Chapter 2

Scarlett stared at the coin, utterly dumbfounded. She looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

Because she knew me well. She knew I was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She expected me to beg her not to have the baby.

But if she chose to keep it, she knew I wouldn’t be able to turn away. I’d get attached to the baby, and once I did, she’d use the guilt of me telling her to abort to manipulate me into doing everything for her.

She’d done it before. Many times.

We were only a year apart, and when our parents died young, we had to rely on the kindness of relatives and my scholarships to get by.

I knew education was the only way to change my fate, so aside from working weekends and holidays, I spent every waking minute studying.

My hard work paid off. I always scored at the top of my class and received so many scholarships that the money was enough to cover both Scarlett’s and my living expenses.

But Scarlett wasn’t like me. She loved reading romance novels and fantasized about being the heroine in some rich love story.

She only went to school to scope out guys she could settle down with—potential “success stories,” she called them.

When she realized her grades would never get her into college, she decided to start working early, dreaming of being discovered by some rich executive at the office.

“Avery, with my grades, do you think it’s even worth staying in school? I feel like I should just start working and save some money instead…”

Given our circumstances, I agreed. It made sense at the time.

That one word—“yes”—would come back to haunt me for the rest of my life.

She couldn’t find a good job and started blaming me, saying if I had pushed her to stay in school, at least she’d have a diploma.

She couldn’t find a decent man and blamed me again, saying if I hadn’t convinced her to drop out, maybe she wouldn’t have been looked down on for her lack of education.

I felt guilty, so I worked part-time while going to college, supporting her the whole way through. I didn’t even dare date anyone in college because every break, I’d be working myself to the bone to make sure she was comfortable.

It wasn’t until much later that I realized she’d taken the money I earned and borrowed loans to buy luxury brands, playing the part of a high-class woman to attract men.

Time and time again, she’d trick me into stepping into these traps, and then use emotional blackmail to manipulate me. She’d been doing it ever since we were kids.

But in my past life, I cared too much about the bond of family to see the truth. I let her control me willingly.

After I died, my soul floated above, watching as the truth played out in front of me. The car accident wasn’t an accident at all—it was orchestrated by Scarlett and Logan, betting that I would die for the nephew I had raised.

They took the life insurance money, claimed my house as their own… and when my ashes were finally returned to them, they tossed the urn into the trash.

As the memories of my previous life flashed before me, the pain and bitterness I felt were unbearable. All I wanted was another chance to destroy them both.

Fortunately, the universe had other plans. I was reborn.