Chapter 1

Emily's POV

I should be celebrating. Today is my graduation day. Four years of late nights, coffee runs, and cramming for exams, and here I am. But instead of being happy, I feel like shit.

Since I came back from the future, I know my boyfriend Louis is gonna dump me today, and I also know that after we break up, we'll both die young.

At this thought, I feel cold to the very core.

When I woke up in my dorm room this morning, I suddenly realized I'd returned from eight years later back to graduation day. All those things that had already occurred, those memories of losing Louis twice, are still so sharp and clear in my mind.

This is totally insane. I'm supposed to be smart. I graduated summa cum laude from Harvard, for God's sake. But I can't stop the five years of separation from Louis, or prevent myself from watching helplessly as the man I love dies of cancer at thirty.

My phone buzzes with a text from Louis: "Meet me at the Charles River after the ceremony. We need to talk."

Here we go.

I know exactly what he's going to say. Today, he found out that my dad, Robert Parker, screwed over his family. That Dad basically destroyed Louis's father's company and drove him to kill himself ten years ago.

This graduation ceremony let Louis find out that I'm Dad's daughter, and because of that, he wants to break up with me.

And the worst part? Dad doesn't even remember I'm graduating today. He did come for the graduation ceremony. But he wasn't there for me. He came for his precious son Marcus. Marcus is his illegitimate child, and somehow, he ended up graduating on the same day as me.

The Charles River looks pretty in the afternoon sun, and there are couples everywhere celebrating graduation. But the guy waiting for me on our usual bench looks like someone died.

Louis Gomez. Even when he's pissed off and heartbroken, he's still gorgeous. Brown hair, those brown eyes that used to look at me like I was everything. Now they just look hurt and angry.

"Emily." His voice sounds dead.

"Hey." I sit next to him, close enough that our knees almost touch. He immediately scoots away.

"I can't do this anymore," he says. No buildup, just straight to the point. His hands are clenched so tight his knuckles are white. "We need to break up, Emily."

"Louis..."

"No, let me talk." He won't look at me directly, staring out at the water instead. "I've been thinking a lot, and I... I just don't think we're right for each other."

Here comes the lie.

"I don't love you anymore. I thought I did, but I was wrong. We're too different. We want different things."

In my past life, this is where I broke down. Because at 22, I was a proud person, even though I sensed there might be something wrong with what he was saying, I didn't push for answers and just accepted the breakup.

But this time, I know the truth. My dad orchestrated the hostile takeover that drove Louis's father to bankruptcy and suicide ten years ago.

And Louis, being the noble idiot that he is, decided to protect me from the truth by lying instead.

"I know why you're really doing this," I say quietly.

He finally looks at me, and I can see the panic flash across his face. "What?"

"I know about my father and your parents, Louis. I know about David Gomez."

All the color drains from his face. "Emily, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your dad was a co-founder of TechVision Industries. My father orchestrated a hostile takeover, spread rumors about embezzlement, drove the company into bankruptcy." I watch his hands start shaking. "Your father killed himself because he lost everything. Your mom died of a heart attack six months later because she couldn't handle losing him."

Louis stares at me like I just reached into his chest and pulled out his heart.

"How do you..." His voice cracks. "How do you know that?"

"I've known for a while." Since I died and came back to life with memories of our future. "I was trying to figure out how to tell you that I knew."

"Then you understand." He stands up abruptly, turning away from me. "You understand why we can't be together. Your family destroyed mine, Emily. There's blood between us that can never be washed clean."

"Not this time." I grabbed him and turned him around, looking into his slightly reddened eyes. Feeling my heart soften, I gripped his collar and kissed him while he stared at me in surprise.

He goes completely still, like he can't believe what's happening. For a second, neither of us moves. Then I kiss him harder, putting everything from two lifetimes into it.

When I pull back, he's staring at me like I'm crazy.

"What the hell, Emily?"

"Look," I say, sitting back like I didn't just blow his mind. "If you want to break up, fine. I get it. The whole family feud thing is pretty intense."

He blinks. "Intense?"

"But," I keep going, ignoring how confused he looks, "we don't have to completely cut each other off, right? I mean, we could still be friends." I pause and smile a little. "Friends with benefits."