The Reborn Young Master Is No Longer a Simp

The television wouldn’t shut off.

Noah Bennett stared at the screen mounted on the wall across from his hospital bed. His fingers wouldn’t move. His legs wouldn’t respond. Even turning his head required effort that left him exhausted and trembling. The paralysis had taken everything except his ability to see and hear.

And right now, he wished it had taken those too.

“Ms. Hart, can you tell us more about your relationship with Noah Bennett?”

The reporter’s voice filled the private room. Noah’s eyes fixed on the woman standing at the podium, bathed in camera flashes. Elena Hart wore a simple navy dress with minimal jewelry. Her dark hair was pulled back. Her makeup was light. She looked vulnerable, elegant, and completely untouchable.

“I…” Elena paused, her voice breaking slightly. She took a breath and continued. “I stayed silent for years because I was afraid. I didn’t know if anyone would believe me.”

The reporters leaned forward. Cameras clicked rapidly.

Click click click click.

Noah tried to clench his fist. Nothing happened. His hand lay motionless on the white hospital sheet.

Bennett Global Group had collapsed three weeks ago. The board had voted to dissolve the company after regulators uncovered massive financial irregularities. Noah’s father, Richard Bennett, had died of a heart attack two days after the vote. The funeral had happened without Noah. He had been here, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to defend himself or his family.

And now Elena stood before the world, rewriting everything.

“Ms. Hart, are you saying Noah Bennett was controlling?”

Elena’s expression shifted. She looked down at her hands, then back at the cameras. “I don’t want to use that word. I just… I felt like I couldn’t make my own choices. Everything I did, everywhere I went, he was there. Watching. Deciding.”

She wasn’t lying directly. She wasn’t accusing him of anything specific. But every word painted him as obsessive, dangerous, unstable.

Noah’s jaw tightened. It was the only part of his body he could still control.

“Did he ever threaten you?”

“I don’t think I should answer that,” Elena said softly. “I just want to move forward. I want to heal.”

The reporters scribbled notes frantically. Beneath Elena’s face, the headline scrolled across the screen:

ELENA HART BREAKS SILENCE AFTER BENNETT FAMILY SCANDAL

Noah could see the other headlines already forming in his mind. Bennett Heir’s ExGirlfriend Breaks Silence. Elena Hart Speaks Out After Years of Fear.

His throat burned. He wanted to scream, to tell them she was lying, that she had used him, manipulated him, destroyed him. But his voice wouldn’t come. Only a weak rasp escaped his lips.

“Ms. Hart, one more question!”

A female reporter stood up in the back. “How do you plan to move forward after everything that’s happened with the Bennett family?”

Elena’s expression softened. She smiled, and for the first time during the press conference, she looked genuinely happy.

“I’ve found peace,” she said. “Someone helped me through the darkest time of my life. Someone who stood behind me when no one else did.”

The room went silent for a moment.

Then the reporter asked the question that made Noah’s heart stop.

“Are you seeing someone?”

Elena’s smile widened. “I’m engaged.”

The press room exploded.

Boom.

Questions flew from every direction. Reporters shouted over each other. Camera flashes intensified until the screen looked like a lightning storm.

“Who is he?”

“When did this happen?”

“Ms. Hart, can you tell us his name?”

Elena raised her hand gently, and the room quieted. “I’d prefer to keep his identity private for now. He’s a very private person, and he’s asked me to respect that. But I will say this.” She paused, looking directly into the camera. “He saw me when I was at my lowest. He gave me strength. And he helped me find my voice.”

Noah’s mind went blank.

Engaged.

She was engaged.

Someone had been there. Someone had stood behind her, guided her, protected her while she destroyed him.

His thoughts raced backward. Latenight phone calls Elena had taken in another room. Text messages she never let him see. Sudden moments of confidence when she confronted his father. Advice that was too strategic, too calculated for someone like her.

She had never been alone.

Noah had spent years staring at Elena, obsessing over Elena, destroying himself for Elena. And the entire time, someone else had been holding the knife.

Someone he had never noticed.

Someone he had never suspected.

The press conference continued, but Noah couldn’t hear the words anymore. His vision blurred. His chest felt tight. He tried to breathe deeper, but his lungs wouldn’t cooperate.

Who was it?

Who had she opened the door for?

Ring ring.

The hospital phone on the bedside table suddenly rang. Noah’s eyes shifted toward it. He couldn’t reach it. He couldn’t answer it.

A nurse entered the room after the third ring. She glanced at Noah, then picked up the phone.

“Mr. Bennett’s room. Who’s calling?” She paused. “Oh, I see. He can’t hold the phone right now, but I can put it on speaker if it’s urgent.”

The nurse pressed a button, and Elena’s voice filled the room.

“Noah? Can you hear me?”

The nurse glanced at Noah. He managed a slight nod.

“I’ll give you privacy,” the nurse said, stepping out and closing the door.

The room went silent except for the sound of Elena’s breathing on the other end of the line.

“Did you enjoy my performance?” Elena asked.

Noah did not answer.

For a moment, all he could hear was her breathing through the speaker.

He had heard Elena angry before. He had heard her cry, plead, laugh, and whisper his name like he was the only person she trusted.

But this voice was different.

There was no heat in it. No shaking rage. No guilt.

Just quiet satisfaction.

Noah’s throat tightened.

When had she learned to hate him like this?

Or had it always been there, hidden beneath every smile he had mistaken for love?

Her voice was completely different. The softness was gone. The vulnerability had vanished. She sounded calm, satisfied, and utterly cold.

“I thought I did well,” she continued. “The tears were a nice touch, don’t you think? I practiced them for weeks. Turns out crying on cue is easier than I thought.”

Noah stared at the ceiling. His hands wouldn’t clench. His body wouldn’t move. All he could do was listen.

“You’re probably wondering who I’m engaged to,” Elena said. “I bet that’s eating you alive right now. Good. You should feel it. You should understand what it’s like to be powerless.”

She paused, and Noah heard her take a sip of something. Probably wine. She always drank wine when she was celebrating.

“I never loved you, Noah. Not even a little bit. You were useful. That’s all.”

The words hit him like a hammer.

“You gave me access to Bennett Global. You gave me protection from your father. You gave me power I never could have gotten on my own. You handed me everything and called it devotion.”

Noah’s vision blurred. He wanted to hang up. He wanted to scream. He wanted to do anything except lie here and take it.

But he couldn’t.

“The library rescue?” Elena laughed. “Staged. I knew you walked through that courtyard every Tuesday. I knew you’d come running if you thought I was in trouble. You were so predictable, Noah. So easy.”

His jaw trembled.

“Every tear I cried, every time I begged you to stand up to your father, every time I made you choose me over your family—it was all planned. You rejected Astrid Montgomery for me. You ignored Bennett Global for me. You destroyed your relationship with your father for me. And I never cared about you at all.”

Elena’s voice grew quieter, more intimate.

“Do you want to know the best part? You thought you were protecting me. You thought you were my hero. But the whole time, I was laughing at you.”

Noah closed his eyes. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t even do that.

“Did you…” His voice came out as a weak rasp. “Did you destroy my family… alone?”

Elena laughed. It was soft, genuine, and filled with amusement.

“Me? Don’t flatter me, Noah. I only held the door open.”

His eyes snapped open.

“What?”

“For the man you never noticed standing behind me.”

Noah’s heart pounded. “Who?”

“Goodbye, Noah. I hope you die knowing how stupid you were.”

Click.

The line went dead.

Noah lay in silence. The television still played Elena’s press conference on repeat. Her face filled the screen, beautiful and untouchable.

He had been a fool.

A complete, pathetic fool.

And now he was going to die alone, paralyzed, broke, and hated by everyone who once knew his name.

Creak.

The door opened quietly.

Noah turned his head slightly. A woman stepped into the room, and his breath caught.

Astrid Montgomery.

Shame hit Noah before she even reached the bed.

He remembered throwing her out of his office when she brought proof against Elena. He remembered humiliating her in front of guests because Elena cried. He remembered choosing a lie every time Astrid tried to show him the truth.

She had warned him.

He had punished her for it.

She looked exhausted. Her dark hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. She wore a gray business suit that looked wrinkled, like she had been wearing it for days. Dark circles shadowed her eyes.

Astrid had been trying to save what remained of Bennett Global. She had spent weeks negotiating with creditors, meeting with investors, begging the board to reconsider. Noah knew because the nurses talked about it when they thought he was asleep.

She walked to the television and looked at Elena’s face on the screen. Her expression didn’t change. She simply picked up the remote and turned it off.

The room went dark except for the faint light from the hallway.

Astrid pulled a chair next to Noah’s bed and sat down. She didn’t say anything at first. She just looked at him.

Noah expected hatred. He expected her to yell at him, to tell him he deserved this, to spit in his face and leave.

Instead, Astrid reached out and took his hand.

Her touch was warm.

“I wanted to hate you,” she said quietly. “I really did. You humiliated me in front of everyone. You rejected me for her. You destroyed everything your father built.”

Noah’s throat tightened.

“But before he died, your father called me. He was in the hospital, barely able to speak, and he begged me not to abandon you. He said you were his son, and no matter what you did, you were still his son.”

A tear rolled down Noah’s cheek. He couldn’t wipe it away.

“So I’m here,” Astrid said. “Not because I forgive you. Not because I love you. But because your father asked me not to let you die alone.”

Her kindness hurt worse than Elena’s cruelty.

Noah tried to speak, but pain tightened under his ribs and cut the words short.

His breath caught.

For a moment, even blinking felt heavy.

Astrid squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry, Noah. I’m so sorry.”

His vision started to blur

Astrid squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry, Noah. I’m so sorry.”

His breathing slowed. The machines around him started beeping.

Beep beep beep.

Nurses rushed in. Astrid stepped back. Noah felt his chest tighten, his lungs refuse to expand, his heart struggle to beat.

Regret overwhelmed him.

He had destroyed his family for a lie. He had rejected a woman who genuinely cared for him. He had thrown away a multibilliondollar legacy for someone who laughed at his pain.

And now he was dying, powerless and broken.

Beeeeeeeep.

The machines flatlined.

Astrid’s face disappeared.

The world went black.

Then, a voice.

Cold. Mechanical. Emotionless.

[Extreme regret detected.]

[Life evaluation complete.]

[Host sacrificed family, dignity, and a multibilliondollar legacy for false love.]

[Final rating: Pathetic.]

[Second Chance System activated.]

[Regression privilege granted.]

[Memory retention confirmed.]

Noah’s eyes snapped open.

Sunlight hit his face as music played somewhere

Noah’s breath caught.

Sound crashed over him all at once. Applause. Laughter. Camera shutters. Someone cheering his name.

For a few seconds, he could not understand where he was.

The hospital was gone.

The machines were gone.

The smell of disinfectant was gone.

His fingers moved.

Noah stared at his hand and flexed it once. Then again.

His legs were holding him upright.

His body was whole.

Impossible.

He looked down.

A ring box sat in his hand.

Noah’s heart raced. He looked up. Hundreds of people surrounded him in a campus courtyard. Balloons floated in the air. A banner hung between two trees: Congratulations Graduates.

And standing in front of him, wearing a white sundress and looking at him with wide, expectant eyes, was Elena Hart.

“Noah?” she said softly. “Are you okay?”

The crowd waited. Phones were raised, ready to record. To his left, standing near a fountain, Astrid Montgomery watched silently. Her expression was carefully neutral, but her hands were clasped tightly in front of her.

Somewhere in the crowd, the man Elena would eventually marry might be watching. Noah didn’t know who he was yet.

But he would find out.

A new voice echoed in his mind.

[Mission Triggered: Do Not Crown the Betrayer.]

[Objective: Prevent Elena Hart’s public elevation.]

[Reward: Memory Fragment — The First Hidden Contact.]

[Failure Penalty: Second chance will be locked. No further regression possible.]

Noah looked at Elena.

She smiled at him with the same soft, fragile expression she had used to ruin his life.

In his last life, he had mistaken that smile for innocence.

Now he saw the knife behind it.

He snapped the ring box shut.

The crowd gasped.

Elena’s smile cracked. “Noah?”

Without a word, Noah turned and walked away.

Behind him, Elena called his name. Phones followed him. The crowd erupted in confused whispers.

But Noah did not stop.

He had died once as a fool.

He would not kneel twice.