Chapter 4

By the time we were two-thirds through junior year, Nicolas Ferrell came into my life.

Just like in my last life, he'd barely had a few days to settle back in the country before his family shipped him off to our school, straight into the honors class at the district's top high school. He didn't look anything like the rest of us bookworms—tall, good-looking, he stood out the second he walked through the door.

I had to admit, that face of his really did the work. Otherwise, even with everything else I had going on, I wouldn't have bothered carving out time to figure out how to win him over. But honestly, what interested me most was his family—the golden son of one of the city's most powerful circles. He was my best shot at finally getting free of my mother's grip for good.

I counted down the seconds in my head. Three, two, one—

"Ah! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

The stack of files in Keira's arms hit the floor right as she crashed into Nicolas, her wide, innocent eyes blinking up at him. She'd even worn oversized colored contacts for the occasion—the whole pitiable-and-adorable act.

Watching a scene play out that was identical, beat for beat, to what had happened to me in my last life, I nearly burst out laughing. She hadn't put an ounce of her own thought into it. A total copy job.

Nicolas, understandably annoyed at being run into out of nowhere, wasn't in a great mood. But good breeding kept him from making a scene—he helped her pick everything up off the floor and walked off without another word.

Keira stood frozen where she was, clutching her files, refusing to accept it.

"That's not possible. There's no way!"

In my last life, after he'd bumped into me, he hadn't just left his number—he'd asked me out to dinner. Our relationship had taken off fast, and by graduation, we'd naturally ended up together. She'd copied my exact playbook, hadn't she? So why had he walked away this time?

She had no idea that the reason he'd left his number with me back then wasn't the collision itself—it was the anime poster tucked in among my files. It happened to be his favorite character. Running into someone who liked the same obscure show, in a place that random, had felt like finding family. It made it easy for him to drop his guard around me, to gravitate toward me without even thinking about it.

That was what happened when you tried to copy someone's homework without doing your own research first.

I clicked my tongue and shook my head. The second she saw me, she instinctively covered her face with her hands, terrified I'd storm over and slap her again. I'd really left that girl with some lasting trauma.

I was just getting ready to walk over and strike up a conversation with Nicolas when our homeroom teacher came rushing in, flustered, and pulled me aside.

"Anne McKellen... your mother's waiting for you at the school gate."

That was the last thing I expected. Ever since I'd gone to live with my father, my mother had all but cut off contact with me—the only time she ever reached out was to ask for money, and I'd blocked her number a long time ago. So why was she suddenly here to bother me again?

I watched Nicolas's back disappear down the hallway, knowing it was too late to catch him now, and hurried out to the school gate.

My mother was standing there in an outdated, garish outfit, and the second she spotted me, a thin smile spread across her face.

"Living the good life's made you forget all about your own mother, has it? And running around shopping with that shameless woman, on top of it! You think you're good enough to wear clothes like that?"

Her eyes dropped to the shoes on my feet—shoes that cost more than a month of her living expenses—and something bitter and unhinged flickered behind them as she ground her teeth.

I instinctively took a step back.

"What did you call me out here for? I have to get back to class. My finals are coming up. Can you not bother me right now?"

The memories from my last life were still too raw and painful for me to feel anything close to warmth toward her. When she saw me start to turn away, her expression twisted.

She flung her hand out. Everything went black, and I lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in some dim, unfamiliar warehouse.