On my ninety-ninth rebirth, I stopped fighting with the real heiress, Lily Hart.

I accepted every false accusation she threw at me and let my relationships with my two childhood friends fall apart.

I told myself it was fine. At least Wayne Fall was still on my side.

That lasted until Lily's birthday gala, when her gown suddenly slipped and nearly left her exposed in front of everyone.

Wayne pulled her into his arms and, for the first time, turned his anger on me.

"Do you even remember who you are? You're not a Hart by blood. What makes you think you can compete with Lily?"

What he didn't know was that every time I tried to expose Lily, everyone I cared about died in horrifying ways.

In the first life, my childhood friend, Adrian Cole, was crushed beneath a freight truck, his skull shattered.

In the second, my cousin, Ryan Hayes, fell from a skyscraper and was torn apart on impact.

In the third, my fiancé, Wayne, was trapped in a blazing fire and burned alive...

Adrian and Ryan threw me into the estate's artificial lake.

I couldn't swim.

Water flooded my lungs until tears streamed down my face, but no matter how desperately I begged for help, neither of them reacted.

By the time my consciousness finally faded away, someone dragged me out of the water.

Then I heard them talking.

"Looks like she's finally learned her lesson. At least you won't have to keep hypnotizing her anymore, Wayne. I was starting to worry all those pills would fry her brain."

"There'll definitely be some cognitive damage... But we didn't have a choice. Lily's the Harts' real daughter. If she refused to give in, she'd end up being pushed out of the family sooner or later."

So, the countless "rebirths" I'd experienced were nothing more than an illusion.

I'd simply been hypnotized.

But I never needed to cling to a place in the Hart family.

I had a family of my own too.

When I woke up, Wayne Fall was sitting beside my bed.

The moment he noticed I was awake, he silently stood, walked to the table, poured a glass of water, and held it out to me.

When I looked up and met his concerned gaze, I almost believed he had become the Wayne who always stood by my side once again.

But the next second, he turned his hand over, revealing the familiar white pill resting in his palm.

My voice tightened with a trace of pleading.

"Can I... not take it?"

Wayne paused briefly, then brought the pill directly to my lips.

"Fiona, be good."

I stayed silent for a moment before finally giving in and tilting my head back to swallow it.

Yet tears slipped from the corners of my eyes, and the bitterness in my mouth seemed to grow even stronger.

Ever since I had desperately tried to expose Lily Hart's schemes, everyone treated me as a jealous lunatic.

Only Wayne insisted that I was merely lacking a certain vitamin and became emotionally tense because of it.

He was a psychiatrist. He personally prepared the pills, gently coaxed me into taking them, and never missed a single day.

There had been countless times when I questioned myself, wondering if everything had been nothing more than jealousy-fueled delusions.

But now I finally knew the truth.

They were never vitamins.

They were medications he prescribed to his patients.

To stop me from becoming the vicious fake heiress, he was willing to destroy my mind, cloud my consciousness, and leave me unable to distinguish reality from illusion.

Perhaps my grief was too obvious.

A flicker of heartache crossed Wayne's eyes. He lifted a hand and gently stroked my head in comfort.

"I promise you, as long as you stop making things difficult for Lily, you won't have to take any more pills. Alright?"

I suddenly found it laughable.

I looked up at him and softly reminded him, "They weren't medicine. Just supplements that helped stabilize my emotions."

Wayne's hand froze.

It was as if he sensed something was wrong.

Before he could think further, noise suddenly came from the doorway.

The moment he saw Adrian Cole and my brother entering with Lily, the warmth of his hand vanished from my head.

With reddened eyes, Lily hurried over to my bedside, looking as though she were on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry, Sis. They've already investigated everything. The stylist didn't alter my dress properly. It had nothing to do with you.

"Adrian and Ryan were just worried about me. That's why they acted so impulsively...

“You two should apologize to her."

The two men obediently did as they were told, but they still could not help adding, "We're sorry, but honestly, it's only because you've done so many terrible things before. We just reacted instinctively.

"Even if it wasn't you this time, after everything you've done to Lily, being tossed into that lake a hundred times still wouldn't be enough."

"Hey! What's wrong with you two? I told you to apologize properly..."

The three of them started bickering playfully, but a joke I'd once heard in our social circle suddenly came to mind.

People used to say that Wayne was the knight, Ryan Hayes was the ultimate doting brother, and Adrian was the attack dog.

He was Fiona's attack dog.

He bit whoever she pointed at and listened only to her.

But now, the disgust in their eyes whenever they looked at me felt painfully real.

I could no longer tell whether they were putting on an act, or whether a year spent with Lily had truly made them take her side.

If that was the case, then what had all those years of growing up together meant?

I lowered my gaze, hiding my emotions.

Lily suddenly grabbed my hand, her voice bright with anticipation.

"We're having a gathering tonight. Come with us, okay, Sis?

“Wayne, help me convince Fiona. I really want her to come."

Before I could refuse, Wayne had already agreed on my behalf with a smile.

Then he turned and shot me a warning look.

The words of refusal caught in my throat.

Forget it.

I'd treat it as a farewell dinner.

They still didn't know that my real family had already found me.

Soon, I would never have to be the fake heiress they despised ever again.

That evening, Ryan drove the four of us down from the hillside estate at breakneck speed.

He drove aggressively, and before long my stomach churned so violently I felt like I was about to throw up. I couldn't help speaking up.

"Slow down. I'm getting carsick."

A mocking laugh came from the driver's seat.

"Who are you trying to fool? You used to love speeding."

He was right.

Out of the four of us, Ryan and I had been obsessed with racing. We used to challenge each other on mountain roads all the time.

Even my first sports car was a gift from him.

But that was before.

Ninety-nine rounds of medication and hypnosis had left my nervous system fragile beyond repair.

Most days, I struggled to keep my balance. Bruises frequently appeared on my body from accidental bumps, and even the brief sensation of weightlessness in an elevator made me uncomfortable.

Street racing was out of the question.

Lily's envious voice sounded softly from the back seat.

"Ryan, that's so exciting. You have no idea how jealous I was of Fiona when I first came home."

The moment she finished speaking, I was slammed back into my seat as the car accelerated again.

I could only bite down hard on the inside of my cheek. Even when I tasted blood, I didn't dare loosen my jaw.

The moment the car stopped, I couldn't hold it in any longer.

I doubled over and vomited violently.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Fiona? That's disgusting!"

"Holy crap. With acting skills like that, you should become an actress."

"Ugh, gross..."

Their insults, combined with the disgusted looks from passing strangers, shredded what little dignity I had left.

But my stomach was still convulsing so violently that I couldn't even explain myself.

Through tear-filled eyes, I looked pleadingly at Wayne, hoping he would say something.

He was a psychiatrist.

More than anyone, he knew the side effects of those drugs.

I wasn't trying to disgust anyone.

I wasn't putting on an act.

I simply couldn't control it.

But he only looked at me with cold indifference.

Then Lily walked over to him and quietly said something that made him frown.

Under the gaze of everyone around us, Wayne bent down on one knee.

He took out a handkerchief, lifted Lily's shoe, and carefully wiped away a stain that wasn't even there.

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest instantly, because the handkerchief was one I gave him.

It wasn't particularly expensive, but I had embroidered a flower onto it myself.

Every stitch had been sewn by hand. It took me an entire day, and my fingers were covered in needle pricks by the time I finished.

I still remembered the look of emotion in his eyes when he received it.

"Is this your version of a love token from some old romance novel?"

My face turned red, and I tried to snatch it back, but he immediately tucked it into the inner pocket over his heart.

"I'll treasure it for the rest of my life."

But now, that handkerchief had traveled from the place above his heart to beneath Lily's feet.

By the time I managed to suppress the nausea, they had already gone inside.

After apologizing to a staff member and asking for the private room number, I hurried after them.

But the moment I pushed open the door, a bucket of ice water came crashing down over my head.

I froze where I stood.

My fingers clenched the hem of my dress as I trembled uncontrollably.

The sight of my humiliation sent the entire room into laughter.

Even Wayne couldn't help covering his mouth with a fist as he fought back a smile.

At that moment, the emotions I were suppressing finally shattered.

I fought back tears and shouted at them, "Is this fun for you? Is this why you invited me here tonight?!"

The room fell silent.

It seemed they finally realized they might have gone too far.

Adrian rubbed the back of his neck and stubbornly replied, "You threw up all over the place earlier. It smelled awful. We were just trying to help clean you up..."

"You're a liar!"

I cut him off sharply, no longer caring about anything except letting my anger out.

"I told you I get carsick! Why wouldn't any of you believe me?! If vomiting on command were really possible, then I should be accepting an Oscar right now!"

The looks of shock on their faces made it clear they hadn't expected such a fierce reaction from me.

After all, they grew accustomed to the gentle, submissive version of me.

What they had forgotten was that I had once been someone they cherished and protected above all else.

How could I not have had a temper of my own?

I only buried all my sharp edges because I cared about them.

I carried every grievance and swallowed every hurt because they mattered to me.

The rebirth and death had all been part of a lie they created for Lily's sake.

The thought made my chest ache even more.

I turned and headed for the door.

Lily hurried after me, trying to stop me.

The moment she grabbed my arm, I shook her off.

She let out a startled cry and fell to the floor.

Wayne, who was sitting quietly in the corner, shot to his feet.

He rushed over, helped her up, and immediately checked her over for injuries, his concern obvious.

The stark contrast in his reaction made my eyes sting.

I didn't stay another second.

I turned and ran.

"Fiona! Stop!"

Wayne's sharp voice rang out behind me.

I only quickened my pace.

When I ignored him completely, he caught up in just a few strides.

His hand clamped around my arm, and he yanked me backward with force.

Caught off guard, I crashed hard onto the ground.

The impact struck an old injury, and pain exploded through me, draining all color from my face.

Wayne's expression changed instantly.

Instinctively, he took half a step toward me.

Then he stopped himself.

A mocking smile tugged at my lips.

He remembered too, didn't he?

Back then, Lily accused me of stealing her jewelry.

I exposed her lie on the spot.

As punishment, Wayne deliberately threw himself down the stairs right in front of me.

Fortunately, I managed to grab him in time.

But in saving him, I tumbled down the staircase myself.

That time, I tore a ligament.

What was truly laughable was that after one of my later "rebirths," I naively believed the injury would be completely healed.

Filled with hope, I tried to run again.

The result was a humiliating collapse onto the ground.

That was when I finally understood.

Every time I returned, the world reset.

But their hatred for me never did.

Neither did the injuries I suffered.

And all because I had once again caught Lily red-handed and exposed her scheme against me.

Our eyes met.

Wayne saw the ridicule and bitterness in my gaze.

For some reason, a sudden unease gripped his heart.

It felt as though something had changed ever since the incident at the pool.

And whatever it was, it was no longer moving in the direction he expected.

It was as if I knew the truth.

Just as Wayne was about to say something, Lily suddenly clutched her hand and tearfully complained, "Sis, I can explain. I can even apologize if you want. But why did you push me?"

She sniffled and looked up at him.

"Wayne, I think I scraped my hand."

In an instant, every other thought vanished from Wayne's mind.

His expression turned cold as he looked at me, as though I were the one who did something wrong.

"Fiona. Apologize."

I stared at him in disbelief.

The sheer absurdity of it left me speechless.

I hadn't even used any force, yet Lily had flown backward as if she'd been shoved.

He had already checked her himself and knew she wasn't hurt.

And still, he wanted me to apologize.

It felt as though a giant hand had wrapped around my heart and squeezed.

The pain was so intense I could barely breathe.

I looked at him, eyes red, and forced out every word through clenched teeth.

"I didn't do anything wrong! You all know exactly what happened!

"I wasn't born to be some family's fake heiress! I have a family too! If you're all so afraid I'll compete with her, then I'll leave! That way you won't have to keep putting on this ridiculous act!"

The words tore away the final layer of pretense.

They exposed every ugly truth hidden underneath.

Like a bomb detonating, they sent shockwaves through everyone present.

My gaze swept across the room.

The panic on Adrian's and Ryan's faces was impossible to hide.

For the first time, I felt a flicker of satisfaction.

But compared to the suffering I endured through ninety-nine rebirths, that tiny victory meant almost nothing.

I pushed myself up from the ground and tried to leave.

But as I brushed past him, someone grabbed my arm again.

Wayne did his best to hide it, but I still caught the emotion lurking in his eyes.

It was fear, almost panic.

Then he masked it with anger and shouted at me, "What nonsense are you talking about?! You were always jealous that Lily was the real heiress of the Hart family! You've been targeting her ever since she came back!

"You keep saying you're leaving, but where exactly do you think you can go?"

His voice grew sharper and harsher.

"Don't forget who you are. You're nothing more than a fake heiress with nowhere to belong! If you want to leave, then take off that dress first. The Hart family paid for it."

His eyes were ice-cold.

"Today, you tried to humiliate Lily by exposing her in front of everyone. Why don't you find out for yourself what that feels like?"