And people quickly realized that all of Olivia’s
popular songs were stolen. Her own
compositions were… significantly worse.
The excuses her fans had made for her
–
“Good music takes time and luck” – turned
into weapons against her.
People even pointed out that other pianists
played my music better than she did.
The internet turned on her, mocking and
ridiculing her.
Olivia’s fall from grace was as dramatic as
her rise to fame.
The European music school rescinded their
offer.
I deleted her from Ethan’s QQ account.
And she hadn’t even taken the SATs.
Olivia had nothing left. And it was all because
of me.
She was just as extreme as she’d been in my
past life. This time would be even worse.
Olivia wanted to kill me again.
I’d been waiting for this.
Г
I’d even made sure to publicize the fact that I
got into an even better college this time
around.
With all that pressure, Olivia snapped. One
night, she showed up at our house,
brandishing a kitchen knife.
“Mia Thompson!” she screamed. “I’m going
to kill you!”
I thought I’d finally get to use my twelve years.
of martial arts training. But before Olivia
could even get through the front door, Ethan
appeared out of nowhere and tackled her.
I rushed over, all smiles. “My hero!”
He ignored me. He was clearly mad.
Г
I’d told him I’d ask for his help later. But I
was worried Olivia wouldn’t find an
opportunity to attack, so I’d kept it from him,
telling him Olivia was holed up at home, too
depressed to go out.
I felt a little guilty.
Olivia was losing it. “You… you two… you
were in on this together?!”
I didn’t bother responding. After we tied her
up, I kept apologizing to Ethan while we
waited for the police.
She hadn’t hurt me, but attempted murder
and breaking and entering were enough.
That night, Olivia went to jail.
L
I felt a rush of satisfaction, but my parents
were terrified. Mom went to see Linda and
almost strangled her.
“I thought we were friends!” she sobbed. “Your daughter tried to kill my daughter! How
could you?!”
Linda broke down, too, spewing all the venom
she’d been holding inside for years. “Yes! I’m
a terrible person! Olivia wanted to kill that
little brat, and so did I! Why?! Why did you
get to be born lucky, Sarah?! Why did
everyone love you?!”
I pulled Mom away and kicked Linda, just as
the knife in her hand was about to plunge into
my mom.
I wrestled Linda down. She fought back.
<
completely out of her mind.
She kept screaming at my mom. “I won when
we got married! My husband was richer! That
loser Steve, he was nothing! How dare he
make money?! And how dare he stay
faithful?! Why didn’t he cheat?! Why did he
still love you when you got old?! Why?!
“Then, finally, Olivia showed her talent for
piano! She was so amazing, writing music at
fifteen! I was finally winning!
“But why… why did it all go wrong…? Why
does bad luck always follow me? Why does
God always favor you?”
Linda’s husband, Mark, came home. He saw
us holding Linda down, and he didn’t say a
word. He just said flatly, “She’s lost it. I’m
く
taking her to a psychiatric hospital.”
دو
That’s when Linda really snapped. She
started thrashing, and even Dad and I
couldn’t hold her back. She lunged at Mark
and stabbed him.
We called 911.
After that, Mom cried for days. She kept
hugging me and apologizing.
“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. “It’s all my
fault…”
I patted her back, not knowing what to say.
This whole mess was connected to her, but I
didn’t want her to blame herself, to never
recover. So I just said, “It’s okay. Everything’s
<
fine now.‘
وو
She didn’t answer, just cried harder, gasping
for breath.
In that moment, she didn’t say anything, but I
saw it in her eyes.
“Mom,” I asked quietly. “You… remember,
too?”
She nodded, her face contorted in pain.
I sighed.
Ethan had told me my parents were okay, that
they’d stayed strong for Ashley. But I was my
mother’s daughter. I knew how much guilt she
carried.
く
She must have been in agony.
She was my mom. She was just a little too
trusting, not unloving.
Olivia’s attack made the news. My old
classmates started sharing stories about her
from school. Everyone turned on her.
Linda, just like in my past life, was
committed.
Mark’s injury wasn’t serious. He stayed in the hospital for a few months, then sold their
house and moved away.
I went to see Olivia on the day she was
sentenced.
<
“You’re here to gloat, aren’t you?” she spat.
“Yep,” I said cheerfully. “Thanks to you, I got into Harvard. Same school as Ethan. With my memories from my past life, I’m sure our
startup will be even more successful. Sorry, I
win again.”
Olivia seethed. “You think Ethan will love you forever? He’ll probably dump you for some other woman, treat you like trash!”
I shrugged. “I’m not your mom.”
Olivia lost it. She jumped up and started
pounding on the glass between us. Even as
the guards dragged her away, she kept
screaming that she’d kill me.
That’s what I wanted. What was the point of
<
killing her? Watching her suffer was so much
more satisfying.
After that, every time I accomplished something, I’d visit Olivia in prison.
“Hey, loser,” I’d say. I loved how much it annoyed her that she couldn’t touch me.
Ethan didn’t try to stop me.
In fact, he still resented Olivia’s comment
about his character, so he’d visit her, too,
every so often, just to update her on our
relationship.
I got to know the guards. They told me Ethan always said the same thing: “I still love her
very much.”
I knew.
Mom had told me about Ethan after I died.
I knew he wouldn’t have almost killed himself
from grief if he hadn’t truly loved me.
But even without Mom telling me, I knew
Ethan loved me.
My parents had taught me what real love was.
And I knew that’s what we had.
