Our family only had enough money to send one person to college. Ma and Pa made us flip a coin to decide. Before the coin even landed, I tore up my acceptance letter. "Ma, Pa—I'll stay home. Let Caleb go to college." Because in my last life, I won that coin toss and made it to university. There, I ran into Sarah—the girl next door from when we were kids. We fell in love. Got married. Had a baby. But back home, Caleb lasted less than three years before he was accused of sleeping with Mrs. Higgins, the Mayor's wife. Unable to bear the rumors, Caleb downed a bottle of poison. Before he died, he wrote Sarah a letter. He said I'd rigged the coin flip. That I'd destroyed his life. After that, Sarah's attitude toward me changed completely. That's when I realized—they'd been having an affair all along. On our tenth wedding anniversary, she poisoned my dinner and dragged me to Caleb's grave. "I was supposed to meet Caleb! You destroyed him! You destroyed me!" "Why weren't you the one accused? Why weren't you the one who died?" She forced me to kneel and beg forgiveness at his headstone. She spread rumors that I was an abuser, a cheater—ruined my reputation—then poured poison down my throat. "Every sin you made Caleb suffer, I'm making you suffer twice over!" I thought of our child—not even three years old yet—and begged her to spare me for the sake of our marriage. But she just watched me convulse, watched me suffocate, until there was nothing left. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the coin flip. This time, I gave up college. And I gave up Sarah. --- "Ma, Pa—I'll stay home. Let Caleb go to college." Ma, Pa, and Caleb all stared at me in shock. "Are you serious? You know how hard you worked for this. You're just gonna throw it away?" I took a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm serious. Let Caleb go." They stared at me for a long moment, then sighed and accepted my decision. I climbed down from the bunk bed. Suddenly, we heard Mrs. Dixon's voice from outside. "Hey! Someone from out of town's here looking for you!" Before Pa could even get up, the door burst open. A girl rushed in, her eyes locked on Caleb like he was the only person in the room. She threw herself into his arms. It was Sarah. Her voice was choked with emotion, like she was holding onto something she'd lost once before. "I made it. I made it in time." She turned to my stunned parents, her voice urgent. "Mr. and Mrs. Harper—I'm here to keep my promise. I'm here to marry Caleb." Ma and Pa blinked in confusion, then squinted at her, trying to place her face. "You're… Old man Westbrook's daughter? My God, look how grown up you are!" Sarah grabbed Caleb's hand and nodded. "I've loved Caleb since we were kids. Please let me be with him." Before Ma and Pa could respond, Sarah snapped her fingers. A crew of people started hauling boxes and bags into the house. "This is my dowry. Once Caleb and I are married, we'll move to the city together. He'll go to college, and I'll take care of everything." I stood frozen, watching it all unfold. Sarah had been reborn too. I lowered my eyes, hiding my shock. "Sarah—" Before I could finish, she whipped around and glared at me with pure hatred. "Don't even think about it, Ethan. I'd rather marry a homeless man—a criminal—than ever be with you." "I'm watching you. You won't pull any tricks this time." Ma cleared her throat, confused. "Ethan already gave up his spot. He tore up his acceptance letter." Sarah froze. Disbelief flashed across her face. "What kind of scheme are you running now?" Pa pointed to the shredded paper on the floor. "He's not lying. Look—he tore the damn thing to pieces." Sarah followed his gesture and saw the torn letter scattered on the ground. For a moment, she looked genuinely shocked. But she recovered quickly, muttering under her breath: "Fine. At least you've got some conscience left." Then she turned back to Caleb, clinging to his arm and cooing sweetly: "I'm so happy, Caleb. You have no idea how long I've waited for this." Hearing that soft, affectionate voice made my hands tremble. In my past life, Sarah only ever used that tone with me. Every time she did, I felt like I'd die for her if she asked. "Caleb, baby, come help me pick out stuff for the wedding!" Without waiting for an answer, Sarah dragged Caleb toward the door. As she passed me, she paused, gave me an unreadable look, then left. After they were gone, Ma and Pa sighed and said they were heading out to work. I stopped them. "Ma, Pa—I'm thinking of leaving. Going out of state to find work. It'll help ease the burden on you." This meant I'd be gone for a long time. We wouldn't see each other much. Pa took a drag from his hand-rolled cigarette and sighed. "If that's what you want, go ahead. We're too old to tell you boys what to do anymore." They left without another word. No sadness. No goodbyes. That's how they'd always been. They didn't do emotions. But I knew the truth. Between me and Caleb, they'd always favored me. In my last life, they knew how badly I wanted to go to college. So they rigged the coin flip to make sure I won.
Before it got dark, I headed into town to pick up some supplies for the trip. That's when I ran into Sarah and Caleb. They were shopping for wedding decorations. In my past life, Sarah and I got married in the city. Because it was a once-in-a-lifetime event, I saved up and bought the most expensive ring and make her a custom wedding dress. But when I showed it to her, she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "What century are we in? You seriously expect me to wear this old-fashioned crap?" "My dad just got reinstated as a judge. There are going to be important people at our wedding. You think I'm gonna let them see me in this?" But now—now—I watched her gush over cheap polyester ribbon like it was spun gold. She looked so damn happy. My chest ached like I'd chugged a gallon of vinegar. The sight of them together—smiling, touching—felt like needles in my eyes. I turned to leave. "Ethan! Wait up!" Caleb called out to me. He had his arm around Sarah's waist as they walked over, grinning like he'd won the lottery. "You shopping too? Hey, listen—Sarah and I set a date. Three days from now. You better be there." "I'm leaving for work soon. I might not make it—" "What are you talking about? You're my brother. You have to come." Caleb clapped me on the shoulder, half-joking: "If you don't show up, I'm slaughtering Buster and serving him at the reception." My eyes went wide. Buster was our old dog—ancient, loyal. He'd been with our family for over a decade. Ma and Pa always said Buster worked his whole life for us. Killing him would be cruel. He deserved to retire in peace. Buster and I were close. When he got sick, he'd only eat if I was the one feeding him. I used to come home from school and see him waiting for me at the edge of the property, every single day. I'd loved that dog like family. I forced myself to nod. "Fine. I'll be there." I didn't want to stay another second. I turned to leave. But Caleb blocked my path, grinning. "Hey, Ethan—Ma and Pa always liked you more. They even gave you the token from Sarah's family—the one from when we were kids, you know, the 'engagement' thing." "Now that Sarah and I are getting married… I'm gonna need that back." I froze. I'd worn it for years. It felt wrong to give it up. I opened my mouth to say something, but Caleb cut me off: "You're not gonna say no, are you?" His voice dropped, taking on an edge. "Are you jealous? Is that it? Because Sarah's marrying me instead of you?" "You're my brother. I've always given you everything you wanted. But Sarah's different." "We're in love. She's all I have…" Sarah's expression went ice-cold. She lunged forward and ripped off my necklace. The cord snapped. Pain shot through my throat. I gasped, and when I touched the back of my neck, my hand came away slick with blood. "I knew it. You're pathetic. You'd even try to keep a stupid charm?" I looked up at her, my voice shaking. "I'm not being greedy. Sarah's dad wrote me a letter once. He gave this to me—" The memory of my father-in-law—the only one who treated me like a son—made my throat tighten. In my last life, after Sarah killed me, he was the only one who kept digging into my death. When he found out the truth, he disowned her. This life, I'd never see him again. "Stop lying! You think I don't know what kind of person you are?!" My throat burned. I tried to explain, but the words died in my mouth. What was the point? She'd never believe me. Sarah held out the necklace, her voice hard and commanding. "Apologize to Caleb. Then put it on him yourself." I took a shaky breath, my voice barely audible. "You want me to apologize?" "Yes. Consider it your chance to atone." I closed my eyes. Swallowed the tears. "Fine. I'm sorry." "Caleb… this is my fault." I bowed deeply. Caleb's eyes glinted with satisfaction. When I straightened, he put on a fake sympathetic face and pulled me upright. "Sarah's just protective of me, man. She didn't mean it. Don't take it personally." "You're my brother. I'm not actually mad at you." He turned his back to me, waiting for me to fasten necklace around his neck. I reached up and started tying it. But before I could finish, Caleb suddenly lurched forward. His face went red. His voice came out strangled: "Ethan—let go—I can't breathe—" I immediately released the cord. Before I could check if he was okay, Sarah slapped me so hard I hit the ground. Caleb clutched his throat, his eyes wide with shock, his voice hoarse: "Ethan… I'm your brother. You'd really try to strangle me over a girl?" "Fine. Fine. I won't marry her. I won't go to college. I'll give you everything—just don't kill me." His voice was loud. People started gathering, whispering. "Did you see that? He tried to kill his own brother!" "Probably jealous. His brother's smart, good-looking, about to marry a rich girl…" "Keeping a stupid necklace for himself—what kind of person does that? He should be ashamed." I ignored the crowd, ignored Caleb's smug expression. I just bent down and picked the necklace out of the dirt. Sarah walked over and stepped on my hand, grinding her heel into my fingers. Pain shot up my arm. She leaned down, her breath warm against my ear, her voice soft and venomous: "Don't try anything clever, Ethan. I hate you. Even if Caleb didn't exist, I'd never choose you." "And if you want to taste poison again… keep pushing me."
Sarah pulled Caleb away, leaving me kneeling in the dirt. I lifted my mangled hand and carefully wiped the mud off the necklace. The pain in my hand was nothing compared to the pain in my chest. I slipped the necklace into my pocket and whispered: "I'm sorry, Mr. Westbrook. I'm breaking my promise." When I got home, Ma and Pa were already asleep. Only Caleb was still up, sitting at the table. He smiled at me. "You're back late. Come on, I saved you some dinner." He pushed a pot of stew toward me. The smell of meat hit my nose, but dread twisted in my gut. I looked at Caleb's face—that barely-hidden smirk—and my chopsticks clattered to the floor. I stood up and bolted toward the barn. "Don't bother," Caleb called after me. "That is Buster." He pushed the pot closer. "Poor old guy was too tough to chew. I couldn't finish it. You should eat up, though." His voice echoed in my ears. The smell of meat made my stomach lurch. I doubled over and vomited until there was nothing left. Caleb watched me, satisfied. "I know you're leaving for the city soon. No one'll be around to take care of an old dog. Figured we might as well put him to use. Give you a good send-off. Thought I'd do something nice for you, you know?" I clenched my fists, my eyes burning red, my voice raw: "Why? I gave you the college fund. I gave you everything. Why are you doing this to me?" "We're brothers!" Caleb's smile vanished. His face went cold. "Hah. You've got some nerve asking me that. You think I don't know? Ma and Pa rigged the coin flip. Both sides said 'stay home.'" "You know what I went through? Mrs. Higgins tried to sleep with me. When I said no, she told everyone I raped her." "The Mayor and his guys beat me so bad they broke my spine. I couldn't walk. Couldn't control my bladder. I was a cripple." "You know what it's like to lie in bed and watch your legs rot? To get bedsores so deep you can see bone? Maggots crawling in the wounds?" "But you? You got a career. A government job. A Senator's daughter for a wife. All of that should've been mine." His voice dropped to a hiss. "So this time, you're going to suffer everything I did. Watching you in pain is the only thing that'll make me feel better." I stood there, stunned. I'd loved this kid his whole life. And he hated me this much. "You were reborn too. You know I didn't know about the coin flip." "I didn't know what would happen to you. If I had, I would've given you the spot." "Caleb—just tell me. What did you say in that letter? The one you sent Sarah before you died?" Caleb smirked. "Oh, you wanna know?" He stepped closer, leaning in like he was about to tell me a secret. "I told her—" Suddenly, he threw himself forward—right into the pot of scalding stew. The hot liquid splashed all over his arm. He screamed. Before I could react, someone rushed in and smashed a shovel into the back of my skull. Once. Twice. Three times. My vision blurred. My head throbbed. Warm blood poured down my face, turning everything red. I couldn't hear what Sarah was yelling at me. I just saw her scoop cold water from the bucket and pour it over Caleb's burned arm. The world went quiet. Then I felt it—a rope tightening around my neck. The air disappeared. My face turned purple. I kicked weakly, my body too weak to fight. My vision went dark. I let my hands drop. Maybe it'd be better to just die here. But then Caleb grabbed Sarah's arm and pulled her off me. Air rushed back into my lungs. I gasped, desperate, greedy. Sarah's voice was ice-cold in my ear. "I warned you. I killed you once. I can kill you again. And again." "I was going to let you live. But now?" She grabbed my hair and slammed my face into the floor in front of Caleb.
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