Chapter 2

When the door opened, all the fancy bags and shoes I'd already laid out in my room were the first things Yara saw.

I could see the greed and jealousy in her eyes.

"Can I help you?" I asked, keeping my tone light.

"Sylvia, there's no bed in my room," Yara said.

I feigned surprise and said, "What? How could that be?"

But inside, I was totally calm. Before she even got back, I'd already called someone to have the bed in her room removed.

I said, "There's a bed in the maid's room. Maybe you could crash there for now."

"What?" Yara blurted out, totally stunned.

Yep. The cramped box with the rock-hard cot.

In my previous life, that room was mine while Yara and her pack of parasites took over the rest of the house.

Back then, Yara told everyone I was nothing but her maid.

I was so furious that I started cursing her out in Clusian.

But she told them in Velmoran so her friends who didn't understand Clusian would know what I said.

She told them I was cursing them out.

Those clueless people pinned me down in the maid's room, forced me to strip, filmed the whole thing, and made me slap myself on camera.

Yara leaned against the door, smugly watching it all unfold.

When my mouth was full of blood, she just sneered, "Gross, close the damn door."

Yara asked, "Sylvia, do you mean the maid's room?"

Her question yanked me out of the memory, my patience worn razor-thin.

"Yeah, what's wrong? Too low-class for you?" I shot back.

Yara didn't dare piss me off now. Seeing my attitude, she just gave a reluctant shake of her head.

"No, goodnight, Sylvia," she muttered.

"Goodnight," I replied.

With that, I slammed the door shut, leaving Yara out there to stew in her own bitterness.

The next day was my first day at the academy.

According to my previous life, Yara would come to me in the morning, asking to borrow clothes so no one could tell who the heiress was.

Then she'd spread rumors behind my back that I'd stolen them, branding me a traitor.

That lie was where every nightmare began.

But this time, I was not letting history repeat itself.

By the time I finished washing up and finally hit the pillow, it was already midnight.

I called my mom back in Clusia for a video chat.

It was morning over there, so she'd probably already gotten up and gone for her morning run.

When the call connected, my mom was all smiles in her workout gear.

"Sweetie, why aren't you asleep yet?" she asked.

Hearing my mom's voice, my eyes instantly welled up with tears.

In my previous life, Yara snatched my phone and kept texting my mom as if she were me, telling her I was fine.

I never saw my mom again, not even at the very end.

"Mom, I miss you so much," I choked out.

My mom saw my eyes getting red and hurried to comfort me.

"My baby, don't cry. I miss you, too. Maybe I'll come visit you in a little while, okay?" my mom said gently.

I nodded eagerly.

"Mom, I love you," I said.

"I love you, too, my sweet girl," my mom replied.

Sure enough, first thing in the morning, Yara showed up at my door, asking to borrow some clothes.

She said, "Sylvia, my suitcase got soaked yesterday, and all my clothes are wet. Can you lend me something to wear?"

Her acting was so pathetic, I must've been possessed in my previous life to fall for that.

I glanced at the clock.

I said, "Registration's at ten, and it's only nine. Just use a hair dryer, you've got time."

Yara's excuse was crumbling, and she stammered anxiously, "B-But I didn't bring a hair dryer."

Keep acting. Go ahead.

I turned and headed back to my room.

Yara thought I was about to lend her my clothes, and a smug little grin spread across her face.

But when she saw the hair dryer in my hand, she froze, totally caught off guard.

I handed it to her and said, "Here, you can borrow my hair dryer. Dry your clothes yourself and come to school when you're done. I'm leaving now."

Inside, I was cackling as I'd just won the lottery.

Then I swept past her, LV bag in hand, no glance back.

Before heading out, I made a point of locking my door tight.

Yara glared at the key in my hand, jaw clenched so hard I thought she might shatter her teeth.

I reminded her, "You know, it's not like Clusia here. Lots of thieves around, so you should really lock your room, too."

With that, I walked out, leaving her standing there fuming.