her father’s. It was Leah Hamilton.

‘Am I back? Or is this a dream?’

Leah ran to Sarah, who was making the bed, and grabbed her arms.

“Sarah, where are my babies? Was the surgery successful?”

“What are you talking about?”

“We lived together in Grayman.”

“Did you have a dream?”

“A dream?”

Leah was in a state of confusion. All the eventful things she had experienced were just a dream?

“Today is the day you’re marrying Master Allen.”

“Allen? Are you talking about Allen McDowell?”

“Yes, Master Allen, whom you adore. The most handsome man in Galdenia.”

At Sarah’s words, Leah felt as if the entire room was spinning around her.

How did she reverse time and return to her original body? It felt too real to be a dream.

If so, were the things that happened with Terrence just a dream? Then, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

The person who opened the door in response to Sarah’s answer was her father, Richard Hamilton.

“Leah, are you awake?”

“Father?”

Leah just stared at Richard as if she had seen a ghost. Soon, she burst into tears.

“How can you cry when the day you’ve been longing for has come?”

Richard rushed over and hugged Leah. He patted his crying daughter to reassure her.

“That’s what marriage is like. You wanted it, but when the day actually comes, it confuses people’s minds.”

Leah still couldn’t believe it, but she realized it wasn’t a dream from the scent, heartbeat, and warmth of Richard, who was hugging her. If so, the tragedy would be repeated.

“Father, did you invite Chief Tuazo of the Metropolitan Police?”

“Chief Tuazo of the Metropolitan Police is dead, isn’t he? A while ago?”

“Dead……? Then…… is Empress Theresa wearing a veil? She used to cover her face because of smallpox scars.”

“Huh? Her Majesty has never had smallpox. Leah…… what on earth happened to you last night?”

That was the question she wanted to ask Richard.

What on earth happened to her? She couldn’t understand why she had returned to the past.

One thing was certain, the situation had changed a lot from the past. Leah sat down on the spot and gasped for breath.

‘This doesn’t make sense.’

She didn’t know how such a thing could happen repeatedly.

Of course, she felt the same way when she died tragically and was possessed by Grace’s body.

If God felt sorry for her harsh life and was giving it back to her, He should have taken away her old memories.

‘Terrence, Channer, Pauline, Luke, James, Sonia, Adolf, Oliver, Alicia…….’

He should have taken away even the things she had experienced with the names of those many people. This was too harsh a punishment.

In particular, taking Terrence away from her was something she couldn’t bear.

“Leah, pull yourself together quickly. This father has to greet the guests.”

Richard comforted Leah and left the room.

“Miss, there’s no time for this. You have so much to do, like taking a bath and putting on makeup.”

Sarah walked around busily and soon opened the door and called in other maids.

Soon, Leah was led to the bathroom by the maids.

She moved like a doll as they told her to.

Even as they put on makeup, dressed her in a dress, and put on flashy decorations, Leah’s mind was like a battlefield where a bomb had fallen and turned everything to ashes.

Even when Sarah asked Leah how the makeup was and whether she liked her hairstyle, she was speechless like a person who had lost her soul.

“I don’t think the Miss realizes it.”

One of the maids joked to Sarah.

“I think so too. Someone go and bring the young master.”

“I’ll go.”

One of the many maids hurried out of the room. A little later, the maids exclaimed, and a golden-haired man emitting light stood in front of the door.

“Leah.”

Only then did Leah flinch and look towards the door.

And there was Allen McDowell, whom she had loved in the past and even tried to marry.

“Allen…….”

‘A man who doesn’t love me. He only wanted the conditions I had.’

If it was like the past, Allen would put her in a carriage and send her to the countryside this evening.

But the situation has changed a lot from the past. Then Allen too?

“Beautiful, Leah.”

“Th……ank you.”

Allen also noticed Leah’s stiff face and looked at Sarah.

“I think she’s nervous.”

“Well, a lot of guests should have come.”

“Allen, do you love me?”

Leah asked Allen out of the blue. Then Sarah and the maids disappeared like a tide.

“Of course I love you. That’s why we’re getting married.”

No, Allen’s love had to be a lie. That’s the only way she could understand the situation that had suddenly befallen her.

“We were going to study in Romerica after we got married, I was going to study political science, and Leah was going to study business administration, did you forget?”

“N……o. I didn’t forget.”

Everything has changed from the past. Then Allen’s love is real too? Soon the maids who had left came back in.

“Young master, we have to finish the remaining preparations.”

“Okay.”

Allen never lost his flower-like bright smile. Before leaving Leah, he slowly turned around and said to her.

“Leah, I’ll see you at the wedding later.”

“Yes……? Okay.”

As he left, Leah grabbed Sarah and asked.

“Allen is marrying me for my money, right? The McDowell barony [a territory or district controlled by a baron] is poor. He’s doing it only for the conditions, not because he loves me, right?”

Sarah looked bewildered at Leah’s words that she was pouring out without a break.

“Sarah, you like Allen too, don’t you?”

“Miss! What’s wrong with you?”

Sarah jumped up and down, unable to hide her embarrassment.

“The McDowell barony is not poor. It’s a very wealthy noble family. And Master Allen was the one who liked you first.”

“What?”

“No, why would I like your fiancé? I told you…… stop reading romance novels.”

“Eek!”

Leah grabbed her head and screamed.

‘Why are you doing this to me? Is it okay to play with someone else’s life like this?’

She shook her head violently and screamed.

She was confused about what she had been doing and what her real life was.