Chapter 5
I called out to him.
"Jonathan."
He stopped in his tracks.
"From now on, every time you screw up, you pay for it. If you think it's too expensive, then maybe try not screwing up so much," I said.
Jonathan didn't even look back.
"Don't come to regret this," he said.
I watched him walk away and muttered, "I'm not the one who's going to regret this."
When I got back to the party, Emily was sitting next to Mrs. Reed, pouring her some coffee.
As soon as she saw me walk in, she got up right away.
"Grace, I thought it over, and I shouldn't have done that with the scarf. I'm sorry," Emily said.
She came over to me, holding out a cup of coffee.
"Don't be upset with Auntie. It's her birthday today," she said.
I didn't take it.
Emily just stood there, her hand awkwardly suspended in midair, still holding out the cup.
Mrs. Reed frowned.
"She already apologized. Why are you still acting all high and mighty?" she said.
I turned to Emily.
"Are you actually sorry, or are you just handing me this coffee so you look classy and I look stingy?" I asked.
Emily's eyes started to tear up.
"I didn't," she choked out.
Her hand trembled, and the hot coffee spilled onto the back of her hand.
The living room erupted into chaos.
Jonathan hurried over and took her hand.
"Did you get burned?" he asked.
Emily shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"It's not Grace's fault. I just wasn't careful," she said.
Mrs. Reed jabbed a finger at me, her voice sharp with anger.
"Grace, do you really have to wreck a perfectly good birthday party, is that what makes you happy?"
I just stood there.
That familiar scene again.
Emily was always like this in my last life.
She'd fall on her own and claim it wasn't my fault.
She'd knock over her wine and swear I never pushed her.
The more she tried to explain for me, the more everyone saw me as the bad guy.
Jonathan was holding Emily, looking at me with clear annoyance.
"Apologize," he said.
I asked, "To who?"
"To who?" I asked.
"To Emily," Jonathan replied.
I laughed, not bothering to hide my sarcasm.
"She burned herself. Why should I be the one apologizing?" I retorted.
Emily sobbed, "Jonathan, just let it go. Grace is probably just in a bad mood."
Mrs. Reed lashed out, "You're still sticking up for her? Jonathan's always indulged her!"
I walked over to the corner of the living room and pointed at the camera up on the wall.
"You want an apology? Why don't we see what the camera caught first," I said.
Mrs. Reed's voice faltered.
Emily's face went pale.
Jonathan looked up at the camera.
The camera in the Reed family's living room? I put it up in my last life, just to stop anyone from stealing stuff.
Mrs. Reed hated how it looked and nagged me nonstop for half a month.
Funny how it finally came in handy today.
I looked at the maid.
"Pull up the footage from just now," I said.
The maid shot a nervous look at Mrs. Reed and didn't budge.
I said, "If you won't do it, I'll call the police. If someone's trying to smear me, I need to clear my name."
The relatives started whispering among themselves.
"Maybe we should just check the footage."
"Come on, let's not air our dirty laundry in front of strangers. We should handle this ourselves."
Mrs. Reed's face fell, clearly embarrassed.
"Pull it up," she snapped.
The security footage popped up on the TV screen.
On the screen, Emily walked over to me, holding the cup of coffee.
I didn't touch her at all.
Her hand paused in midair for a couple seconds, then she tipped the cup toward herself, and the hot coffee splashed onto the back of her hand.
The living room went dead silent.
Emily opened her mouth.
"I didn't mean to. My hand just slipped," she said.
I looked at her.
"Funny how your hand slipped, but you still managed to aim the cup right at yourself. You're really good at making it look accidental," I said.
Someone actually snorted with laughter.
Jonathan let go of Emily's hand.
Emily's face went even paler.
"Jonathan, you have to believe me, I never tried to frame Grace, I swear!" she pleaded.
Jonathan didn't say a word.
That was the first crack.
It was tiny.
But I noticed it.
Mrs. Reed jumped in.
"Enough! She's already burned herself. Isn't that enough for you?" she snapped.
I grabbed my bag.
"I'm not making a fuss. The party's over, the act's finished. I'm going home," I said.
Jonathan called out to me.
"I'll drive you home," he said.
"No need," I replied.
I shot a look at Emily.
"You should probably take her to the hospital. If you wait too long, her poor little burn will heal and no one will remember how tragic she looked tonight," I said.
As I walked out of the Reed family Estate, the night breeze hit me, snapping me back to reality.
Over a million dollars was sitting in my bank app, all from today alone.
This was just the beginning.
Jonathan owed me so much more than that.