Chapter 5

Stephanie was dressed to the nines, preparing to leave for yet another glamorous gala. She glanced at me with a smirk. “And why exactly should I help you?”

“You dislike me. You’re wary of me. If I move into the dorms, you’ll remain the one and only Cooper family princess. Isn’t that reason enough to help me?”

She raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “I’ll think about it.”

The next morning, during breakfast, I brought up the dorm request again.

Before my parents could respond, Stephanie chimed in, her tone sweet and supportive. “Mom, Dad, I think letting Amanda move into the dorms could be a good idea. It’ll help her focus on her studies. She’s not like me or Lucas—you’ve already paved the way for us. Plus, she doesn’t seem comfortable living here. She’d probably be happier on her own.”

Honestly, my parents adored her.

A few words from her were all it took for them to agree.

And just like that, I packed my things and left the Cooper family without so much as a backward glance.

The first thing I did when I got back to school? Deal with Benjamin.

His little pranks didn’t bother me much, but they were a waste of my time. I decided to put an end to it once and for all—something that would make him think twice before messing with me again.

Benjamin had a habit of jogging at night, and though he had a single dorm room, he rarely stayed there.

The plan came together easily.

Under the dark night sky, a large golden retriever suddenly emerged from the bushes and chased him across the entire campus.

The next morning, the school was buzzing with whispers. Benjamin, furious and humiliated, marched straight to the teacher’s office to complain.

“It was Amanda!” he insisted. “She knows I’m terrified of dogs. She must’ve found one just to scare me!”

His outburst only made things worse. Now the whole school knew about his fear of dogs.

I stood calmly as he pointed fingers at me. “You’re accusing me of sending a dog after you? Do you have any proof?”

He froze, his confidence faltering.

I suggested we check the security cameras.

Sure enough, the footage didn’t show me anywhere near the scene. Instead, it captured him pulling all sorts of pranks on me: placing bugs in my pencil case, throwing paper balls at me, and sneaking mice into my backpack.

The golden retriever, it turned out, was a stray I had been feeding regularly near the school’s fence. I hadn’t expected the dog to repay the favor by targeting Benjamin, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t pleased with the outcome.

The next day, Benjamin fell ill. He didn’t show up to school for several days.

By the time the end-of-semester exams rolled around, he was still absent. I heard his family had requested a copy of the test for him to take at home. His scores were abysmal—nearly at the bottom of the class.

I didn’t pay much attention to him after that. My priorities were elsewhere.

In addition to studying, I started working part-time jobs.

I needed to support myself for the next six months, and I refused to rely on the Cooper family for even a cent. I was determined to save enough for college and my future.

My hard work paid off during the monthly exams—I scored among the top students in my grade. The school even invited me to participate in academic competitions.

I gladly accepted. Winning competitions meant scholarship money, and I needed every penny I could get.

Stephanie, meanwhile, was busy with her own competitions—dance recitals, violin performances, and other artsy showcases.

Immersing myself in the world of knowledge, I stumbled across something unexpected in the history books.

The country I once lived in, the one torn apart by war, was nothing more than a forgotten chapter in history.

I saw names I recognized, names that had once been etched into my memory. Among them, I even found my own name.

As for Owen, my loyal partner and closest ally? The records said he had endured unbearable guilt after my death. After assassinating the enemy commander in a final act of defiance, he took his own life under the very tree where I had fallen.

With tears in my eyes, I closed the book. A wave of grief and bittersweet gratitude washed over me.

How lucky I was to have been reborn into this world.

This country was prosperous and strong—so strong that no other nation dared to provoke it.

I made a silent vow to myself: I would do whatever I could to contribute to its future, to ensure this country grew even stronger and more powerful.

As the intense pace of studying continued, spring arrived, bringing with it the annual tradition of Memorial Day.

The Cooper family insisted I return home to accompany them on a trip to their ancestral home to honor the family’s heritage.

I was positioned behind Stephanie the entire time, treated more like a servant than a family member.

She glanced back at me with a smirk that was impossible to miss. “See? Even though you’re Cooper family by blood, in front of our ancestors, you’re still stuck behind me.”

“And why should that bother me?” I replied calmly.