"Why aren't you answering? Your sister's gone! Are you just going to leave your mom without anyone to take care of her? You expect me to do it?

"Amy, weren't you always the responsible, dutiful one?

"You can always go back to school later, but if your mom dies because you didn't come home to take care of her, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

My dad's frustration grew as I stayed silent. He wasn't even trying to fake it anymore. His irritation leaked through the phone.

I hummed a few times into the receiver, pretending the signal was bad.

"Hello? Sorry, bad reception... what did you say? I think my phone's out of service…"

Then, I hung up.

Without another second of hesitation, I grabbed my suitcase and rushed to register for classes. I clutched the money I had saved up over the summer from my part-time job and paid my tuition.

Yale had a strict entry system—facial recognition was required to go in and out of campus. I used an excuse to avoid registering my face in the system. When my advisor asked why, I explained that I preferred using my ID for access. He didn't ask too many questions. After all, in a big university, everyone had their quirks, and as long as I wasn't causing any trouble, he let it slide.

When I arrived at the dorm, my three roommates were already there. Emma Reid and Amelia Stone greeted me with smiles, but Jessica Rees barely acknowledged me. She had been laughing and chatting with the other two, but the moment I walked in, her face hardened, and she climbed up to her bed without a word.

I wasn't sure what I'd done, but I put it out of my mind. After saying hello to my dorm mates, I placed the small gifts I'd brought for them on the table and left to find a part-time job.

I couldn't help but remember the summer after high school graduation when my parents practically kicked me out of the house and demanded I find work. They called me ungrateful and selfish for not earning money to support them, even though I had just turned eighteen.

So, I worked in a factory for nearly a month, planning to head home and use the computer to register for college. But as I reached the front door, I overheard Dakota sweet-talking my parents.

"Mom, Dad, you two are so smart. With Amy off working, you won't have to pay as much for her college."

"Once I get into Yale, I'll find a rich guy, and we'll all live in luxury!"

My mom beamed with pride as soon as she heard those words, showering Dakota with compliments. I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, my sister had managed to scam a married man into supporting her through middle school with just a few texts and videos.

For months, Dakota brought home money to give to our parents, and they were hooked. They treated me like a burden, the kid who was good for nothing but draining their finances. I spent years feeling guilty for not contributing enough, ashamed that I couldn't provide for them the way they expected.

But after hearing their conversation that day, I didn't go home. Instead, I registered for college from an internet café near the factory and spent the rest of the summer working double shifts.

Sure, it was normal for kids to want to give their parents a better life as they grew older. But what I didn't know at the time was that while I was breaking my back working, Dakota was spending our parents' money on vacations and parties, all under the guise of "finding a wealthy husband."

Because of her history of manipulating people into giving her whatever she wanted, my parents believed every word she said. They indulged her more and more, showering her with the money I was supposedly earning to support them.

It didn't matter how much I sacrificed or how much I cared about the family—it could never compete with the fantasies Dakota spun for them.

This time, I wasn't going back home to take care of my mom. And I wasn't going to miss those six hundred dollars a month either.

I found a part-time job, and aside from classes, I spent every waking moment in the library. I barely even returned to the dorm to sleep. Despite spending six months at home taking care of my mom—feeding her, cleaning her, and acting like a full-time nurse—none of that wiped away the knowledge I'd worked so hard to retain. I could still recall every detail I'd studied.

Now, more than ever, I was itching to put everything I knew into practice. But before I could fully dive into my studies, my phone blew up with call after call. At first, I answered, but soon enough, it was just one aunt or another, all trying to guilt-trip me into going home.

I remembered why I stayed to care for my mom in my past life. One reason was my grandmother, who raised me. I always wanted to repay her once I was older and earning money. But one night, she went to bed and never woke up again. It was my first encounter with death, and it left me treasuring the fact that I still had both my parents.

The other reason was the constant barrage of relatives telling me to stay home and take care of my mom. They said, "What's the point of school if you lose your mom?" And I listened, terrified my mom would die if I didn't. So, I stayed, diligently taking care of her, only to be rewarded with betrayal and death.

But this time, fate had given me another chance. I wasn't going to sit back and let them manipulate me again.

Aunt Lucy called me. "What's the point of a girl getting all that education? You'll end up married, at home raising kids, and taking care of your husband anyway. And now, your mom's in a terrible accident, and you're ignoring her? She's your own flesh and blood!"

I replied, "She's your sister too. Same parents, right? If you love taking care of people so much, why don't you do it?"

Uncle Max said, "Your mom spent all that money raising you, and now when she needs you, you run off like an ungrateful brat! You're heartless!"

I said, "Didn't my mom give your family plenty of money over the years? Now that she's bedridden, instead of helping out, you're here yelling at her daughter? Where's your heart?"

For every guilt trip they tried to throw at me, I had a comeback ready, each one sharper than the last. I wasn't holding back. My grandmother, the only one who ever truly cared for me, was long gone. These relatives? They didn't care about me, so why should I care about them?

After that, I blocked them all.

I poured my energy into working and studying, determined to build a future for myself. Slowly, life fell into a rhythm. I grew closer to my dorm mates, even Jessica Rees, who had initially been so cold toward me. Now, we were getting along well, though sometimes I caught her staring at me in a way that felt... odd. Almost like she was seeing someone else in me. But hey, everyone had their secrets. As long as it didn't affect our friendship, I didn't care.

While working on campus, I ran into Dakota's rich ex-boyfriend from my previous life. I knew him—his father, Professor Hunt, taught in our department, and I'd even taken one of his classes. Word around campus was that he was starting a new research project, and I was drafting a cover letter to apply for it. I was eager to join the team.

But before I could even send the letter, my dad showed up at Yale—with the police.