Revenge is Best Served After Reborn (James) novel Chapter 1851

When Colby got home, he found his mom helping his dad get dressed. Right away, something felt off to him. These were his parents, but for a split second, they seemed like strangers.

"Colby, what's up with you? I told you to come back early, but you never listen. The guests will be here any minute!" his mom said, walking over just like she always did, about to help him with his coat.

"I had such a beautiful child, and you turned out to be a boy! I've got so many pretty dresses, and you'd look amazing in them," she lamented with a sigh.

Colby’s face darkened. "Mom! I thought we agreed to drop this?"

"But it's such a shame," she insisted, handing him a suit his dad had custom-made for him. "Wear this to the dinner party tonight. Don't embarrass your father in front of Andrew!"

"......"

His dad stepped up, frowning. "How could my son ever embarrass me? If we hadn’t been a step late back then, his daughter would be calling me Dad."

Colby remembered clearly that the Russell family had a daughter. They played together a couple of times when they were kids, but then he went abroad and lost touch. Her name was Sophie.

When her name popped into his head, he felt a strange familiarity.

"Colby, stop standing around and get ready."

"Yes, Mother," Colby replied in a formal tone, taking the suit to the next room. The room felt familiar, filled with the essence of home, yet he couldn’t shake off the feeling that it wasn’t really his place.

Downstairs, the guests had arrived. As Colby made his way down, he greeted the Russells, clearly uncomfortable with these family gatherings.

Almost on autopilot, he drifted outside the Costello estate and unexpectedly found Sophie standing by the fountain.

As he got closer, Sophie climbed onto the fountain’s stone edge, looking pale as she pointed at him, stammering, "You, you! I told you not to... Ah!"

'Splash'

Colby froze.

The grand fountain erupted, sending water everywhere. Sophie was now in the fountain, her hair and makeup a mess.

Watching Sophie’s bedraggled state, Colby suddenly remembered how, as kids, she’d rope him and the boys into hide-and-seek. Back then, she was chatty and mischievous, while he was the quiet type.

Sophie loved to tease him, getting a kick out of making him blush. She even once coaxed him into climbing a tree, only to hide in the bushes herself, leaving him up there for three hours, completely unnoticed.