Chapter 1
After my parents died in a car accident, my sister and I were sent to an orphanage.
That day, two couples came to the orphanage to adopt.
Emily didn't hesitate and dove right into the arms of the wealthy couple, instantly becoming everyone's darling: their precious daughter.
As for me, I was chosen by the rancher couple. I ended up as just a forgotten girl tending sheep out on the prairie.
The rancher couple only took me in because they wanted free labor.
They never loved me, and they wouldn't even let me go to school. No matter how fierce the storms or how thick the snow, I had to stay out on the ranch every single day, herding sheep.
To survive on that harsh prairie, I secretly taught myself to ride horses and shoot arrows, mastering all the skills I needed just to make it through.
One day, out in the middle of the prairie, I saved Lucas, the city's golden boy, from a pack of wild wolves.
He fell for me at first sight and proposed, not caring about the huge gap between our worlds.
I fell for him, too, so I said yes.
On our wedding day, I came face-to-face with Emily.
She was flawlessly made up, but her eyes seethed with hatred as she fixed me with a murderous glare.
She yelled, "I chased after him for three whole years, and he never even glanced my way. Why does a country bumpkin like you get his love? I hate you. Just go die."
Blinded by fury, she shoved me off the balcony.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the orphanage, right on the day we were supposed to choose our adoptive parents.
This time, Emily pulled away from the wealthy couple and dashed straight to Martha and Frank, grabbing onto their clothes like she'd never let go.
She got exactly what she wanted and left with Martha and Frank. Just before heading out, she shot me a smug, challenging look.
She said, "Sophia, this time I'm the ranch girl on the prairie. Just watch. Lucas is definitely going to fall for me."
*****
The icy feeling was still on my skin, and I could almost hear the wind screaming past me as I fell.
I could still hear Lucas's panicked shouts, see Emily's smile twisted with hate, and feel the agony as my bones broke.
My eyes flew open. Above me was the orphanage's stained and cracked ceiling, with a dark brown water mark that looked like a bird with its wings spread.
Anna's voice rang out from behind the door, her gentle knock following right after. She called out, "Sophia, Emily, get up and tidy yourselves. We've got guests coming today."
The whole scene was so hauntingly familiar that it sent a chill down my spine.
I sat up and looked over at the bed across from mine.
Emily was perched on the edge, lazily running a comb through her long hair, an excited look on her face that I just couldn't read.
Emily turned to me, her eyes flashing with mischief. She said, "Hey, Sophia, you're up? Big day today, you know."
I stared at Emily, the little sister who, in my previous life, had pushed me off the balcony on my wedding day.
She looked so innocent, barely ten years old, with that angelic face. Who would ever suspect there was such cruelty lurking underneath?
"Yeah, big day," I replied softly, my voice a little hoarse.
After we finished freshening up, Anna led Emily and me to the director's office.
On the way, Emily kept holding my hand tight, like she was afraid I might run off.
"Sophia, this time, it's my turn to see what it's like to struggle, don't you think?" she whispered, her eyes glinting with something strange.
My heart dropped.
So she came back, too. And she really believed my previous life on the prairie was some kind of fairy-tale adventure.
"Emily, you have no clue what it's really like out there," I tried to explain, feeling a bitter chill in my chest.
"No, I do know," she cut me off, a sly smile curling at her lips. She said, "But what I really know is that's where I'll meet him."
I just stood there, stunned.
So that was it. She wasn't desperate to taste hardship on the prairie: she just wanted a chance to meet Lucas.