Chapter 3

I figured if I worked hard enough, if I pushed myself, I could raise her right. Once she made it, everything would finally be okay.

I was wrong.

I was utterly wrong.

I picked up the flip phone, scrolled through my contacts, and there it was, a familiar name, Emily. It saved as "Emmy" with a red heart.

The red heart next to her name felt almost blinding now.

My phone buzzed again, and a new message from Emily popped up.

Emily: [Jessica, some girls at school picked on me today. They said my clothes look cheap, and I don't want to go back.]

Emily: [Can you buy me that pink dress? The one at the mall, the hundred-dollar one. If you get it for me, I'll go to school, I promise. You're the best!]

I stared at the message, and memories came flooding back like a tidal wave.

Back then, that text wrecked me. I went straight to a construction site, hauled cement all night, and made twenty-seven dollars.

I kept at it for a week, and with what I'd already put aside, I scraped together a hundred and twenty dollars and went to the mall and bought her that dress.

My hands were raw with blisters, my back so sore I could barely straighten up, but seeing Emily beam in her new outfit made me feel like every bit of pain was worth it.

But she only wore that dress for less than a month before she got bored and tossed it in the corner to collect dust.

And the back injury I got from that job? It haunted me for the rest of my life.

This time, I wasn't going to let it happen again.

I slowly typed out a message: [I'm broke.]

And I hit send.

Two seconds later, my phone rang. It was Emily.

I picked up.

"Jessica! How can you say you're broke?" Emily's voice was full of that entitled, bratty attitude only a thirteen-year-old could pull off.

"Didn't you promise you'd take care of me after Mom and Dad died? I want that backpack. If you don't buy it for me, I'm not going to school. Everyone's already making fun of me anyway."

How ironic.

Thirteen years old, and she already knew how to threaten to get her way.

I gripped my phone, my voice so calm it almost felt foreign to me. "Then don't go."

There was a long silence on the other end, and she clearly hadn't expected me to say that.

"What did you just say?" Emily's voice cracked, tears welling up. "Jessica, what's wrong with you?

"Don't you love me anymore? Didn't you say I was your only family? Are you seeing someone else? Are you just going to leave me behind?"

She'd been running this guilt trip on me for twenty-five years, and every single time, she knew exactly how to push my buttons.

Her only family. That was what she always said.

She always made it sound like I was put on this earth to take care of her, like my whole life was supposed to revolve around her.

Not once did she ever stop to think about me. I had my own life, my own dreams. I just wanted things to be a little easier, a little happier for myself.

"Emily," I said, my voice soft but unwavering. "From now on, you're my sister, but you're not my whole world anymore. I'm going back to school. You'll have to start looking after yourself."

I hung up and tossed my phone aside, letting out a long, slow breath.

There was still a faint ache in my stomach, like a lingering shadow from my past life, a leftover from that late-stage cancer.

But I knew, this time, that pain would never come back.

I wouldn't starve myself to pay Emily's tuition, wouldn't buy cheap, expired takeout just to save a few dollars, and I sure wouldn't ruin my health by skipping meals all the time.

This time, I was going to live for myself.

I got up and walked over to the window, pushed it open. The morning breeze swept in, cool and fresh, carrying the scent of doughnuts from downstairs.

The breakfast stall was already open, the lady was frying up doughnuts, the man was making bread, and the place was filled with the warmth and bustle of real life.

I took a deep breath.

It was a relief, because there was still time.

I was sixteen, ranked third in the whole school, and my life was just getting started.

I pulled out an old newspaper from under my pillow, my hidden secret, something I'd clung to for comfort all these years.

In my last life, I brought it to the hospital as a reminder of hope, and now, somehow, it had followed me back here.

The headline read: [Richard Sterling, Chairman of Sterling Holdings, Announces Retirement. Eldest Son Lucas Takes Over as CEO.]

It was Lucas.

Just seeing that name made my chest tighten, and a chill ran right through me.

In my last life, he was nothing but a pawn Emily used to drain my bank account. He gave me fake affection and empty promises, and took away everything that mattered to me.

But this time, things were going to be different.