I Was Switched at Birth and Framed in School

Nadia's POV

After I got accepted into Charter Oak University, the school awarded me a forty-thousand-dollar scholarship.

Our campus queen, Ivy Green, suggested that I use the money to treat the whole class to a graduation trip to celebrate and relax.

In my previous life, I gently explained that I couldn’t spend the money as my mom was seriously ill, and the funds were meant for her surgery.

But Ivy didn’t take the rejection well. Upset, she went on a solo trip and ended up getting bitten by a venomous snake.

Before she died from the poison, she posted a message on her social media.

[I just wanted one last trip with everyone before we went our separate ways. Why does Nadia always have to go against me?

At the time, my boyfriend, Bentley Bates, didn’t blame me at all when he found out she had died. In fact, he even volunteered to go with me to the hospital to visit my mom.

But the day before the semester began, everything changed. He locked me up in a dark, humid snake pit.

“You think I didn’t find out? Your mom’s surgery didn’t cost forty grand at all! You just wanted to ruin Ivy’s plans! I heard that offering a virgin to the snake spirit can bring someone back to life. This is what you owe Ivy!”

Soon, I was bitten, and the venom spread through my body. As the snake coiled tighter around me, I felt my breath slip away. My whole body turned cold, and my mind went blank.

And when I opened my eyes again, Ivy was chatting in our class group chat, just like before.

——

[We finally made it through these three tough years. You’ve all worked so hard. How about we take an overseas trip this summer? My treat!]

She even mentioned all of us, her classmates.

The class instantly exploded with excitement.

[A whole-class trip? That’s gotta be thousands at least!]

[Come on, with airfare and hotels, it’d easily be tens of thousands!]

[Wait, are you serious? You’re not joking, right?]

Before Ivy could reply, Bentley, our class president and my boyfriend, chimed in.

[Ivy is from the Green family. That kind of money is nothing to her.]

[But even if she’s loaded, she shouldn’t be the only one paying. Didn’t someone just get a forty grand scholarship?]

Then he mentioned me in the group.

[Nadia, hand over that scholarship. Don’t play dead. I know you’re reading this.]

Quickly after sending that chat, my phone rang with his call. I heard the haunting sound of the ringtone and realized something terrifying.

I had really come back. I was reborn.

In my past life, this exact moment happened the same way. Ivy made the same proposal in the group chat, and Bentley pressured me to chip in my scholarship.

I had explained, once again, that my mother was seriously ill and the money was needed for her surgery.

But everyone was disappointed. One by one, they backed out of the trip.

Ivy was embarrassed and humiliated. In a fit of anger, she went on the trip alone and got bitten by a poisonous snake in the jungle.

The local hospital didn’t have the antivenom, and she lost consciousness quickly.

Before that, she made another emotional post.

[It’s all my fault. If Nadia hadn’t turned on me, we would’ve had a perfect trip.]

[It’s such a shame I can’t say goodbye to everyone in person.]

When Bentley saw that post, he didn’t blame me. He even offered to visit my mom with me.

But the day before school started, he snapped. Eyes bloodshot, he tied me up and dragged me to that snake-infested pit.

“If you weren’t so selfish and stingy, Ivy wouldn’t be dead! I asked around. Your mom’s surgery didn’t cost forty grand! You killed Ivy and still think you can stroll into Charter Oak like a hero? Dream on!”

I tried to explain that the hospital had given us a discount because I was the top scorer on the college entrance exam. That was why it ended up costing less.

But before I could say a word, Bentley ordered someone to push me into the snake cage.

Inside, a thick, brightly-colored python slithered toward me.