I Chose Me

We hated each other on sight.

Her mother entered my home like she belonged there.

My mother spiraled into depression and tried to end her life.

I almost lost her.

In high school, Vanessa and I ended up at the same elite school.

She missed the cutoff by one point, but my father, Richard Reed, pulled strings to get her admitted.

That same year, my mother left the country.

I stayed in the Reed house.

I thought if I behaved badly enough, Vanessa and her mother would get the message and leave.

My methods were childish, even stupid.

I poured ink into their cups, but because I was afraid they might actually drink it, I used obvious black ink they would see.

I only wanted to scare them.

I wanted Vanessa to know I would not be easy to push around.

Instead, Vanessa complained to Richard.

His face turned dark with anger as he scolded me.

I hated them, but I never dared to do anything truly cruel.

Everything I did only made Richard feel more sorry for them.

After graduation, Vanessa and I finally went to different universities.

What finally killed the last of my hope in Richard happened during my first winter break in college.

Richard took Vanessa to a formal business dinner.

He did not deny that she was his daughter.

He even wanted Vanessa to take the Reed name.

I told him that if he let her become a Reed, I would take my mother's last name instead.

His eyes filled with rage.

His hand lifted into the air.

Before it could fall, a tall figure stepped between us.

That person was Ethan.

After graduation, I met Ethan again.

I pursued him for an entire year.

Just when I was ready to give up, he agreed to be with me.

It was only after we were married that I learned Vanessa was his ex-girlfriend.

And Ethan had once visited the Reed home as Vanessa's boyfriend.

When Richard found out I had married Ethan, his face went ashen. He clutched his chest and nearly lost his breath.

"You did this on purpose?

"You knew Mr. Cole was Vanessa's ex, and you still married him?"

I was stunned for a long time.

One New Year, I did not want to return to the Reed house, but Ethan insisted on taking me.

At the house, Vanessa and I clashed again.

We both slipped in the courtyard.

Ethan moved fast. He caught Vanessa.

I hit the ground.

At the hospital, my eyes were red as I asked Ethan why he had not caught me.

He sat there peeling fruit, his expression flat.

"I didn't see you."

After he left the hospital room, Vanessa came to visit.

She smiled as she studied me in the bed, then told me story after story about Ethan in college.

Through her, I heard about a version of Ethan I had never known.

My chest tightened until it hurt.

After I was discharged, Vanessa and I crossed paths again.

We ended up working at the same company.

We competed for every opportunity, neither of us willing to give an inch.

She carried the identity of Richard Reed's "daughter," and leadership treated her with careful respect.

Now she had another identity too.

Ethan Cole's first love.

Everyone put her on an even higher pedestal.

I knew my proposal would most likely lose.

Still, I led my team through late nights, revisions, and endless drafts until our design was as strong as I could make

A month later, I walked into the conference room with our finished proposal.

Everyone was there except Vanessa.

She entered with Ethan.

The light landed on them as if someone had staged it.

Ethan occasionally lowered his head to listen to her, adjusting himself to her height.

His profile was sharp in the light, his features calm and elegant.

For one careless second, our eyes met.

I tried to read something different in his gaze.