Chapter 1
After my wealthy birth family found me and brought me back, they pushed me onto a family dating show, setting me up as the backdrop for the adopted heiress.
They wanted me to make a fool of myself so their so-called "perfect family" could look good.
In my previous life, I put up with it as the entire internet turned against me, leading me into depression and, eventually, suicide.
After traveling back in time, I found myself on the very first day of shooting the show.
The fake heiress said in a saccharine voice, "Sis, you just got back from a small town, so you probably don't know how things work here. Dad likes his coffee hand-ground. Why don't you make it for him?"
Without skipping a beat and with the cameras rolling, I slapped her right across the face right then and there.
"You're just a wannabe heiress taking my place. How dare you tell me what to do?" I snapped.
"And stop calling me 'sis.' My mom only has one daughter, me. Who the hell do you think you are?" I added.
Suddenly, the room fell silent, and the comments section blew up.
*****
The slap rang out clearly in the large living room.
Willa Sargent covered her face, tears rushing from her eyes as she looked at me in disbelief.
"Evie, why did you hit me?" she asked, her voice trembling as if she had just suffered tremendous injustice.
I let out a cold laugh, shaking the numbness from my hand. "That was a reminder of your place.
"I'm part of the Sargent family lineage. No matter how much you're pampered, you'll always have to give way."
The cameras were on us, capturing every moment of the drama.
The comments section exploded.
[Holy crap. The show just started, and it's already wild! Is the real heiress this fierce?]
[Hell, yeah. That was awesome! I can't stand those fake sweethearts who pretend to be nice but stab you in the back.]
[Seriously? Willa looks so pitiful. She was trying to help. That girl from the small town is way too insolent.]
[Come on. Did you even see how she bosses the girl around? Does she think she's a princess?]
The living room was dead silent.
Behind the monitor, the director was practically rubbing his hands together, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
My so-called mom, Gracie Sargent, was the first to react.
She rushed over, pulled Willa behind her, and shot me a furious look. "Evie, have you lost your mind?
"Apologize to Willa, right now!"
I stared at her flawlessly maintained face. With that same face, she made me apologize and beg for forgiveness in my previous life.
Back then, I was terrified of her, afraid that the mother who had abandoned me and then brought me back could discard me again.
So I apologized and begged for forgiveness as she said.
However, all it got me was more bullying and endless online abuse.
Now, I only found it laughable.
"Apologize?" I held her gaze, emphasizing every word. "Is she even worth it?
"Gracie, you abandoned me in that small town for eighteen years and didn't care at all. And now you think you can command me?
"Why don't you ask what she thinks? She played the sympathy card to get adopted. Why should I, the real daughter, apologize to her?"
Gracie's face went pale instantly.
She never thought I would expose all this in the live stream.
"Wh-What nonsense are you talking about?" she snapped, her voice rising in anger. "When did I ever abandon you? Back then—"
"Back then, what?" I pressed her harder. "Did the nanny lose me, or did you really search for me all those years, suffering so much?
"Do you really think your lies hold any weight?"
My father, Holden Sargent, stood up, his face dark with anger. "Enough, Evie!" he growled. "Family matters should stay within the family. Do you really need to air our dirty laundry for everyone to see?
"Go to your room and reflect on what you've done."
"Dirty laundry?" I laughed as if he'd just told the dumbest joke ever.
I continued, "You put me on this trashy show to make me look bad next to that fake heiress. Isn't that airing our dirty laundry?
"So now that I'm standing up for myself, it's suddenly dirty laundry?
"Holden, are you even listening to yourself?"
Holden was shaking with anger, pointing at me, but he was so mad that he couldn't even speak.
My brother, Marcel Sargent, who had been quiet until now, stepped forward with a frown.
He grabbed my arm and said, his voice full of reproach, "Evie, stop it.
"Willa's part of this family, too. You just got home. Don't be so hostile."
I pulled my arm away, staring at the brother I once trusted more than anyone in my previous life.
He was the one who, when everyone was tearing me apart online, wrote in a Twitter post: [I've only got one sister. It's Willa.]
That post was the final blow and broke me.
"Hostile?" I shot him a bitter smile. "Marcel, let's get something straight. I'm your real sister.
"You treat an outsider better than me, your own sister. What kind of brother are you?
"No one else could be as clueless as you."
Marcel turned beet red, nearly purple.
The whole family was left speechless.
Meanwhile, the comments section was exploding, scrolling so fast that it felt like a waterfall.
[Oh, my God. She's saying exactly what we're all thinking. No filter at all!]
[This is so satisfying. Watching someone call out a fake nice girl like that is great!]
[This family is so disgusting. They're the ones who wronged the real heiress but still act superior.]
[I'm a her fan now. Evie, go for it!]
Willa was hiding behind Gracie, crying uncontrollably, her whole body shaking.
She gave me a look that could kill, as if I were her worst enemy.
I knew this was only the beginning.
This nationwide livestream drama had just started.