Rebirth: Love me Again

|| A/N ||

Ahem . . . as you all know, the first two arcs have been pretty tame. But now that Cole is living with Eve, well . . . a little teasing never hurt anyone, right?

If you know what I mean. *wink wink*

( >‿◠)

And yes, this is still an R-18 novel, so consider this your official warning, minors—go on, shoo! ✋🚫

For those who might feel uncomfortable, don't worry—I'll put a clear warning at the start of any spicy chapters, just so you're prepared.

I'm not sure how other authors handle their R-18 scenes, but mine? Let's just say they're a bit on the tamer side.

Which is probably a good thing, right? 😅 (っ＾▿＾)💨

=== 🤍 ===

[EVE]

"I did this . . . so I could be with you and make up for everything."

I couldn't breathe, my heart pounding in my chest so bad it's hurting.

"Obviously, you already knew that," he teased. He licked his lips, and my gaze followed without permission. I gulped hard, feeling my throat tighten. "But you still wanted me to say it . . . ?

Naughty

girl."

My eyes widened as I gasped. This wasn't the Cole I remembered.

Who

is

this man?!

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Without thinking, I shoved him hard, my cheeks puffing up from a mixture of embarrassment, frustration, and every other emotion I didn't have a name for. My brain was short-circuiting.

Spinning around, I stomped my feet like a child, storming into my room.

"Go to

HELL

!" I shouted over my shoulder before slamming the door shut behind me.

There was a pause, then I heard Cole's amused voice from the other side. "Is that an invitation?"

"

AarRgGhH

!" I screamed, throwing a pillow at the door in exasperation.

This definitely wasn't the future I had pictured for myself.

I guess you could say things . . . might have gotten just a

tiny

bit out of hand.

=== 🤍 ===

Cole watched as Eve stormed into her room, a smirk tugging at his lips.

He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Looked like Lina was right after all.

"Listen, Cole," she had said, her tone serious. "Knowing Eve, you can't just win her over with luxury items or expensive jewelry, bags, or dresses. Fancy food and bouquets? Nah. She can get all of that easily, so it doesn't impress her."

"Then what should I do?" he'd asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Have you forgotten how Father seduced Mother to say yes to him?" Lina had wiggled her eyebrows for effect.

". . ." Cole had been silent, waiting for her pearls of wisdom.

"Use your looks! And, more importantly, your body! Trust me—no girl can resist it. Now, here's a list of moves guaranteed to make any girl go weak in the knees."

Thinking back, the

Kabedon

move was on that list, and it seemed to have worked like a charm.

It wasn't exactly in his usual repertoire, but for Eve? He'd endure the embarrassment if it brought her closer.

"Was that really necessary?" Zen asked, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes as he watched the scene unfold.

Cole allowed himself a small, prideful grin. "I think it worked, don't you?"

Zen wiped his face, still giggling. "Yeah, it worked—if your goal is to book a one-way ticket straight to hell."

"AaaArRGH!"

Eve's scream echoed from behind the door, loud and furious.

"See?" Cole nodded sagely. "She's screaming from all the romantic, giggly feelings. Just like Lina predicted. Mission success."

Zen's jaw dropped. This was no longer funny—Cole was denser than he'd imagined. Completely clueless when it came to women.

"Is everything really gonna be okay?" Zen thought, suddenly worried.

Maybe taking advice from Lina wasn't the smartest move. She was as clueless about romance as Cole!

Lina's advice were based on the novels and webtoons she obsessively read. But would they work in real life.

How effective could fictional romance tropes really be when applied to someone like Eve? Instead of getting closer, there was a very real possibility that she'd just . . . repel.

Cole's advances were anything but subtle. In fact, they were as heavy-handed as a brick through a window. Coupled with his dense and utterly clueless personality when it came to romance, Zen couldn't help but fear that the whole situation was headed straight for disaster.

Zen eyed Cole warily. "Young master, what are you doing?" he asked when he found Cole standing outside Eve's door, arms crossed like some kind of door bouncer at a nightclub.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm guarding her," Cole said, staring at the door with laser focus, as if expecting an ambush of emotions to come barreling through at any second.

Zen blinked, then sighed deeply as he gathered the patience of a saint. "She'll be fine. She's inside her room. You don't need to stand there all day. You'll creep here out."

Cole didn't budge, still staring at the door. "You heard her scream. Clearly, she's overwhelmed by . . . feelings. Giggly ones."

Zen stifled a laugh. "Uh-huh. Overwhelmed, sure. But definitely not with giggly feelings. And she's not exactly going to burst into flames if you walk away for five minutes."

Cole frowned. "But Lina said—"

Zen groaned, rubbing his temples. "Lina also thinks love triangles always work out and that the best way to confess is by tripping and falling into someone's arms. Do you really want to follow her 'romantic wisdom' to the letter? She's getting this stuff from comics!"

Cole finally broke his door-staring trance to give Zen a side-eye. "What's your point?"

Zen took a deep breath. This was going to be harder than he thought. "My point is, she might—

might

—not appreciate you standing outside her door like a stalker waiting for your chance to shine in a drama. Eve's not the type to swoon over kabedons or . . . whatever that was you just did."

Cole furrowed his brow. "So what are you saying exactly?"

"I'm just saying that you need to tone down for a moment and let her breath and process this whole thing. I's sure that she's still shock about all of this."

Zen sighed, gently shoving Cole away from the door. "She'll be fine as long as she's in there. Besides, we've got a ton of work to do. We need to unpack our stuff, plan her security details, figure out shifts—because, believe it or not,

gasp

, you don't need to be glued to her 24/7."

Cole scratched his head, reluctant but slowly accepting. "Fine. But if she screams again—"

"She'll scream because you're hovering, not because you're not there," Zen cut in, rolling his eyes. "Come on, let's unpack. Also, let's brainstorm less . . . dramatic ways to win her over. Maybe

don't

use the falling-into-her-arms trick Lina suggested."

Cole finally relented, turning away from the door but muttering under his breath, "It worked in chapter 37 of My CEO is a Secret Bodyguard . . ."

Zen shot him a dead look. "Well, spoiler alert, young master: real life doesn't have chapters. And Eve? Definitely not the type to swoon like a webtoon heroine. I'd bet on her slamming the door in your face again."

". . . Noted," Cole grumbled.

The sound of another muffled scream from Eve's room echoed down the hall.

Zen raised an eyebrow. "See? Totally overwhelmed by 'giggly feelings,' right?"

Cole crossed his arms. "Mission success," he said, proud but utterly clueless.

Zen groaned. This was going to be a long mission.