Chapter 2

In my previous life, to save money, I ate plain potatoes every day. Sometimes, I could afford a pinch of salt in them.

To save on utilities, I kept the lights off at night. I used the mall's public bathrooms to wash up, putting up with all the judgmental stares.

Once the Webb family's heiress, I got hit by a car while delivering takeout. With no health insurance, I couldn't afford to go to the hospital, so I grabbed a roll of duct tape from a street stall and wrapped it around my torn-up leg, hoping it would heal.

But the wound got infected, and I limped for the rest of my life, right up until the day I died.

Liam took the chance to call off our engagement, leaving me utterly alone. Yet somehow, I still blamed myself for dragging him down, guilt gnawing at me from the inside out.

A tear splashed onto my phone screen, and I couldn't tell if it was from hatred or from the bittersweet relief flooding through me.

I sniffed back tears, stepped out of the insurance company, and nearly bumped right into Liam, who'd been tailing me.

His eyes flashed with surprise. In a couple of strides, he closed the distance and reached straight for my phone, trying to snatch it from my hand.

Liam snapped, "Lily, your parents just died and instead of arranging their funeral, you run off to the insurance company? Have you got any conscience at all?

"I'm pretty sure your parents never bought insurance here. Show me how much you got from them."

I switched off my phone screen, bent down and slipped into the taxi, slamming the door hard behind me.

"Take me to the social security office," I told the driver.

The driver sped off, leaving Liam far behind. I walked lightly into the office, handed over all the paperwork.

"My parents and my adopted sister have all passed away. I'm here to report their deaths," I said tearfully.

The staff immediately understood. "Oh, you're part of that family that's been all over the headlines these past couple of days, right?

"Oh, you poor girl. You worked so hard to become the top student in the city, and now this happened.

"Your parents really shouldn't have left such a wonderful child behind, taking your adopted sister right into that typhoon. It's like they were gambling with their lives and your future!"

With pity in her eyes, she rambled softly as she quickly processed the paperwork and updated their system.

Once all my family's information was uploaded into the system, my parents and my adopted sister, Eunice, lost the very identities that allowed them to exist in this world.

I kept my head down, struggling to hide my smile. As I took the documents certifying their deaths, a loud shout suddenly rang out behind me.

"Lily, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Liam yelled.

Liam stepped up, snatched the documents out of my hand, and after one look, he shook with anger.

"Who gave you the guts to report their deaths? How's Eunice supposed to get into college now?" he shouted.

Tears were still streaking down my cheeks. Several staff, already feeling sorry for me, quickly blocked Liam, standing protectively in front of me.

"What are you yelling for? Lily's parents and adopted sister died in that typhoon. She had to report their deaths. She's suffering more than anyone."

"It's bad enough that you're her friend and don't comfort her. If you keep shouting, we'll kick you out, got it?"

Liam's words caught in his throat. His face flushed bright red as he pointed at me, barely holding back his fury.

"You're unbelievable, Lily. I never thought you'd be so heartless. The funeral isn't over, and you're already erasing their existence? I was so wrong about you," he snapped.

With my back to the staff, I shot Liam a defiant, almost mocking smile. "So what are you gonna do about it?"

Liam's face went stiff, panic flashing in his eyes.

He shot me a vicious glare, then spun around and stormed off to make a call.

I knew he was calling Eunice.

Eunice was my family's adopted daughter, my parents' favorite, and the one who took everything from me in my last life.

I didn't care what Liam and Eunice were plotting behind my back. Whistling a tune, I called up a funeral home, swung open the gates of the Webb family villa, and held a simple funeral without the bodies.

Just as the funeral kicked off, a group of thuggish, tattooed muscleheads stormed in, their faces twisted with menace.

Their leader grabbed me by the collar, yanked me right off my feet, glared daggers at me, and slammed a fat stack of IOUs in my face.

"Survived the typhoon, huh? Lucky you. But if the Webb family can't cough up what you owe, things are going to get real ugly for you," he snarled.

In my previous life, I was terrorized by these thugs, and with Liam egging them on, I was forced to accept that 3-million-dollar debt, tears streaming down my face.

But this time, I sank my teeth right into the hand gripping my collar.

"This is my parents' funeral. If you're not family, get out. Take it up with me some other time," I said, my voice icy.

The leader yelped in pain from my bite, his face going red with fury as he slapped me hard across the face.

"You shameless brat. You're as disrespectful as your father said. Open your eyes. I'm the one your family owes money to," he barked.

I clutched my swelling cheek, my eyes flicking to the stack of IOUs.

"3 million dollars? Do you take me for a fool?" I shot back.