Chapter 5

One thing I could be certain of now. Eric had definitely been reborn and come back to this timeline. But what about Madison? And what about my dad and Emily?

That night, Emily came back to the dorm really late with red, swollen eyes like she'd been crying for hours. When she saw me, she threw a silver bracelet on my bed and said in this defeated voice, "Sophia, stop being difficult. Eric wanted you to have this."

I picked it up and looked it over. It was a thin silver chain, clearly not from any brand, just cheap costume jewelry.

I tossed it right back at her. "What is this trash? I don't want it."

Emily seemed stunned for a second, and then she looked at me like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Sophia, you... Eric spent so long picking this out for you. You really don't want it? Are you serious?"

I let out a cold laugh. "When a guy gives you something this cheap, whoever wants it can have it. I sure don't."

As I spoke, my eyes landed on the silver bangle around Emily's wrist.

It was obvious that Eric had bought that bracelet for Emily, and this pathetically thin chain I could barely see was probably just the free gift that came with it. Talk about cheap.

In my past life, if I'd paid even the slightest bit of attention, I would've realized Eric and Emily had been sneaking around together all along. But back then, I was completely blinded by love.

"If you don't want it, go tell Eric yourself. I'm not your messenger," Emily said coldly, throwing the chain back at me again.

What the hell? When did I make her my messenger?

"Emily, get your facts straight, okay?" I shot back with a sneer. "Did I ask you to be my messenger? Did I ask you to play this weird go-between with me and Eric?"

I climbed into bed without another word and went to sleep.

In the early hours of the morning, I woke up from a nightmare drenched in cold sweat. I'd been dreaming about Eric and my dad.

In my past life, I'd gotten pregnant right after that first time with Eric.

I panicked completely. I'd always been the good girl growing up, even though my dad had always preferred Emily and said she was sweet and obedient.

Me? I was the loud, playful one who laughed too much and acted like a fool, with a personality that was way too carefree for anyone to really like. But despite all that, I'd never had a rebellious thought in my life.

So when I found out I was pregnant, I was terrified. I went to Eric and suggested we quietly go to the hospital and get rid of it.

When Eric heard that, he pulled me into his arms.

"Sophia, what did you just say? We're having a baby?"

He put on this loving act, reaching down to touch my stomach with this huge smile spreading across his face.

It was like watching ice melt in the spring, or like a breeze blowing through flower branches and making everything bloom overnight. When he smiled like that, there was something almost enchanting about it.

For some reason, his smile got to me in that moment. I wasn't as scared anymore, and I thought maybe we'd weather every storm together and grow old side by side.

But it had all been a lie.

Eric started counting on his fingers, planning out baby names right then and there.

"Eric—" The words about wanting an abortion stuck in my throat. I couldn't quite get them out.

But eventually, I did.

"Eric, let's get rid of it. We're still in college."

The moment I said I wanted to terminate the pregnancy, his whole expression went dark.

"Sophia, do you even know what you're saying?

"This is a little life we created together, yours and mine. Are you really saying you want to get rid of it?"

"But—" I didn't get to finish.

Eric waved his hand dismissively. "What's more important, Sophia? School or our baby? Everyone's always saying you're too naive, and they're right. You can't even figure out what really matters here. It's not like the university has some rule against having kids while you're still a student."

He continued, "Look, we'll get our marriage license on summer break. That way, the baby will be legitimate."

When he brought up getting married again, I felt myself wavering.

"I'm scared," I said.

Eric nodded sympathetically. "Sophia, I get it. I know you're scared. How about this? Talk to your dad first, but don't say anything to your mom yet. She's never thought I was good enough for you because I come from nothing, but I promise I'm going to work hard and give you a good life."

I believed every word and called my dad.

I expected him to blow up at me, but when I told him I was pregnant, he actually sounded relieved. He told me not to worry and to focus on taking care of myself and the baby.

What I never saw coming was that the very next day, my dad showed up at school. He said the exact same things Eric had said, that I should get the marriage license with Eric right away and have the baby. He even started making arrangements to rent an apartment near campus for me to live in.

"Sophia, I know you care about Eric, but your mother has always been against you two being together.

"If she finds out about this, she'll make you terminate the pregnancy, and that would damage your body.

"The baby's still early along, so you can keep going to classes for now. When you get further along, you can take time off to prepare for the birth, then go back to school after the baby comes. Emmy can help you catch up on whatever you miss."

And just like that, with my dad's so-called "fatherly love," Eric's sweet words, and Emily's envious looks, I settled into what I thought was a happy pregnancy.

As my belly grew bigger, the gossip around campus got worse and worse. Eventually I had no choice but to take a leave of absence from school, and I moved into the apartment my dad had rented for me to wait out the rest of my pregnancy.