When I brought home a curly-haired stray puppy, Shawn wouldn’t let the housekeeper open the door for me.

“It’s filthy. We don’t welcome things like that in this house.”

So, I sat on the steps outside, clutching the little dog in my arms, all night long.

I was still young back then and thought that was just his nature—incapable of the gentle affection other brothers showed their sisters until Linda came along.

That was when I realized Shawn wasn’t incapable of being affectionate. He simply chose not to show me such affection.

I’d seen him sitting in his car, handing Linda a cup of warm milk while ruffling her hair, saying, "Make sure you eat three proper meals a day. If you ever need money, you know I’ve got you."

I’d seen her pick up a frail stray cat on a rainy day, with him standing beside her, holding an umbrella and gently asking, “Do you want to keep it?”

Even when Linda got drunk and clung to his shirt, rambling nonsense, he listened patiently, his eyes filled with nothing but tenderness.

In my previous life, I was trapped in a delusion of love.

I kept wondering why my brother didn’t love me, why my fiancé never sided with me.

Given a second chance at life, I finally saw things clearly.

I was my own person.

I didn’t need someone’s love to survive.

…

The birthday banquet didn’t end on a high note after all.

Just as Shawn and I stood locked in confrontation, my parents finally returned.

They thanked the guests politely and saw everyone out of the hall.

Linda tried to pull the same pity act in front of my mom, but she shut her down with a simple smile.

“Sorry, Miss Lowe, but we will handle our own family affairs. Please leave.”

Linda froze, her face stiffening as she cast a tearful glance at Shawn before reluctantly turning to leave.

Once the guests left and it was just Shawn and me in the house, my dad finally spoke, his expression stern.

“Enough. Now, explain what happened.”

Before Shawn could say a word, I cut in.

“A new transfer student arrived at school recently. On her first day, she suddenly poured water over her own head and accused me of doing it, claiming I was bullying her.”

I paused for a moment, then continued, “Later, I found out she’s the same girl Shawn has been secretly sponsoring, a poor student named Linda Lowe.”

Shawn, seated on the couch, snapped his head up to look at me, his eyes filled with shock.

“Surprised, aren’t you, Shawn? You didn’t think I’d find out so soon about the little connection between you two, did you?” I thought.

I pressed the corner of my reddened eye and said in a choked voice, “Honestly, I don’t blame her. It’s just a birthday party. I can let it go.

“But what hurts is... why doesn’t my own brother believe me?”

After all, Linda wasn’t the only one who knew how to play the innocent victim.

As my voice broke slightly, laced with tears, my dad brought the matter to a decisive end.

“Enough. I don’t care who bullied whom. None of you are to stir up trouble again. If this gets out, it won’t look good for anyone. This ends here.”

…

When I returned to school, I started bullying Linda openly and without remorse.

I poured ink into her desk drawer, loudly mocked her accented English as she recited passages in class, and tore her physics test paper to shreds, scattering the pieces over her head.

"Go on, report me again," I said with a smile. "Isn’t that what you’re best at?"

A piece of torn paper drifted lazily from her hair to the ground.

She stared at me, a flash of deep-seated hatred glinting in her eyes.

But in the end, she still trembled and cried as she apologized.

"I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Sierra. If I’ve done anything to upset you, I’ll apologize now. I’ll change, okay?"

"Your existence upset me."

I raised an eyebrow, feigning curiosity. "How do you plan to fix that? By dying right here and now?"

She was at a loss for words, unable to utter a single sentence.

In the end, all she could do was keep crying.

For the first time, I realized how satisfying it was to embrace being the villain.

Of course, she ran to tell the teacher.

The teacher called me to the office, where I put on a tearful performance, recounting the events of my birthday party.

By the end, I pulled out a hospital diagnosis.

"Because of her lies, my brother humiliated me in front of everyone that night. I cry every time I think about it, and I even wake up from nightmares.

"I’m seeing a therapist now, and I’m on medication. The doctor says I’m severely depressed."

In the end, the teacher ended up comforting me instead.

It was no secret that I disliked Linda.

Rachel, baffled, asked, "Why do you keep targeting her? Did she ever actually do anything to offend you?”

I tilted my head and smiled at her.

"Can’t I just be a spoiled rich girl who looks down on the poor transfer student?"

"Yeah, right."

She rolled her eyes at me.

"If you were really like that, why haven’t you bullied me? My family’s even worse off than hers.

"On our first day as friends, you bought me enough school supplies to last three years. If I’m supposed to believe you’re a bully, I might as well believe I’m Cleopatra. Even I’m not that clueless."

Exactly.

Everyone understood that much.

Everyone except my brother and the man I liked.

I curved my lips into a faint smile, but there wasn’t a trace of warmth in my eyes.

…

A month later, the school prepared to celebrate its hundredth anniversary.

In my previous life, Linda performed a piano solo at the anniversary gala, arranged by Shawn and Alec.

Her performance caught the attention of a talent scout in attendance, who granted her the only special admission spot to their prestigious program.

And me?

I had been trained in dance since I was four years old, practicing for over a decade. I had prepared a classical dance routine for the gala.

But Alec found me before the performance.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the campus, he pulled me into a gentle hug and murmured, "Don’t perform, Sierra. I don’t want everyone else to notice how beautiful you are—it’ll make me jealous. Just dance for me, okay?"

Back then, I was a fool.

I thought it was his way of caring about me.

So, on the night of the gala, I didn’t perform.

Instead, I stayed in the empty dance studio, performing for him over and over again.

When my routine finally ended, a thunderous wave of cheers erupted from the auditorium in the distance.

Alec heard it and suddenly smiled.

He was always so gentle and reserved around me, his smiles faint and almost hazy, as though separated by a veil.

It was the first time I saw him show such obvious emotion.

I stopped dancing, naively asking, "Are you happy?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Yes, I’m happy."

At the time, I thought his happiness came from watching me dance just for him.

It wasn’t until much later that I learned the truth.

He was happy because Linda’s performance was a resounding success.

The only light in his life had found her bright, dazzling future.

…

I submitted the dance routine I had prepared long ago.

But this time, it wasn’t a solo performance.

I pulled in every girl in my class who was interested in performing, and together, we choreographed a group classical dance.

I hired a professional instructor, splurged on the most expensive costumes, and had the finest props custom-made.

By comparison, Linda’s simple piano solo in a plain white dress seemed far too underwhelming.

I wasn’t sure what sob story she told Shawn, but that evening, when I returned home after school, he stopped me in the garden.

"Sierra Wood."

He looked at me with a cold, expressionless face.

"For the school anniversary performance, I want you to drop out from your act.”

I smirked. “Shawn, what nonsense are you spouting again?”

“Don’t think this is up for discussion,” he replied coldly, a trace of mocking disdain flashing in his eyes.

“If you insist on performing, you’ll deal with the consequences yourself.”

I stopped in my tracks, locking eyes with him and his icy stare.

“Brother, is your precious little angel so lacking in confidence that after ten years of piano lessons, she’s afraid of competing with me on the same stage? What a pathetic loser.”

…

Just a few days before the anniversary gala, Alec came to find me.

“Sierra, what happened last time was my fault. But you’ve blocked me from contacting you, and you refuse to see me.

“I don’t know what’s going on, Sierra. Do you have a misunderstanding about me, or… have you fallen for someone else?”

As he said those final words, his voice carried a distinct trace of pain.

“But you said it yourself that you’d always love me the most.”

A surge of anger, sharp and burning, shot through my chest.

Once, I had loved him with all my heart for so many years.

He said he didn’t like me doing kissing scenes, so I gave up countless opportunities with some of the best directors in the industry.

He said Linda came from a rough background and was bullied in the orphanage, so I should go easy on her.

And I forgave her again and again for every offense she committed against me.

All I ever wanted was to have my sincerity returned in kind.

And what did I get in return? A decade of slander and hatred from both of them.

At that moment, I couldn’t even be bothered to put on a façade anymore.

Grabbing Alec by the collar, I shoved him hard against the tree behind him.

He gasped in pain, sucking in a sharp breath.

Before he could say a word, I slapped him hard across the face.

I didn’t hold back.

His pale complexion instantly flushed red and swelled where my hand had landed.

Leaning in close, I spoke slowly, each word cutting like a blade.

“You’ve known Linda Lowe for a long time. I already figured that out. You like her, don’t you? So why are you here pretending to be devoted to me?

“You just want to string me along, use me, while playing lapdog to your precious little angel. You’re no better than your mother, that homewrecking whore—absolutely pathetic.”

As the final word left my lips, a storm brewed in his eyes, dark and turbulent.

But he couldn’t say a single word in response.

I scoffed, letting go of his collar, and walked away without looking back.

…

That night, I had a dream.

Unusually, it was about what happened after my death in my previous life.

After I stabbed Linda in the chest with the cake knife, I succumbed to the unbearable pain and died.

However, she was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Outside her hospital room, Alec grabbed Shawn by the collar and demanded, “You said you’d take care of everything! You said you’d protect her—”

Shawn shrugged off his hand and replied coldly, “I’ve already agreed to share her with you. Do you think you, an illegitimate son, could control the Wood family without my help? Don’t push your luck.”

Alec stumbled back a few steps, retorting, “Your help? It was—”

He abruptly stopped mid-sentence, his words hanging in the air.

Shawn let out a cold laugh.

"That’s right. It was my sister who helped you. But she’s dead now. And the person who threw the acid on her? That was someone you personally contacted and arranged. Have you forgotten?"

Alec stood silently in place, motionless.

The red light above the operating room door continued to blink.

Moments later, Linda was wheeled out.

The doctor said, "The patient is still in critical condition..."

Alec’s gaze flickered over her pale, bloodless face, his eyes trembling ever so slightly.

Then, with eerie calmness, he said, "I haven’t forgotten, and I’ve never regretted it."

…

I jolted awake from the nightmare, stumbling into the bathroom.

Clutching the edge of the toilet, I dry-heaved for what felt like an eternity.