Chapter 1

On the day Dylan Randall confessed, my so-called perfect childhood friend actually wanted me to die for his precious Chloe Hewitt.

He was someone who got to live his life again. To protect his beloved, he carefully set up a trap, tricking me into falling for a viral "gold-digger test" that would ruin my reputation and publicly humiliate me across the country.

But what he didn't know was that as he was pouring his heart out, a live barrage of comments scrolled across my vision. His dirty tricks were broadcast live for everyone to see.

He wanted me to be his scapegoat? I threw the bouquet right in his face, whipped out my phone, and started recording. "Come on, tell everyone online how much you love me."

Then I turned and walked right into the trap he'd set, cameras rolling. I played along, flipping the script and making sure both the scumbag and his crew went viral for all the wrong reasons.

So he got a second shot at life, and he thought he could throw me under the bus?

Sorry, I held the playbook. I would set up his public meltdown.

*****

Dylan's perfect smile froze on his face.

"Chloe, what did you just say?" he asked, his voice tight.

I ignored him, pulled out my phone, hit record, and aimed it right at his annoyingly handsome face.

I said, "Come on, say it again. That whole confession thing? How I'm so sweet and pure, and you've been into me for years?"

[Haha, she's making the first move! I love it!]

[Damn, this is exciting! Is it always this crazy right from the start?]

[Dylan looks stunned. He's probably thinking, 'Wait, this isn't in the script!']

Dylan's face darkened. He lowered his voice. "Chloe, are you out of your mind? Put your phone away right now!"

"Out of my mind?" I grinned even wider. "Don't rush. I'm still alive. You want me to go into that alley and take the bullet for your precious Chloe, so those trashy influencers can use me for their next viral video, and your Mabel can walk away untouched? Dylan, I saw through your scheme."

My voice wasn't loud, but he heard every word crystal clear.

Dylan's eyes narrowed sharply, his face drained of color, and his lips trembled. He couldn't get a single word out.

That look on his face was all the confirmation I needed.

[Holy crap! How does she know? Did she get a second chance at life too?]

[Wait, that can't be right. In her last life, she was just a clueless sweetheart, totally manipulated by Dylan. She even went against her family for him and ended up with a really rough ending.]

[Maybe... she unlocked some strange ability? Like, can she actually see us?]

[Hey, Chloe! If you can see us, give us a wink!]

I winked playfully at the empty space.

The comments section blew up instantly, with waves of [Holy crap!] and [She's badass!] flooding my vision.

With this cheat protecting me, who'd ever want to play the naive pushover again?

I didn't even look at Dylan. I just turned and marched straight toward the alley. He grabbed my arm, panic in his voice. "Chloe, what are you doing? That place is dangerous!"

"Dangerous?" I yanked my hand free. "You know it's dangerous, but you still want me to go? What do you think I'm doing? I'm going to have a real heart-to-heart with your 'partners in crime'!"

At the entrance of the alley, a few shady-looking guys were huddled around a camera. One of them, a blond-haired punk, spotted me coming and immediately broke into a sleazy grin. He strode over with a cheap-looking fake designer bag in his hand.

He said, "Hey there, gorgeous. You all by yourself? We're doing a little social experiment, and we were hoping to ask you a few questions..."

Before he could finish, I shoved my phone right in his face, zooming in on his sleazy mug.

I sneered and said, "Social experiment? More like a trashy livestream. So, what's the script? Drop the bag, make me pick it up, then throw money at me and film a 'gold-digger test' for the internet to see? Then you can get some clicks and views?"

The blond guy's smile froze on his face.

The big guy next to him was the one the comments called Max Tanner. He scowled and stepped forward, reaching for my phone. "Hey, kid, what nonsense are you spouting?"

I dodged him easily, stepped back a couple of paces, and kept recording.

I shot back, "Nonsense, huh? Your channel's called 'Max's Street Show,' right? You specialize in humiliating videos, always skating the edge of the law to rack up followers. I'd advise you not to lay a finger on me. My phone's been recording everything."

I waved my phone, showing the screen with the police call. "And I've already called the cops. You've caused disturbance and violated someone's right to their image and reputation. So, you wanna spend a few nights in jail, or should I sue you till you've got nothing left but your underwear?"

As a law student, I might not be good at much else, but quoting statutes was a piece of cake.

Max and his crew were totally thrown off by my bluff.

[Damn, is she a law student? She is aura farming!]

[Haha, check out those influencers' faces. They look like they just swallowed crap.]

[Where's Dylan? Why isn't he coming over to save his princess? Oh, wait, scratch that. This baddie already defended herself!]

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Dylan standing nearby. His face was stormy as he watched everything go down, but he didn't even try to help.