My sister and I lost our parents when we were 17 in a sudden car accident. Our uncle Benjamin Morgan and aunt Bella Bennett each expressed interest in adopting one of us. My sister Hannah didn’t hesitate to choose our uncle who lived abroad. I chose to stay in the country with Bella, who was less financially stable. What Hannah didn’t anticipate was that Benjamin was actually struggling overseas. He only adopted her to get half of our parents’ compensation money. After gambling away that money and quickly losing it all, he abandoned her on the streets, leaving Hannah to end up in the slums. Meanwhile, I continuously earned scholarships and was admitted to the country’s top university with a bright future ahead. When I went abroad to visit her, she dragged me into the deep sea like a madwoman. When I opened my eyes again, I found we had returned to the past, reborn on the day we made our choices. This time, she quickly chose to stay with Bella. But she didn’t know that this was when the real nightmare would begin.***** Bella said, “Hannah, Rachel, this is your uncle, Benjamin. He hasn’t been back to the country for ten years and came back especially for this occasion.” I listened to the familiar voice, feeling completely surreal. It seemed like just a second ago, I was being dragged into the deep sea by Hannah, my nostrils filled with the salty bitterness of seawater. Now I saw relatives and friends dressed in black, holding white flowers. I knew I had been reborn, back to the day of my parents’ funeral after the car accident. Standing before us was Benjamin in a suit, who had rushed back looking travel-worn. He gently stroked Hannah’s and my hair, sighing, “Poor children, you’ve suffered so much. Would either of you like to come with me to study in America?” I looked at Hannah. In our previous life, she had rushed into Benjamin’s arms crying as soon as he walked in. But this time, she clearly avoided Benjamin’s gaze, clutching Bella’s clothes, tears in her eyes, saying, “I… I can’t bear to leave Aunt Bella, or my classmates here.” Before she could finish, her tears had already soaked Bella’s sleeve. Bella hugged her compassionately, comforting her in a gentle voice. But I noticed her lips curling into an almost imperceptible smile. Obviously, she had been reborn too. I turned to Benjamin with a smile and said, “I’d like to go abroad with you.” And so, the guardianship of the twin sisters was decided. After the funeral, Hannah said to me, “You’ve really been made stupid by all that studying. Do you think America is some great place? I never wanted to go there—you just picked up what I rejected.” I didn’t want to argue with her. Hannah thought I had an easy life in our previous existence, but she didn’t know that Bella’s home was actually more dangerous than anywhere else. Still, we each make our own path in life. Hannah and I are twin sisters. Since childhood, our parents often traveled for business. Whenever they returned from trips, they would bring us interesting gifts. Whether it was pretty dresses or cute teddy bears, Hannah always rushed to pick her favorite before I could. Even with two identical dolls, she would choose the one with the rounder, cuter face. When I was little, I would often cry and fight with her, but after every quarrel, our parents would scold me, saying, “Hannah isn’t as healthy as you, don’t fight with her, be good.” At those moments, Hannah would always flash me a smug smile. Her smile seemed to say, “See, I’m the one who’s always favored.” So in our previous life, after our parents died, when Bella rushed overnight from her small city with bags of belongings, Hannah wasn’t actually very welcoming. She quietly organized all her competition certificates from childhood, waiting for the day Benjamin would return. When Benjamin came back, Hannah immediately threw herself into his arms, sobbing. When Bella and Benjamin asked about our adoption preferences, Hannah quickly pulled out her prepared certificates and said, “Uncle Benjamin, I’ve always been good at foreign languages, and I can sing and dance too. Rachel only knows how to bury herself in books. America promotes happy education, so I want to go to the United States with you.” Benjamin nodded approvingly as he looked at her certificates, then turned to me and asked, “Rachel, what about you?” I sighed inwardly. Hannah had always performed poorly in school. To ensure she would have opportunities in the future, our family spent a lot of money developing her interests and talents. As for me, my family only said one thing: “Your grades are so good, there’s no need to waste money on extra tutoring.” I said, “I’ll stay with Aunt Bella. The educational environment here is better suited for me.” After our guardianship arrangements were settled, Benjamin immediately took Bella and a lawyer to divide their assets. Once Hannah arrived in America, she entered what seemed like a completely unrestricted environment. The foreign education system emphasized happiness and freedom. Free from heavy coursework and tutoring, she quickly fell in with international students who didn’t care about studying. She spent her days in bars, skipping classes, drinking, and shopping. But before long, she discovered that Benjamin’s middle-class lifestyle was just a facade, and his financial situation was actually terrible. To support Hannah’s extravagant spending, Benjamin had invested all his assets and Hannah’s education fund in the stock market, losing everything. He also became mentally unstable after accumulating high-interest debts, made mistakes at work, and was fired. Benjamin made Hannah withdraw from her expensive private high school, and they had to constantly hide from debt collectors. Without an education, Hannah could only work as an entry-level server at a restaurant. Despite her proud personality, she found herself arguing with coworkers over a few dollars in tips every day. One day, the restaurant’s TV broadcast news about outstanding students from Peking University visiting Ivy League schools for an exchange program. The plate in her hand crashed to the floor. At that moment, I appeared in the center of the screen, smiling brightly. Hannah felt intense jealousy. She couldn’t understand why she had fallen so low while the sister she had always looked down on had achieved success. So when we met again, she killed me without hesitation. During every long night in that poor neighborhood, Hannah would wonder where exactly she had gone wrong. Eventually, she realized that choosing to follow Benjamin to America had been a mistake from the very beginning. This time around, she chose Bella without hesitation. As she wished, I began the overseas journey she had taken in her previous life. This time, she hoped to replace me and become the outstanding student everyone admired, while I would bear all her previous failures and pain—including the endless debt and the never-ending dirty dishes.
Before going abroad, my relationship with Benjamin gradually became more familiar. His daily focus was always on the stock market charts on his phone. I noticed he’d been sighing at his screen frequently, so I deliberately showed him my investment account’s performance curve. Benjamin looked surprised and asked, “Rachel, you have a stock account too?” I nodded and said, “My dad opened this account for me years ago. I’ve been investing my allowance, and I’ve made quite a bit of money now.” In truth, I’d made more than just “quite a bit.” Benjamin stared at my returns, which were dozens of times higher than his, looking thoughtful. I seized the opportunity to make my request: “Uncle Benjamin, could I apply for some of my education funds early? The market is really good right now, but my principal is too small.” Seeing his hesitation, I added, “You can consider it an advance on my living expenses. If I lose any money, I’ll make it up through work-study programs. You won’t suffer any losses.” After hearing this, he smiled and eventually agreed to give me thirty thousand dollars. Looking at the numbers in my account, I began planning. Based on my memories from my previous life, e-commerce and social media would be the booming industries in the future. If I invested now, I’d definitely see substantial profits in a few years. Even without relying on Benjamin later, this money would be enough for me to complete my education in America. After arriving in the US, Benjamin had initially planned for me to attend a local high school with many international students, but I chose a less expensive high school in a neighboring state. This would save on expenses, and Benjamin naturally agreed. For me, the American high school curriculum was very easy. After all, I had already gone through extensive exam preparation in my previous life. I knew that excellent grades alone wouldn’t be enough to get into an Ivy League school. Armed with research knowledge from my previous life, I confidently knocked on the office door of my physics teacher, Melissa Marsh. She was very impressed with my abilities and praised me: “Rachel, you’re the most exceptional high school student I’ve ever met.” Later, she recommended me to her former classmate, a professor currently teaching at Yale University. By the end of the semester, everyone in the high school knew I had the highest GPA and was already involved in a collaborative project with Yale University. The professors held me in high regard. “Rachel, would you like to join us for a vacation in Egypt?” my classmate Jane Hart asked hopefully before summer break. I smiled and replied, “I’m sorry, Jane, but I need to go back to China to visit family.” I wondered how Hannah was doing living with Bella. I didn’t tell anyone in advance about my return to China. After landing and freshening up, I went directly to Bella’s home. As I approached the building, I heard Bella’s mother-in-law, Sarah Pearce, shouting in a shrill voice: “Why isn’t Hannah up yet? The dishes from last night are still piled up—why aren’t they washed?” Then came the sound of someone banging on a door, followed by Hannah’s crying. I frowned. I realized that events were unfolding exactly as they had in my previous life. Sarah was a crude woman from the countryside—ill-tempered, caustic, and extremely stingy. In my previous life, she had been willing to adopt me because I would inherit part of my parents’ estate. Once she got the money, I became a thorn in her side—a “distant relative” still in school who needed financial support. “Sarah, please don’t be angry. I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and forgot to wash the dishes. Hannah has been under a lot of pressure with school lately. Please let her rest a bit longer, and I’ll do the washing,” I overheard Bella explaining in a placating tone as I got closer. Sarah loudly responded, “You two are always ganging up against me, aren’t you?” After saying this, she deliberately sat on the floor, crying and shouting, “You eat my food, live in my house, and now you want to drive me away. Is that fair?” Bella’s family lived in an old walk-up building. By the time I reached their floor, many neighbors had already come out to see what the commotion was about. Since I was an unfamiliar face, a middle-aged man quietly explained the situation to me. Apparently, Hannah not only had to do most of the housework but was also frequently verbally abused by Sarah and Bella’s husband, John. “Sarah makes a scene every time just to force Bella to hand over her money. Ever since they adopted Hannah, there’s been a fight every three or five days, and it all comes down to that small subsidy payment.” I gave a cold smile, realizing their behavior hadn’t changed at all from my previous life.
Just then, I heard Hannah screaming, “I’m not washing the dishes! Why should I wash dishes when I don’t even get to eat?” John rushed out and slapped her twice across the face without mercy. As he was about to deliver a third slap, I caught his hand. He turned to look at me in confusion, noticing how much I resembled Hannah before realizing I was her twin sister. He cursed, “You nosy woman, I’ll hit you too!” He tried to pull his hand away but found he couldn’t break free from my grip. I increased the pressure, and he immediately felt intense pain shooting through his body like an electric current, causing him to cry out loudly. “Rachel?” Bella called out hesitantly when she saw me, then started walking toward me. Meanwhile, Sarah, seeing John in pain, stopped her crying and ran over to try to pry my hand away. I kicked her aside with one foot. At that moment, John tried to retaliate but accidentally hit Bella, who was approaching to mediate. Already pale, she collapsed to the ground unconscious. I quickly knocked down both Sarah and John with kicks, then shouted to Hannah, “Call an ambulance, now!” Sarah angrily said, “What ambulance? Going to the hospital costs too much money. Bella’s just too pampered. She’s so fragile—she should do more housework.” Seeing Hannah’s hesitation, I stopped arguing and directly called emergency services myself. While waiting for the ambulance, Sarah looked at me and said, “You look so much like Hannah. Are you her sister who went to the United States?” I didn’t deny it, and she continued in a forceful tone, “Since we’re relatives, and you’ve beaten me and John like this, we’ll reduce the medical expenses for you—just give us twenty thousand dollars.” I replied, “Medical expenses? Sure, let’s call the police right now.” I continued, “We can calculate exactly how many times you’ve hit Hannah and Aunt Bella over the years, and while we’re at it, we can discuss your child abuse. After all, the neighbors can testify.” I pretended to take out my phone to call the police. The surrounding neighbors began criticizing Sarah’s past behavior. One neighbor said, “Sarah, didn’t you beat Bella until she miscarried before?” Another neighbor added, “Yeah, and just a few days ago, you locked Hannah outside in the cold.” Seeing everyone condemning her, Sarah’s expression changed. She was the type who only dared to lose her temper at home but would lose her nerve when facing formal situations or legal authorities, especially since her mistreatment of Bella and Hannah was undeniable. Seeing the situation, John quickly stepped in to stop me, saying, “Hey, we’re all family here. Let’s not make a big deal out of this.” Seeing them back down, I didn’t say anything more, but I was extremely worried looking at Bella’s colorless face. At the hospital, the doctor examined her and announced that Bella was pregnant. I was shocked. In my previous life, she never got pregnant after adopting me. And shortly after I started college, she divorced John. I wasn’t sure if this child would be a blessing or a curse for Bella. Meanwhile, Bella slowly regained consciousness amid Sarah and John’s laughter. When she heard the news of her pregnancy, her face lit up with joy. Sarah happily said, “Bella, you finally have good news.” Her face was wrinkled with smiles. John chimed in, “You must give birth to a son to continue our family line.” Bella nodded repeatedly, tears seemingly glistening in her eyes. She had insisted on marrying John years ago but had been unable to conceive for many years, making her feel like she had failed him. It was precisely this guilt that allowed Sarah to control her all this time. I walked into the hospital room, interrupting their cheerful family moment. “Aunt Bella, how are you feeling now? Should we call the doctor to check on you again?” Bella turned to look at me, gripping my hand tightly. “Rachel, I’m fine now. Thank you for today.” I smiled and shook my head. Bella looked at Hannah standing beside me and took her hand as well. “Hannah, I’m pregnant now. You’ll have a little cousin soon.” I noticed Hannah forcing a smile, though her eyes remained cold. Sarah saw this and laughed coldly. “I knew she wouldn’t be genuinely happy for us. She doesn’t care about this family at all.” She added smugly, “But Hannah, whether you’re happy or not, from now on, you’ll be responsible for all the housework. We can’t let Bella get too tired, or it might affect the baby’s health. You’d better be careful.” Bella quietly protested, “I’m not that fragile. I can still do housework. Hannah is still young.” John chimed in, “Don’t argue. Mom is right. We can’t risk anything affecting you or the baby. Hannah, we’ve raised you for all these years. Now it’s time for you to repay us.” Seeing the family’s apparent harmony, Hannah lowered her head and remained silent. I called her out of the hospital room and asked, “Hannah, is this the life you fought so hard for?” My words struck a nerve, and she angrily retorted, “Rachel, what gives you the right to mock me?” She looked down at my T-shirt and jeans, smirking. “You’re dressed so poorly. Looks like your life abroad isn’t going so well either.” Hannah hadn’t changed—still the same person who judged by appearances, loved to argue, but lacked capability. I didn’t want to argue with her, only reminding her to take good care of Bella and to call the police immediately if anyone in the family became violent again. Hannah impatiently scoffed, a flash of hostility in her eyes. “Stop pretending to be the good person here. Take care of your own life first.” A few days later, I heard Bella had been discharged. When I visited her home, I expected to face Hannah’s sarcasm again, but surprisingly, she welcomed me with a smile. I chatted with Bella for a long time, noticing her face was still pale, so I prepared to leave. During our conversation, Hannah had been busy cooking in the kitchen. Hearing me open the door, she actually offered to walk me out—a first. Bella looked pleased at this. “You two should chat for a bit. I’ll prepare something for you when you get back, Hannah.” Despite my protests, she smiled and pushed us out the door before heading back to the kitchen. Walking through the old neighborhood with Hannah, neither of us spoke. Suddenly, something felt off. Hannah didn’t just seem to dislike me and not want to talk. She was pale, cold sweat on her forehead, looking extremely nervous and uneasy. I grabbed her hand and demanded, “What have you done?” Her eyes darted away as she stammered, “You’re talking nonsense! I haven’t done anything!” With a growing sense of dread, I pulled her back toward Bella’s house. Hannah struggled desperately, but she was no match for me with my black belt in Taekwondo. When we returned to Bella’s home, we witnessed a shocking scene. Bella lay at the kitchen doorway, the lower half of her body in a pool of blood, her eyes unfocused—she had passed out from pain. We rushed her to the hospital as quickly as possible, but the doctor’s diagnosis was that Bella had already miscarried.
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