Chapter 1

The moment the orphanage director finished introducing the two prospective families, Sophia didn’t give anyone time to react.

She rushed straight into Mrs. Miller’s arms.

“Mom, take me home. I want to be your daughter.”

Mrs. Miller froze for a few seconds before hugging her back, clearly overwhelmed.

Mr. Miller smiled beside her.

He worked maintenance at a school, while his wife was part of the cleaning staff. They had both dressed carefully for the occasion, but years of physical work still showed in the worn cuffs of their clothes and the roughness of their hands.

Across the room, Mr. Blackwood wore a tailored suit, and Mrs. Blackwood looked immaculate from head to toe.

Their only son, Adrian, stood by the window, looking completely uninterested in the adoption.

In our first life, Sophia had chosen the Blackwoods without hesitation.

This time, she clung to Mrs. Miller as if that modest life were everything she had ever wanted.

The director looked surprised.

“Sophia, are you sure?”

“Yes.”

She answered immediately.

Then she looked at me over Mrs. Miller’s shoulder.

She could barely hide the triumph in her eyes.

I knew exactly what she was thinking.

If she chose the Millers first, I would have no choice but to go with the Blackwoods.

Sure enough, Mrs. Blackwood soon turned to me.

“And you?”

I looked at Sophia.

“I’ll go with the Blackwoods.”

Adrian finally glanced up.

His eyes rested on me for a few seconds.

There was nothing welcoming in them.

I didn’t care.

In our first life, I had already seen him at his gentlest.

I had also died after believing that gentleness meant happiness.

Whether he liked me this time meant nothing.

After the paperwork was finished, we all walked out of the orphanage together.

Sophia hooked her arm through Mrs. Miller’s and acted as if they were already close. She asked Mr. Miller about his job at the school and eagerly told them she knew how to cook and clean and would help with anything they needed.

The Millers were clearly charmed.

Mrs. Miller stroked her hair and kept telling her what a good girl she was.

Sophia only smiled wider.

She probably thought this was everything I had received in my first life.

A poor but loving family.

Years of hard work.

Then Adrian noticing me, falling in love with me, and eventually marrying me.

What she didn’t know was that life with the Millers had never been as warm as she imagined.

Whenever Mr. Miller got drunk, he searched my backpack for money.

Every scholarship check I received had to be hidden before I went home.

Their attitude only changed after Adrian began pursuing me.

Once they realized he might actually marry me, they suddenly became very interested in my “future.”

Sophia had never seen any of that.

She had only seen Adrian dropping me off at home.

The Millers smiling as they invited him inside for dinner.

And, eventually, the grand wedding.

She thought poverty was just the difficult first chapter of a love story.

Something she only had to survive until someone came to rescue her.

When we reached the parking lot, Sophia suddenly let go of Mrs. Miller and walked over to me.

She lowered her voice.

“Big sister, this time I get to be the heroine.”

Then she turned and ran toward the Millers’ old car.

The Blackwoods’ driver was already holding my door open.

Adrian stood on the other side of the car, watching me coldly.

“The Blackwoods can provide for you,” he said. “But don’t make the mistake of thinking that makes you a real Blackwood.”

He had given Sophia the exact same warning in our first life.

Adrian hated people who came near his family for money or status.

I got into the car without answering.

Through the window, I watched Sophia laughing happily with the Millers.

She thought being forced into the Blackwood family meant I had inherited the nightmare she had lived through before.

But from the beginning, I had never planned to make the Blackwoods my home.