Rebooting Life: Saying Goodbye to Old Love

Chapter 1After being reborn, I'm working hard to become the kind of woman Jamie Huntington hates most.He's into girls with long hair, all sweet and demure.So, I chopped off my waist-length locks and started spending my nights surfing, snowboarding, partying with my friends.Last life, I married him only to find out he was in love with his adoptive sister, Amy Huntington.His mom threatened to disown him if he didn't break it off with her, forcing him to marry me.It was only because I looked a little like Amy.After the wedding, he was always cold to me, always sneaking around with Amy.I cried, I fought, and finally, on the way to file for divorce, I died in a car accident, full of bitterness and regret.Now that I'm back, my best friend doesn't get it."Are you doing all this to get Jamie's attention?" she asked."Nope. I'm doing it to get away from him."1It was my girl, Lily's, birthday.She invited me to the party.When I walked into the room, it was already wild.No one even noticed me.That is until I got to Lily's side."Whoa, Riley, you cut your hair?!"Lily's got a voice that carries.When she yelled, everyone turned to look.The room went silent.All eyes locked on my chin-length bob.They looked shocked.I acted like I didn't see it.Just smiled."Yeah, just got it done. The stylist said it really suits me. You like?""It's cute.""It looks great."Some scattered agreement.The ones who said it was cute kept glancing in one particular direction."I don't think it looks good at all."The blunt comment cut through the flattery like a knife.It was Amy Huntington and she clapped her hand over her mouth like she messed up.She looked genuinely flustered."Oh, sorry, Riley. I just blurted out what I was thinking. You know me, always gotta speak my mind. You're not mad, are you?"Before I could even answer, Jamie stood up.He repeated what she said, but aimed at me."Yeah, I agree. It looks awful."It was like he was protecting her at all costs.The atmosphere in the room got awkward.I just shrugged."That's okay. I like it."2Jamie pulled me outside.We stood facing each other in the hallway.The lights made his face hard to read.But I could feel the anger simmering beneath his words."Riley, what the hell? Why'd you chop off your hair? I told you I liked it long. As your girlfriend, you should–""Jamie."I cut him off."We're done."The air froze for a second.He frowned, started to say something.Then we heard Lily and Amy arguing inside the party.Jamie's frown deepened.He scoffed, tossed out a "Whatever," and stormed back to the party.Watching him go, I breathed a sigh of relief.3Jamie and I met in high school.Freshman year, I broke my leg dancing and had to use crutches.Because of that, I got bullied a lot.They called me "Crippled Riley" behind my back.They'd try to trip me.One day, they stole my homework and laughed when I cried because I couldn't catch them. That's when Jamie stepped in.You know how you can fall for someone in a specific moment?Jamie didn't just help me, he looke...