Chapter 1

My roommate, Sophia Reed, asked to borrow my designer bag for a date, but she returned a fake instead.

When I confronted her about it, she immediately burst into hysterical tears, played the victim, and accused me of looking down on the poor and insulting her dignity.

Unaware of the truth, the other roommates all quickly sided with her, accusing me of being a bully.

Blinded by rage, I said things I shouldn't have. Sophia secretly recorded me, edited the video to make me look bad, and posted it online, turning me into the target of vicious cyberbullying.

Egged on by Sophia, her simp furiously stabbed me to death on the street.

When I opened my eyes again, Sophia looked at me with a fawning smile. "Joey," she cooed, "could I borrow your Chanel bag just for the day?"

I agreed cheerfully.

"You know, this Chanel set me back nearly ten grand, so do take good care of it, sweetie."

Sophia nodded eagerly, clutching the fake Chanel bag to her chest like it was the most precious thing in the world, and practically skipped out the door to her date.

*****

The blade plunged into my abdomen repeatedly, the excruciating pain rendering me completely defenseless.

I collapsed in a pool of blood. My pupils dilated slowly as my consciousness faded away.

"How dare you look down on the poor!

"How dare you bully Sophia!

"Damn you for screwing up my plans!"

Eric Carter's furious curses gradually faded away in my ears.

Even as I lay dying, I still couldn't believe it: I was actually stabbed to death in broad daylight, all because of a bag.

As my soul drifted free from my body, I watched Eric, his hands still slick with my blood, send a message to Sophia on WhatsApp.

Eric: [Joey's dead now! No one will ever bully you again!]

After my death, Eric was sentenced to death for killing me.

With her stunning looks, Sophia became an internet celebrity.

She dumped the pathetic simp she couldn't stand, raked in a fortune, and lived a high life.

My parents, with their hair already gray, were forced to bury their own daughter. They wept themselves blind with grief.

Rage exploded in my chest, the agony tearing me to shreds.

The next thing I knew, I was lying in my dorm bed.

My chest still throbbed with a dull ache, and cold sweat had drenched my pajamas.

I jolted upright in bed, my hands instinctively flying to my abdomen. To my shock, my body was completely unharmed, not a single wound in sight.

Wait... Did I just get reborn?

I scanned my surroundings and saw Sophia lying on her bed, typing away on WhatsApp with a sickeningly sweet smile.

One of our roommates teased her, "Sophia, are you dating someone? You're grinning from ear to ear."

Sophia flashed a sweet smile and replied, "Not yet, but I think it's about to happen!"

Thanks to the privacy curtain, Sophia couldn't see my face from her angle.

But I saw her. The moment she finished speaking, she shot a venomous glare at my bed, her eyes brimming with barely concealed jealousy and hatred.

I grabbed my phone and glanced at the date.

At this very moment, she hadn't even asked to borrow my bag yet.

So why was she looking at me with such venomous hatred?

I hardly ever stayed in the dorm.

Occasionally, I'd come back and stay for a couple of days, and I got along well enough with my roommates.

I'd got no beef with her. So why did Sophia seem to hate me so much?

"Joey, could I borrow your black and gold Chanel lambskin bag for just one day?

"I have a date tomorrow and want to look my best!"

I snapped out of my thoughts to find Sophia standing by my bunk bed, wearing an ingratiating smile.

Her beaming face chillingly mirrored her image from my past life.

I wasn't really close to Sophia. But since she asked, and the bag wasn't that expensive, I agreed without hesitation.

In my past life, when Sophia borrowed my Chanel, she was fawning and obsequious. But when she returned it, she just carelessly tossed it onto the table.

"Joanna, here's your bag."

Sophia said coldly, shooting me a glare. Then, without missing a beat, she grabbed several takeout bags filled with snacks and drinks and enthusiastically handed them out to the other roommates.

One roommate exclaimed, "Wow! This chocolate is so expensive. I've always wanted to try it but could never justify the price."

Another roommate teased, "Sophia, did you win the lottery or something? Treating us to such fancy snacks?"

The roommates eagerly clutched the snacks Sophia handed out, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

Sophia flashed a smug smile. "My boyfriend bought these; he said he wants to win you guys over.

"Just let me know whenever you want some more. He's got money to burn, anyway."

Sophia handed out snacks to the other two roommates, pointedly skipping me.

I never cared much for snacks anyway, so I didn't give it a second thought.

As I was putting the bag back in the closet, I noticed the leather felt off. Then I checked the sheen of the hardware and the stitching.

To my horror, I realized the bag Sophia returned was a counterfeit.

I spent nearly ten grand on this bag at the Chanel boutique, and I still had the receipt. There was no way I bought a fake.

Could it be that the bag was accidentally switched when Sophia took it out on her date?

"Sophia, this bag is a fake. Did you..."

I walked up to her, clutching the bag, intending to get some answers.

Suddenly, Sophia's eyes welled up with tears. Choking back sobs, she demanded, "Are you accusing me of switching your bag?"

She snapped, "Yeah, I'm poor! I can't afford this bag, but that doesn't mean I'd stoop so low as to steal from anyone!

"Is that how all you rich people see us? Just because we're poor, you think we're thieves?

"Well then, Ms. High-and-Mighty Joanna, maybe you should just lock up all your things in the dorm. That way, when something goes missing, you won't have to suspect us of stealing it!"