Chapter 2

But it wasn't like Alisha never talked to Tristan, so how could she not care about him at all?

Looking back now, in my last life, Alisha had been breathing down my neck every single second to make me study. She even insisted on seeing me into the college entrance exam center before finally leaving with peace of mind.

Had she and Tristan been in cahoots all along to steal my score?

But Tristan had been running wild with a delinquent since middle school. When did he manage to hook up with Alisha?

My pen scratched across the paper for a couple of problems. Suddenly, a wave of chills washed over me.

Noticing my shift in mood, Alisha reached out to touch me, but the second her skin brushed mine, I violently shoved her away.

On the day the exams ended in my last life, Alisha had asked to meet me at a cafe outside the school, claiming they had found Tristan.

I had rushed over excitedly, but it wasn't Tristan waiting for me. It was my parents, holding a coil of rope.

They locked me in the basement and left. Panic-stricken, I scrambled to pull out my phone and called Alisha for help.

But the moment I hung up, my parents walked in with grim expressions.

Not only did they snatch my phone, but they also forced me to strip naked to ensure I wasn't hiding anything else.

After that, I lived a hand-to-mouth existence in that basement, swallowing my own spit to quench my thirst. Every time I tried to escape, Dad would bring out a whip and beat me until I blacked out.

Once, I was beaten so badly my mouth was filled with blood, and I couldn't chew food. Mom simply tossed a used baby bottle at me.

"Pretending to be dead after a little beating? I seriously don't know why I even gave birth to you!"

I struggled to clamp my lips around the teat and tasted a strange, chalky milk.

Thinking about it now, that was the period Alisha was giving birth to her second child with Tristan.

I used to hate my parents for their favoritism and for cruelly locking me away for ten years just for Tristan's sake.

But living this life over again, I finally realized that it wasn't just my parents who were biased. Alisha, the innocent first love I once worshiped, was the same.

"Ryan, what's wrong?"

I dodged her fingers, grabbed my phone, and bolted toward the door. "I'm worried about Tristan. I need to go look for him."

I ran fast this time, but Alisha called over the bodyguards to pin me down.

Smiling, she grabbed my arm and forced me back into the chair. "You can look for him after the college entrance exam is over."

She locked me inside the room from the outside. Even when my hand shook so hard I couldn't hold a pen, she refused to let me leave.

I had to force myself to calm down, pretending to memorize test formulas while pacing around the room.

As I passed the door, I caught the sound of her voice on the phone outside.

"He's worried about you, so he's distracted. Don't worry. I'm keeping an eye on him.

"You've been stressed out for so long. Take this chance to relax and have fun with your parents.

"Me? I have more important things to take care of here. Once we're at the same university, we'll have all the time in the world to be together."

I kept muttering formulas under my breath, but the corners of my mouth curled into a smirk.

They wanted to go to the same university?

Let's see if they actually had the brains for it.

After hanging up, Alisha unlocked the door.

I instantly used every ounce of my strength to push past her and bolt outside while shouting, "Don't try to talk me out of it! Tristan is my twin brother! There's no way I can just ignore him!"

Fast footsteps chased right behind me.

"Ryan, don't worry. He's only acting on impulse. He'll come back eventually. But if you don't study and miss out on Armitage University, your family will become the laughingstock of the city!"

I ignored her entirely, sprinting out of the house and straight toward the train station. "As far as I'm concerned, the college entrance exam isn't more important than Tristan!"

The moment the words left my mouth, comments began flashing violently across my vision, practically blinding me.

"Ryan, are you out of your mind? If you ace the exam, you'll make the headlines! It'll be way easier to find him then!

"Ryan, go back now. This is your chance to bring honor to your family. If you mess up the exams, your parents will blame you!"