All Chapters of What Her Future Wrote Back: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

The proctor walked in and told everyone to turn in their phones.I mechanically powered mine down and dropped it into the storage bag on the podium.I made my way back to my seat. The test booklet came down the row—white pages, black print, packed with questions—but my mind was completely consumed by those text messages.Just the night before, Liam Tinsley had held my hand with that earnest look still fresh in my memory."Bree, I completely bombed today's exam. There's no way I'm getting into a top-tier college now."For the last test, could you just turn in a blank answer sheet? That way, you, me, and Mia could all end up at the same community college together. We'd never have to split up."If you stay here with me for college, I swear I'll be devoted to you and only you for the rest of my life."Back then, I was so moved I'd agreed without a second thought. For him, I was ready to give up the college I'd dreamed of.But now, that text was telling me he'd bombed the math secti

Reading those words on the screen, I felt a suffocating, twisting pain in my chest.If I'd really been that stupid in the original timeline—if I'd actually turned in that blank test and stayed local with them—then I wouldn't have just lost my hard-earned scores and the prestige of a top-tier university. I would've become nothing more than a doormat and a stepping stone in their twisted little arrangement.They would've bled me dry of every last bit of value, and then, in the middle of some grand, humiliating spectacle, I would've lived out a miserable existence.How terrifying.Until that moment, the armor I'd been clinging to finally shattered. The tears came—silent, unstoppable.Memories surged through my mind like a tidal wave, and every detail I'd once willfully ignored now turned into a knife aimed straight at my heart.The way Liam looked at Mia—so focused, so intent. The way he came alive around her, so vivid and real.And I'd been the fool, standing by and watching, inte

That smug, easygoing smile on Liam's face froze mid-frame, then cracked apart inch by inch.The red roses in his hand trembled violently, sending a few petals drifting to the floor—like some cruel, ironic metaphor."W-What did you say? Bree, did someone tell you something?" He was still trying to bluff, but his eyes darted everywhere, refusing to meet mine.I looked at him—so utterly fake—and felt nothing but revulsion."Want me to refresh your memory?" I took a step back, putting distance between us, my voice like ice. "'She's the one I'll marry, but you're the only one who can satisfy me physically.' 'She's too innocent, like a plank of wood...'"Liam, when you were lying on that cheap motel bed judging me—did you ever stop to think about our eighteen years together?"The color drained from Liam's face. He went pale as a ghost.The roses slipped from his fingers and hit the floor with a dull thud. He lunged forward, desperate to grab my hands, like all the strength had been su

That afternoon, Mia stormed into my house, her eyes bloodshot.All pretense of being fragile and harmless was gone. She looked like a cornered animal, her gaze fixed on the acceptance letter from Stanvord University sitting on my desk."Bree, you played me!" Mia shrieked, her voice piercing and shrill. "You said you left that last test blank! You said you were going to the community college with us! Why did you lie?!"Watching her fall apart, I felt nothing but satisfaction."Why wouldn't I lie to you?" I stared back at her, cold as ice. "You're allowed to lie to me in some motel room, but I'm not allowed to cover my own back on the SATs?"The color drained from Mia's face. She finally understood—I'd known everything all along.With her mask completely torn away, she threw caution to the wind."Yes! I slept with him! So what?!" Mia burst into harsh, ragged laughter, her eyes blazing with years of pent-up jealousy and venom."Bree, why do you get to be on top of the world? You'v

Time passed. Seven years went by in the blink of an eye.In that text message from the unknown number, today was supposed to be my wedding night with Liam—the night I was meant to become the laughingstock of the city.But instead, I stood on the stage of the National Theater, clutching the trophy for Young Scientist of the Year in my hands.Thunderous applause filled the hall.Sitting front and center in the first row was Ed—sharp in a tailored suit, his eyes beaming with pride as he looked up at me.A year ago, we'd gotten engaged in front of both our families. He never clipped my wings. He became the wind beneath them, lifting me higher than I ever could have gone alone.After the ceremony, backstage, I received a screenshot from a high school classmate.It was about Liam and Mia. Neither of them had finished college. Liam had been expelled for skipping classes so often to chase after me across the country. Mia had dropped out after getting pregnant out of wedlock. They'd en