Live Like a Weed, Unyielding and Tough

To fund Peter's startup, I'd sold a pendant my parents left me.

The orphanage head said I'd been found clutching it, with no memory of my past. They'd searched for my family but found nothing.

This pendant was very likely the heirloom Nicole mentioned. Maybe my family was still out there.

...

Once again, I saw hope.

If she wanted that pendant so badly, it could only mean one thing.

She was trying to replace me, and I needed to act fast.

I recalled selling it to a pawnshop. When the owner asked about my past and my address, I hesitated and lied, just in case.

After paying me, she held me back. "Kid, don't trust men blindly. Hold onto your money. This pendant's worth more than $10,000, but if you're set on helping your boyfriend, I'll give you that now. Take this gold locket too and keep it safe. If life goes south, bring it back, and I'll give you more. Just keep this from him."

I didn't think much of it then, but when Peter asked, I kept quiet.

Now the locket was my last straw. It was in a safe in my room. I had to grab it before leaving.

Exhausted, I dozed off.

Half-dreaming, I felt hands on me and jolted awake. Nicole was there, strangling me.

"You think you can compete with me?" she hissed. "Tell me where the pendant is, or you're dead! I could kill you in my last life. I still can."

Her urgency confirmed my suspicions, but I couldn't understand why she wanted me gone so badly. I hadn't done anything to her.

Fury from two lifetimes exploded. I grabbed her hair, yanking hard.

As she yelped, I kicked her shin. "You'll never steal my identity! I know you weren't kidnapped. Your kid is the seed of that man you ran off with. He ditched you, so you crawled back to Peter for a payday, didn't you?"

It was a bluff, but her panicked look told me I'd hit the mark.

Enraged, she grabbed scissors from a shelf. I backed away quickly, but instead of attacking, she screamed and stabbed her own arm.

Peter burst in and found her bleeding on the floor.

His eyes blazing, he shoved me and snapped, "What the hell did you do?"