Throw away love and hit the soft rice man hard

I was practically joined at the hip with Jake Peterson since we were kids. We got hitched right after college.

Ten years later, no baby.

I felt like a total failure, quit my job, and went full-time trying to get pregnant. But the truth was, my husband was already messing around with our housekeeper's daughter.

They sold off everything my family owned, even plotted to kill my parents.

They made sure I couldn't have kids, locked me in the basement, and I had to watch them play house. I died there, bitter and full of hate.

Then, I woke up, back in high school.

...

Jake and I were practically engaged since we were kids.

When I was in 8th grade, his dad's business tanked.

His dad, unable to handle the massive debt, jumped off a building.

My parents, bless their hearts, took pity on Jake and his mom. They paid off all their debts and basically kept them afloat.

So, yeah, we were supporting them.

After college, Jake started working at my family's company, and we got married.

My parents, being kind, raised two snakes.

They resented my folks for not bailing them out before Jake's dad offed himself. They teamed up with other people to kill my parents.

Jake even made me infertile and manipulated my guilt to take over the family business.

By the time I found out, Jake and his mistress had two kids.

I'd finally had success with IVF, and I was pregnant.

I ran downstairs, thrilled, wanting to share the news with my beloved husband.

That same day, my family's company declared bankruptcy.

Jake no longer had to pretend, and brought his kids right in front of me.

I stared at the happy family, speechless, frozen on the stairs.

Those kids looked just like Jake; I couldn't pretend they weren't his.

"Jake, who are they?"

"My wife and our kids."

Tiffany, the housekeeper's daughter, came up next to me.

"So, what if you're the princess, huh? " she said.

"Your family fortune is mine, and your man loves me."

She snatched the pregnancy test out of my hand.

"Wow, you're pregnant?! After taking so many birth control pills?!"

Birth control pills? I'd never taken a pill in my life.

Then I remembered Jake's "vitamins," the ones he made me take regularly.

I tried to turn to question him, but Tiffany pushed me down the stairs.

I tried to protect my stomach, but it was no use.

A sharp pain ripped through me, and I tried to get Jake to take me to the hospital.

I watched him cover his kid's eyes, looking at me like I was trash.

"Help me..."

No one cared.

I felt blood gush between my legs, and my body grew colder.

My last memories were of Jake's voice.

"Finally, she's dead. It would have been so much easier if she was in the car with the old folks."

"Hey, Sarah?"

"This is Mrs. Henderson's class, how can you be spacing out?"

I was sitting in my high school classroom, like waking up from a bad dream.

I was back in my junior year.

"Tiffany."

Hearing her name again made me clench my pen so tightly I nearly snapped it.

Tiffany, with her high ponytail, was answering the teacher's questions.

I turned and saw Jake, through Tiffany's arm, staring at her like he'd hung the stars for her.

So, Jake had been into Tiffany since back then.

Jake and Tiffany were always battling for the top two spots in our class.

Last time around, they'd both gone to the same college.

Id thought Jake got a crush on her in college. Turns out it was way earlier.

In the beginning of high school, I was actually number one.

Like, miles ahead of everyone.

But then Jake kept telling me that my grades were making him feel bad.

He said that with my family money, I didn't need to go to college anyway.

He said his feelings would never change no matter how my grades were, and that I should relax and enjoy life instead of studying all the time.

Slowly, I was swayed and ended up just getting into a second rate college.

He ended up going to a top school with Tiffany.

After we got hitched, my degree became the reason his mother looked down on me.

Turns out I was too dumb for her top tier graduate son.

Looking back, I was either out of my mind or a total idiot.

Why had I ever tied my life to a guy? Especially one my family kept afloat?

Between classes, I buried myself in a book.

Even though I never really dropped the ball on my studies the first time around, I never went as hard as I did my freshman year.

This time around, I was going to make up for lost time.

My friend poked me.

Jake was coming over.

"Sarah, this is for you."

Just like last time, a jar filled with little paper stars.

I saw his lack of enthusiasm flash in his eyes.

"Thanks."

It was like now that he'd done his duty, he didn't want to stick around, and he turned and walked away.

I set the jar on the desk and went back to reading.

My friend stared at it and then poked me again.

"Sarah, I've seen that jar before..."

"What's up?"

"Wasn't that in Tiffany's hands yesterday?"

I nodded, kept reading, but listened closely, noticing what Tiffany was doing.

I saw her blushing and listening as Jake explained a problem.

I overheard Jake's buddies.

"Why is Sarah so calm today?"

"Yeah, man! Jake gave her a present! A present that he handed her! Shouldn't she be crying with happiness?"

"She probably knows it's a hand me down."

"It's an honor to be given something our queen doesn't want, okay?"

I recalled how I'd reacted the first time he gave it to me.

I had been so happy, crying and excited.

It was one of the few things he ever gave me.

I posted a picture of it all over my social media.

My friend had mentioned Tiffany last time, but I had flipped on her.

I looked at my friend, feeling guilty.

She was wide-eyed, hugging her body. "Hey, I'm not into girls."

Mood killer.

I went back to my book.

After school, I was dying to get home.

I missed my parents.

I wanted to tell them I wanted to break off the engagement, and how Jake and his mother were leeches.

I ran into the house, but couldn't find my parents.

I asked the housekeeper, "Where are my parents?"

"Didn't you know? Your parents are out of the country for two more weeks."

Right, I had forgotten.

My dad was a sentimental guy, and he and Jake's dad had been close. That was the reason we were paying off their debts.

If I just said I wanted to break off the engagement, he'd think I was being dramatic and wouldn't agree to it.

Was I just going to let Jake and his mom chill for the next two weeks?

No way.

"Did you give Jake their stipend?"

The housekeeper said, "Your dad gave them three months' worth before he left, and it's only been a month and a half."

She thought I wanted to give them more.

As if.

"Can we freeze their account?"

"You mean, their allowance card?"

I nodded without hesitation.

"It's your father's card, so he'd have to do it."

Okay, if I couldn't freeze their account, I'd do an audit.

Ever since the start of junior high, we had supported Jake and his mom.

They were going to give me back every dime.

"Get all the records of all payments made to the Peterson's. I want to see how much they owe us."

When my father offered to pay for Jake's schooling, Jake insisted he'd pay us back.

The housekeeper nodded with a knowing smile.

I wanted to slap myself.

Even the housekeeper knew my family was a cash cow. How was I such an idiot?

I got my hands on the bill when it was dinner time.

"$30,000 a month?!!"

She nodded calmly, as I looked at her with shocked face.

I knew we were paying for them, but I never knew it was as much as our expenses for a huge mansion.

"Your father is kind, and Jake was your future husband, so he didn't care," she said.

I ate in silence.

Now that I wasn't blind, no one was taking advantage of my family.

Our class formed study groups.

Jake, Tiffany, me, and three other students were in the same group.

We met at the city park to study and go over problems.

Jake and Tiffany arrived together.

I was consumed by my studies, so their close proximity didn't bother me at all.

"Sarah, Jake had to ask me for help with that problem you asked him. It was so difficult that he needed to come to me for help."

I glanced at Tiffany, and her smug grin, and the necklace around her neck.

A high-end designer brand, from their latest collection.

Tiffany was just our housekeeper's daughter.

The only reason she went to my high school was because my parents wanted me to have a friend, so we even paid for her tuition.

Where would she get the money for something like that?

I'd given her the benefit of the doubt, that maybe she was just being swayed by Jake. I could have cut her some slack.

Looking at her now, I wouldn't.

"Really?" I said, "It wasn't hard. I already figured it out."

"Oh, is... is that so?"

Tiffany's smile faltered.

"Why are you wasting my time?" Jake said, "My time is precious."

"I just figured it out."

I looked innocent, and pointed at my homework, and the guy who was sitting there, listening to music.

I was happy with Jake's disgusted look.

Jake dragged Tiffany to another side of the table.

I sat down and went back to working on problems, hitting up my genius friend who I'd given a month of breakfast for tutoring.

He was a genius, sleeping in class and still getting an A.

Jake and Tiffany looked happy together.

He was explaining something, and constantly sneaking a look at me.

In his mind, I must have been heartbroken and would do anything to get him back.

I was going to get to him, but not with money.

When we were about to wrap things up, I expressed my gratitude to my genius friend.

And then, "Jake, I need to talk to you."

I didn't see my genius friend's face go dark.

Jake was smug, "What's up?"

I glanced at Tiffany and our other group mates, smiling with fake sweetness.

"I'm fine with discussing it here, but are you sure?"

Jake pulled me away.

I handed him the bill I had put in my pocket.

"Remember when you said the money you borrowed from us was going to be repaid? You're an adult now. Here's the bill. Pay up."

Jake didn't even look at the bill. "You want me to pay back the money?!" he spat, like his mom just died.