Reborn Beyond Their Remorse

I had just arrived home when my phone buzzed.

It was my best friend, Joyce Roy, her voice tentative on the line. "Claudia, about that guy I mentioned last time... you up to meeting him?"

She paused, then confessed, "Honestly, I already showed him your picture, and he's totally smitten. I get that you and Steven are engaged, but let's be real. Anyone can see he's not treating you right."

"Sure, why not? Set it up," I replied without hesitation.

Joyce paused, then squealed with delight. "Hallelujah, you've finally seen the light! Wait for my good news."

Just then, a pair of arms encircled me from behind, pulling me close.

"What's the big excitement about?" a familiar voice murmured.

I knew it was Steven without turning, but I wriggled free from his hold, stepping away.

"Nothing important." I shrugged.

The chill in my voice caught him off guard.

He tried to probe further, but his phone pinged with a notification from Andrea's social media.

In the post, she posed cozily between our parents, the trio radiating joy as if they were the only family that mattered.

[Swim plans fell through today, but who needs that when you've got your loved ones? PS: My hand is killing me. Fingers crossed for zero bad vibes this year.]

Steven's face flushed crimson as he jabbed a finger at me. "You know Andrea counts on that annual swim with you. Why did you flake out this time? And what about her hand? Was that your doing? She is your sister. How could you hurt her like that?"

In my past life, he'd been chomping at the bit to crash my birthday dinner. I'd naively thought it was about bonding with me and my family.

Only later did I piece it together. Despite my repeated reminders that my real birthday was a week earlier, he clung to today's date.

It wasn't a mix-up of calendars, but of people.

His face contorted with rage. This wasn't the first time he'd unleashed on me like this.

Once I'd brought him into the family fold, our alone time evaporated. He'd always insist, "Let's include Andrea. She'd be so lonely otherwise."

Our romantic outings devolved into me trailing behind their laughter. Even movie nights had her wedged between us on the couch.

We'd bickered endlessly about it, but he'd brush me off with a sneer. "She is your sister. I'm just being nice. Why are you so paranoid?"

To him, I was the bitter shadow of Andrea's radiant light. Pampered and adored, she could never be at fault.

His casual indifference only amplified my supposed pettiness. Joyce had spotted his lack of commitment ages ago, but in my previous life, I'd ignored the red flags and buried my doubts.

This time around, I was done with him.

"Yeah, I guess that's just who I am," I replied flatly.