Chapter 1: Betrayal and a Second Chance

If you’d asked me then, I’d have said I could smell trouble coming before I even knew Piper Sanchez’s name. The second round of our rivalry was about to start, and my gut was already twisting.

The air inside the Whitmore estate was thick. The kind of tension you feel right before a secret bursts wide open. Piper was a time traveler—or at least, that’s what she claimed. She was the Whitmores’ real daughter. Me? I was the kid they’d found on a church doorstep, brought home in diapers and raised as their own. Sometimes I wondered if the whole town remembered that as clearly as I did.

She wasn’t particularly pretty. Not like the girls in glossy magazines. But she had this spark—a wild, unpredictable energy that made you pay attention. Every poem she recited sounded like it belonged on a marble plaque in some old library. She’d toss out lines like, “God gave me talent for a reason; a fortune spent will always come back,” and the staff would nod along like she was quoting scripture.

She could dance and sing too—her moves were offbeat, kind of out there, but I swear, you couldn’t look away. Her songs were simple, the kind that wormed their way into your head whether you liked it or not. Even the cook would catch herself humming along while prepping supper.

And the girl could cook. I mean, really cook. She’d whip up barbecue ribs that slid right off the bone, spicy crawfish that set your lips on fire, steamed blue crab, just like you’d find at a roadside shack down by the Gulf. Whenever Piper was in the kitchen, the whole place smelled like a county fair, and the staff adored her for it.

She’d often tell the house staff, “Hey, we’re all equals here. No need to stand on ceremony or call me ‘Miss’—I’m just Piper.” She’d go on about wanting the kind of love that lasts forever—one man, one woman, no secrets. She meant every word.

Everyone at the Whitmore estate was fascinated by her. Couldn’t get enough, honestly. My parents especially acted like she was spun from gold—showering her with gifts, letting her get away with just about anything. If she wanted the last slice of pie? It was hers.

Then came Ethan Carter—the eldest Carter boy, famous for his military record. He showed up, all medals and bravado, ready to break off our engagement. Said he’d marry no one but Piper. Suddenly, I was the punchline to every joke in town. The whispers followed me everywhere—even to church on Sunday.

Back then, I couldn’t handle the shame. I ignored my parents’ advice and, trusting the governor’s marriage decree, forced Ethan Carter to marry me. But under Piper’s manipulation, Ethan stabbed me in the stomach. I died, along with my unborn child. Piper leaned down, her breath icy against my ear, and hissed, “I’m a time traveler. How could you ever beat me?!”

I died with my eyes wide open. But instead of darkness—light. I woke up again.

I woke up the morning my father threw a massive Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate Piper’s return. Thanksgiving—everyone knows it’s the biggest family holiday of the year. The house buzzed with guests in cufflinks, folks calling each other by last name. Ethan, not caring about my dignity at all, stood up in front of everyone and said, “Mr. Whitmore, the girl I was engaged to was the real daughter of the Whitmore estate. Now that she’s back, the one I’m supposed to marry next month is Piper, not Marissa.”

Yes. I am Marissa.

As soon as he spoke, the whole room erupted. The noise was deafening, like crows scattering from a cornfield.

Everyone knew Ethan and I had grown up together. When he first got his stripes, he’d earned the governor’s favor and only asked for one thing: my hand in marriage. People talked about it for weeks. Now, just like that, he wanted Piper instead. My stomach twisted. All those years, just gone.

“This…” My father looked like he’d swallowed a lemon. I’d never seen him so thrown.

Even though Piper had come home, I was still his daughter in every way that counted. I’d always been the model of a well-bred Southern girl—polite, sensible, careful with my words. My parents still treated me as their own, at least for now. But I could feel the ground shifting under my feet.

But before, Piper’s meddling turned my parents against me. They cut me off so completely, it was like I’d never existed.

My father’s voice was tight as he said, “The engagement between you and Marissa was decreed by the governor.” He didn’t dare agree too quickly, not with all those eyes on him.

Ethan turned to me. “Marissa, I was young and stupid. I realize now I only ever saw you as a sister. Piper and I—we’re in love. Tomorrow, come with me to the statehouse. Let’s ask the governor to dissolve our engagement.”

I laughed. Sharper than I meant to.

How shameless did you have to be to say something like that? Honestly, it was almost impressive.

Piper sat beside me, her perfume sweet and cloying. She waited for me to answer. When I didn’t, she leaned in and whispered, “Marissa, you’d better not compete with me. I’m a time traveler; you can’t beat me.”

I ignored Piper and stared Ethan down. “Are you sure you won’t regret marrying her?”

Ethan’s chest puffed up, like he was making some kind of battlefield promise. “I’ll never regret it!”

“In that case, I’ll go with you to see the governor tomorrow and ask him to dissolve the engagement.” I didn’t even hesitate.

What a joke. I’d been given a second chance—no way was I making the same mistake twice.

My answer shocked the room. No one expected it. People had thought I’d fight, make a scene. After all, getting dumped like that would ruin a girl’s reputation in a town like ours.

Ethan was floored. He knew how much I’d loved him. He thought I’d cling. Guess he was wrong.

Ethan pressed, his voice cracking: “Are you serious?”

“Of course.” I smiled, cool as anything. “Since you don’t want me, even if I married you, it’d be forced. Better to let you and Piper be happy.”

I sounded magnanimous, but inside, I was plotting. I wasn’t that kind-hearted. Tomorrow, we’d see who had the last laugh.

I saw my father exhale, his shoulders dropping in relief. The look he gave me was tinged with respect—so different from the contempt of my past life. Back then, my stubbornness had set the whole estate on edge. This time, I kept my cool, and for a second, I saw something almost like pride in his eyes.

But Piper’s face was another story. Her plan was to have Ethan dump me in public, make me lose my cool, and ruin my reputation as the town’s most talented girl. She wanted my place, my fame. But I’d flipped the script, leaving her and Ethan both speechless.

In this town, reputation is everything.