The narrator, Bella, recounts her childhood and teenage years, focusing on her complicated relationship with her older sister, Nora, who is a talented and popular horse rider. Bella often feels overshadowed by Nora and resents her for being the favorite child. As they grow older, Bella develops a crush on Jeremy, Nora's best friend, but he has unrequited feelings for Nora.
Bella's resentment towards Nora boils over, leading her to sabotage Nora's riding schedule, causing Nora to miss an important competition. Nora is subsequently injured in a riding accident and is unable to compete for a year. Bella is forced to take her place and, to her surprise, discovers she has a talent for riding.
As Bella's riding career takes off, she gains confidence and becomes more popular. She also starts to develop feelings for Jeremy, who has finally realized his feelings for Nora are unrequited.
The story jumps forward in time, and Bella is now competing in international riding competitions. She reunites with Jeremy in London, and they start a romantic relationship. However, their relationship is put to the test when Bella accuses Jeremy of settling for her after being rejected by Nora.
In the end, Jeremy convinces Bella of his true feelings, and they confess their love for each other. Bella also decides to visit Nora, who has given up riding due to her injury and has started a training school for riders. The story concludes with Bella and Jeremy traveling together to visit Nora and their mother.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The narrator, Bella, is from Colorado, USA.
2. Bella's mom came from a line of amazing horse riders.
3. Bella's ranch was filled with trophies collected over generations.
4. Bella's mom wanted her and her sister, Noor (also known as Nora), to follow in her footsteps and learn horse riding.
5. Bella and Nora both learned to ride horses as soon as they could walk.
6. Nora was two years older and got a head start in life, always having straight A's in school and being naturally athletic.
7. Bella was into sci-fi novels and mostly preferred to eat lunch alone in the gym.
8. One day, Bella met a boy named Jeremy who fell down from a tree and landed near her.
9. Jeremy was hiding from his stepfather, who was not a nice guy.
10. Jeremy and Nora became best friends after Nora gave Jeremy a ride on her horse.
11. Jeremy was also in Nora's class at school and soon became inseparable with her.
12. Bella developed a crush on Jeremy, but he was too close to Nora to notice her feelings.
13. Nora showed Bella an expensive bracelet that Jeremy gave her on Valentine's Day.
14. Bella realized that Jeremy was in love with Nora, but Nora didn't feel the same way.
15. Bella tried to warn Jeremy that Nora was leading him on, but he didn't listen.
16. Nora spoke up and said that she and Jeremy had already bought tickets to a sci-fi convention, leaving Bella out.
17. Bella pretended to be one of the organizers and called her mom to tell her the wrong date for Nora's competition.
18. Nora missed the competition and was disqualified for the entire season.
19. Nora was injured in a riding accident and had to undergo a long recovery.
20. Bella was asked to represent the family in competitions and modeling contracts.
21. Bella found out that Jeremy was in love with Nora and decided to tell her how he felt.
22. Jeremy was rejected by Nora and left the city to stay with his real dad.
23. Bella won first prize in a tournament and opened many opportunities for herself.
24. Bella's mom decided that she would finish high school in London while continuing to compete.
25. Bella heard that Nora was back to training but didn't talk to her anymore.
26. A year later, Bella met Jeremy again in London, and they started hanging out.
27. Jeremy confessed his love for Bella, but she pulled away, thinking he was only settling for her after being rejected by Nora.
28. Bella refused to answer Jeremy's calls or texts, but then received a call from Nora inviting her to her mom's birthday party.
29. Nora had given up racing due to her injured leg and was now training other riders on their ranch.
30. Bella decided to go home and see Nora, and Jeremy accompanied her.
31. Jeremy confessed his love for Bella again, and this time, she accepted his feelings.