Chapter 4

I thought about it for a moment. I couldn't exactly tell her I'd been reborn, that in my past life I'd been so blinded by love that I died naked on an operating table with severe internal injuries in the most horrific way possible.

I chose my words carefully. "Mom, she has a birthmark on her left arm that's identical to Dad's."

Something about the pause on the other end made me feel like Madison was testing me.

"Sophia, if... if she really is your father's illegitimate daughter, what should we do?"

What should we do?

I didn't find out until after I died in my past life that the man who'd always doted on me, the one I called "Dad," was actually the mastermind behind the whole poisonous scheme.

If he got rid of me, his mistress' daughter could inherit everything from Mom without any obstacles. It was his twisted way of ensuring his bloodline continued through a son—or in this case, ensuring his real daughter got everything while satisfying his dark, misogynistic obsession with male heirs.

"Mom, would you be willing to divorce him?" I asked.

"If Emily really is his illegitimate daughter, then based on her age, he must've been sleeping with another woman right when you got pregnant with me."

I was a reborn soul, so I knew there was no "if" about it. Emily was absolutely my father's illegitimate child. That was a cold, hard fact.

"Without question," Mom said firmly over the phone.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

Even though I'd been reborn and rejected Eric, even though I wasn't some lovesick fool anymore, I still had to worry about my own family.

If my closest relatives had their eyes on what was mine, who knew if they'd pull the same crap they did in my past life?

And I had to protect Mom too. If Dad could do what he did to the daughter he'd raised for years, what would stop him from hurting a woman he'd never really loved?

"Sophia, there's something else," Madison said.

"What is it, Mom?"

"Sweetheart, I'm not against you dating, but I think Eric isn't what he seems. He's not worth your feelings."

"Mom, I don't like him anymore," I chuckled.

"What?" Mom sounded surprised.

"Think about it, Mom. When I first met him, I hadn't seen much of the world yet. He was basically the only guy my age I knew, and he looked decent enough.

"So yeah, I had a bit of a crush on him. But now I'm in college, and there are so many good-looking guys around. Actually, I've got my eye on the campus heartthrob now. I'm planning to confess to him in a few days."

Madison sounded relieved. "That's good to hear, honey. While you're young, date around, see what's out there. Don't rush into anything."

"You're right, Mom."

"One more thing," Madison continued. "Starting now, we're cutting off Emily's allowance. She's been living in our house since she was five, eating the same food as you, wearing the same clothes. Whatever she actually is to us, we've supported her for years. That's more than enough."

Even over the phone, I could hear the contempt in Madison's voice when she talked about Emily.

Something felt off about this whole conversation.

The truth was, Emily had always been good at playing the victim, acting like some delicate flower who could barely survive, always saying the sweetest things, and she was pretty on top of that.

Mom used to really like her. I was the only one in the family who couldn't stand her, and I'd even thrown tantrums about it.

Mom would just smile, while Dad would pull me into his arms and say, "Baby, you're Daddy's only treasure. Emmy lost her parents when she was little. She's a poor thing. Can't you be a little nicer to her?"

I kept being nice to her, and somehow I ended up giving her my entire life.

Madison's voice brought me back to the present. "So from now on, we're not giving her any more financial support. We're not running a charity here."

"Good. Mom, I really hate her," I said.

I'd shown my dislike for Emily from the very beginning, from the first day Dad brought her home.

"I know, honey. It's my fault for not paying attention to how you felt," Madison said.

After I hung up, I couldn't shake this weird feeling. Had Mom been reborn too? Was everyone getting a second chance at life? It wasn't impossible.