Changing My Fate

Many slave their lives away to make something of themselves. To become someone great, someone famous, someone rich or the rare person that just wants to achieve true happiness. For Chloe Brass, she just wanted to rise up out of the struggling working class, and pursue her passion of design in fashion. She wanted to both design clothes and model them herself, being the powerful dynamic duo in society.

Unfortunately, she was born to a low-income family that could barely afford to feed and clothe their three kids, with Chloe being the oldest of them. Being the oldest of her siblings, she was expected to get a job and help the household at a young age, studying day and night to make sure she gets into a good school and gets a solid and well-paying job, so she can continue to support and provide for the family.

This isn't what she dreamed of doing, and as much as she loved her family, she knew she only had one chance at life and wanted to use it to make the best of herself. A few months after she graduated from high school, she took off for the big city and enrolled in a design program at a local community college, working her days yet again day and night, to make a name for herself.

She worked from the tender age of 18, to 25 but was barely able to get her foot in the door. She soon developed sleep insomnia and frequent panic attacks due to high stress, lack of sleep and barely eating. Although she lived with two other girls from her school, she never joined in any of their wine or game nights, never socialized with them outside of class or in the house, always locking herself in her room or running around the city trying to land a contract deal with even a small business, but no one was willing to even look at her designs.

One night, the life she knew was so precious but still ended up throwing away anyway, came to an abrupt end. Delirious from sleep deprivation and caffeine highs, she mixed up her sleeping pills with her anxiety pills, and took a larger dose of sleeping pills than necessary.

Never having reached out to her roommates and abandoning her family in the pursuit of her dreams, there is no one to check up on her when her eyes had slowly started to close and her heart had rapidly sped in her chest. Her body went numb and slumped to the ground, nothing but the sound her heart pounding in her chest, each beat slowing bit by bit, until the life she tried to cling onto so desperately, faded from her.

She wasted 25 years of her young life doing nothing but working. She never did a single joyful thing in her life, never went out for drinks with friends or experienced a work party with colleagues or a college kegger. She never confided her struggles or secrets in a close friend, and felt the bond of having someone to rely on, to be there for her. She had so many people around her, and not a single one of them knew of her struggle because she never told them.

Chloe Brass, 25-years-old, died from a pill overdose after never having achieved a single thing she set out to do in her short life. A life wasted; she only wishes that wherever she ends up next, she will no longer experience the struggles and hardships of her last life. She can finally be free to live how she wants, without the burden of wealth and status to weigh her down.

When she opens her eyes once again, she doesn't expect to have her prayers answered – by being transported into the body of a completely different person!

Chloe Brass has died and awoken as Athena Rose, a girl who has everything Chloe dreamed of having and more. It seems like all her hard work in her previous life has finally paid off, and she has been given a new life where everything she has ever wanted is being handed to her.

What could possibly go wrong with this too good to be true life?

How could this have happened? What kind of other being could have done this?

The last thing Chloe Brass could remember, was the numbing of her slumped body as it fell to the floor, the bottle of what she thought was her anxiety pills tumbling from her hands, revealing they were in fact her bottle of extra strong melatonin pills to help her sleep, which she had downed with her large 3 sugar coffee.

She thought it was the end, yet here she is, waking up in a room so luxurious, she thought she really had gone to heaven for a second, until she turned and saw the woman asleep in the chair next to the bed, clearly alive and not some spiritual being or angel. She almost let out a scream when she saw the young lady, looking no older than herself.

Chloe remembers dying in her room, which looked nothing like the picturesque room she has woken up in now, and looks nothing like a hospital if she was in fact revived from her death experience. Should she not be hooked up to machines and lying in a diaper of her own filth?

Not wanting to wake the deep asleep woman next to her, she slowly lefts the blankets and slips out of bed, discovering a pair of fuzzy pink slippers on the side of the bed that fit her feet perfectly, as if custom made just for her. She shrugs and slips her feet in before quietly padding across the floor to the vanity mirror, wanting to see how ghastly her reflection is after coming back from the dead.

Letting out a yawn and rubbing her eyes, she carefully wobbles over to the mirror, her legs having no strength from lying in bed for however long. When her eyes meet her reflection in the mirror, she lets out the scream she was holding back earlier and stumbles back so far, she trips herself and falls back. The sound of the scream and her butt hitting the floor was enough to wake the woman next to her, who let out a strangled scream of her own.

"Oh my god, my lady! You're awake finally, this is a miracle!" she exclaims and rushes over to her, tears gathering in her eyes. As Chloe looks closely, she sees that the woman is dressed in a plain outfit that closely resembles a servant of some kind and she wonders just exactly where she landed herself.

"My lady, what are you doing lying on the ground like that? You shouldn't be out of bed." The woman helps her off the floor and carries her back to bed. "I'll get you some water and something to eat, you must be famished."

"Wait, can you get me a mirror please?" Chloe calls out. The woman looks back at her confused but nods hesitantly and disappears in the side door of the bedroom, which seems to open into an attached bathroom. She comes back out with a gold-plated hand mirror and gives it to Chloe before leaving to fetch food and water.

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she lifts the mirror up, opening them once again to confirm that what she saw earlier wasn't a trick of the light or a gag mirror.

It isn't, the girl staring back at her with the unknown appearance is really her. Instead of the plain, mousy brown hair she had before, she now has luscious blonde locks that reach past her waist, and instead of her dark brown eyes she now has vibrant green eyes that sparkle like emeralds in the sun. Her skin is lightly tanned and flawless, not a single blemish in sight, with high cheekbones and naturally long lashes, soft pouty lips and neatly trimmed eyebrows.

She looks like the super models she aspired to be in magazines, and she has been lying in bed for however long, not wearing an inch of make-up or having bathed properly, yet everything about her still seems to be glowing. Is this what feels like to be born naturally pretty?

Her thoughts are interrupted when the door opens again and the servant comes through the door carrying a silver tray with a bowl of soup and a cup of water on top, like she is serving a member of royalty. She sets the tray down on the bed and stands by the bed side, as if awaiting instructions or to confirm Athena will eat the food.

"What are you doing?" Athena asks.

"I'm waiting to see if there is anything else you need? I have already phoned the doctor; he should be here in an hour to check your vitals and see if you're suffering any internal damage or other ailments."

"What exactly happened again? My memory is foggy from right before I passed out."

The woman seems to hesitate on answering.

"I think it would be best for the doctor to explain what happened, it would be easier for him than myself, I don't know all those fancy technical terms used in medicine."

It was a fair point; it was clearly something great enough that it killed the soul of the former Athena Rose. But did no one notice that this woman had died at one point? Was there no one watching her or monitoring her vitals to make sure she was at least still breathing?

She has only been awake for an hour at most, yet the only person to come to her room is a servant, who seems to have stayed by her side throughout the most of it, even setting up camp uncomfortably next to her bed. Does she not have a family or friends? This is a woman who is obviously wealthy and pretty, there is no way she lives such a lonely life, that only a mere paid attendant would be looking after her.

"Where is everyone else?" she asks the servant.

"By everyone else, do you mean your father and the mistress and her daughter?"

Is that all? What about her mother? Does she not have one? If that's the case, asking about it would seem suspicious, if her mother passed away than it would be odd if she suddenly asked where she is or why she wasn't mentioned. Instead, she just nods in agreement, planning to take a look around the room later for any clues to the identity of this woman.

"Your father is working, and Mistress Alexis and her daughter are out shopping as usual, it is just us and the kitchen staff in the manor at the moment. I haven't informed your father that you've woken up, I thought you might not want that."

Athena wouldn't want her own father knowing she was awake from her coma? That clearly meant their relationship isn't a good one, so bad in fact that she doesn't want her father to know she is still alive. This piques Chloe's curiosity even more, wanting to dismiss the servant and eat, so she can rummage around the room freely and find out just who she has hijacked.

Something is telling her that this new life is too good to be true, and the more she hears about her new family, the more the suspicion grows.

"Thank you, I don't believe there is anything else I need for now."

The woman bows her head and walks out. Chloe has yet to learn her name, but the servant seems like someone who might have worked there for a long time, and it would be another red flag if the master of the house was to ask what her name was, or maybe it might come off as arrogant that she can't remember a loyal servants name.

Either way, she will have to learn the names of everyone on her own, in her own way, if she wishes to keep up the act that she is the real Athena, until she at least figures out what is going on, and if this body switch is permanent. Once the bedroom door is closed, she turns to the silver tray and carefully slurps up the pumpkin soup, welcoming the soothing warmth that trails down her throat to her rumbling stomach.

Once she is done eating, she gets out of bed and looks around the room, wondering where she could find something that could tell her a little more about her new life. Thinking about what that something could be, a journal came to mind.

Everyone keeps their inner most thoughts about themselves in a journal, wouldn't they? With that thought in mind, Chloe goes over to the desk and rummages through the drawers, but to no avail. She checks the dresser drawers to see if the former Athena may have tried to hide it, when she suddenly thinks of the one place a person would keep something so personal.

Right next to them as they sleep. She checks underneath the pillows and underneath the mattress but still nothing. She slumps down on the floor next to the bed, just about to give up, when her foot kicks something light underneath. Getting down on her stomach, she reaches as far as she can, until what feels like the corner of a book comes into grasp. It's just an inch too far for her finger tips to grab it, but there is still a way.

Looking around the room, she spots a coat hanger by the door with a robe hanging on it. She discards the robe on the ground and grabs the coat hanger, taking the flatter end of it to fit neatly under the bed and push the book out on the other side. She nearly jumps for joy when she sees the clear front cover of a journal and it doesn't have any sort of lock on it.

Putting the coat hanger back, she picks up the book and returns to the bed to flip through the pages, her eyes quickly scanning the words for what is most important, but she stops halfway through.

No wonder this girl woke up alone; she has had quite the terrible life.

Before her 18th birthday, her mother passed away in a car accident when the driver lost control of the car and swerved into the ditch. The car engine caught on fire, and only the driver was able to escape before the car blew up, her mother still inside.

A month after the death of her mother, her father brought in his new lover and their supposed daughter he had, before he met Athena's mother.

What kind of story is behind that? She has a half-sister that's older than her, born before her mother and father even met? Why is she suddenly back?

It's clear her father was still having an affair with this woman, Alexis I'm assuming, while he was raising a family with Athena and her mother.

Just a month after his wife's death, he welcomes his illegitimate family in with open arms, and forgets all about his other daughter. What kind of father is this man? The suspicion that Chloe had that her new life was too good to be true, is really turning out to be true.

After reading through the journal and stomach as much as she could, Chloe was able to get a better understanding of her situation. She is 20 years old this year, has built a successful modelling career since she was a child, and she is the daughter of the Rose heiress, who are responsible for creating the luxury hotels called the Rose Towers.

She has lived a miserable life ever since her mother died and her stepmother and half-sister moved in, Alexis and Stella Heroux. Stella has had it out for Athena ever since they met in their first year of university, Stella already being in her second at the time. She believes that everything Athena has should belong to her, and has made that fact known to Athena.

The former Athena has written about every encounter with her half-sister, of how she has had gangs of girls corner her at school, drenched her with dirty mop water, thrown food at her in the cafeteria, publicly beat her in the halls and school grounds, and it doesn't stop when she gets home.

Stella continues to misbehave and blame it on Athena, their father taking Stella's side because he feels guilty for having left her at such a young age, but she never explains why her father left his former lover, especially if they had a child together? Is the man really that greedy, that once he found someone wealthy and the heiress to a mass fortune, that he would leave his former family for a chance at that wealth?

If that were the case, why didn't cut ties with them? Why endanger his chances of getting his hands on this vast fortune? If any lawyer were to find out that he was having an affair during his marriage, the will would be nullified and he wouldn't get a single cent. He did a great job hiding it until her mother passed away.

The question now remains; does her mother's will leave everything to her, or her father?

There is something deeper going on here, I just know it.

The eerie feeling, she had before crept up on her again, telling her that she has many things to be wary of, and her new half-sister and stepmother are clearly two of them she needs to keep her eye on. It's going to be difficult defending herself against these attacks, without knowing any context of the situation. This journal tells her a lot, and there is still many more details to read through, but the drama that Chloe has discovered is enough for her already.

She has to think about what she knows so far, and how she is going to use it to continue fooling everyone into thinking that she is the real Athena. Despite the red flags of this life so far, it is still too good an opportunity for her to give up, and she is still unaware of how long she has in this body. Everything she has ever wanted is at the tips of her fingers, all she has to do is reach out and take hold, hoping there are no big thorns along the way.

The sounds of voices floating down the hall piques her interest, dropping the journal on the bed and walking over to the door to crack it open a little and peek out. She can't see anyone, but she can hear a man's voice speaking with the servant she was with earlier.

"Has she woken up? Is she aware and coherent, any signs that she might be suffering brain damage?" the man asks the servant in a rushes voice, his footsteps slapping against the carpeted floor as he races towards the bedroom door.

Chloe closes it carefully and runs back to the bed to pretend like she had never left, tucking the journal under her many layers of pillows to hide it, just as the door opens again and the doctor walks in with a large smile on his face. It is the first overjoyed person she has seen since she woke from her death experience, the only person to show her such relief that she is alive.

"Well, you look as healthy as a horse, you can barely tell you were even asleep for almost 3-months."

3 months? Is he serious? No wonder my legs felt like jell-o when I tried to stand up, do I even have any muscle mass left in my body?

Given how fit Athena's body appears to be, it would seem she didn't suffer her physical form that much during her time in a coma.

The doctor did his usual check-up, making sure her heart rate is normal and vision isn't impaired. He asks her questions like who she is and if she remembers what day it is, and thanks to the calendar on the wall, she is able to respond despite not knowing what year she is even living in.

Based on the modern looking bedroom, the fact that cars and other automobiles exist, and there is top notch medical care, it would seem she isn't that far off from her previous time. She has in fact only gone five years in the future, if you base off the last year and day she was alive, which was the year 2017 and it is now 2022.

"I was going to recommend a quick trip to the hospital just to be sure, but from a minor examination right now, I'd say you're just fine. If you feel any dizziness or sudden headaches, I would strongly recommend getting checked out at the hospital, to make sure there aren't any lingering internal damage done to your brain or internal organs.

"Doctor, there is one thing that I can't seem to remember. How did I end up like this?" Chloe finally asks, wanting to put her curiosity to rest as to how this woman died as well.

The doctor gives her a somber look and smiles gently.

"Unfortunately, you mixed a large amount of sleeping pills with alcohol. We rushed you to the hospital and stabilized you, but you were barely clinging on to life. It is such a sad way to go, and a hope this has taught you that life is precious and there is always another way."

Chloe holds up a hand to interrupt the doctors words and wrap her head around it all.

"Wait, what are you saying?"

The doctor shakes his head.

"Miss Rose, you tried to take your own life."

After thanking the doctor and dismissing everyone from the room once again, Chloe sits and ponders what she has just learned. The girl whose body she has possessed, lived a life she hated so much that she tried to kill herself. A girl who on one side has everything any girl could ever dream of having, and on the other hand is living a secret life of misery, suffering in silence, enduring the pain for as long as she could, until she mentally and physically couldn't take it anymore.

When Chloe was breathing the last precious breathes of her life, she couldn't help but regret that she didn't treat it more preciously. Although she hated the life she was given, she never had the thought of ending it. She suffered day in and day out, scraping by to make ends meet and going some nights without food, but she always held onto the will to live.

She can't imagine not having that will. She can't imagine going through such hell to lose that will, something that she doesn't think is very easy to lose.

Now, she has been given the task of living that life. Is this a blessing, or a curse? Was she really that terrible in her past life, that this is the second chance she is being given?

Or is this another opportunity? The soul and will of the former Athena weren't strong enough to endure the challenges her life gave her, but maybe Chloe can, because she was able to face the challenges, she was given head on, and never backed down no matter how much life pushed her back.

This is her chance to not only get the life she struggled to get, but also get the revenge the former Athena was never able to get. This is her chance to fight for herself, and for Athena, and give them both the life they deserve. Wherever the former soul of this body is, Chloe hopes she is looking down on her and seeing the determination and promise she has made.

I will take this family down, and live the life of luxury and recognition I've always wanted. I'll take back what was stolen from you, Athena.

First things first, finally getting out of this bed. She has spent way too long sitting in bed, it's time to start taking action. It would be wise to make a list of things to achieve, something she did often in her past life to motivate her, reminding her that she is reaching her goals, no matter how small they might be.

Walking over to the large walk-in closet, she rummages through the colorful racks of clothing until she finds a comfy outfit with a pair of blue jeans and a tank top, before sitting down at the desk and taking out a fresh piece of paper and pen.

Okay, first off I need to figure out more about Athena and her home and family situation. My new stepmother and sister seem to be the biggest obstacles at the moment, and I have no idea what kind of situation is surrounding that, other than they only have power because of my father, who in reality has none without the Rose family name.

Is the Rose family aware that their son-in-law has already brought in his mistress and daughter? Why aren't they doing anything to help Athena and her deceased mother?

Another thing to figure out; what is the relationship between Athena and her mother's side of the family?

Fooling mere servants and the local doctor into thinking she is the real Athena is a walk in the park, but trying to convince her family members who have known her since birth is another challenge she is going to have to face. Speaking or reaching out to any of the Rose family members for support will have to wait until after she has nailed Athena's personality better.

For now, something she can do is learn more about Athena outside of the house, like her work and school. It says in her journal that she is a student at the capital city university and is in her second year studying business and economics, which means she was probably preparing herself and planning to take over the Rose family business when she came of age, which should be a year from now.

If that's the case, that might also mean that whatever fortune is left to her by her mother will be given to her when she turns 21. She has to get her hands on that will and learn exactly what is written on it, before her step-mother or sister have the chance of changing it themselves. Chloe assumes that since it is her mother's will, it isn't something she would have left lying around for just anyone to see.

Most people leave their will with their lawyers, having to create them with one present to begin with.

Another task for the list; who is the family lawyer, and where is the will?

Her task list is already filling up with tons of things, which doesn't seem to be helping her racing mind like she thought. There are too many things to tackle, this is nothing like she thought reincarnation would be like. Usually, you are reincarnated as someone or something new, not forced into the body of someone who has already lived 20 years of their life as their own person.

How is she supposed to pull all this off, while acting like some complete stranger she has never met? She has never lived like a rich girl, she has no idea if this girl is someone who is stuck up and flaunts her wealth, or is humble about herself and down-to-earth.

She hopes that the more she tries to live the life of Athena Rose, the more the chances of the body's own memories returning to it, helping Chloe to know who Athena was before she died, but so far, she has recalled nothing but her own former memories, another thing she doesn't understand. Why does she have the memories of her former life, but not her new one?

There has to be a chance of recalling them or unlocking a part of her mind that has the memories sealed away. The only solution she can think of is to continue living like Athena and trying to unlock them herself by doing so.

Her task right now; figure out what Athena usually does during the day, and what day it currently is. Walking over to the bedside table, she opens the drawer in hopes to find a phone or something and just like discovering the journal, she jumps for joy when she finds a phone charging in the drawer. When she turns it on, the screen comes to life and unlocks right away, the phone detecting her face and unlocking for her.

We've come so far in life, she thought sarcastically.

"Alright, I need to get a better hold on Athena's life and make sure I live as normally as possible, until I can get the hang of it. What would she be doing at this time?"

There has to be someone who has a schedule set for Athena, if she really is as popular and desired as her diary says. Chloe remembers that there was a maid that attended to her when she woke up and decides to hunt her down.

Her bedroom is thankfully not far from the stairs and the scent of baked cookies wandering down the hall helps lead her towards the kitchen.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for the woman who helped me earlier?" she calls out, poking her head into the room. A few attendants turn to her with a shocked and confused look. She supposes it is weird to see the master of the house wandering down to the kitchen herself, but there isn't anyone in sight that can help her.

"Oh, Miss. Is there something you needed?" the woman bounds up to me with a hesitant smile on her face.

"Yes, there is something I would like to speak to you about. Can you prepare tea in the living room for us?" Chloe asks, her eyes wandering around the hallway in silent search of said living room. If she can't find it, she can always wait to watch where the maid goes and follow her.

"Of course, right away Miss." She turns and bustles about in the kitchen, while Chloe turns down the hall to wander into the door a little further down. To her relief, the first door she tries is the one she is looking for, opening up into a large living area.

There is a fire place that takes up most of the left side wall, with a large family portrait hangs above it, like some medieval castle. She recognizes the face that stared back at her in the mirror, standing under a woman who looks strikingly like her, with luscious blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes.

The man next to her has a shit eating grin plastered on his face, greased back hair and dark green eyes that seem to scream greed. Everything about him look pompous and fake, how this girl's mother ever fell for a man like that is beyond her, but everyone has their type, and maybe there was once a type where he didn't look like that, and didn't have the dirty ambitions that he has now.

"Tea is ready, Miss, and I have prepared a few light refreshments if you are up to trying to eat something now," the maid comes in carrying a full tray. Chloe runs over to the small table by the window and clears it, pulling out the chairs for the two of them.

The woman looks at her with a mix of shock and skepticism.

Oh, right. Athena was known for being very full of herself, always making others pull out her chair and make sure she was tended to properly.

There might be a chance to slowly change her image, but acting like this right off the bat will raise suspicion.

"I asked to speak with you, because I need someone in this house that I can trust to confide something in. I want to ask if you can be that person?"

The woman seems to hesitant in answering, reminding Chloe that the previous Athena might not have been very polite to the staff of the house when she was alive.

"I know I may not have been the best person to have served in the last while, and for that I sincerely apologize. I have had a lot of time to reflect on my past actions, and moving forward I want to start anew, turn over a new leaf. To take the first step in doing that, I want someone who I can trust by my side, someone who can help guide me down the right path."

"But Miss, as great the honor is, why me?"

"Because you were the first and only person to tend to me when I woke up, and you cared for me despite how I might have treated you in the past. That might now show you like or truly care for me, but that shows loyalty none the less, and even someone like me can appreciate that."

The woman smiles slightly and bows her head, before lifting it and giving her a confident look. "I have served your family for many years, and have always admired your mother and cared for her deeply. Though we may have had our differences in the past, Miss, I have come to care for you as well, since you were very precious to the former Madam of the house, and I know you loved her very much too."

Maybe because there was still fragments of Athena's memories in her body, thinking about her deceased mother that isn't really her mother, seems to affect Chloe deeply that she feels a pain in her chest.

"Thank you for saying that, and with that in mind, I hope you can forgive me for my past deeds and come to trust me as well in the future."

The woman waves her hand and covers her mouth, looking like she is on the verge of crying. "Oh please, Miss. There is no need to apologize for having to live such a trying life, you never asked to grow up in such a stifling environment, and even I can recognize the struggles you have had to go through the past couple years, even with having to cope with losing your mother."

"So, does that mean I can trust you with something very sensitive? I need to know you won't ever breath a word of this to anyone else, under any circumstances, as well as not ask any questions about the situation until I can answer some of them."

She nods quickly. "I promise, Miss, you can trust me with anything. The Rose family has always treated me with respect and kindness, I have already pledged to serve you and your family by any means necessary."

Chloe lets out the first light laugh she has felt since she awoke in Athena's body.

"I appreciate that."

She takes a deep breath and explains everything that she can, without giving away that she isn't really the real Athena. That is something she will wait to reveal until she can truly trust someone, and at least know she won't be deemed a witch of some sort if she does reveal the fact that she is someone else transported into a stranger's soul.

"Oh, my goodness, Miss. You can't remember who you are?" the woman gasps and the tears she was holding back before come pouring down her face. "I am so sorry, if I had known that, I would've never left your side the moment you awoke."

"Thank you, Margaret, that's very kind but I did need some time alone to myself, to digest everything that has happened. Thankfully I remembered that I kept a journal that has a lot of details of my life before I tried to end it, but I'm worried I won't be able to reclaim my memories completely. I was thinking of paying a visit to the doctors tomorrow, would you be able to assist me?"

"It would be my pleasure, Miss Rose. Just give me a time you would like to leave, and I will make sure to have the car and driver ready outside."

Chloe nods and they continue drinking their tea in comfortable silence. Everything is going smoothly so far, she has even gained a trustworthy person to help her regain her memories and navigate this life with the missing pieces.

If everything continues going as well as it is, she may have her revenge plot done and over with, and can finally get on with living this comfy and lavished life she has been looking forward too since the moment she woke up in her new body.