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?"

"No!"

Before my horrified eyes, Wayne ripped my jacket off in a single motion.

Adrian and Ryan both looked uneasy and rushed forward to stop him, only to be silenced by a glare.

In that brief exchange of looks, the three men reached an unspoken agreement.

Things went too far.

The only way forward was to keep this "rebirth" charade going.

Otherwise, the entire lie would fall apart.

No matter how much I cried, screamed, or struggled, none of them hesitated.

Piece by piece, they stripped away my clothes until only my underwear remained.

I could only fold my arms across my chest and curl up on the floor.

Every inch of exposed skin trembled in the cold air.

Wayne stood at the front with Adrian and Ryan beside him, my clothes clutched in their hands as they looked down at me from above.

"Fiona, either apologize to Lily or get out."

In that instant, countless memories flashed through my mind.

Ever since I could remember, the four of us were inseparable.

When we were six, Adrian was bullied by older kids, and I stood in front of him.

At twelve, Ryan skipped school to spend the day at an arcade, and I kept watch for him.

At sixteen, Wayne hated the fiancée his family chose for him, and I begged Grandpa to let me take her place.

At eighteen, we were caught in an avalanche while skiing. We supported each other all the way down the mountain, and none of us abandoned the others.

One by one, those memories shattered before my eyes and faded into nothing.

A faint smile tugged at my lips, so faint it was almost invisible.

Without saying a word, I walked out wearing nothing but my underwear.

Faintly, I could hear shouting behind me.

It sounded like Ryan finally had enough and was warning Wayne that he would regret this.

Would he?

It didn't matter anymore.

Ryan eventually came after me.

He wrapped his jacket around my shoulders, his tone filled with irritation.

"Have you lost your mind? Do you really want everyone to laugh at the Hart family?"

I let out a self-mocking laugh.

So that was it.

He was worried about me embarrassing the Hart family.

When he offered to drive me home, I didn't refuse.

Back at the house, I locked myself in my room.

I was utterly exhausted, both physically and emotionally, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

But it wasn't a peaceful one.

My dreams were filled with memories of the four of us, laughing together, inseparable as ever.

Tears slid down my cheeks unconsciously.

Then suddenly, someone yanked me out of bed.

Before I could react, a sack was pulled over my head.

Aside from the initial pain, I calmed down surprisingly quickly.

This was a heavily secured private estate.

It was probably just another one of Wayne's cruel little games.

I was dumped inside an abandoned factory.

Even through the coarse burlap sack over my head, countless blows rained down on me.

It felt as though my ribs had broken, but I bit down hard on my lip and refused to make a sound.

The men seemed to grow uneasy.

"She isn't dead already, is she? Mr. Fall specifically told us not to seriously injure her. What do we do, boss?"

"What are you scared of? Miss Hart gave the order. We only hit her a few times. How's this our fault?"

After a flurry of hurried footsteps, silence fell around me.

I didn't know how long I drifted between consciousness and unconsciousness.

By the time the hood was pulled off, I was barely hanging on.

Wayne stood before me, surrounded by several bodyguards, his expression dark and grim.

"You refuse to repent. You even hired someone to ruin Lily's reputation. You're truly vicious."

The moment I realized what those bodyguards were there for, terror surged through me.

My eyes widened.

"I didn't! Wayne, you can't do this to me!"

Several men stepped forward and pinned me down.

Wayne's voice drifted over, light and indifferent.

"Fiona, actions have consequences. Consider this a lesson. As long as you behave from now on, everything will be fine.

"Don't be afraid. Go to sleep. When you wake up, it'll all be over."

This time, he wasn't using the deaths of the people I cared about as punishment.

He was going to destroy me first, then make me "start over."

As long as the trauma he left behind was deep enough, I would become more obedient.

I stared at him, my eyes bloodshot with hatred.

"If I ever get another chance, even if all of you died right in front of me, I wouldn't spare you a single glance."

Wayne spun around in shock.

What met him was a pair of eyes filled with nothing but hatred.

The hand hanging at his side began to tremble uncontrollably.

One thought lodged itself in his mind.

She knew.

She had to know.

However, he wasn’t worried.

This time, he'd simply increase the dosage and reinforce it with hypnosis.

He could still make her believe.

The previous ninety-nine times had worked, hadn't they?

He desperately tried to reassure himself.

But in the next second, he saw a man rushing toward them, panic written across his face.

The man called out to me.

"Fiona!”