Chapter 2
Daisy and Jordyn had a really close bond—it was I who kept getting between them.
I was the one who convinced her to change her college major, the one who kept her away from Jordyn, and honestly, the reason she missed out on marrying into billions.
As soon as Jordyn's wedding wrapped up, Daisy just snapped. She floored the gas and crashed her car straight into me—I literally got launched like a ragdoll.
"You deserve to die!" Daisy screamed, her voice shaking with fury.
"You really deserve to die! Why couldn't you just let me be with Jordyn?" she yelled.
"It's all you! If you hadn't interfered, I'd be filthy rich right now—a billionaire's wife! Just die already! Go to hell!" she shouted.
Getting hit once wasn't enough. Daisy kept the pedal down, running me over again and again—like she wanted to wipe me off the face of the earth.
It hurt so bad that it was like my whole body was being smashed to pieces.
Next thing I knew, I was awake—right here, right now.
Staring at Daisy right in front of me, I couldn't shake off that scene from my last life—her face all twisted up as she floored her car, barreling straight at me.
Without even thinking, I pulled my hand back.
"Mariana? What's wrong?" Daisy asked, sounding totally confused.
She looked at me with obvious puzzlement.
"I'm fine. What were you just saying?" I said, trying to play it cool.
"Jordyn can only get into a community college. If I don't follow him there, we'll be stuck in a long-distance thing. So what should I do, Mariana?" Daisy said, practically begging me for advice.
Daisy hardly ever called me 'Mariana' unless she had got something she wanted, or when she needed me to bail her out.
Looking into her eyes, I saw that hopeful look, and just like that, it clicked for me.
She totally understood the difference between a community college and a top-tier university, but she couldn't make the decision herself. So she simply tossed the problem in my lap, making it my job.
Deep down, Daisy knew I'd always step in and try to talk her out of it.
"Which school you pick, that's your own business. You're an adult now—you don't have to run everything by me," I said, keeping my tone even.
My answer totally caught Daisy off guard. She just froze, staring at me for what felt like ages before the words sank in.
"Mariana? Are you serious? Yesterday you told me to think it over," Daisy said, sounding genuinely shocked.
Yeah, I did tell her to think it through yesterday, but she still came to me for advice. Guess she just wanted me to say no, so she'd have a reason to do what she really wanted.
"I'm not joking. This is huge—you gotta decide for yourself," I said firmly.
"Mariana Ewing!" Daisy called out, her voice a notch sharper—she was starting to lose it.
You could tell she was getting desperate.
"Seriously, stop calling me. Look, if you and Jordyn are so head over heels, then go be together—it's not my problem," I said, not bothering to hide my indifference.
Saying that, I didn't even look back at Daisy's stunned face. I just stood up and walked away, leaving her speechless in my wake.
Following the path from my last life, I chose the same college I'd gone to before.
My grades were way better than Daisy's, and since all of this felt like a rerun to me, I breezed through my classes and finally had the freedom to focus on what really mattered to me.
I wasn't planning on meddling in Daisy's drama, but when I got home, I caught my mom chatting with my uncle, Nasir, on the phone.
"How could Daisy be so unreasonable? With her grades, she could easily make it into a top school—why on earth would she settle for a community college? You two really need to straighten her out as her parents," my mom complained, sounding all worked up.
"What? You think maybe Mariana should have a word with her? No problem, I'll talk to Mariana as soon as she gets home. Daisy has always listened to her. They're way easier with each other than anyone else," my mom agreed.
After she hung up, my mom saw me walk in and just dragged me straight to the door.
"We're going to your uncle's place—right now," she announced, not giving me a chance to protest.
I totally knew what was up, but I pretended like I had no clue.
"Why are we going to Uncle Nasir's?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"It's Daisy, obviously. With the grades she has, she should be aiming for a top university, but she insists on applying to some local community college. Your uncle is losing his mind—he wants you to go talk her out of it," my mom complained, clearly frustrated.
"I'm not going," I said, keeping my tone firm.
I pulled my hand away from Mom's grip and retreated a step.
"I already told her last time, but she just ignored me," I said, trying not to sound too annoyed.
"You knew about this all along?" My mom's face instantly darkened.
"How could you not tell your uncle about something so important? You're Daisy's cousin—aren't you supposed to look out for her?" she snapped, her voice sharp with disappointment.
"You're Daisy's cousin..." These words wrecked my entire last life.
I couldn't take it anymore and stepped back, my glare fixed on my mom's face.
"Mom, have you seriously forgotten? I'm only three months older than Daisy," I said, my voice tight with frustration.
"You always call me her cousin and expect me to look after her. Seriously, how much more do you expect me to do?" I snapped back.
"Think you've forgotten, huh? Back in first grade, when Daisy forgot her notebook, you came home and totally blew up at me for not reminding her. Seriously? Like I wasn't a clueless first grader myself! Want me to jog your memory?" I snapped, barely holding back a laugh of disbelief.
"And then when she nodded off in class, the teacher called for a parent meeting and Uncle Nasir and Aunt Nancy showed up just to tear into me. Told me off for not keeping Daisy awake—like I was some kind of personal assistant or something," I added, my tone as sarcastic as I could manage.