Chapter 2

2

Nick and I are identical twins, separated only by a tiny mole near the corner of his eye.

Our parents split up when we were very young.

I moved to New York with my mother and grew up next door to JoJo.

Back then, we were actually close.

I remember the day she almost wandered into the path of a speeding car.

I lunged forward and pulled her back just in time.

From that day on, we were inseparable.

Then, when we were seventeen, my father passed away.

My mother brought Nick to live with us.

At that point, JoJo and I had only been officially dating for three months.

Since Nick and I hadn't grown up together, we were practically strangers.

But JoJo was fascinated by him from the start.

She was especially obsessed with that mole near his eye.

One afternoon, she looked at me and sighed.

"Nate, I think your brother is actually hotter than you. Why don't you get a tattoo of a mole just like his?"

That was the first time we ever had a real fight.

We didn't speak for three months.

I waited for her to apologize, to come find me.

But she didn't care. She spent every day glued to Nick's side.

Eventually, I was the one who crawled back and begged for forgiveness.

That was when the invisible wall rose between us.

No matter how hard I tried, things were never the same.

Between Nick and me, she chose him every single time.

If I showed even a hint of jealousy, she would explode.

She'd accuse me of being a petty brother.

She even said I had a happier childhood than Nick, so I should let him have whatever he wanted now.

But I didn't owe Nick anything.

My phone buzzed, snapping me out of my thoughts. It was JoJo's mother.

I hesitated before answering.

"Nate? JoJo said you backed out of the licensing! What happened? Is this about her going abroad with Nick?"

"Don't worry, her father and I will talk some sense into her. We'll make her stay."

I cut her off quickly. "Mrs. Vance, it wasn't JoJo. It was me."

"I realized I'm not ready to settle down yet. I need more time to think things through."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Vance."

The line went silent for a moment before she let out a long, weary sigh.

"Oh, Nate. Our daughter doesn't know how lucky she is to have you."

My eyes stung with sudden heat, and my voice turned thick.

"No, ma'am. I'm the one who isn't lucky enough."

"Well, no matter what happens between you two, you'll always be like a son to us."

I hung up and walked over to the wall, taking down the framed photo of JoJo and me.

In my last life, our toxic marriage broke her parents' hearts.

When Mr. Vance found out JoJo was living with my brother while still married to me, he had a massive heart attack.

He died that same night.

Mrs. Vance disowned JoJo after that.

She died alone in a nursing home just two years later.

JoJo spent years blaming me, claiming I turned her parents against her.

That was one of the reasons she was so happy to see me die.

This time, I'm walking away to save all of us.