Chapter 1

Mom and Dad were the nicest doctors at the hospital—way nicer to their patients than they ever were to me.

When they talked about adopting Alice Reed, a patient with a heart condition, I didn't hesitate to agree.

"She's your real daughter now," I said.

Alice was treated by Mom and Dad in my past life. They absolutely adored her, spending my living expenses on fruit for her and even tutoring her every night.

Alice was even willing to risk her health just to win over Mom and Dad. She threatened not to go through with surgery if I tried to stop her from being adopted.

I fought and argued, but all I got was a lecture from Mom and Dad. They looked at me like I was the biggest letdown, asking, "How did we end up with a daughter as thoughtless as you?"

Alice's health got a lot worse after she delayed her surgery. I became the scapegoat—everyone blamed me for her decline.

Mom and Dad made me kneel by her hospital bed and beg for forgiveness. They even took my tuition money and spent it on Alice's surgery.

Meanwhile, Grandma was in critical condition. I had to drop out of school and take on odd jobs.

Everyone kept raving about how generous Mom and Dad were, while Grandma and I starved to death on a brutal winter night.

In this life, I decided to step aside so Mom and Dad could build a new family with Alice.

…

The girl before me was gasping for air, clutching her chest as she stood in the doorway, shouting in panic, "I won't have the surgery unless you agree to be my parents! If not, I'm not doing it!"

Her desperate cries echoed through the hallway, filled with the harsh scent of antiseptic, drawing a crowd of patients. She was crying so hard, she could barely catch her breath.

"I just want parents who love me! Even if I survive the surgery, what's the point of living if no one cares about me?"

Mom and Dad rushed over to try to calm her down. "Take it easy, Alice. Let's get the surgery done first, okay?"

Alice grabbed onto the hem of Mom's white coat. "Dr. Clarke, I really want you and Dr. Jensen to be my parents. I swear I'll be good."

Then, as if she just noticed I was there, she peeked out from behind Mom and asked in a sweet, soft voice, "Zoe, you're not mad, are you? Please, let me be your little sister. I promise I won't take your parents away from you."

That was when Mom and Dad finally noticed I was standing there. They shot me a look, their brows furrowed in disapproval.

"Why are you here again, making her upset?"

"She's already dealing with enough—can't you show some compassion?"

As I watched this all play out, it hit me that I had been reborn. The same thing happened in my past life.

Everyone at the hospital praised Mom and Dad as models of medical kindness—too gentle to watch patients suffer.

They used our savings to help anyone in need, and our living room was always overflowing with thank-you certificates.

Their colleagues loved them, too, since they were always picking up extra work and treating everyone's problems like their own.

My whole life, I was taught to be understanding—understand how tough life was for others, and how hard Mom and Dad worked. But why did no one ever try to understand me?

Mom and Dad were always the busiest doctors at the hospital. Growing up, I could count on one hand the times they actually spent with me.

Any savings we had went straight into helping patients, so I never even had a decent set of clothes. Grandma and I were all each other had.

People envied me for having such well-known parents, but they had no idea what I was really going through. Still, I never complained because I knew they truly loved their work.

Everything changed when Alice came in for her heart surgery, with Mom and Dad treating her. They felt sorry for her and poured all their energy into making sure she was okay.

They spent my living expenses on fruit for her, tutored her, and gave her all the attention that should've been mine.

Alice cried, saying she'd never known what it was like to have loving parents, begging Mom and Dad to adopt her.

I absolutely refused. I was willing to share a lot of things, but not Mom and Dad.

Alice flipped out, throwing a tantrum and screaming that if Mom and Dad didn't adopt her, she wouldn't go through with the surgery.

Mom and Dad lost it. They pointed at me and shouted, "How did we end up with a daughter as thoughtless as you? Why can't you just be a little more understanding of Alice?"

In the end, Alice missed the best window for surgery, and her health got worse every day. Mom and Dad were disappointed in me. They cut off my living expenses and tuition.

When Grandma fell seriously ill, I begged them for financial help, but they just shrugged and said, "This is what you owe Alice. We've already given all the money to charity."

I called them fools, and they got so angry, they blasted me online, starting a wave of public hate against me.

With no other choice, I dropped out of school to work and support Grandma. But no one would hire a minor, and in the end, she and I literally starved to death together.

Now, I had a second chance at life.

My anger toward Mom and Dad ran deep, and there was no way I'd ever consider them my parents again. I wanted to take Grandma and get as far away from them as I could.

With all that on my mind, I didn't even look up. "Yeah, yeah, I agree."

Mom and Dad looked frustrated and snapped, "What's with you? Now you're suddenly being all nice? Wasn't it you who said no in the first place? Alice wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for you!"

Then, they turned back to Alice, trying to calm her down. "This is all Zoe's fault for not agreeing. Just get the surgery done first. Once you're better, we can figure everything else out."

I crossed my arms and scoffed. "Isn't this exactly what you wanted? I'm done fighting. She's your real daughter now."

Looking at Alice, I added, "I'm cutting ties with them. They're free to adopt you."

Mom and Dad stared at me, shocked, then blew up in anger. "When did we ever say we were cutting ties with you? Can't you just be reasonable for once? We keep telling you, this is only temporary. You're still our daughter! Stop causing a scene!"

The moment Alice realized that Mom and Dad were just trying to placate her, she lost it again. Her breathing got shallow, and her lips started turning purple.

Panicked, Mom and Dad rushed to pick her up and took her straight to the operating room, not even glancing at me.

I looked down at the bag of medication in my hand. It was for me and Grandma. No one ever bothered to ask if I was sick. Ever since I was a kid, I had always been the one getting ignored and brushed aside.

Patients in the hallway who'd been watching everything started pointing at me and whispering to each other.

"That girl is so selfish. Her parents are always busy, and she still makes a scene."

"Poor Alice was finally starting to calm down, and now look—she's upset again, all because of that girl."

"The hospital turns into a mess every time she shows up. I don't get how Dr. Jensen ended up with such a troublemaker for a daughter."

I was so tired of hearing the same old accusations. Everyone was always blaming me for being difficult and ungrateful. I was seriously fed up with it.