Chapter 2
Over summer break, Sophie and I took an impromptu road trip up the West Coast.
The Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Highway 1... Every view was breathtaking.
"Emma, you've changed," One night, Sophie looked at me thoughtfully. "You seemed weighed down before, but now you're like a new person."
"I guess I learned to let go," I said, watching the Pacific sunset peacefully.
Back then, I wasted all my energy trying to guess what Ethan was thinking, and missed out on everything beautiful around me.
"Oh, Ethan's traveling Europe and flooding Instagram with photos," Sophie teased. "He tags you, but you blocked him, right?"
"Yeah," I replied.
"Why? Weren't you into him?" Sophie pressed.
"That was a long time ago," I said coolly. "Some people aren't worth it."
My phone pinged—a new email, and it was Ethan, using a freshly made address.
"Emma, I got you a gift in Paris. Can we meet up when I'm back in August? I have something to tell you"
I deleted it without even finishing.
With California sunshine this bright, why dwell on past shadows?******
September 2010, Los Angeles.
UCLA's campus was even more stunning than I'd imagined—red brick buildings tucked under palm trees, California sunlight spilling across the steps of Royce Hall.
"We made it!" Sophie said, grabbing my hand as we ran through campus.
Her smile made me feel this second chance was the universe's way of making up for me.
"Emma, which clubs will you join?" Sophie flipped through the freshman orientation guide. "I'm thinking about trying out for dance team."
"Entrepreneurship Club," I repiled, pointing to a booth. "Maybe also Finance and Investment, and Computer Science."
She stared at me, wide-eyed. "Wow, you're really going for it! That's so not like you. You used to be all about romance."
I just smiled, keeping quiet.
In my previous life, I wasted all four years of college obsessing over how to fly from MIT to Boston just to see Ethan.
This time, I was taking back everything I let slip away.
At the first Entrepreneurship Club meeting, I met the person who changed my life.
"Welcome, freshmen. I'm your senior, Ryan Davis. Glad to have you here."
He wore a white T-shirt and jeans, but his eyes showed deep maturity.
Ryan Davis.
The name hit me like a bolt of lightning.
Back in my previous life, he landed on the Forbes 30 Under 40 list at thirty, becoming one of Silicon Valley's youngest rising stars in investing.
But now, he was just another college senior at UCLA.
"For our first task," Ryan said, writing on the whiteboard, "find a real problem and solve it with technology."
After the meeting, I made my way over to him.
"Ryan, I've got an idea. Mind if we talk?" I asked.
He looked at me with interest. "Already fired up as a freshman? Tell me."
"Campus peer-to-peer sales," I said. "Students need to buy and sell textbooks, furniture, electronics every semester, but the current options are terrible—Facebook groups are a mess, Craigslist feels sketchy. What if we built a C2C platform specifically for college students?"
Ryan's eyes lit up. "Go on."
"We could use school emails to verify everyone's identity, making sure only students are involved. Add a review system, designate safe campus exchange spots, and even link up with the university lost and found..."
I shared all the successful cases I'd seen in my previous life, plus some improvements of my own.
Ryan paused, then gave me an approving smile. "Emma Carter, right? I'm remembering your name. Come by my apartment this weekend. Let's talk details."