บททั้งหมดของ Daughters Reborn: Swapped Lives: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

The first person I saw when I got home with Dad was Julia Willis, sitting on the sofa.She was the woman my father used to call his "mistress."She was over forty, but she'd taken good care of herself, and every small movement she made still carried the kind of grace a grown woman earns with time. When she saw me come in, she gave the apron at her waist a nervous little tug."Anne... your dad mentioned you liked these dishes, so I gave them a try." She hesitated. "If they're not good, just tell me. Don't force yourself to eat something you don't like."I walked straight up to the table without any hesitation, picked up a bite, and ate it. Under their two nervous stares, I let a smile spread across my face."It's delicious, Aunt Julia. I really like it."Both of them relaxed at once, clearly caught off guard by how I was acting. In my old life, the moment I so much as saw Julia, I'd have gone at her like a wildcat, ready to claw her face off. They had no idea I already knew the wh

By the time we were two-thirds through junior year, Nicolas Ferrell came into my life.Just like in my last life, he'd barely had a few days to settle back in the country before his family shipped him off to our school, straight into the honors class at the district's top high school. He didn't look anything like the rest of us bookworms—tall, good-looking, he stood out the second he walked through the door.I had to admit, that face of his really did the work. Otherwise, even with everything else I had going on, I wouldn't have bothered carving out time to figure out how to win him over. But honestly, what interested me most was his family—the golden son of one of the city's most powerful circles. He was my best shot at finally getting free of my mother's grip for good.I counted down the seconds in my head. Three, two, one—"Ah! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"The stack of files in Keira's arms hit the floor right as she crashed into Nicolas, her wide, innocent eyes blinking up

At the police station, my father had already thrown everything within reach onto the floor. Aunt Julia was crying so hard she nearly fainted, clinging to me and refusing to let go. Even the officer standing nearby couldn't help but speak up."Your mother really does love you, you know. You have no idea—she's practically been living at this station the whole time you were missing."If this had happened before, I might have quietly corrected him—she's not my mother. But this time, what my mother had done had well and truly broken something in me. And the woman who wasn't related to me by blood at all had gone without sleep for nights on end trying to save me. If I still couldn't tell who actually cared about me after all that, I'd have to be a fool.I gently wiped the tears from Aunt Julia's face."Don't cry anymore, Mom..."The second that last word left my mouth, both her and my father froze, their tears forgotten entirely."You... what did you just call me?"I'd already accepte

Nicolas had never been the type to throw punches. Even in the biggest situations, he usually had the patience to work things out. This was the first time I'd ever seen him actually lose his temper, and for a second, I completely forgot to step in and stop him.It wasn't until the boy's face was already bruised and swollen, and he was begging for mercy between gasps, that I finally snapped out of it and grabbed Nicolas's arm."Are you out of your mind? We're at school! Why would you just start hitting him?"He reined in the anger radiating off him and gave me a reassuring smile. But the second he turned back to the boy, that cold, unreadable look settled right back over his face."I'll only ask you once. Tell me exactly what happened here today. If you lie to me, I'll keep going. You know who my family is. If you don't want to keep going to school here, keep playing games with me."He hated bringing up his family's status—as far as he was concerned, everyone was equal, no one above

Five years later, on Christmas Eve, I walked through the door still carrying the chill of the night air with me.My father and Aunt Julia were rushing around the kitchen, and the second they saw me, they called me over to eat. My little brother, five years old now and utterly without a shred of self-consciousness, threw himself into my arms and demanded kisses. I gave in and peppered his face until he was satisfied, drool and all, and finally let me go.Nicolas's eyes went straight to my stomach, watching me like I might trip and fall at any second. Back when my mother had made her move, he'd been running late, and I'd nearly lost my life because of it. Ever since, he'd barely left my side. Even when work kept him away, he'd call two or three times just to check I was safe. Now that I was carrying our baby, he watched over me like I was the most precious thing in the world."Ugh, they're STILL this clingy after all this time? Married for years, and you'd think they'd get over it."