And just like that, she was back with Danny Brooke.
"Hannah." She clung to his arm like a trophy. "See? He was mine all along."
Cool. Good for her.
I felt nothing. Danny was a walking red flag. Not my type.
Pretty sure she didn't even like him. This wasn't love—it was payback. She just hated that he picked me last time.
"Of course he's yours," I said.
'Who else would touch this trash?'
I let her see it in my eyes.
"I know you're jealous." She flipped her hair. "Face, body—guys line up for me. Jealousy doesn't suit you."
Then, lower: "That fairytale life you had? Mine now."
Yeah, she made it crystal clear—our lives had flipped.
Danny missed the whisper, but he caught my smirk and blew up. "You look like that and still act better than me? Plain Jane!"
I laughed. "So that's what you thought of her face, huh?"
She got it. Her face twitched.
We were twins. Back then, she dated him while looking like the me standing here now.
Danny turned to her, all heart-eyes. "Not Ella. She's fire."
She shot him pure disgust. She didn't even like him anymore—just couldn't let go of her high school obsession.
Through clenched teeth, she hissed, "You're just jealous, Hannah. One day, I'll crush you."
I scooped up my homework and went back to studying.
What did any of this have to do with me?
All I cared about was not ending up like her—flunking out and bailing overseas.
I was getting into an Ivy. Earning it. Paying Dakota back.
***
And sure enough, hard work pays off.
I got into Harven University—an Ivy.
Dakota hugged me tight, eyes shining. "Hannah, you really didn't let me down."
She loved me, no strings attached. Everything she did was for my future.
She gave me two options: become a doctor—she had the pull to land me at a top hospital—or study business and take over the company.
Easy choice. I picked economics and management.
The memory of Ella holding that bloody scalpel still burned. Medicine was off the table.
Business? That, I could handle.
This time, I wasn't banking on looks. I'd earn respect with results.
Then I met Russell Reid at Harven.
Only four years older, already finishing his PhD.
Dakota had picked him in my last life—as Ella's perfect match.
No shady family ties, sharp mind, clean-cut—Russell was the full package.
Not crazy rich, but his books sold well. He was solid.
Dakota really tried for Ella. Russell was a rare find.
But Ella? She didn't care.
She couldn't stand that I'd married into money while she was stuck with some "ordinary" professor.
Didn't matter how handsome he was—he wasn't Northport cash.
So on her engagement day, she ditched him.
Dakota was humiliated.
When I first heard, I was jealous. While I was suffering, she had the easy, quiet life I wanted.
Too bad she was too blind to see it.
