REBIRTH

"ROSE’S POV"

The room smelled like antiseptic and fear. I knew instantly—this was a hospital. My eyes fluttered open, heavy like bricks, and the pain in my head throbbed like a war drum. Machines beeped around me, tubes fed into my arms, and everything felt foreign, like I was waking up in someone else's body.

"Where am I? What's happening? HELP ME!" I screamed, my voice raspy, panic lacing every word. "WHO AM I?!"

Doors burst open. Two female doctors and a tall, gruff-looking male doctor rushed into the room. One woman gently held me down, her hands firm but kind, as she began humming a lullaby I didn't recognize. The male doctor injected something into my arms, the liquid fire racing through my veins until my limbs fell heavy. I wasn’t asleep—just sedated.

"Easy now, ma'am. Just breathe," the doctor said soothingly. "Your memory is starting to return. Let it come."

And it did.

Like a flood.

David.

The dinner.

Olivia.

The slap. The betrayal. The accident.

My eyes welled. I hadn’t even noticed I was crying until the nurse offered me a napkin. I clutched it as if it could hold together the fragments of my soul.

"I... I fell... under the bridge... the sea... David, he hurt me… he took everything..." My words dissolved into sobs. I couldn’t continue. My chest heaved as grief overtook me, raw and ugly.

The male doctor stepped forward with a large mirror. “You need to see this before we say anything else. Brace yourself.”

“W-what?” I managed.

He lifted the mirror.

I stared.

And screamed.

"That's NOT ME!" I shrieked. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?! Who is this? Who’s staring at me?!"

The face in the mirror wasn’t mine. The eyes, the nose, the cheekbones—they belonged to someone else.

"Calm her down!" the second female doctor yelled.

But the first doctor only smiled softly and held me tighter. “You survived, Rose. But your face... it didn’t."

The words hit like gunfire.

"You were unconscious when they brought you in. Half your face was gone. You were unrecognizable. Mr. Brown gave the permission and means to save you."

"Mr. Brown...?" I whispered.

Just then, as if summoned by my confusion, the door opened.

He walked in like royalty, flanked by bodyguards. Tall, dignified despite his age, with a presence that demanded the room's attention.

Mr. Robert Brown. The billionaire. The ghost on every news channel, the friend of presidents. The man my parents' company had begged for partnerships for years.

And now, he stood before me.

"You’re awake," he said gently, his voice rich and smooth. He walked over, grasped my hand in both of his, and smiled like I was a long-lost daughter. "I’ve waited for this day."

My heart pounded. "Why? Why me?"

He took a seat beside me, his eyes sad but kind. “You don’t remember much, but I do. I found you that night. In the wreckage. Hanging onto life. You had no identification, but I couldn’t leave you there.”

He paused. “My daughter Maya had died just weeks before. You... you looked so much like her. The resemblance was uncanny."

I blinked.

"So... you gave me Maya's face?"

He nodded slowly. “Her features. Her bone structure. I knew we could rebuild you. But it wasn’t just about science. I wanted to give you another chance. To live, to heal.”

Tears ran down my cheeks. “I don’t know what to say. I should be dead. You... saved me.”

Mr. Brown touched my hand again. "And now you will live. But for now, rest. We will talk more when you are strong."

---

ONE MONTH LATER

I was discharged into a new world.

Mr. Brown’s estate was a paradise—a sprawling white mansion nestled in green hills, surrounded by rose gardens, guards, and a staff so polished they seemed mechanical.

As the car pulled into the compound, staff lined up like we were royalty returning from exile. Whispers floated around me.

"She finally came back."

"Madam Maya's back. About time."

"Poor Mr. Brown. He missed her so much."

Confusion flickered in my mind.

They all think I’m Maya.

I turned to Mr. Brown’s secretary later that night as she helped me dress for dinner. "Why didn’t he tell anyone Maya is dead?"

She avoided my eyes. “He couldn’t bear it. You don’t understand the grief. You’re a blessing to him, Rose.”

The dress she gave me fit perfectly. Everything in Maya’s room did. Her perfumes, her journals, her style—it was all uncannily similar to mine. Sometimes I caught my own reflection and hesitated.

Was I still Rose?

---

DINNER THAT NIGHT

The dining room was grand. Crystal chandeliers, silver cutlery, and enough floral arrangements to make a wedding jealous. Mr. Brown beamed the moment I walked in.

“You look beautiful,” he said. “Just like her.”

We ate in silence until I broke. “They think I’m your daughter. Why don’t you tell them the truth?”

He sighed. “Because the world wasn’t ready to lose her. And neither was I.”

My throat tightened. "But what if I can't live up to her legacy?"

He smiled. “Just live, Rose. The rest will follow.”

---

LATER THAT NIGHT

Alone in Maya’s room, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. The silence was deafening.

David thought I was dead.

Olivia probably mourned me with crocodile tears while stealing the last pieces of my life.

They thought they won.

But I wasn’t done.

They buried Rose.

But Maya?

They humilated Rose but not maya

They called Rose barren but not maya.

Maya would rise. And through her, I would reclaim everything they stole.

To everything they cost me, they will surely pay for it sooner or later.

Now i have accepted who am i,

Maya !!!!

Lets see how this new identify will go.

Every lie. Every slap. Every humiliation.

Mr. Brown had given me a new face.

Now, I would give myself a new purpose.

And David?

David would learn what real loss felt like.

--