What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger novel Chapter 48

Gabriella's POV

I was reborn to that crucial night when my step-uncle, Kayden Taylor, was drugged with an aphrodisiac.

This time, instead of becoming his remedy, I called his true love, Charlotte Miller.

In my previous life, I had fallen in love with Kayden - who became my uncle only by my mother's second marriage,not by blood.

That fateful night, when someone had slipped him a powerful aphrodisiac at a charity gala, he desperately begged me to call his true love.

Instead, I offered myself as his solution.

One month later, I discovered I was pregnant.

Kayden was pressured into marrying me, but on our wedding day, Grace - who had fled to Europe to escape her heartbreak - was taken by kidnappers who ultimately took her life.

In her final hours, she called Kayden 199 times, pleading for help.

But Kayden, trapped in our wedding ceremony, never saw a single call.

Afterward, he would silently stare at those 199 missed calls, his face haunted by unspoken grief.

The day I went into labor, he locked me in the cellar of our New England estate. When I begged him to take me to the hospital, he watched with a cruel smile as I struggled for breath until darkness claimed me.

His final words echoed in my ears: "If you hadn't trapped me with that pregnancy, I wouldn't have been forced to marry you. I would have seen Grace's calls. You deserved this fate..."

When I opened my eyes, I found myself back on that night when Kayden was drugged at the gala.

When I heard those familiar words again - "Gabriella, get Charlotte on the phone, now!" - I suddenly snapped back to reality: I had been reborn.

Without hesitation, I grabbed my phone and dialed Charlotte Miller.

Kayden Taylor's face was flushed, his eyes glazed and intense when he looked at me. In my previous life, that same look had led me to make the fatal mistake that cost me everything.

This time, I avoided his gaze and quickly left his room.

"Hang in there, Kayden. Charlotte will be here in ten minutes!"

As I closed the door, I heard Kayden muttering my name through gritted teeth. I pretended not to hear, shut the door firmly, and stood guard outside.

But then came Charlotte's tearful voice: "Kayden, I don't think Gabriella wants me here. I know how special she is to you... maybe I should just go if she doesn't like me."

Charlotte's eyes welled up with tears, playing the perfect victim.

Kayden's face darkened as he snapped at me: "Gabriella, sit down and finish your breakfast."

"I'm done," I said quietly.

His voice turned sharp. "Gabriella, I said sit down! What part of that don't you understand?"

"Where are your manners? Is this how you show respect after all these years?"

Though I wanted no part in their drama this time around, they wouldn't let me walk away.

I turned back with a polite smile: "Kayden, Charlotte, bon appétit without me."

Half an hour later, a knock came at my door.

When I opened it, I met Kayden's stormy glare.