Three years after my biological parents brought me back to the Sterling mansion, I died of a painful illness. My soul floated in the air. I wanted to see how my family, who had always despised me, would regret their cruelty. But Arthur, my father, only shook his head and complained coldly, “He was always nothing but trouble.” Eleanor, my mother, pursed her lips and let out a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted. Victoria, my older sister, stood in front of Julian, protecting the adopted golden boy from seeing my pale, lifeless face. But Julian still pretended to be terrified, throwing himself into their arms, making the whole family rush to comfort him. I stared at them for a long time. Finally, I let out a self-deprecating laugh. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day I was first brought home. 1 Realizing I had traveled back in time, I sat in silence for a long while. Right in front of me, my biological parents had red, teary eyes. They were sobbing, telling me how much they had missed me and how guilty they felt for losing me ten years ago. They said they had searched for me for a whole decade. In my past life, my eyes had welled up with tears of gratitude. I had thrown myself into their arms, naively believing that I finally had a home. I thought someone finally loved me. But three years later, I would die alone in a freezing, dark apartment. My appendix ruptured, and because I didn’t get medical help in time, my heart stopped. Before dying, my fingers had clutched my phone. The last text message on my Snapchat was to my mother: “Mom, my stomach hurts so bad.” She never replied. No one in this family had ever loved me. So now, looking at them, my heart was completely numb. “Is Logan still adjusting? It’s okay. Let Mommy show you around our home first!” Seeing my silence, Eleanor took my hand and led me toward the dining room. Arthur followed with a warm smile. At the same time, he called Victoria on FaceTime, urging her to come home quickly for this family welcome dinner. Victoria only replied with one word: “Busy.” Arthur frowned. Eleanor quickly explained with an awkward smile, “Your sister is managing most of the family business now. She has a lot of business dinners. She’ll be back later.” In my past life, I believed her. In this life, I didn’t care anymore. If they wanted to play pretend, I would play along. We walked into the spacious, grand dining room. There were five chairs placed around the long mahogany table. The head of the table was naturally Arthur’s. Eleanor and Victoria’s seats were right next to him on one side. On the other side, the seat closest to Arthur was empty, with a sparkling new set of silver plates and forks. My gaze fell on that empty seat. It was the best seat at the table. It was closest to Arthur, and there was even a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice—something I had mentioned tasting once on the farm and loving. In my past life, I was immediately drawn to it. Believing my parents loved me, I had pulled out that chair without a second thought. I had desperately wanted to be close to my father. But when I did, my parents’ expressions changed instantly. They exchanged a tense look, and Eleanor quickly said with a forced smile, “Oh, Logan, I forgot to tell you. This is Julian’s usual seat.” “Julian is such a sweet boy. He actually insisted on giving up this seat for you. He said his big brother should have the best spot…” Back then, I had blinked, my heart swelling with gratitude. “My little brother gave up his seat for me? He’s so nice.” I had still wanted to sit there. I wanted to drink that orange juice. My parents exchanged another look, wanting to say something but stopping themselves. Blind by their fake warmth, I had already sat down, my hand touching the cold glass of juice. Right at that moment, Julian walked down the grand spiral staircase. 2 Julian was the same age as me—fifteen. But he was much more mature, not innocent and naive like I was. Seeing me in his seat, his lips twitched slightly. Then, he forced a bright, easy smile. “I heard Logan was back, so I finished my tutoring session early. Logan, do you like this seat? Please, take it.” After saying that, he bit his lower lip and looked away, looking incredibly hurt. My parents caught every single detail of his act. Eleanor quickly rushed over and pulled my arm. “Logan, let’s sit over here instead. This seat… Julian is used to it. You might not feel comfortable here.” “Why wouldn’t I be comfortable?” I had been so confused. I had also felt the weird, suffocating tension in the room. But back then, how could a naive boy like me understand what was actually going on? My parents had cried for me. They said they missed me. Julian had offered the seat himself. I was their biological son. Was I not even allowed to choose a seat I liked? So, I had looked at them with a face full of questions. Eleanor’s expression soured. She swallowed her words. Arthur’s face grew stern, and he remained silent. Julian walked over and pulled out the chair next to mine. “Logan, just sit here. This house belongs to you anyway. You can sit wherever you want.” I eventually sat down. On the foster farm, I only knew how to handle dirty pots, pans, and mud. In this high-society mansion, I knew nothing. I knew absolutely nothing about rich-family dining etiquette. So, I genuinely didn’t understand what I had done wrong. Just as I picked up my fork, my hand was slammed down by Victoria, who had just rushed home. She looked exhausted from work, but the moment she walked in, she glared at me. “Who allowed you to sit there?” she snapped. “That is Julian’s seat. Do you have no manners at all?” I froze, completely shocked. Not just because it was my first time meeting my older sister. But because… why was I the one with no manners? Didn’t Julian tell me to sit here? Terrified, I looked at my parents. My parents looked uncomfortable. Victoria spoke first. “Mom, Dad, what were you thinking? This is Julian’s seat. If you keep spoiling Logan like this, you’re going to break Julian’s heart!” “Well…” My parents looked extremely conflicted, not knowing what to say. But I was sharp enough to catch the flash of disgust in Eleanor’s eyes. She was looking at me. I froze. I knew that look too well. My abusive foster father used to look at me the exact same way. My mother was angry at me. It turned out that I really was the bad guy—the rude intruder who stole other people’s things. 3 That “rude” boy had shrunk into the furthest corner of the dining table in my past life, enduring meal after meal of silent rejection. And in the end, he died alone in agonizing pain. How incredibly stupid. In this life, I wouldn’t be stupid anymore. In this life, I wouldn’t fight for anything. I wouldn’t cry, I wouldn’t throw tantrums, and most importantly, I would never love them again. I let out a faint smile and pointed to the very end of the long dining table—the seat furthest away from Arthur. “I’ll sit there.” My parents froze. A wave of relief washed over their faces, but Eleanor still put on a show. “That’s where the servants serve the food. Why would you sit there? Pick another spot.” “I like the edge. It feels more comfortable.” My voice carried a hint of self-deprecation. My parents sighed and quickly agreed. Just like that, they happily let their biological son—whom they had lost for ten years—sit at the absolute edge of the family table. Julian, the adopted favorite, smoothly sat back down in his “exclusive” seat. He glanced at me, his face blank. He thought I didn’t know. He had deliberately placed my favorite orange juice in front of his seat to lure me into a trap. From my very first meal back home, I had fallen right into his trap. He spent three years fighting me for our parents’ attention, and in the end, he won a total victory. But I had paid with my life to learn one simple truth: If you want to be loved, you have to love yourself first. I finished my dinner in silence and went up to the bedroom they had prepared for me. Julian came up, holding the untouched glass of orange juice. “Logan, I had this juice made specifically for you. You should drink it.” “I’m not thirsty. Thanks,” I replied through the closed door, pulling out my old, worn-out textbooks from the farm. The moment I was reborn, I had a plan. I was going to love myself. And for me right now, the best way to do that was to study hard, get into a good college, and become independent. “Does Logan hate me… I guess it makes sense. I’m the one who took over his life…” Julian whimpered softly outside my door. He seemed to be talking to me, but I knew he was targeting our parents, who were walking by. As expected, they were nearby. Eleanor immediately comforted him, “Your brother is just shy, Julian. Don’t overthink it.” Arthur added, “Julian, don’t worry. In this family, you will always be our son.” But they forgot. I was their actual son. 4 After a quick nap, the massive mansion had gone completely quiet. The maid, Mrs. Gable, told me that Julian wanted a limited-edition cake from the west side of the city, so Arthur and Eleanor had personally driven out to get it for him. “Oh,” I replied. That was fine. I began sorting through the welcome gifts. These were things my parents and relatives had given me when I returned. Aside from some cash, there were some expensive-looking designer jewelry pieces and a luxury watch. I was going to sell them all. I knew my future in this house would be miserable. Cash was the only real shield I had. I wasn’t familiar with this city, but I remembered a highly reputable pawn shop near the apartment I lived in during my past life. I knew that neighborhood like the back of my hand. When I walked into the luxury pawn shop, a tall, elegant woman in a tailored designer suit was walking out, with the shop manager bowing politely beside her. I stopped. It was my sister, Victoria Sterling. In this life, this was our very first meeting. But she recognized me—after all, she had seen photos and videos of me. She looked me up and down, her eyes landing on the velvet jewelry box in my hand. Her voice was cold. “Logan?” “Yeah,” I replied. The manager’s eyes lit up, and he immediately became extremely polite to me. “Oh! Is this young man related to you, Ms. Sterling? Are you looking to sell something? I can give you a great deal…” Victoria frowned, looking highly annoyed. “It’s none of your business. Go back to work.” The manager quickly bowed and backed away. Victoria turned back to me, her eyes filled with disgust. “You just got home. Why are you hanging around a place like this?” “To get some cash.” I answered honestly. “Cash? With the gifts the family gave you?” Victoria let out a mocking laugh. “I thought you would cherish them. When Julian receives gifts, he displays them like treasures.” I didn’t argue. Victoria sneered. “So young, yet so materialistic. Let me remind you, Logan. You can do whatever you want with your own trash, but don’t bring family heirlooms here to embarrass us.” She was exactly the same as in my past life. During my first week home, a family heirloom brooch had gone missing. Victoria had immediately accused me of stealing and selling it. She believed I was a classless, greedy thief. I didn’t expect that in this life, before the brooch even went missing, Victoria had already branded me a thief. But I didn’t care. I didn’t need to defend myself. I just wanted my money. Victoria let out another cold snort, turned on her heels, and walked away. That evening, my parents and Julian were all in the living room. They were looking at brochures to choose a school for me. Every single pamphlet was for an elite, ultra-private academy. I cut straight to the chase. “I don’t want to go to these schools. I want to go to Oakridge Central High.” A public high school. Finish high school, get into a university far away, and leave this family forever—that was my plan. I didn’t want the title of “Sterling’s rich heir.” My parents looked shocked. Julian quickly hid the joy in his eyes and said, “Logan, families like ours don’t usually go to public schools. We all go Ivy League or study abroad later.” “Yes, Logan. You should go to Lakeside Academy with Julian. We will arrange your entire future,” Eleanor said, patting my hand gently. Arthur’s eyes flickered. He was calculating something. I knew exactly what he was calculating. In my past life, I had gone to that elite private academy. I became “famous” overnight. Not because of my grades, but because I was a total outcast. A dirty kid from a foster farm, forced to sit with heirs and heiresses who had been groomed for high society since birth. I stood out like a sore thumb. Once people found out I was the long-lost Sterling heir, crowds of bullies came to mock me. They laughed at my terrible posture, my cheap clothes, and my complete lack of manners. To make things worse, Julian had secretly fueled the fire. He got everyone to isolate me and even set up a girl to pretend to like me. Once I fell for her, she leaked all our Snapchat chats, where I had poured out all my insecurities. I became the laughingstock of the entire elite circle. I ruined the Sterling family’s reputation. Back then, Arthur was so furious that he had slapped me across the face, sending me crashing to the floor. “I should have never sent you to Lakeside! I knew you’d embarrass us! You have dragged our family name through the mud!” Arthur cared about nothing but his reputation, and I had destroyed it. Right now, Arthur was only thinking about his precious reputation. Julian brought him pride. What did I bring? “I only want to go to public school. Please send me to Oakridge Central High,” I said firmly. Eleanor wanted to argue, but Arthur cut her off. “Fine, fine. Let the boy choose. Since we love him, we shouldn’t force him.” I almost laughed out loud. But I held it in. The laugh died in my throat, turning into a cold, heavy silence in my heart.
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