Chapter 2

On my way back to the dorm, I was breaking out in a cold sweat.

What should've only happened in a web novel was unfolding in my life. I'd traveled back to my nineteenth birthday.

I thought this day would mark the start of my happiness, but instead, it was the beginning of my misery.

In my previous life, I said yes when Ronald asked me out, and everyone envied us and sent their congratulations.

But after we started dating, it didn't take long for me to notice something was wrong.

Somehow, Tiffany always showed up whenever Ronald and I went out together.

I'd brought it up more than once. "Ronald, we're supposed to be a couple, right? Can't we have our dates without Tiffany tagging along every time?"

Ronald would ruffle my hair, looking helpless but still indulgent. "Lucy, everyone knows Tiffany is just my friend. It's totally fine for me to bring her along when I'm out with my girlfriend."

If I kept mentioning it, Ronald would get visibly annoyed. "Lucy, don't be so petty. If Tiffany hadn't introduced us, we wouldn't even know each other, let alone be together. Honestly, you still haven't properly thanked her."

One time, he even snapped, "Lucy Dalton, drop the jealousy already. If anything was ever going to happen between Tiffany and me, it would've happened long ago. You wouldn't even have a chance."

I didn't want to lose Ronald, so I kept biting my tongue and putting up with it, over and over.

Even after Ronald and I got engaged, Tiffany kept inserting herself into our lives.

She even insisted on joining us for our special couple of days. Not only that, she'd boldly hook her arm through Ronald's other arm, getting intimate with him right in front of me, as if I were invisible.

I fought and argued with Ronald, but it was useless.

He'd say, "Lucy, Tiffany doesn't have any romantic feelings for me. She's just clingy because she's always relied on me. Don't let your mind go to dark places.

"If you keep being so suspicious, let's call off the engagement. We'll go our separate ways."

When he brought up calling off the engagement, I went quiet.

I really liked Ronald. I liked him so much that I kept lying to myself, telling myself over and over to trust Ronald.

After graduation, Tiffany and I both ended up working at the same design company.

We were both pretty gifted when it came to design, and before long, we started making a name for ourselves. In every competition we entered, it was always a toss-up for first place. If she won, I was the runner-up, and vice versa.

Very soon, Tiffany and I were faced with the most important opportunity of our lives.

If we could take home the gold at the most coveted competition, we'd finally secure our place in the design world.

But the day before the competition, Tiffany was in a car crash.

Everyone started pointing fingers at me. After all, I was the last person she called before it happened, and she was the only real threat to me in the competition.

Even though the police made it clear it was just an accident, no foul play, nothing to do with me, nobody believed me, except Ronald.

When the internet hate was at its worst, Ronald was the only one who stood by me. He kept telling me, "Lucy, even if the whole world turns against you, I'll always choose you and have your back."

And he meant every word. He was willing to cut ties with the Pierce family to marry me.

On our wedding day, Tiffany's parents showed up.

They'd watched Ronald grow up, and their faces were full of disappointment. But Ronald acted like he couldn't care less, and his whole world was centered on me. He even had the bodyguards politely but firmly escort Tiffany's parents out.

I was both touched and aching inside.

But the very next day, Ronald publicly accused me of plagiarism, and the story exploded across all the major platforms.

The evidence he posted included dozens of my original drafts, except now, Tiffany's one-of-a-kind signature had suddenly appeared in the bottom right corner of every single page.

The moment Tiffany's fans saw those signatures, they instantly decided I'd been ripping off her work from the start.

It all spiraled out of control so fast that I barely had time to catch my breath.

When I confronted Ronald, he said dismissively, "Lucy, this is for your own good. Tiffany's still in the ICU. If you show up at the design competition right now, you'll only confirm the rumors that you were behind Tiffany's accident.

"Your reputation has already been trashed, so stay home and take some time to think things over. Doesn't matter if you did it or not. Apologize to Tiffany when she wakes up."

I thought Ronald was so concerned about Tiffany that he did this, even though it hurt me.

But what he did next was beyond anything I could imagine.