Chapter 1: Reborn

Pain.

It was the only thing Sophia could feel.

Her body lay motionless on the cold hospital floor while the sounds around her slowly faded away.

The doctors had stopped trying, the nurses had stopped running.

Even her heartbeat had become weak.

Sophia smiled bitterly.

So this was how her life would end.

Not with love, not with family, not with happiness,But with betrayal.

Tears rolled down her pale cheeks as memories flashed before her eyes.

The man she loved.

The man she had trusted with her whole heart, the man she was supposed to marry.

He had chosen Emily, her best friend.

No.

Not just her best friend. Her parents' biological daughter. The daughter they had spent years searching for. The daughter they loved more than her. The daughter who stole everything.

Her family. Her fiancé. Her future. Everything.

Sophia still remembered the day her parents looked at her with disappointment.

"We're sorry, Sophia," her mother had said coldly. "Emily deserves this more than you."

Deserves it?

Sophia had laughed until she cried.

She had spent twenty years loving them as her parents.

Twenty years trying to make them proud.

Yet the moment Emily returned, Sophia became nothing.

An outsider. A burden. A mistake.

"Mom..." Her voice trembled.

"Was there ever a moment when you truly loved me?"

No one answered. No one was there.

Her parents were with Emily.

Celebrating Emily's engagement to the man who once promised Sophia forever.

The irony was almost laughable.

Sophia stared at the ceiling. Her vision blurred.

Maybe this was fate.

Maybe some people were never meant to be loved. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

If she could do it all again...

If she could go back...

She would never trust Emily.

She would never beg for her parents' affection.

She would never waste her life loving people who never loved her back.

The darkness swallowed her completely.

And then—

A sharp pain exploded in her head.

Sophia gasped.

Her eyes flew open.

She sat upright instantly.

Her chest rose and fell violently. Breathing.

She was breathing.

The familiar scent of lavender filled the room.

Sunlight streamed through the curtains.

Sophia froze.

This room...

Her eyes widened.

No.

That was impossible.

With trembling hands, she grabbed the phone beside the bed.

The date on the screen made her heart stop.

Five years ago.

Five years before her death.

Five years before Emily stole everything.

Five years before the engagement.

Five years before the betrayal.

The phone slipped from her fingers.

"No..." Her voice shook. "No... this can't be real."

Sophia rushed toward the mirror.

The reflection staring back at her was younger.

Healthier. Alive. She touched her face.

Then touched it again.

Warm. Real.

Not a dream. Not a hallucination.

She had truly returned. A sob escaped her lips.

Tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably. She wasn't crying because she was sad.

She was crying because fate had given her another chance. A second life. A second beginning.

Sophia slowly clenched her fists.

The weak and naïve Sophia had died five years in the future.

The Sophia standing here now knew every lie.

Every betrayal. Every enemy. Emily wanted her fiancé?

Fine. She could have him.

Her parents wanted their biological daughter?

Fine. She would stop begging for their love.

But this time...

She would take back everything that belonged to her.

The humiliation. The pain. The tears. She would return them all. With interest.

Just then, her phone rang.

The name flashing on the screen made Sophia's blood run cold.

Emily.

Her smile slowly disappeared.

The nightmare had begun again.

Only this time...

The prey had become the hunter.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***