Chapter 1 Chapter 1

I was reborn and sent back to the day I had a blind date with the guy who used to bully me. Outside the familiar high-end restaurant, I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the glaring sun while slowly adjusting to my surroundings. Afterward, the bully sat across from me. Even though he was dressed to impress, the sleazy look in his eyes gave him away. His name was Willem Leigh. We had gone to the same high school. Mom was present too. She sat next to me, chatting away happily with him. When Willem started bragging about his two houses and three cars, Mom's smile grew even wider. With such a catch, she was practically ready to seal the deal on my behalf. Mom noticed my silence and called my name several times, but I was lost in the joy of my second chance at life. Suddenly, a hand slid over from the side to clasp mine and gave it a little squeeze. The disgusting sensation snapped me right back to reality. Instinctively, I grabbed the glass of water on the table and threw it at Willem. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I yelled. Willem was caught off guard and took the full splash to his face. His shirt was soaked, and his expression darkened immediately. Mom frowned as well and quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe Willem's shirt. Her anger was barely restrained as she scolded me, "Zara Sommer, what on earth are you doing? How can you be so rude!" I let out a small chuckle and arched an eyebrow at her. "Me? Rude? Could I possibly be worse than the guy who bullied me all through high school?" Both of them froze. Even Mom was dumbfounded. She hadn't expected things to take this turn. Still, Willem was by far the best match I'd had in years, and she wasn't about to let a minor issue ruin things. Mom stopped wiping and spoke up in Willem's defense, "There must have been some misunderstanding back then. Meeting again today is fate. You should give each other a chance. I'm sure you'll grow to like him." Willem jumped in to agree with her, though his tone was less than sincere. He said, "Yeah. Time reveals a person's true character. We can give it a shot." He clearly didn't remember me. Which, I guess, made sense. Back then, I had been malnourished and all skin and bones. My appearance had been a far cry from the confident, vibrant person I'd become. In high school, I barely had enough to eat while my younger brother, Jake Sommer, was handed a generous allowance to spend however he wanted. Willem had been one of the troublemakers in class, and nobody had dared to cross him. To show off for his friends, he had picked on me, the weak, quiet girl who posed no threat. There was no other reason behind his action. Timid and not much to look at, I had become the perfect target. For two long years, he had made my life hell. As I recalled everything I had gone through, the anger inside me almost boiled over. I clenched my fists so tightly that the sharp pain in my palms jolted me back to the present. Mom was still trying to push us together. With a derisive laugh, I snapped, "Fate, you say. If you like him so much, you can marry him yourself."

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Mom flew into a rage, shocked that I dared to defy her so openly. Her composure was gone, and she raised her hand to slap me. Meanwhile, Willem stood off to the side, watching the drama unfold. Honestly, he was already annoyed by my stunt. If I hadn't been somewhat good-looking, he probably would've left by now. However, I wasn't the Zara from my past life—the pushover they knew. I grabbed Mom's hand and yanked it away. A cold smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I calmly said, "Give it up. I'm not marrying him." Without waiting for a response, I picked up my bag and walked out. Mom collapsed back into her chair and started hurling curses at my retreating figure. "I spent years busting my back to put you through college, and now that you've got a job, you think you can talk back to me? I say one thing, and you've got ten smartass replies! What a curse! To think I raised an ungrateful brat like you!" Her words nearly made me laugh out of sheer disbelief. How did she even have the nerve to say that? From as far back as I could remember, Mom had never treated me kindly. I had been the one stuck doing all the dirty work around the house. Dad had been worse. Every time he got drunk and didn't like the look of me, I had become his punching bag. New wounds had layered on top of old scars, and my skin had been a constant mess of bruises. In stark contrast, Jake, who was only a year younger than me, had been spoiled rotten. Mom and Dad had given him everything he wanted, and he had grown up rude and entitled. Jake had never treated me like a sister. He had mimicked our parents, hitting and cursing at me whenever he pleased. Their blatant favoritism had been right in my face, reminding me of the cold, brutal reality that maybe they didn't love me at all. I remembered one particular incident clearly. It had been during the second semester of my sophomore year, the first weekend after I had come home from being bullied at school. I had had a cut on my face, and my hair had been a tangled mess. It had been obvious I'd been beaten up, but when I had walked in the door, Mom hadn't even glanced at me. Instead, she had sat at her vanity to apply makeup. She must've sensed me standing there because she had cast a sideways glance my way, though her eyes had never left the mirror. "Wash the dishes, then clean my room and your brother's. I'll be picking him up from school. Make sure dinner's ready by the time we get back." I had never had a room of my own. I had slept in a cramped, musty storage room, where the air had always felt heavy and oppressive. Mom had kept talking as she had admired herself in the mirror, pleased with her appearance. Upon realizing I hadn't moved, she finally turned to look at me. When her eyes had fallen on my torn backpack and the missing buttons on my shirt, her anger had flared instantly. She had grabbed a wooden stick nearby and beaten me with it. Crying from the pain, I had tried to explain that kids at school had been picking on me. Yet, that had only fueled her anger, and her blows had come down even harder. "You must've done something to provoke them! People don't just bully for no reason! We're not made of money, you know! How do you ruin your clothes and backpack in less than a year? You're useless!" I had begged her to stop, but it had been like she couldn't hear me. Thankfully, the phone had rung just then, and Mom had paused, dropping the stick. It had been Jake's teacher calling to tell her that he had beaten up a classmate. That news had only enraged Mom further. She had shouted, "How dare you accuse my son? He would never bully anyone!" Without sparing me another glance, Mom had then rushed to slip on her shoes and had hurried out the door, heading to Jake's school. It had turned out that Jake had indeed hit his classmate, and Mom had ended up paying a thousand dollars in medical bills to settle the matter. But when she had come home and had seen the small scrape on his forehead, she had been so concerned she had rushed him to the hospital for a full check-up. I had stood in the dark corner of the room as I watched them. The glaring contrast between their treatment of him and me had been suffocating.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

I snapped out of my thoughts and exhaled a long, heavy breath. The memories from my past life clung to my mind and refused to fade. Back then, I had foolishly longed for some shred of motherly love from Mom. But now, I knew better. I would never make that mistake again. I had already moved out that very night and rented a new place. For extra caution, I'd also gotten a new phone number. If I was not mistaken, Jake would be getting chased by loan sharks any day now. Jake had always been aimless. After getting into a fight with a classmate, he had dropped out of high school. For years after, he had lazed around at home and relied on Mom to take care of him. Dad had died years ago in a factory accident, and after much fuss, Mom had managed to get a hefty settlement from the company. That money should have been enough for her and Jake to live modestly for most of their lives. However, Jake had never been the type to sit still. He'd fallen into gambling, and soon enough, he'd drained the family's savings account dry. Too scared to tell Mom, he'd borrowed over 100 grand from loan sharks, hoping to win big and make it all back. Naturally, he'd lost it all. He had been hiding out ever since, too afraid to go home. It wasn't until the debt collectors had shown up at our door that Mom had learned the truth. With the savings gone and the only thing of value left being our old house, Mom had turned all her hopes toward me. There was no way I could come up with over 100 grand in such a short amount of time. So Mom had devised her grand plan—marry me off as quickly as possible and use the wedding gifts to pay off Jake's debts. With someone like Willem in the picture, there was no way she'd let him go. In my past life, she had hounded me to get married, and in the end, I had caved under the pressure and agreed to the marriage. But this time, I wasn't going to be so weak. I swallowed down the bitterness welling up inside me. A few days passed uneventfully, and I went about my life, going to work as usual. Mom didn't know where I worked. The only thing she ever cared about was whether I sent her money on time every month. Yet, she surprised me this time. She had somehow tracked down my office address and had been camping outside the building for most of the day. I bet she must've panicked a few days earlier when she couldn't reach me on my old number and discovered I'd moved out. That day, I hadn't stayed late at work. As I exited the side door, I caught a glimpse of her in the lobby, arguing with security. The guard was trying to keep her from coming inside, but she was shouting something, her words too muffled to make out. I knew she was here to cause trouble. Not wanting to get caught up in the chaos, I tried to slip away. But before I could make it far, someone shot out from the corner and grabbed my wrist. It was Jake. His eye was swollen and bruised, and he looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept in days. Things clearly hadn't been going well for him. The moment he latched onto me, his face lit up with excitement, and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Mom! Zara's over here!" Immediately, Mom broke free from the security guard's grip and rushed toward me to grab me by the shirt. Jake's shout drew quite a crowd. As more and more people gathered, Mom, now teary-eyed and sniffling, put on quite the show. "You're in your 20s now, Zara! You're not getting any younger. I'm telling you to get married early for your own good!" she cried out as though she were the most selfless mother on earth. "The man I found for you has everything. Marry him, and you'll live in comfort!" I laughed bitterly inside. Every word she uttered sounded ironic. When I didn't respond, she launched into her usual tirade. "I worked my fingers to the bone all these years to pay for your college education. Do you know how much money I've spent on you? Our family's savings are nearly gone because of you!" I almost laughed out loud incredulously. We'd been living on government subsidy for as long as I could remember, and I had never paid a cent in school fees.