Chapter 3 Rebirth

Pain coursed through her entire system as darkness had overwhelmed her. Emily squeezed her eyes shut as she tried her best to suspend the sharp throbbing at the back of her skull.

Suddenly, the darkness soon retreated. Instead of the cold hard pavement that met her back, she was greeted with something warm and soft. When Emily opened her eyes once again, the warmness of sunshine cascaded down her arms.

"Is this my room?"

The familiar duvet covers wrapped around her little body like a cocoon as she twisted and turned on her bed. Her eyebrows furrowed over as she took in her surroundings. It really was her room. Yet, it wasn't. Didn't she change her room? Her wallpapers were filled with cartoon stickers that she had watched as a kid. She remembered thinking how childish she had been to be so obsessed with them.

Confused, Emily stretched out her arms only to see that her palms were much smaller and less defined.

"Ah! Miss Emily finally woke up! Go, and inform Mr. Jonson."

The servant was supposed to come in and change Emily's clothes, but when she saw that she had woken up, she quickly sprinted out of the door to inform everyone. At the sight of the familiar young maid, Emily's eyebrows knitted together even more.

"Isn't that Alice?" she murmured to herself. "Didn't she leave the house five years ago? Why does she look so young? Why the hell am I here? Ow! My head hurts."

Before she could process what was happening, a man rushed into her room. Although his hair and clothes were disheveled from running, he didn't look a day over his forties. "You're awake!" He gripped her shoulders tightly before pulling her into a hug. "That's great. I'm so relieved!"

"Dad?" she sputtered out. "Is that you?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, drawing her away from his grip. He tilted his head. "Is something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

She tried to scour through her thoughts as to what had happened before this, but all she was met with was an endless blur. Why couldn't she think clearly? Her hands trembled slightly as she pulled up her arms.

"Dad, you–" she sputtered out, struggling to find the words to describe her predicament.

"Do you know how worried I was, Emily? You scared me to death!"

Suddenly, all the memories rushed back to her. She remembered this scene exactly as it had been ten years ago. Emily had been hit by a vase from the stairs while she was shopping with her friends. This was just the start of summer vacation after taking her college entrance examinations. This was also the reason why she had taken a year off school to recuperate. In fact, she even hired a tutor to help her catch up for the following months.

"Dad," she said. Her voice was hoarse. "I–I'm fine."

"Are you sure you're all right? Maybe we should go to the hospital to get a check-up. The doctor said that you should once you wake up," he insisted, leaving no room for any complaints.

Emily was still in a state of shock that she didn't even bother to argue with him. It took her a few days later to accept the fact.

'Now that God has given me the chance to be reborn, I won't take this opportunity for granted, ' she thought. 'I'll let them all pay for what they've done!'

After getting checked in the hospital, the doctor didn't find anything wrong, so he just advised that she get some more rest and take some time off from any stressful activities. Emily was supposed to stay at home for the next year and rest, but she was already in perfect shape. At this point, she'd die if she didn't do anything. Plus, it was also best that she didn't expose them for their lies as well. She would handle them all slowly but surely.

"Sofia, it's your sister's first day at school today," her stepmother warned. "You should take good care of her, okay?"

"Mom, don't worry. I'll handle it."

She gazed at Sofia's friendly smile and bright eyes. Back then, she had thought that everything about them was genuine. Now, she could see through her webs of lies.

"Let me show you around school," Sofia suggested. Emily could feel disgust pooling in her chest at the sight.

A forced smile pushed its way into her lips.

"Thank you... Sofia!" she managed.

"There's no need to thank me, you know. Besides, we're sisters. We're supposed to help each other out! Let's go. I'll take you to class."

Sofia grabbed her hand naturally. She flipped her hair and strolled down the school gates. She was known to be the most popular girl in HRJR University. Everyone knew that she was the daughter of the Feng Family.

"Isn't that Sofia?" one of the students whispered excitedly. "She's so beautiful!"

"Yes! Wait, who's the girl beside her?" Another one huddled in as they crowded over each other to peer at the two women. "Look at her! She's cute. Is she new? I've never seen her before."

One of them shrugged. "Maybe she just came to visit our school. She seems to be friends with Sofia."

As she walked down the corridor, Emily could see the way they gazed at them intriguingly. Upon hearing their bright words for her stepsister, her nails dug into her palms. Her eyes flashed.

"Emily, when you walk straight to that corridor, you'll see a library." Sofia pointed at the front, not noticing the darkness in her sister's gaze. "Plus, our school has an indoor playground. When you turn right, you'll head over to the teacher's building. In my opinion, you should've gotten some more rest at home, but seeing as you're doing fine, that's also great. Look, if you have any problem at school, feel free to come to me. Okay?"

"Got it." Emily nodded obediently.

Just as Sofia was about to say something else, scantily dressed women walked up to her. One of them waved her luxurious handbag in front of her as if it was some sort of exquisite gem.

"We still have to practice dancing today, Sofia," one of them whined. "It's for our school's anniversary."

"Oh shit! I almost forgot." She glanced at Emily guiltily. "I still need to do something, Emily. You–"

"It's fine. Go ahead with your work. Besides, I know where the administration building is. You can go finish your practice."

Emily smiled calmly as she waved her hand around.

"Well, you can call me if you have any problems, okay?" Sofia grinned thankfully. "I'll be at the third floor of the teacher's building over there. I'll be heading to class soon, all right? Take good care of yourself!"

"Okay!"

Staring at their retreating figures, Emily loosened her fists. The corners of her lips twitched mockingly. If she had known their true intentions earlier then, maybe she wouldn't have ended up like this.

Tired and exhausted, Emily headed over to sit on the bench, rubbing her forehead. Now that God had sent her through time, it was as if she had woken out of her stupor. How could she not have seen through their betrayal? Well, now that she was here, she was going to do something about it. Emily would not let them get away with this, not over her dead body!