In my past life, my stepmother secretly changed my college application, sending me to a bottom-tier school. In my past life, my novel’s rights sold for five million dollars, only for my stepsister to accuse me of plagiarism. In my past life, after my stepsister killed me, she inherited all my wealth and lived her life unscathed. But now, I’ve been given a second chance. I’m back, and this time, I’ll make sure my stepsister and stepmother pay for everything they did… Amber Collins pushed me off the rooftop from the 28th floor, and I died instantly. After I died, I became a wandering spirit, not knowing where to go. I stood among the crowd, looking at my own body within the police cordon and listening to the hushed whispers around me. “Did you hear? She’s the daughter from the sixth floor. Just started college, so young, and already gave up on life.” “Which daughter from the sixth floor? That family has two daughters.” “It’s the older one. I saw the younger one a little while ago.” Soon, my stepmother, Gloria Collins, arrived with Amber following closely behind. Gloria collapsed onto the ground, wailing hysterically, while Amber covered her face, quietly sobbing. I walked over, wanting to comfort my mom, to tell her that I didn’t commit suicide, but I couldn’t. I was only a ghost now. Gloria cried out, “Lauren, why would you do this? Why couldn’t you talk to me? Why did you jump? How am I supposed to explain this to your father?” People around tried to console her, helping her to stand, but I was standing right in front of her and saw it clearly—there wasn’t a single tear on her face. I turned away, heading back upstairs. The home was just as I remembered, but I searched desperately for any good memories from when I was alive, and there were none. I returned to my room, curled up in the corner, hugging my knees. I was dead now, and I had no idea what would happen to me. Would the Grim Reaper come for me? Or would I just drift as a ghost, wandering aimlessly forever? The despair of death, combined with the fear of the unknown and a crushing sense of loneliness, overwhelmed me. I don’t know how much time passed before I heard the door open. Gloria and Amber had returned. Amber collapsed on the floor, shaking. “Mom, I’m scared.” Gloria rushed to her side. “What happened? Don’t be scared, Amber. Tell me, and I’ll fix it.” “Mom, I killed Lauren. I pushed her off the roof.” Gloria’s eyes widened in terror. She clamped a hand over Amber’s mouth and dragged her into the bedroom. “What happened, Amber? How could you do something like this?” Amber explained everything. “I didn’t mean to kill her, Mom. I just wanted to scare her.” “What are we going to do? The police won’t come after me, will they?” “Don’t worry, Amber. You have me. I won’t let anything happen to you.” “What about Dad? He only has one daughter.” My mind was reeling. What did Amber just say? My dad only has one daughter? Then Gloria continued, “When your dad married me, he promised that if I treated Lauren well, he’d treat you like his own daughter.” “I’ve been putting on quite the show for him all these years, and he’s always been good to you. He’ll never suspect you.” “It’s actually a good thing that brat is gone. She was just like her dead mother. Now there’s no one to get in our way. And all her money? It’s ours.” Those words hit me like a lightning bolt. Everything suddenly made sense. Gloria was never my real mom. Amber wasn’t my sister. No wonder they were so horrible to me. No wonder Gloria always favored Amber. No wonder Amber never took my dad’s last name. As I stood there, my dad, George Adams, came home. He’s a long-haul trucker and is often away for work. The moment he walked in, Gloria rushed to him, putting on her usual act and crying as she clung to him. “George, you’re finally back! What are we going to do? Lauren, she… she couldn’t take it anymore.” After my death, they’d called him, and he had rushed home from out of town. He pulled his hand away from her and walked silently into my room. I followed him inside. He locked the door behind him, picked up the stuffed animal from my pillow, and sat on my bed. He sat there for a long time before tears started streaming down his face. He took out an old photograph from his wallet, and as I looked closer, I saw the woman in the picture looked just like me. It had to be my biological mother. He gazed at the photo, whispering over and over, “I’m sorry, Sarah. This is all my fault.”
My dad sat in my room the entire night, and I sat beside him, listening. It was the first time I’d ever heard him talk this much. He told the story of how he and my mom met, fell in love, and how she insisted on giving birth to me, even when the doctors advised against it. He spoke of how, when I was little, I’d always ask for my mom, which led him to marry Gloria. He talked about how much I looked like my mom and how much he missed her. He talked about how he regretted not being there for me all these years. Everything he said answered so many of the questions I had carried for years. When the sun came up, I noticed that my dad’s hair had turned much grayer overnight. Suddenly, I lost consciousness, and when I woke up again, I was in a strange place—the courthouse of the Afterlife. I heard a voice call out, “Number 7628, it’s time for you to be reborn.” But I didn’t want to be reborn. I said nothing and just cried, from silent tears to loud, gut-wrenching sobs. The judge grew angry with me and sentenced me to the Hall of Eternal Scribes, where I had to copy endless scriptures. I sat at the desk, looking at the pen and ink, and decided to comply. I wrote endlessly, pouring all my hatred, sorrow, and desire for revenge against Gloria and Amber into the pages. I don’t know how long I wrote. I kept going until all my energy was drained and my soul began to fade… Suddenly, I heard someone calling my name. Forcing my eyes open, I gasped. Where am I? Wasn’t I just copying scriptures? How am I back in my room? I shot up, looking around in shock as realization hit me—I had been reborn. I grabbed my phone and lit up the screen. I had gone back a year in time. Jumping out of bed, I rushed to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Then it hit me. Today is the day I fill out my college application. In my past life, the door had suddenly jammed, so Gloria and Amber had gone to the school to submit my application on my behalf. They had locked me in and taken my pre-written form. But instead of submitting it, they had changed it, sending me to the same low-tier school as Amber, even though my grades were good enough to attend a top university. I remembered confronting Gloria in my past life, holding the acceptance letter, confused as to why I had been accepted into that school. “Oh no, how did this happen? I must’ve accidentally mixed up the forms with Amber’s. I didn’t mean to, Lauren. You won’t hold it against me, will you?” she had said. Back then, I had naively comforted myself, believing her excuses. Now, I knew how foolish I had been. It wasn’t until I was on my deathbed that I learned from Amber that they had intentionally changed my application. This time, I knew the truth. There was no way I would let them get away with it again. Outside my door, Gloria called for me. “Lauren, the door’s stuck! We need to go to the school to submit your college application.” I played along, pretending to panic. “I don’t know what happened! I can’t get it open. What should I do?” “Just give me your application form, and I’ll submit it for you.” “Okay. I don’t have much choice, do I? Please don’t make a mistake.” “Don’t worry. Your sister will help me keep an eye on everything.”
After they left, I went back to bed for some more sleep. There were three days to submit the application, and I didn’t have to go to the school to do it in person. Gloria and Amber didn’t know that, though. In my past life, they had released me from the room the next day, making me work at my uncle’s store. My uncle, Jason Miller, ran a small convenience store, and his family had always been good to me. I had always suspected Jason was my biological uncle. Growing up, I spent a lot of time at Jason’s house, often sent there by Gloria to be looked after. Throughout high school, I spent most of my weekends helping out at his store. Jason never made me work hard, though. I’d usually just do my homework and help tutor his daughter, Rachel. It wasn’t until one day, I found out Gloria had been taking money from my uncle, asking him for my wages. That’s when I finally confronted her. It was the first argument I ever had with Gloria. I asked her why she was taking my money. She didn’t even bother pretending. “You’re working at your uncle’s store, so what’s wrong with me getting some of the money?” she said casually. “But Uncle Jason never made me do any real work, and he even gave me an allowance!” Gloria acted like it was the most natural thing in the world. “I sent you there to work. If your uncle didn’t make you work, that’s his choice. But your wages belong to me.” Her words made my heart ache. “What about Amber? Why don’t you send her to work at Uncle Jason’s?” Seeing me upset, she tried to soothe me. “Your sister isn’t as healthy as you are. She can’t handle heavy work, and she’s not as good at school as you are. She has to take extra lessons. She doesn’t have time.” In my past life, I had always thought Amber was just more lovable, which was why Gloria favored her. I had spent my whole life trying to earn Gloria’s approval. Now, I could finally see how laughable my efforts had been. The door to my room wasn’t unlocked until the next day. During that time, I hadn’t eaten a single bite. The next morning, I skipped breakfast and went straight to my uncle’s house. I ended up fainting from low blood sugar at their doorstep. When I woke up, the first thing I saw was my uncle and aunt’s worried faces. Suddenly, a wave of emotion hit me, and tears filled my eyes. Seeing me cry, they both panicked. “What’s wrong, Lauren? Where does it hurt? Tell us!” My aunt gently touched my forehead. “Is it a headache?” I held her hand tightly. “Uncle Jason, Aunt Jennifer, don’t worry. I’m not sick. I just missed you both.” I told them everything I had discovered—that Gloria was my stepmother and about all the ways she had mistreated me over the years. When I was little, Gloria had made me do all the household chores. If my dad wasn’t home, I did everything, even in the freezing winter, without hot water. When I asked why I had to do it all while Amber did nothing, Gloria would say, “You’re the big sister. You should be taking care of her.” After hearing all of this, Jason was furious and wanted to confront Gloria and Amber, but my aunt and I stopped him. They then revealed the truth to me. “Your mother’s name was Sarah Adams, and she and your dad loved each other very much.” “While pregnant with you, my sister was diagnosed with a tumor. The doctors advised her to terminate the pregnancy, but she refused. She insisted on having you, even though she knew it would cost her life.” “Your dad begged us to keep it a secret from you, hoping you’d grow up happy and healthy like other kids. But none of us could have known Gloria would turn out to be so cruel.” Now that I knew the truth, I asked my uncle for help with my college application. “Uncle Jason, I have something important I need your help with. As for Gloria, I’ll deal with her later.” He brought me his laptop, and I completed my application. When my uncle saw the school Gloria had signed me up for, he was both furious and guilt-ridden. Once I had changed my application, I ordered several hidden cameras online, preparing to set them up at home. I stayed at my uncle’s house under the pretense of working at his store, only going home twice to get my things. That summer was the happiest one I’d had in years. At my uncle’s house, I didn’t have to work. My only responsibility was to tutor Rachel, who was now a junior in high school. She was doing well, so tutoring her was easy. Uncle Jason even bought me a laptop so I could continue writing my novel.
One of my passions is writing novels, and it’s how I make a little extra spending money. In my past life, during my first year of college, a production company bought the rights to one of my novels. Suddenly, I had five million dollars. But that money ended up being the reason I lost my life. When I got the money, I excitedly told Gloria. But once Amber found out, she started spreading rumors at school, accusing me of plagiarism and telling everyone that she was the real author. Back then, I didn’t know how to defend myself. Even though I had proof, I kept quiet because Amber was my sister. I didn’t want to make things worse. Until the day I confronted Amber on the rooftop. I had asked her to meet me there to clear up the misunderstanding, but instead of listening, she became angry. We started arguing, and before I knew it, she pushed me. Amber might not have meant to kill me in my past life, but I certainly won’t let her get away with it this time. When the college acceptance results were posted online, Gloria did something she had never done before—she called me to ask where I’d been accepted. I played along, pretending to be upset. I told her I had been accepted to the same school as Amber. Then, I sweetly gave her an excuse. “Did you mix up our application forms when you were submitting them?” There was a pause on the other end, followed by a faux realization. “Oh no! I must’ve accidentally filled out the wrong form.” “It’s okay. It’s too late to change it now. Don’t feel bad—I don’t blame you.” After the call, I checked the hidden cameras I had installed. The footage showed Amber gleefully asking, “Mom, did that little brat get into the wrong school?” Little brat. That’s what they called me behind my back. Gloria burst into laughter. “That idiot still thinks I made an innocent mistake! She even said she doesn’t blame me. How stupid can she be?” “She got into your school, Amber. If I had known she’d be this easy to fool, I would’ve signed her up for a community college instead.” They laughed and cursed me, using the nastiest words they could think of. I saved the video evidence and returned to my novel. The acceptance letter was mailed to my high school, and mine arrived a few days before Amber’s, so they didn’t notice. The day I got my letter, Uncle Jason and his family took me out to celebrate. He even let me have a drink. Maybe it was the alcohol, but I felt emotional. I wanted to cry. This time, I had finally made it into my dream college. Later, I asked my uncle to take me to my mother’s grave. Looking at her picture on the headstone, her smile was as warm as the sun, as comforting as a spring breeze. I was certain my mom had been a kind and loving person. She must have loved me very much. If she had lived, I would have been the happiest child in the world. I placed flowers on her grave and whispered, “Mom, it’s been so long. I’m here to visit you. I’m sorry I forgot you for so many years. I’ve been calling someone else ‘Mom’ all this time.” “Uncle Jason says you were a wonderful person. You wouldn’t be angry at me for forgetting you, right?” I wiped the tears from my face and took out my acceptance letter. “Mom, I got into a great university. I wish you were here. They say the campus is beautiful. I’d love to take you and Dad to see it.” “In the past, Dad and I couldn’t tell who the good people were, but we won’t make that mistake again. I’ll live a good life from now on. I won’t let your sacrifice be in vain.” 5 The summer flew by, and before I knew it, the school year had started. My university was in New York City, while Amber’s low-tier school was in the same city where we lived. My school started earlier, so I packed up and moved to the dorms at Brentwood University. When Amber texted me, asking when I’d be moving, I was already lying on my dorm bed at Brentwood. I ignored her messages and kept chatting with my new roommates. The four of us got along really well. I thought about my past life and the terrible roommates I had then—girls who smoked, drank, cheated on exams, and gossiped behind everyone’s back. They even created multiple group chats and didn’t invite me to a single one. Back then, I thought I didn’t fit in because of something wrong with me. Now I understand that I didn’t belong in that circle because I was never like them. Amber sent me several more texts, but I didn’t respond. Half an hour later, Gloria called. I stepped out onto the balcony to take the call. Her voice was full of barely concealed frustration. “Lauren, where are you? Why aren’t you answering your sister’s texts?” “I was just chatting with my roommates. Didn’t notice the messages.” “Roommates? Which dorm building are you in? Your dad’s here too. Come out, and we’ll all go have dinner together.” “You know, your dad wanted to drop you both off together. Amber really wanted to come with you. Why did you have your uncle bring you instead?” She was getting worked up, so I interrupted her. “I’m in New York. I can’t meet up with you.” There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end. Then she blurted out, “New York? What are you doing in New York? Are you not going to school?” “I’m not going to college anymore. Uncle Jason found me a job here in New York. It comes with free meals and lodging, and I make $3,500 a month.” That night, I got a call from my dad. His tone was serious. “Lauren, your mom says you’re not going to college anymore. Is that true?” I had anticipated this call and prepared my response in advance. “Dad, I’m still going to school, but I need you to keep something a secret from everyone, especially Gloria and Amber.” “Of course. You can count on me. What’s going on?” “On the day of the application, Mom went to submit it for me, but when I checked the system the next day, I saw that she had accidentally submitted Amber’s form instead of mine.” “Luckily, I caught it in time and fixed it. Mom felt really guilty, so I want to surprise her by not telling her or Amber yet.” I sent him a photo of my acceptance letter, along with a picture of me and my uncle’s family in front of Brentwood University’s gates. Finally, my dad believed me. “Alright, Lauren. I know I’ve been too focused on work these past few years, and your mom has done so much for the family.” “But I’ll keep your secret. And don’t worry—I’ll send you more money each month for your expenses in New York.” I knew my dad had some reservations about Gloria. Over the years, he had kept control of the family’s finances. Gloria had no access to my tuition or living expenses, so she had never had a chance to interfere. But any money I earned from working for Uncle Jason had gone straight into Gloria’s pocket and spent on Amber. I had Uncle Jason send this summer’s earnings directly to Gloria, just like in my past life, making sure to note “Lauren’s Wages” in the transfer details. Gloria used that money to buy Amber a new phone. I saw it all in the hidden camera footage. I hadn’t told my dad the truth yet because I wanted to gather more evidence. I needed to make sure that when I finally exposed Gloria and Amber, there would be no way for them to escape. For now, my priority was to focus on living my life well. 6 After the grueling boot camp ended, I threw myself into university life. I joined the student council with my roommates, participated in every competition the school offered, and studied hard while continuing to update my novel every day. Writing was easier now that I had written this story in my past life. I even made improvements to the plot. My monthly earnings increased, and everything seemed to be moving in the right direction for me. I kept an eye on the “Crush Corner” page of Amber’s college. Amber was very pretty, with that innocent, delicate look that made her seem so harmless.
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