The dismissal bell rang.
I grabbed my dance bag and headed for the auditorium.
Halfway there, I spotted Jason in the crowd.
He stood out instantly, like he always did.
Tall.
Lean.
Expensive haircut.
That lazy, self-satisfied expression boys wear when they’ve spent their whole lives being told they’re special.
In my previous life, one glance from him had been enough to make my heart trip over itself.
I still remembered the first time I saw him crossing the courtyard with a basketball tucked under one arm, sunlight catching the edge of his smile.
Back then, the whole world had gone quiet.
I had thought that was what love felt like.
Now all I felt was embarrassment.
What had I ever seen in him?
A boy who enjoyed being worshipped.
A boy who let his friends call me a pathetic little dancer behind my back.
A boy who accepted every drink, every gift, every ounce of attention I offered him, while pretending he was somehow above me.
This time, I didn’t run over to greet him.
I didn’t blush.
I didn’t even slow down.
I walked straight past him.
And for the first time in two lifetimes…
He called after me.
“Emily.”
I turned.
He was frowning.
“What?”
I asked it politely, but only barely.
His brows pulled together even more, as if he couldn’t understand why I wasn’t acting like I used to.
He cleared his throat.
“I heard you’re performing tonight. Our teacher mentioned it in class.”
I nodded.
“And?”
He licked his lips awkwardly.
“Nothing. Just… are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Something about my indifference clearly rattled him.
He shifted his weight, then forced another question out.
“You should have special seating access, right? Since you’re one of the performers?”
“No.”
“I was just asking because…” He paused. “I have a friend who likes performances. Maybe you could save us decent seats.”
It took everything in me not to laugh in his face.
In my previous life, I would have moved heaven and earth for one request from him.
Now I just looked at him calmly.
“No special privileges.”
Then I turned and left.
This time, even if he called my name again…
I wasn’t coming back.
Technically, I really didn’t have any special privileges.
But performers did enter the venue earlier than the audience.
Which meant I could still arrange one thing.
In my previous life, I had once maliciously reserved the best center seat for Ashley just to irritate her, then made sure everyone around her knew exactly who she was.
I had wanted her to drown in other people’s jealousy.
Tonight, I did the same thing again.
Only this time, it wasn’t out of spite.
It was gratitude.
If Ashley hadn’t warned me about the drugged tea, I might have walked right into Sophie’s trap all over again.
So I left the perfect center-row seat open for her.
Best view in the house.
Fruit plate on the side table.
Impossible to miss.
By the time the showcase officially began, the auditorium was packed.
Teachers.
Administrators.
Students.
The entire school buzzing with the rare excitement of being allowed to breathe outside exam prep and ranking battles.
When I stepped under the lights, I heard screams instantly.
Boys waving handmade signs.
Girls shouting my name.
Teachers grinning so hard they looked years younger.
The music swelled.
The stage lights flashed.
And for one blinding, perfect moment…
I saw the life that should have belonged to me all along.
This.
This was what I had fought for.
Not Jason Miller.
Not cheap crumbs of affection.
Not the approval of that disgusting family.
I had danced for this feeling.
For the power surging through my veins.
For the certainty that my body, my talent, my discipline could turn into something dazzling.
Every late-night practice.
Every blister.
Every shaking calf muscle.
Every silent studio.
It had all led to this.
When I finished, the applause hit me like a tidal wave.
Students were literally standing on their chairs.
“Emily Carter is my queen!”
“She’s insane!”
“She looks like a future celebrity!”
“Oh my God, I’m in love with her!”
Teachers began filing out with the school leadership, but the students surged forward immediately, crowding around me for photos.
That was when Sophie pushed through the crowd with a bouquet in her hands.
“Move, move, move,” she called brightly. “That’s my cousin.”
She shoved people aside and planted herself in front of me with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“My cousin has a big announcement tonight,” she said loudly.
“Can everyone cheer her on?”
The noise slowly died.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Jason walking closer with his friends.
His ears were faintly red.
His chin tilted just a little too high.
He was expecting something.
Of course he was.
Sophie nudged me with her elbow and whispered, “What are you waiting for? Jason’s watching. He was definitely jealous seeing all those boys around you. Go over there and win him back.”
Around us, the whispers grew.
“Who else could it be? It’s obviously Jason.”
“Emily has liked him forever.”
“She must be so happy he came.”
“Wow. Even the school goddess can become a simp.”
I looked at the bouquet in my hands.
Then, under dozens of expectant eyes—
I threw it straight back at Sophie.
The flowers smacked against her chest and scattered across the floor.
I spoke clearly.
“Confess to who?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Sophie stared at me, stunned.
“What do you mean? Jason. You told me forever ago you wanted to confess tonight.”
I smiled.
“But I don’t like Jason anymore.”
“Why would I confess to him?”
“I’m not stupid.”
“If I publicly confessed during a school event, that would count as openly violating school conduct rules. Do you want me disciplined?”
Sophie’s face turned bright red.
Before she could recover, a familiar voice cut through the crowd.
“I can testify.”
Ashley stepped forward from the center row, hands in her jacket pockets, expression sharp.
“Emily stopped liking Jason a long time ago.”
“She even blocked his number.”
Everyone looked at Jason instantly.
His face stiffened.
He pulled out his phone, checked, and sure enough—
Blocked.
Now every eye in the room swung back toward Sophie.
A girl near the front laughed.
“So what exactly were you trying to do, Sophie?”
“Emily’s about to secure a scholarship, and you’re encouraging her to publicly confess at a school event? Are you dumb or just evil?”
Another voice chimed in.
“That’s your cousin. Why are you trying to ruin her?”
Sophie’s lips trembled.
Then, just like in my previous life, she chose the move she knew best.
She squeezed her eyes shut…
And collapsed.
Jason rushed forward instantly, scooping her up like some heroic prince rescuing a fragile princess.
He glared at me with open hatred.
“She’s your cousin.”
“Are you really going to push her this far?”
I arched a brow.
“My cousin?”
“The cousin who tried to trick me into humiliating myself in front of the whole school?”
I let my gaze drop deliberately to the way he was holding her.
“Interesting. You’re awfully protective.”
“Let me guess.”
“You’re her boyfriend.”
His jaw tightened.
Then he spat out the words.
“Yeah. I am.”
“Sophie was just trying to help.”
“She wanted to give you a chance because of how obsessed you used to be with me.”
The sheer shamelessness of it nearly made me laugh.
He turned to the crowd, face cold and righteous.
“You all know Sophie grew up abandoned by her parents and had to live with Emily’s family.”
“She’s had to survive in a complicated home, always giving things up, always being mistreated.”
“If any of you understood what her life was like, maybe you wouldn’t judge her so quickly.”
Then he carried her away through the crowd like a knight in a cheap fairy tale.
And just like that, the mood shattered.
The students looked at each other awkwardly.
No one quite knew what to say.
I watched his back disappear and felt absolutely nothing.
Men like Jason always thought the world revolved around their ability to choose a girl.
As if every girl’s story had to begin or end with them.
As if female suffering only mattered when a male savior decided it did.
It was pathetic.
When the crowd finally thinned, Ashley walked over to me.
For the first time in both our lives…
She smiled.
She had a fierce face, all sharp cheekbones and dangerous beauty, the kind of girl who looked like trouble even when she was standing still.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
“I misunderstood you for years.”
“You’re disciplined. You work hard. You’re actually… a really good person.”
Her gaze softened, just a little.
“And your performance tonight was incredible.”
“I never thought dance could look like that. It felt alive.”
The stage lights were dimming.
Moonlight spilled in from the high windows.
The applause had faded into distant noise.
I stepped forward and hugged her.
“So are you,” I whispered.
“If I didn’t have you as my rival all these years, maybe I wouldn’t have worked this hard either.”
I pulled back and looked straight at her.
“This time, let’s stop fighting each other.”
“Let’s win together.”
In our own worlds.
In our own names.
Under our own light.
She stared at me for a second.
Then nodded.
And just like that…
The first true alliance of my life began.