Lost the Golden Ticket, Found My Own Path

I lucked out, securing a guaranteed admission spot at Westbridge University—the one the real heiress throws away.

Nicole Stewart drops out for love and runs off with the school's bully, shattering what should've been her perfect life.

Meanwhile, I'm branded a thief, accused of stealing her place. However, I fight my way up to become a powerhouse in business and even marry her childhood sweetheart, Spencer Lowe.

Yet, at the peak of it all, I open my eyes to find myself back to graduation day of senior year, right when I'm filling out my choices of colleges.

A live barrage of comments flashes before my eyes.

"That fake heiress, Gloria Stewart, is nothing but a thief. She stole Nicole's life!"

"In her last life, Nicole actually dropped out of school to start a business with some school bully. She even gave her childhood sweetheart, who was her fiance, to someone else! Ugh, she's so stupid and pathetic."

"Good thing Nicole gets a second chance. This time, the real heiress has awakened, so let's just see how miserable that fake heiress who stole her life becomes!"

I just smile at the scrolling insults.

Sorry, but I carve my own path. Nicole can be reborn a hundred times, and she still can't stop me from rising to the top.

Suddenly, I was reborn on the day we filled out our college applications. I froze for only a few seconds before settling into calm.

Turning my head, I caught sight of Nicole's shockingly bright eyes. They were burning with the ecstasy of regaining what was lost and a fierce determination to win.

She glanced sharply at me before bolting out of the back door of the classroom toward the tall, handsome figure at the end of the hall.

It was Spencer, Nicole's childhood sweetheart, from Class A of senior year. And in my last life, he was my husband.

"Spencer! I like you. This time, I won't give you away to someone else again!" Nicole sobbed as she threw her arms around his lean waist. Immediately, tears began to soak through his clean, white shirt.

Spencer was stunned for a moment by the sudden embrace before an overwhelming joy surged through him.

Almost clumsily, he wrapped his arms around her in return and patted her back with awkward gentleness. "Okay," he whispered. "I'll always be here for you."

Sunlight outlined their embrace, the two of them framed like a perfect still from a movie poster.

The barrage of comments dripping with undisguised malice and glee instantly exploded in front of me.

"Yes, that's how it should be! The real heiress belongs with the resilient childhood sweetheart who never stopped protecting her. That dumb school bully can step aside."

"Gloria's nothing but a lowlife thief. She stole Nicole's spot at Westbridge University, her heiress identity, and her man! People like her are honestly disgusting!"

"This time, the real heiress got her head straight. She's 100% stepping into her main-character era. As for that fake heiress Gloria, I'd love to see how she's supposed to succeed now without that Westbridge University spot."

I couldn't help but laugh after reading those self-righteous comments.

The memories of my previous life replayed before me with crystal clarity.

After Nicole was brought back into my family, she quickly grew resentful of high-society rules. Longing for so-called freedom and true love, she fell hopelessly for Yale Walker, a useless school bully.

All for the sake of running off with him, she tore up her guaranteed admission letter to Westbridge University with her own hands and publicly renounced her engagement to the Lowe family.

The news sent my dad, Duncan Stewart, into a heart attack from the rage.

The entire upper-class circle watched as she turned herself into the biggest scandal of the year. I, the fake heiress who suddenly lost everything the moment the real one returned, could only stay silent.

Under the weight of stares filled with either scorn or pity, I bent down to pick up what she had tossed aside like trash—the Westbridge University admission letter, and with it, the engagement she had sneered at.

For ten years, I walked on eggshells—from the day I stepped through the gates of Westbridge University to the day I clawed my way through the Stewart Group and finally gained a foothold.