Chapter 2The Star That Fell Twice

Those diaries held the record of over a decade of our lives together.

My mom and Adrian's mom were best friends. But my mom had terrible taste in men. She married an abuser.

When I was five, my mom died from her injuries. My dad, a drunk, drove his car into a ditch on the way to turn himself in.

Adrian's mom adopted me.

But tragedy struck again when Adrian and I started middle school. She passed away, leaving us alone in that big, empty villa with only a few servants.

Adrian was only a few months older than me, but while I was a troublemaker, he was the responsible one.

He spent his childhood cleaning up my messes.

When I got gastroenteritis, he stayed up all night watching my IV drip.

When I got into fights, he backed me up.

When I was scared of thunderstorms, he’d drag his pillow and blanket into my room to keep me safe.

Even after Lily died because of me, even when he hated me to the bone...

When the riot broke out, he still shielded me without a second thought.

My brother was perfect.

The only problem was that he loved me as family.

And I loved him with a guilty conscience.

In my past life, our housekeeper, Mrs. Wu, wept uncontrollably when she heard of Adrian's death.

The driver, Uncle Zhang, pointed at my nose and cursed me.

"Sophie, you're insane! You're cursed! Are you only happy when everyone around you is dead?"

I remembered Adrian's last words again.

"I truly regret... being your brother."

He regretted it.

And so did I.

They said the temple on the north side of the city was miraculous.

I wanted to pray that in the next life, Adrian would never meet me.

But maybe my sins were too heavy. The Abbot refused to see me.

So I knelt. Year after year.

From black hair to white.

The bloodstains on the stone steps were from my knees and forehead.

Finally, when I was old and withered, the Abbot agreed to see me.

He said:

"What has happened cannot be changed, but perhaps a new life awaits."

"You are his fated calamity. If it is not resolved, all efforts are in vain."

He pressed a small silk pouch into my wrinkled hand.

"It will guide you to the moment of rebirth."

When I woke up clutching that pouch, I knew it wasn't a dream.

This life, I won't make the same mistakes.

I'll pay any price to keep my brother safe.