Chapter 2

Sophie's POV

The system chime went off, and I froze.

Lily closed the laptop and handed it back to me with a slow smile.

"There. Now we can all go to Westlake together."

My fingers felt numb around the computer bag.

This was exactly how it happened in my last life. Lily stole my laptop, Ethan and Ryan blocked me, and I could only watch as she changed my application. Back then, I slapped her. Ethan shoved me to the floor, and Ryan called me someone nobody wanted.

Now they were repeating the same scene, word for word.

"Who gave you permission to change my application?" I asked.

"I was only trying to help," Lily said. "The system said you'd used all your changes. You have no choice now. You're going to Westlake with us."

"That's my account."

"We're friends."

Ethan stepped in front of her. "Sophie, stop acting like this. Lily gave up her chance to study out of state for us. What's wrong with us going to community college together?"

"You gave up Yale and Stanford."

"College is just a platform," Ryan said coldly. "What matters is that we stay together."

I looked at the phones in their hands.

"Then I hope you enjoy Westlake."

Ethan stared at me. "You're still going to make a scene?"

"I'm not making a scene. You chose your school. That's your business."

I turned to leave, but Ryan grabbed my shoulder.

"You need to explain yourself. Are you doing this because both of us like Lily?"

"Who you like has nothing to do with me."

Lily came over and reached for Ryan's arm.

"Let it go, Ryan. Sophie's just upset. Once she calms down, she'll understand we're doing this for her."

Her words sounded gentle, but she pulled my computer bag out of my hand.

"Give it back."

"There's no point. You can't change the application anymore."

I reached for it. She immediately ducked behind Ethan.

Ethan spread his arms. "Enough."

"That's mine."

"She said she doesn't want to give it to you."

"Move."

"You're being selfish."

I looked at the two people standing in front of me and finally understood.

They hadn't been fooled just once. They had chosen to hand themselves over to her.

The glass doors opened. My father hurried inside and saw the red marks around my arm.

"Sophie, what happened?"

Before I could answer, Lily stepped forward.

"Mr. Bennett, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Sophie didn't want to apply with us, and I was only trying to help her adjust the application."

My father looked at the laptop in her hands.

"Who allowed you to access my daughter's account?"

"I was just helping."

"Give me the computer."

Ethan stepped in front of him. "This is between us."

My father gave him a hard look. "Are you legally adults?"

"We're eighteen."

"Then you should understand that accessing someone else's application without permission can have consequences."

He called our college counselor and explained what had happened.

The counselor answered quickly. "If the final deadline hasn't passed, the change can be withdrawn through the system. Save every login record and device detail."

My father handed me his phone, and I logged back in.

A red notice appeared on the screen:

Your application has been changed by another device.

My finger stopped.

I turned the phone toward Ethan and Ryan. "See that? The system recorded another device."

Lily's face tightened. "The system could be wrong."

"Then let the school investigate."

My father contacted a lawyer and saved the security footage, text messages, and the laptop's activity logs. The lawyer warned us that changing someone else's college application without permission could trigger a disciplinary investigation.

Ethan suddenly spoke.

"Sophie, do you really have to turn this into a huge thing?"

"You're the ones who made it huge."

"We just want to go to school with Lily."

"Then live with your choice."

I restored my Yale application. The screen displayed:

Application restored successfully.

Ethan and Ryan's accounts still showed Westlake Community College.

"From now on, nobody changes anything."

My father closed the laptop and took me home from the student center.

Ethan and Ryan didn't follow us, and Lily stopped crying. But I knew she wasn't going to let this go.