Chapter 1

As I lay dying, confined to my hospital bed, Ryan Lucas, my husband of thirty years, was enjoying his moment in the spotlight with a televised interview.

When asked about our marriage, he turned to the camera, regret written plainly on his face.

He declared, "The only stain on my life is my wife. She only finished high school, and there's a chasm between us that we could never cross.

"But at least, our time together is almost over.

"Finally, I can pursue the love of my life without any baggage holding me back."

With those words, he gazed into Emily Summers' eyes, the two of them practically glowing with the chemistry of a perfect match.

Fury hit me so hard my heart just stopped. I died, choking down my last breath full of resentment and sheer unwillingness to let go.

When I opened my eyes again, I time-travelled back to the time when I was eighteen.

My head teacher was holding the early admission form, asking for my opinion.

Ryan stood right in front of me, his eyes hopeful and a little shy. "Sophie, you'll let me have it for the sake of our future, right?"

I flashed him a dazzling smile, picked up the pen, and signed my name on the form with deliberate care.

"Sorry, but you're not in my future," I said.

*****

Whispers broke out all over the classroom.

Ryan's smile froze. He stared at me in disbelief, his face going sullen.

"Are you insane, Sophie? We had a deal. You'd back me up first, and when I made it big, I'd come back and marry you," Ryan blurted out.

I snapped the pen cap with a crisp, final click.

"Ryan, when did I ever promise you that?" I shot back.

I tilted my chin up and flashed him a sly smirk.

"Don't take your wishful thinking as my promise," I scoffed.

Emily swept over and grabbed Ryan's arm, her voice all sweet and coaxing as she tried to talk me down.

"Sophie, don't be so rash. Ryan's only thinking about what's best for you two. It's way more important for boys to have a career, you know," she said.

My chest tightened.

I actually fell for that garbage in my previous life.

I ended up breaking my own future, turning it into a stepping stone for Ryan to climb his way up.

I didn't spare them another look. Clutching the signed form, I strode right out of the classroom.

Ryan shook off Emily and rushed after me, blocking me in the hallway with his arms wide.

"Sophie, did someone fill your head with nonsense? After all these years, does our relationship and feelings really mean less to you than some early admission spot?" Ryan protested.

I gave him a cold, mocking smile.

"Feelings? Really?" I sneered.

I continued, "You mean like that time you swiped my physics competition draft and put your own name on it?

"Or maybe the time you took all the pocket money I'd scraped together for months and used it to buy Emily her birthday gift?"

Ryan's face flickered between pale and flushed, his lips quivering as he scrambled to come up with an excuse.

"It was all just a misunderstanding-" he stammered.

"There's no misunderstanding!" I snapped, cutting him off before he could say more.

"Ryan, we're done. There's no future for us," I said.

With that, I slipped past his rigid frame and headed straight for the cafeteria, not bothering to look back.

I got my meal and picked a quiet corner to sit down.

But Emily showed up with her tray, plopping down right across from me, her little posse trailing behind her.

The cafeteria went dead silent, and everyone turned to stare.

"Sophie," Emily called out.

Her eyes were red and teary, like she might start crying any second.

She said, "I know you're hurting, but don't try to get back at Ryan just because you're jealous he's closer to me now. You know better than anyone how much that early admission spot means to him."

And right as she finished, one of her friends smacked the table, chiming in to support her.

She said, "Indeed, Sophie. Ryan's always treated you so well. How could you be this cruel?"

"Wow, snatching your own boyfriend's chance? That's seriously disgusting," another piped up.

"Shame on you!" someone else shouted.

People all around started jumping in, throwing shade and hurling insults from every direction.

I just tuned them all out, grabbed a rib, and took a slow bite, acting like none of their drama existed.

Arguing with these people would just be a waste of my breath and my lunch break.

Suddenly, a cup of ice-cold Coke was dumped right over my head.

The sticky soda ran down my hair and all over my white shirt, leaving me shivering from how freezing it was.

I looked up.

Emily stood there holding the empty cup, smirking with outright provocation.

But she put on a fake gasp, her voice dripping with mock innocence.

"Oh, Sophie, I'm so sorry. My hand just slipped. I swear I didn't do it on purpose," she said.

The whole cafeteria erupted in laughter.

I gripped my fork so hard that my knuckles turned white.

Then I grabbed my tray and dumped the whole thing—steaming hot soup, ribs, and veggies—right onto Emily's face.

Not a single drop missed.

"Ah!" Emily screamed.

I tossed the tray aside and walked out, leaving Emily wailing and the cafeteria in chaos behind me.

I fished my old flip phone out of my school uniform pocket, scrolling through my contacts until I hit a number with no note.

With decisive fingers, I quickly typed out a message.

[Professor Leonard, I've made up my mind. I'm joining your team.]