Chapter 1
On my eighteenth birthday, my mom made the long trip into town to get me a birthday cake.
It was the first birthday cake I had ever seen, and I tried my best not to drool as I quietly made my wish by the flickering candlelight.
I wished that I could wake up one day and find myself in a life where I never had to worry about making ends meet, so I could focus on school, get into Caverton University, and build a better future for myself.
That night, I slept more deeply than I ever had before.
When I woke up, I was thirty-two years old.
I had a handsome husband and an adorable, smart son.
There was only one problem. Neither of them loved me.
Surprisingly, I was not heartbroken at all.
After all, at eighteen, I had been focused on making something of myself. How could I possibly have loved them?
It took me only a few minutes to find my ID and my phone and confirm that I had somehow woken up on the day after my thirty-second birthday.
I was freaking out.
Wait a second. Hadn't eighteen-year-old me wished for a life where I could stop worrying about money, focus on school, and get into Caverton University?
Thirty-two? I had missed my chance to do that.
As I was still struggling to process this bizarre reality, I heard a voice from outside the door. "I bet Mom is going to tell me I can't go to Ms. Carter's again.
"Dad, I really don't want to stay home and do homework. Can you come up with an excuse to take me out? I want to do my homework at Starbucks with Ms. Carter."
The disgust in his voice was impossible to miss.
Wait. Was he talking about me when he said "Mom"?
I took a minute to process the shock, and I quickly pulled myself together.
Right, I was thirty-two after all. Having a son and a husband was just par for the course.
At least I had apparently skipped all the pain of childbirth. That was something to be grateful for.
As I was trying to wrap my head around all this, a boy suddenly pushed the door open and walked in.
His handsome face, so much like his father's, immediately hardened with disgust when he saw me. "Didn't you say you were sick? Looks like you're lying to Dad and me again."
I opened my mouth, ready to explain.
Charles Ford came in right behind him, his expression dark. "You told us yesterday that it was your birthday, so Jason came home early from his group activity. Then you said you felt dizzy and sick and spent the whole night in a bad mood.
"So what if Evelyn Carter is his instructor? I already told you, she's only his teacher. Why do you always assume the worst?"
Apparently, I had been in a pretty bad mood yesterday all because of a teacher named Evelyn.
I had no idea why thirty-two-year-old me would do something like that, but right now, there was no way I could explain myself.
After thinking it over, I said, "I'm sorry. No matter what happened, I was in the wrong yesterday."
Jason's eyes went wide, and Charles stared at me in shock, but that look quickly turned to disgust and suspicion. "What kind of trick are you pulling now?"
"Whatever, Dad. Ms. Carter is already waiting for us. Let's go," Jason said, grabbing Charles's hand and dragging him out.
Clearly, whatever apology I had to offer meant nothing compared with getting to that so-called Ms. Carter.
Fortunately, I had no memories of him, so I could not bring myself to feel hurt.
*****
I might have looked thirty-two, but inside, I was still eighteen.
I looked up my education history online and was thrilled to find that I only had a bachelor's degree. That meant I still had plenty of options if I wanted to go back to school.
If I worked hard enough and taught myself what I needed to know, I could apply to a graduate program at Caverton University. The thought alone thrilled me.
Who the hell said high school was my only shot at changing my life? I was thirty-two, not dead. I could still go to graduate school.
More importantly, when I went to the bank and checked my account balance, I was so happy. There was no way eighteen-year-old me could have imagined ever having that much money.
I had over 300 thousand sitting in my bank accounts, and that was before counting the roughly one million I had invested, 1.5 million in stocks, and more than 2 million in an options fund.
I did a quick sum and felt so happy that I nearly fainted.
I could hardly imagine what could possibly have made my thirty-two-year-old self unhappy.
If anything, it was probably that my education was not good enough, or I didn't have enough money.
As soon as I left the bank, my best friend came over. "I've told you a million times. Charles is a total scumbag. He's not worth you putting yourself through all this. Do you hear me?"
Stella Lewis took me to a nearby café, where she immediately started lecturing me.
That was when I found out that I actually had been sick yesterday. I hadn't been faking it.
She said, "Evelyn is a bitch. She keeps giving Jason special treatment and bringing him snacks and fun stuff every day to win him over.
"Jason used to be one of the top three students in his class, and now he's dropped all the way to thirtieth.
"You've always been strict about his studies, and he used to keep his anger bottled up. Now, with Charles backing him up and Evelyn leading him astray, he might not even get into a decent high school in a few years.
"You're losing sleep over all this, and meanwhile, those two are out late at night with Evelyn, fishing. That's what made you so upset that you ended up in the hospital.
"Last night, after you finished your IV, you came home, hoping to celebrate your birthday with them, but as soon as they walked in, they started criticizing you.
"You didn't answer a single message from me all night, and I was scared you had done something to yourself. I was terrified.
"Fishing, huh? More like she's trying to take your man."
I nearly choked on my coffee. "Maybe they really were fishing."
Stella stared at me, eyes wide, and reached out to pat my face. "Girl, what is wrong with you? Are you running a fever or something?
"Did you forget all those disgusting texts and pictures she sent you?"