Semua Bab Restart My Life: The CEO's Second Chance: Bab 1 - Bab 10

The early sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting slanted shadows onto the old wooden floor. Shylie Reed blinked awake, the room coming into focus around her. The smell of bacon from the kitchen drifted to her, the air warm around her. This wasn't a hospital room. Not the white, cold walls, smelling of antiseptic and sorrow. This wasn't the world she had left behind, the life she had lived in the year 2020. This was 1993.She sat up, her mind still sluggish with the last remnants of sleep, remembering the life that she had lived in the past, the sixteen years of loneliness, of being unseen, of being unimportant. A lifetime of pain and mistakes and regrets fading away with each passing day like some bad dream, slipping farther and farther into the abyss of the past with every waking moment.Sixteen. Shylie blinked, the word echoing in her head. She blinked, feeling her new life solidify around her, the weight of everything settling on her like a mantle. No longer a sickly middle-

Shylie could feel a twinge of astonishment. Homemade. She could recall a few foods that were homemade in her life before."I don't need your charity," Shylie replied, but accepted the box regardless. It was warm, and that felt nice. It was a nice weight in her hands.Darren reclined in his chair. Watching her like he was trying to get through a mask, or something close to that. "You're not like the other kids, Shylie." He said quietly. "You stare right through the crap like you've been through it already."Shylie didn't say anything. She kept quiet. If only he knew.The hallway was abuzz with energy as the midterm rankings were revealed. Students clustered around the bulletin board pointing, whispering, and criticizing as they read the list of names.GPA Ranking: Shylie Reed (Junior) Leah Carter (Senior) Darren Tan (Senior)Whispers and gasps met the list."Shylie is beating seniors?""Who the hell is she?""How could Leah lose her perfect streak?"Leah's eyes were cold, but her fi

Monday Morning – Rooseville AcademyThe bell echoed through the room, quieting the whispers of students as they filtered into the science classroom. Shylie Reed slipped in quietly, her movements graceful, but relaxed. She carried no laptops or flashy gizmos this time. Instead, her satchel was light, home to neatly taken notes and printed data sheets. The others in the class turned to look at her as she moved purposefully to the front of the room. Murmurs. She had just left the Tan home, word already spreading about the new alliances she had made, the air around her now so threateningly thick.She could feel eyes on her, staring. It didn't phase her. It wasn't about being seen. It was about being understood, and they would understand soon enough.She took her seat at the front, back straight, her mind already chewing over the numbers in front of her. The humming of the overhead projector filled the space, and the teacher's voice sliced through the charged air."Today, we begin our grou

The campus was alive. The spring sunshine poured through the tall windows, students bustled about, whispering and laughing about the upcoming tech competition. The atmosphere hummed with excitement. Walking through the halls, Shylie drew eyes with no effort. She had a sort of unstated confidence about her, a calm that seemed to defy the surrounding frenzy. Her dark hair trailed behind her, streaked by sunlight, and her eyes twinkled in a way that made you want to stop and stare. The program wasn't just an entry in the contest. It was the center of the competition, the one all the other contestants were measured against, whether they knew it or not. She clutched a wad of papers in her arms. Sheets of notes covered in research and the code for her team's project. It was more than a school assignment. It was a lifeline, a way to keep moving forward, and a chance to be seen for who she was and what she was capable of. This program, this early outbreak detection program wasn't just a coo

Leah's POV: The Perfect MaskLeah adjusted the silk ribbon in her hair, tilting her head at her reflection in the mirror. Her smile was soft, sweet, exactly how everyone expected her to look. "Perfect," she murmured to herself, but her hand squeezed on the ribbon until her knuckles were white. "You'll be late!" her foster mother's voice drifted up the stairs. "You'll miss the carpool." "I won't!" Leah called back, without turning away from the mirror. She exhaled slowly, quieting the tempest raging in her chest. "Shylie Reed," she hissed silently. "You think you can take my spot? You think you can be better than me? No. Not you." By the time Leah stepped out into the hallway, her mask was back in place. She waved to friends cheerfully, leaned in to whisper when they told her gossip, laughed at appropriate moments. But every word she said was a calculation. "You hear abo