Chapter 4: Choices and Consequences

I didn’t know what Emily was thinking at that moment, but I really planned to do just that. If she stayed with me tonight, maybe everything would be different.

Only if Emily stayed with me tonight could I prevent the chaos from happening. I wasn't sure if it would work, but it was the best I had.

And, having lived ten years longer than Emily now,

To me, she was just a little sister who’d gone astray. Someone who made the wrong choices, maybe for the wrong reasons.

Maybe something had happened to her in college, making her desperate to cling to a rich boyfriend now. I remembered the rumors, the whispered stories about how hard it was for her after graduation.

But the little girl still wanted to save face, so she set me up. She was always careful about her image, always playing the long game.

She wanted everyone to think I was jealous that Jason liked her,

So I deliberately sent the drunken her to the quarterback’s room. She made sure the story would always come back to me.

Her plan had worked perfectly in my previous life. The day after the party, I became synonymous with malice.

My name trended in every group chat, my phone buzzing with messages I didn’t want to read.

Rumors flew by morning—everyone said I’d crashed the quarterback and prom queen’s perfect love story on purpose.

The rumors grew, changing with every retelling. I could almost hear the whispers even when I was alone.

Gradually, I started to believe it was my fault for getting drunk and sending her to the wrong room. The guilt ate at me, night after night.

I was the one who made her disappear for ten years. And made Jason lose the one he loved. Even now, the weight of it pressed on my chest.

So I tried everything to atone. When I couldn’t find Emily, I poured all my remorse into Jason. I tried to fill the emptiness with apologies, with late-night talks, with anything that might make it right.

I tried to love him, hoping my sincerity would warm him, just wishing he wouldn’t hate me anymore. But no matter how much I tried, the wall between us never budged.

After all, I’d been adopted by the Sinclair family since childhood, raised for over ten years. I couldn’t repay them. They gave me a home, a place at the table, and I owed them everything.

But in the end, I was the one most deceived. Jason could give up his life for Emily, and was willing to use marriage to shackle me. He wouldn’t give me the slightest chance to ruin Emily’s happiness.

Actually, on the day of the car accident, I’d gone to find Jason to tell him where Emily was. That day, I also learned from Tyler what had happened to Emily in those ten years.

I wanted him to see Emily’s true face. To stop him from feeling guilty for getting drunk and failing to protect Emily at the graduation party.

But before I could say anything, we were killed in the crash. Our unfinished story, erased in an instant.

I am grateful that fate gave me a chance to be reborn. Not everyone gets a second shot. I was determined not to waste it.

Just now at the dinner table, I kept thinking—

How should I repay this gift from heaven? What do you do with a second life?

I considered taking ruthless revenge on Emily, making her taste ruin and disgrace. I could expose her secrets, watch her fall from grace. But it felt hollow, like winning a game nobody wanted to play.

But looking at the flower-like girl before me, I couldn’t harden my heart. She looked so young, so hopeful, like nothing bad had ever happened.

So when Emily asked me to take her to rest,

I asked her in front of everyone if she wanted to sleep with me. My words hung in the air, daring her to choose a different path.

If she chose to stay with me tonight and made no mistakes,

Then I would let go of what happened in the previous life. Maybe it was time to forgive—her, and myself.

After all, these are two different timelines. What she did to me in the other timeline, I have no reason to take revenge for in this one.

But if she insisted on making the same mistake, I would respect her choice. Everyone must be responsible for their own decisions.

So, when Emily dragged me to the space between two bedroom doors,

I asked her a second time:

"You decide for yourself.

Sleep here tonight, or go to another room with me."

At that moment, Emily was drunk, her eyes hazy as she looked at me. Her voice was small, almost childlike.

But when she heard my question, she still shook her head hard, trying to stay clear-headed.

"Let me think."

"Ugh, I can’t remember."

Emily said, knocking her head a few times. The sound echoed in the quiet hallway.

Seeing this, I decided to be direct and asked her to choose.

"Left is..."

I wanted to tell her: left is Tyler, right is Jason, and I’m right here with you. I wanted her to understand the weight of her decision.

But before I could finish, Emily interrupted me.

"I forgot who I drugged..."

My stomach dropped. It wasn’t just high school games—this was something darker. Something that made my skin crawl. That sentence exploded in my ears like thunder, leaving me stunned. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

In that instant—

When I looked at Emily again, all I could see was rot. The beautiful flower had rotted at the root.

To get what she wanted, she’d use such dirty tricks. My skin crawled at the thought.

I started to wonder if I’d been drugged too. The room felt colder, the shadows deeper.

Instinctively, I stepped back, pulling away from her. I kept my distance, ready to run if I had to.

I asked her again.

But got the same answer.

She said:

"Anyone is fine, just pick one."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I could hear my heart pounding, the sound of laughter drifting up the stairs.

I decided to let go of my savior complex and respect her fate.

So I watched coldly as she went into Jason’s room on her own. I didn’t try to stop her. Sometimes you have to let people make their own mistakes.

Then I turned and opened the door to the next room. My hand shook on the doorknob.

Emily couldn’t remember who she’d drugged. But I had memories from my previous life. As soon as she spoke, I knew who was drugged.

Tonight, I would save the poor quarterback.