Chapter 2

The smell of alcohol hit me, and someone warm pressed close behind me.

I never imagined that opening my eyes again would mean starting over.

I was back on the night Samuel and I got drugged and trapped.

It was Madelyn's 20th birthday party.

Samuel and I were somehow sent to bed together.

In ten minutes, Madelyn and her friends would open the door and start the disaster that ruined our lives.

Strong arms suddenly wrapped around my waist, and Samuel's scent filled the air.

The scent nearly brought me to tears, but I knew that scent, like its owner, had never truly belonged to me.

I bit down hard on my tongue, just to keep myself awake. However, prying Samuel's arms off me was way harder than I thought.

I was too weak to fight him off.

My head was still spinning when I suddenly heard Samuel groan, "Natalie, don't ever come near me again in this life."

Almost instantly, I snapped back to my senses.

I grabbed the knife from the bedside table and drove it into my thigh, then knocked Samuel with the lamp as he tried to cling to me again.

In the end, I took one last look at the unconscious man and walked away without turning back.

It turned out that Samuel had also come back.

Good. This time, I would no longer cling to you.

And you could finally have what you always wanted.

The moment I slipped out of that room, Madelyn and her friends arrived right on cue.

They swung the door open, only to find Samuel knocked out and all alone inside.

When Madelyn didn't see me, her face twisted for a split second, but she covered it up quickly.

Samuel groaned uneasily.

His condition was quickly noticed by Madelyn's friends. They were all from the same social circle and had seen every trick before.

Almost instantly, they pieced together what had happened.

They were sure someone had set Samuel up. After all, he was the fiancé of the Becker family's favorite girl.

They kicked up a huge fuss, insisting on finding whoever did it.

Someone yelled my name on purpose. "It's gotta be that housekeeper's daughter from your place. She's jealous of how close you and Samuel are, so she set him up on purpose. What a bitch."

Madelyn held the unconscious Samuel and cried softly. "Don't blame Natalie. She's always liked Samuel, but she wouldn't do something like that."

Carlos, who'd take Madelyn's side no matter what, immediately chimed in, "Madelyn, you're just too soft-hearted.

"Natalie is always trying to take what's yours. First your status, now your fiancé. If this was really her, I swear I'd beat her up."

Just like in my previous life, they blamed it all on me without a second thought. They just decided I was guilty.

I screamed until my throat burned, telling them I'd been framed as well, but no one would listen.

In their eyes, a housekeeper's daughter would never be someone decent.

They were sure I'd do anything to get ahead, no matter how dirty.

However, that wasn't the truth at all.

What nobody knew was that I was actually the real heiress of the Becker family.

After the Becker family took me back, they never told anyone who I really was.

With Madelyn's subtle hints, people even came to believe I was the Becker family's housekeeper's daughter.

I did explain, but they just laughed harder.

They said my jealousy of Madelyn had driven me mad, that I was delusional enough to believe I was the Becker family's daughter.

The hate never stopped, and it almost broke me.

Yet not a single person stood up for me.

Even my parents and Carlos were against me, acting all high and mighty, pointing fingers, and blaming me for everything.

They called me dirty and cruel.

This scene became a nightmare that haunted me for the next twenty years.

Thankfully, this time, I would never have to live through it again.