Chapter 1

The year I got into Central City University, my brother, James Foster, had just graduated from the same school.

It took over three hours on the subway to get from home to campus.

So, my parents bought me a three-bedroom apartment near the university, with soundproofing throughout so I could practice my violin without disturbing anyone.

They said if I ever got tired of living in the dorms, I could move in anytime, and they could come stay for a bit when they weren't busy.

The dorms were pretty nice, and I got along well with my roommates, so I never bothered moving out.

With a school performance coming up in a few days, and a violin solo to play, I figured I'd stay at my apartment for a few days so I could focus on practicing.

It was already halfway through the semester, and I'd only stayed there for two nights right after school started. Honestly, I was kind of looking forward to being back in my own little place.

The apartment was super close to campus, just across the street. It only took about ten minutes to walk there.

When I unlocked the door, I thought I'd walked into the wrong place.

There was a girl snuggled up on my leather sofa, wearing strawberry pajamas and reading a book.

Hold on, those are my pajamas.

"Who are you?" we both blurted out at the same time.

I stepped back into the hallway to check the apartment number. No way I got the wrong place. My key worked, after all.

"This is my apartment. What are you doing here?" I blurted out, my voice a little shaky.

Without thinking, I backed up to the door and dialed the police.

The girl grabbed her phone too, her tone even sharper than mine.

"You broke into my place and now you're acting like you're in the right?" she snapped.

It didn't take long for the police and the building manager to show up. The girl looked pretty rattled.

The cops started asking questions, and the building manager checked the records. Everything was under my name.

When the police questioned the girl, she started crying, acting like she was the one who'd been wronged.

"This is my boyfriend's apartment. I've been living here for two months," she sobbed.

"Even if you've been here for two years, I'm still the owner," I shot back.

"Officer, there are a lot of expensive things in here. I need to check if anything's missing. And she's even wearing my pajamas," I said.

As the police were trying to mediate, my brother James burst in.

"Sorry, officer, this is a big misunderstanding. That's my girlfriend, and this is my sister. They've never met before," he explained.

And that's when it hit me. She was talking about James.

"Soph, don't freak out. I'll explain everything in a bit," James said.

Since that was the case, I couldn't really say anything else. I let it go.

After the police left, I finally got a good look at the girl. She looked nice enough, but the look in her eyes rubbed me the wrong way.

Once we were inside, James started making introductions.

"Soph, this is my girlfriend, Emily Carter," he said.

"Em, this is my sister, Sophie Foster," he added.

Emily gave me a cursory glance, her tone cool. "Hey."

Seeing her in my pajamas made my stomach clench.

"Why are you wearing my pajamas?" I demanded.

James quickly jumped in to explain.

"Sorry, Soph. I told her it was fine to wear your stuff. Since you haven't been around, your clothes were gathering dust in the closet," he said.

I glared at James and entered my room. Rage surged through me. Clothes covered the floor, empty cosmetics bottles littered the vanity, and long hair filled the bathroom floor. The sight made me nauseous.

I yelled, "James."

James rushed over, his face falling with shock and guilt. "Soph, I'm so sorry. I'll get it cleaned up right away," he said.

I grabbed a piece of clothing from the bed and brought it to my nose. The smell was so bad I almost gagged.

Then I remembered my violin. I rushed into my music room and saw my 133,000-dollar violin tossed carelessly on the floor.

I turned around and saw Emily sitting on the couch in the living room, snacking on fruit and throwing me a smug look.

My hands were shaking with rage. "Didn't your mom teach you not to mess with other people's things?" I snapped.

Emily shrugged. "Sorry, I thought everything here belonged to James. If you find anything broken, let him cover it for you."

Damn, I'd never imagined I'd meet someone who could shatter my sense of normal like this.