Revenge from a Wheelchair

Chapter 1

The scholarship student my family sponsored just shattered my legs in a hit-and-run.

My fiancé, Chad, actually said to me, “Babe, even if you’re a cripple, I’ll still marry you. Just please don’t press charges against Brittany.”

Then my brother, Ryan, pipes up, “Come on, sis, Brittany’s practically family. She’ll be my girl soon. Do me a solid and let it go.”

Because they were the two guys I loved most in the world, I dropped the charges.

But barely six months later, Brittany complains that my leg wounds look gross and smell bad, and she can’t deal with it.

Next thing I know, Chad and Ryan are letting my wounds fester until I die from infection.

This time around, I ain’t believing a word they say.

I’m gonna watch them both get taken down by that wicked Brittany.

I wake up screaming, my legs throbbing like someone’s driving railroad spikes through them.

I open my eyes and see Chad, looking all concerned and puppy-dog-eyed.

“Sierra, thank God you’re awake.”

“Don’t you worry, baby, I’m gonna stick by you no matter what.”

Looking at him, feeling the fire in my legs, I realize I’ve been given a second chance.

Sure enough, Chad shifts gears.

“Listen, honey, can you get your lawyer to drop the case against Brittany? We all grew up together. You know she didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Chad spouts the same BS he did last time, and just like before, I almost gave in.

But what was the result? Brittany drops some comment about how my scars look disgusting and I should just give up.

Then Chad celebrates Brittany’s dance competition win, ignoring me completely, fresh out of my second surgery.

Not this time. I’m not letting Brittany get away with this.

I give Chad a stone-cold stare.

“I’m pressing charges against Brittany. She was driving without a license. She needs to do time.”

Chad’s face drains of color. He actually kneels on the linoleum floor.

“Sierra, please, I’m begging you. Let Brittany off the hook.”

“You’ve had everything handed to you your whole life. Brittany’s got a sick mom and that’s it.”

“Putting her in jail would destroy her, don’t you have a heart?”

Hearing him say that, my wounds throb even harder and my heart aches.

No heart?

Chad’s family and mine have known each other forever. We were practically promised to each other at birth.

A few years back, his family lost everything, his parents bolted to dodge the debt collectors.

I begged my parents to take him in, along with this Brittany, who was being sponsored by his family.

To help Chad get back on his feet, I funneled every penny of my savings into his business. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I just wanted to help him get back on his feet.

I thought Chad and Brittany were just trying to support each other during tough times.

Turns out Chad has a business mind. He got everything back on track, and paid off his family’s debts.

And now, after everything I’ve done, I’m being told I have no heart. I guess I was wrong about him.

I look Chad dead in the eyes.

“You can pay me back the money I loaned you.”

I’m not exactly flush right now. My parents died way too young, and the inheritance they left me only gives me a measly ten grand every quarter.

And the payment’s still two months away, but my legs can’t wait two months.

My legs can be completely healed. I didn’t learn that until the end of my last life.

Brittany whispered it to me.

“Sierra, as long as your legs are in perfect condition, there’s no way I’m going to win the dance competition.”

“So Chad and your brother decided to stop the treatments.”

Right now, my legs are still partially healed.

I have to come up with another hundred grand or so to get the rest of the surgeries so I can stand again.

I need that money now.

Chad recoils, looking disappointed.

“I can pay you back what you invested, tenfold, but not right now.”

“I can’t let you use that money to sue Brittany.”

“That car she totaled? I already scrapped it. Even if you sue, you won’t have any evidence.”

Looking at this man I poured my heart and soul into helping, it still stings.

But I know Chad isn’t completely devoid of feeling for me.

The moment the accident happened, Chad charged toward me, trying to pull me out of the way.

Brittany was driving straight at me.

I stare at him, trying to plead with him without words.

“Chad, I just want to get treatment at a better hospital. You know I’m a dancer. I can’t lose my legs.”

Chad’s expression softens. He pulls out his phone, ready to transfer the funds.

But as he’s about to enter the final digits of his password, Ryan walks in.

He snatches the phone from Chad.

“Don’t send her that money now. What if Sierra changes her mind and uses it to sue Brittany?”

“Brittany’s in the middle of the biggest dance competition of her life. She can’t let anything distract her.”

Chad acts like a light bulb just went off over his head. He puts his phone away and backs away from me like I’m a rabid dog.

He glares at me.

“Sierra, I almost fell for it. You know Brittany’s competing. You’re just trying to mess with her head.”

“Every competition before this, you kept letting her win. Now that you’re hurt, you’re still trying to hurt her.”

Even after living through it once, seeing them like this is painful.

In their eyes, my broken legs are nothing compared to Brittany’s dance competition?

Before Brittany came home from studying dance abroad, it was just my brother and I. They loved me.

Everything changed after Brittany came home.

Ryan crouches down and takes my hand.

“Sierra, even if you’re a cripple, I can take care of you. I can help you with that inheritance mom and dad left you.”

“So your legs don’t have to heal. As long as you’re healed, you’re going to keep going after Brittany.”

“Don’t you know it kills me whenever Brittany starts crying? That’s why she doesn’t marry me, because you’re my sister.”

Chad scoffs at my brother.

“Please, Brittany doesn’t want to marry you because of Sierra.”

“It’s because you’re not the man she deserves.”

“I was always there for Brittany whenever she lost a competition. I’m her light in the darkness.”

As soon as he says it, Chad seems to realize he misspoke. He gives me a guilty look.

That’s when it clicks. Every time I won a competition and wanted to celebrate, Chad was nowhere to be found. His phone was off.

Later, he’d say he was with clients.

Turns out he was comforting Brittany over her loss.

But those competitions were serious. I wasn’t trying to target Brittany. I was trying to win the World Championship, I had to win.

Ryan fires back.

“Yeah, well, you’ve got my sister as a girlfriend. How long can you be there for Brittany? You can’t marry her.”

“You leave and I am there with Brittany.”

Chad sighs, shaking his head. He looks at me with pity, like I’m some huge burden.

Living through it again, watching the two men I love fight over the girl who crippled me, it hurts like hell. But it also makes me more determined to break free.

And then I get an idea. A way to get Chad to cough up the cash for my treatment.

I tell Chad I need to use the restroom and ask him to carry me.

Chad obliges, carrying me into the bathroom without a second thought. As he’s about to leave, I grab his hand.

“Chad, I know you’re not going to want to touch me like this, and we won’t have kids. I know you’re only with me out of a sense of obligation.”

“I have a way for you to marry Brittany.”

To really hammer it home, I make him look at my mangled, bone-deep knee wounds.

Just like I expected, Chad recoils, covering his nose.

That’s exactly what I wanted.

I need Chad to be repulsed by me, so he’ll want to be with Brittany, the radiant star.

I grab Chad’s hand, even though he pulls away.

I whisper.

“Chad, you’re way better looking than my brother. And Brittany really cares about looks.”

“So when she has to pick someone, she’ll definitely pick you. She’s not with you because of me. You don’t need to feel obligated to me.”

Chad’s eyes light up.

“Really? Brittany likes me more than your brother?”

I nod. “She told me herself when she was drunk.”

“So if you want to marry her, you have to break up with me. Once you pay me back, you won’t be so well-off. You’ll be on the same level as Brittany. You won’t owe me anything, and you don’t have to feel responsible.”

I study Chad’s face.

Chad is conceited. He’ll want to ditch me, go after Brittany, and pay me back.

Last time around, Chad hid behind that veil of responsibility, pretending to care while secretly loving Brittany and protecting her.

He used the money I gave him to buy Brittany luxury cars and a mansion.

This time, I’m tearing down that facade. I just want the money so I can get my legs fixed. The money I will have leftover will pay for the perfect health worker.

Chad still seems hesitant, a little sad.

“Sierra, are you sure you won’t mind me being with someone else? You turned all your rich friends against you because of me.”

I give him a brave smile.

“Isn’t the greatest love wanting someone to be happy?”

“I want you to choose the girl you truly love.”

To seal the deal, I add one more thing.

“And if Brittany screws you over, and you don’t mind being with a cripple, you can come back to me. I’ll take you back.”

Chad’s expression brightens. He pulls out his phone and starts to make the transfer.

His and my cards are black cards. They have no spending limits.

It’ll take less than a minute.

But just as he’s about to hit the button, we’re interrupted again. This time, it’s Brittany.

Brittany looks furious. She slaps the phone out of Chad’s hand.

“Chad, how can you abandon Sierra when she’s a cripple?”

“You need to take responsibility.”

Brittany’s doing this on purpose. She doesn’t want me to get my legs fixed.

Last time, even without this money, I could have collected my inheritance in a couple of months.

But she convinced my brother, my guardian, to take my card away.

That’s why I couldn’t get to the doctor in time to find out that my legs could be saved.

Ryan rushes in.

Brittany turns to him, tears welling up.

“Ryan, look at your sister’s fiancé. He’s abandoning her now that she’s disabled.”

“You can’t let your sister get ahold of any money. Your sister’s too nice. She’ll break up with him so she won’t be a burden, but it’s not fair to her. I won’t be able to live with myself.”

Brittany sobs.

Ryan, hearing Brittany’s words, pulls her into a hug.

Brittany pushes him away.

Ryan glares at me. He calls our parents’ lawyer.

“Ms. Jones, my sister’s being a little love-crazy right now. The clause that allows her to collect her inheritance every quarter needs to be revoked.”

“I’m her guardian now. She can’t collect a penny without my permission.”

I look at my brother, and I want to cry. He’s a powerful businessman.

How can’t he see that Brittany doesn’t want me to get my legs healed?

Brittany doesn’t love Chad or Ryan.

She’s out for revenge.

Both this life and the last, Brittany’s dad was Chad’s family driver, and her mom was a maid.

Her father crashed one day on the way to pick up Chad’s family, and died.

Her mother became a vegetable.

That’s why Brittany hates both our families.

When I was floating around after my death, I saw her manipulating Chad and Ryan.

In the end, both of them broke the law, were found guilty, and all their assets were passed onto Brittany.

This time, I just want to escape this revenge.

I’m not going to drag up those two.

Ryan glares at me.

“Sierra, what are you looking at? I’m doing this for you. You need to stay with Chad.”

“You dumped all your friends for Chad. You can’t throw that away.”

I look at my brother, devoid of feeling.

“If you really cared, you’d pay for my surgery.”

“You just want Chad to stay with me so you don’t have to compete with him for Brittany.”

I hit a nerve. Ryan doesn’t say a word.

Chad, on the other hand, explodes.

“Don’t think that you giving me a few bucks means you own me. I have the right to choose who I love.”

I can’t help but smile. Chad’s biting.

He pulls out his burner phone and transfers the money I invested to me.

I take a screenshot and post it to my group chat.

[Ladies, I’m not a simp anymore! Got my money back. We’re still besties, right?]

[Need help ASAP at the hospital.]