Chapter 1

I am the true daughter of the Brooks family, yet my parents always favor Wendy Brooks, the imposter they raised as their own.

Later, the Brooks family goes bankrupt, and my parents split up.

Drowning in debt, my father made a cruel choice. To spare his beloved adopted daughter from hardship, he drags me down with him into poverty, shielding the daughter he actually loves while sacrificing me.

But fate has a twisted sense of humor. My father claws his way back to wealth, while my mother, who has taken Wendy, expecting a life of luxury, ends up destitute.

Wendy blames me for her misery. In her final act of spite, she drags me to the edge of a rooftop and pulls me down with her. If she is going to die, she will make sure I go down with her.

Miraculously, I wake up back on the very day my parents finalize their divorce.

But the moment I lock eyes with Wendy and see the venom in her gaze, I realize the terrifying truth: she has been reborn, too.

*****

We hit the pavement together, holding hands like some sick kind of lovers.

The world flipped, wind screamed, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the end.

When I opened them again, I was sitting on the familiar velvet couch in our living room. Wendy Brooks shrieked.

"Dad, you can't take Olivia Carter! You just can't!"

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes burning with raw ambition.

It hit me like a physical blow. Wendy was reborn, too.

She hungered for the glory I once had, desperate to snatch away the destiny that belonged to me.

Our eyes met for a fleeting second. I wore a knowing smirk, which sent a jolt of panic through her, and she scrambled to grab our father's arm.

"Daddy, I want to go with you! Please, I'll go with you! I don't want to stay with Mom!" she wailed.

My father, Martin Brooks, looked genuinely moved.

After all, his company had gone under, his assets were frozen, and he was buried under a mountain of debt. The divorce was happening because my mother, Jenny Brooks, refused to stick by him through the tough times.

But still, he shook his head, turning Wendy down.

"Sweetie, just knowing you want to means the world to me," he said. "But I owe the bank a fortune. Life with me would be nothing but hardship.

"It's better if Olivia comes with me. She's older. She's used to hardship."

I sat there on the couch, a silent observer to my own life being decided. A bitter laugh bubbled in my chest.

I was their daughter, but every decision they made revolved around Wendy. Since Martin was broke, it was a foregone conclusion that Wendy would go with Jenny, who was walking away debt-free.

For Wendy, Jenny would even stay single for the rest of her life.

No one asked me what I wanted. They were charting the course of my entire future in a few careless sentences.

Why? Because I grew up in an orphanage.

Because I was tough.

And apparently, because suffering was all I deserved.

Jenny wrapped her arms around Wendy, her voice pleading.

"Honey, your father isn't a CEO anymore! If you go with him, you won't even be able to finish school!

"Let him take Olivia instead."

Martin nodded in agreement and gestured for me to come over. I stood up without a word, ready to leave with him.

That's when Wendy snapped. She ripped herself from Jenny's embrace, her eyes blazing with resentment.

"So what?" she spat. "Dad might be in debt, but that's a hell of a lot better than being stuck with you! You're useless! You can't even cook! Why would I want to live with you?

"Dad at least has a shot at a comeback. You? You can't even support yourself!"

The words hung in the air, and the room fell deathly silent.

In my last life, Wendy's regret began the moment Martin remarried into the wealthy Mitchell family.

Jenny, after years of being a pampered socialite, had no real-world skills. She could barely scrape by, and for Wendy, who was used to limitless spending, poverty was a cage.

She eventually turned to selling her body for money, which literally stressed Jenny into a collapse, leaving her bedbound.

After all those years of bitterness, there was no love left between them.

Jenny looked livid, but Wendy didn't even notice. She was already clinging to Martin's arm, her voice turning syrupy sweet.

"Daddy, I want to be with you. I don't want to stay with Mom. She can't even take care of herself."

Martin hesitated, sighing deeply.

He relented. "Alright. If you insist."

Furious, Jenny snatched Wendy's suitcase and hurled it at her. Then, she grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the door.

"Fine, Wendy!" she yelled over her shoulder. "But don't you come crying to me when you regret this!"

Wendy didn't seem to care. As I glanced back, she shot me a triumphant smile.

It seemed like she had already stolen my perfect life.

I smiled faintly and left with Jenny, playing the obedient daughter as we walked away from the soon-to-be-sealed villa.