Chapter 1
I was swept away by the flood while trying to save my brother, Bailey Hopkins.
My family took in another girl to make up for losing me.
Six years later, my memories finally returned.
I trekked out from a remote mountain village, crossing mountains and rivers just to reunite with my real family.
Mom cried herself unconscious, and Bailey and my childhood friend, Jordan Webb, were so moved their eyes turned red.
Not wanting to make things hard for me, they sent Alaya Hopkins packing without a second thought.
But later, I had a heated argument with Alaya. Bailey and Jordan, just to shield her, didn't hesitate to push me down the stairs.
While I was unconscious, I overheard their conversation.
"Honestly, sometimes I wish she had just died six years ago," Bailey said.
"Come on, she's your sister. She saved your life," Jordan replied.
"Don't you all feel the same way? Isn't Alaya the one you really care about now?" Bailey retorted.
Mom and Dad kept quiet, not arguing back. They just said, "She's about to wake up. Let's drop it for now."
Hearing that, I slowly opened my eyes, my mind blank.
"Who are you?" I mumbled, still lost.
I could tell I wasn't wanted here.
Fine, let's just reset everything.
I didn't cross mountains and rivers for their so-called love.
What I really wanted was a springboard, a chance to leave these mountains behind and start a new life.
An hour later, the doctor came in, holding my test results.
He paused for a moment, then said, "According to the report, the head injury shouldn't have caused any memory loss, but..."
The doctor hadn't even finished speaking when Bailey snapped, storming up to my bed. "Sophia, the doctor said you're fine. Did you hear that? Stop pretending!"
Bailey glared at me, his voice cold and furious.
"You were reckless six years ago, and now you come back just to hurt Alaya. Are you really trying to throw the Hopkins family into chaos again? Is that what you want?" he shouted.
Jordan shot me a stern look.
"Sophia, that's enough. Apologize to Alaya, and we'll just let this go," Jordan said.
Alaya pressed her hand to that barely-there scratch on her face, smirking at me like she'd won.
I stared her down, my face cold and unreadable.
Alaya instantly shrank back, hiding behind Millie, acting all terrified.
Millie glared at me in disappointment.
Bailey looked ready to explode.
"Sophia, do you think we're just invisible or something?" Bailey snapped.
I rolled my eyes. "Let me correct you. My last name is Sullivan, not Hopkins."
Bailey's face twisted with rage. "Are you seriously going to keep up this act?"
The doctor, who'd been ignored for way too long, finally had enough and strode over, stepping right between Bailey and me.
"Mr. Hopkins, please, calm down and let me finish!" the doctor said, trying to keep things under control.
He pointed at the shadow on the scan, rushing to get his words out before Bailey could blow up again.
"See this? Miss Hopkins has some old bruising in her head. It looks like it's from an injury years ago. So with this second hit, it's actually pretty likely for her to have short-term memory problems. Medically, that's entirely possible," the doctor explained.
The room went dead silent.
Bailey, who'd been raging just moments ago, suddenly froze. For a moment, a flash of embarrassment, and maybe even guilt, crossed his face.
Guess I was just seeing things.
Finally, Jasiah, the head of the family, spoke up. "So, you're saying she... doesn't remember any of us at all?"
The doctor nodded awkwardly.
"It's possible, at least in theory," he said, sounding unsure.
Millie stumbled over, grabbing my hand tight, her tears just wouldn't stop.
"Sophia, you don't even remember me?" she choked out.
I let her hold my hand, my eyes fixed on her tear-streaked face.
Millie noticed my gaze, and her eyes lit up with hope.
"Sophia, do you remember me?" she asked, her voice trembling.
I blinked, my gaze empty.
"Ma'am, who are you?" I asked, my tone flat.
That word, "ma'am", made Millie shudder. She shook her head in disbelief, her tears coming down even harder.
How strange.
Now, I was back to square one, just like they wanted.
Millie could finally show off her perfect daughter, Alaya, without having to worry about me, the country bumpkin, embarrassing her in front of her rich friends.
So why was she still so upset?
I just stared at Millie quietly.
She kept crying, but when she saw I didn't care, she got all awkward and just stopped.
Only then did I turn my head, looking confused. "So... are you supposed to be someone important to me? Was I not supposed to forget you or something?"
"Of course!" Millie's eyes welled up again, her voice urgent. "Are you sure you don't remember anything? I'm your..."
Millie started, but Bailey cut her off before she could finish, "Benefactor!"
He put a hand on Millie's shoulder, his voice cool and detached.
"You're just a scholarship kid the Hopkins family took in," he said.
Jordan, Bailey's best buddy, immediately caught on and nodded along.
"Yeah, Millie Hopkins is just the generous lady who sponsored your schooling," Jordan chimed in.
Millie was left speechless, her mouth hanging open.
She looked from Bailey to Jordan, then back at me, my face the picture of innocent confusion.
Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, her face a storm of tangled emotions.