Chapter 1

As the hotel crumbled before my eyes, I realized I had returned to the day of the earthquake.

Ethan Parker and Lily Foster clung to each other in panic. I only watched with a smirk.

Details I'd missed in my past life now stood out clear as day.

He gently wiped her tears, patting her back to calm her. "Don't fret. I'm here with you."

He ignored the fact that Lily was my step-sister, while I stood right there staring.

Only when I cleared my throat did they jump apart.

"Claire? You're here too," Ethan stammered, trying to hide his guilt.

Lily, catching the anger in my eyes, teared up. "Ethan was just worried about you and mistook me for you."

Her pitiful act, combined with Ethan's innocent face, stirred up the hatred from my past life.

I slapped them both, snapping, "You think I'm dumb enough to buy your lies?"

Ethan grabbed my wrist. "Enough!"

Lily clutched her swollen cheek, sobbing, "I'm sorry. I overstepped."

Ethan looked at her, full of pity. "I just ran into Lily downstairs and tried to ease her fear. We're family. What's wrong with that? You're being unreasonable."

'Family? What a joke!' I scoffed inwardly.

Lily's father, Greg Foster, was a total freeloader who married into our family, and they had been around for only two years.

If not for my mother's sake, I wouldn't have even acknowledged them.

Yet Ethan had the nerve to call them family. He must be betting that I didn't know about their affairs. If I hadn't been reborn, I might have been fooled by their Oscar-worthy acting.

"Family, huh? Funny how you sneaked out of her room in the middle of the night," I sneered, squinting at them.

In my past life, when Ethan and I arrived in Lumora for our honeymoon, I found out Lily had secretly booked the same flight. She insisted on tagging along.

Before I could argue, she whined, "Why can you guys come and I can't? I booked my ticket a week before you did."

Her words shut me up.

My mom called, saying it wasn't safe for a young girl like Lily to travel alone. I gave in for her sake, letting Lily join us.

Back then, I was just too caught up in planning the trip to notice their shady behavior.

When the earthquake hit, Lumora descended into chaos. Return flights were nearly impossible to get.

Luckily, I'd booked our tickets home for the next day.

Ethan suggested I hand over my passport and other documents for safekeeping, saying I was too scatterbrained and might lose them in the mess. Trusting him, I gave him everything.

But as I waited at a safe spot for the shuttle, they vanished with my passport.