After I get detained in the police station, my husband, Gavin Pratt, specifically comes over to bail me out.

But I grip a policeman's arm without letting go.

"I'm the one who did it! Hurry up and arrest me!"

In my previous life, I was surrounded by the family members of a car crash victim. A bar owner and a saleswoman who sold cosmetics were there as well.

They claimed that I had gone into a drunken frenzy and stole perfume from the store. On top of that, I even ran a red light and hit someone with my car.

I kept explaining the truth to everyone, yet no one believed me. Instead, they all had me surrounded and beat me up till I died.

When I wake up again, I've returned to the day I'm detained inside the police station.

"Elena, what the hell are you talking about? We were together that day. There's no way you stole anything!"

On the other side of the visitation window, my husband, Gavin Pratt, slammed his fist on the table and shot to his feet.

"Officer, she's lost her mind. Don't listen to a single word she says. I can prove it. She didn't steal that perfume!"

Watching him scramble, I was laughing on the inside, but the expression I wore was all tearful remorse.

I said, "Honey, you don't have to cover for me anymore. I need to own what I did. I'm ready to take responsibility."

I didn't spare another glance at Gavin's face, which had gone an ugly shade of red. Instead, I turned earnestly to the police officer beside me.

"Officer, I'm confessing. My husband is just so worried about me that he tried to get me to lie. Please don't hold that against him."

The rage behind Gavin's eyes looked like it could set the room on fire. He dug through his bag in a frenzy and slapped a credit card onto the table.

"Officer, we'll pay for the perfume in full. Just release her. She has a company meeting today. They can't do without her."

Before the officer could respond, I jumped in first, turning to Gavin with tears brimming in my eyes. "Gavin, you can't just throw money at this. Go home. I want to stay here and think about what I've done."

My words were so earnest, so righteous, that even the police officer looked moved. She cleared her throat and fixed Gavin with a disapproving look.

"The security footage and the store clerk both identified Ms. Chambers. Mr. Pratt, your wife is willing to take responsibility. It's just a short administrative detention. If you keep making a scene, this could escalate to a court case."

Gavin couldn't explain his way out of it. He was practically hopping with frustration, and all he could do was turn the full force of his anger on me.

"Elena, have you completely lost it? That perfume brand is your company's product! Why the hell would you steal from your own label?"

I lifted my chin, the picture of stubborn innocence. "Honey, you wouldn't understand. That's exactly why I need to stay here and do some real soul-searching."

Between my stone wall of an act and the officer refusing to budge, Gavin looked like he was about to pass out from sheer rage. Finally, he ground his teeth and played his last card.

"Elena, I'm giving you one final chance. Are you coming with me or not?

"My family will never accept a daughter-in-law with a detention record. If you insist on staying, we're getting a divorce."

A flicker of hesitation crossed my face. Gavin pounced on the opening immediately.

"Elena, stop being difficult. Just be reasonable and come with me. You don't want our future baby to have a mother with a criminal record, do you?"

That tiny waver of doubt vanished just as fast as it appeared, replaced by iron resolve.

"Gavin, I'm sorry. I can't let our future baby have a mother who lies. I need to see this through.

"Go. Don't worry about me. Just let me stay here and learn my lesson."

Gavin couldn't stomach my self-righteousness for another second. He stood up, kicked the chair aside, and jabbed a finger right in my face.

He snarled, "You can look forward to the divorce papers!"

Then he stormed out without looking back. I watched him go, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

In my previous life, everything started falling apart about a month ago. It was when Gavin's first love, Brooke Ashton, came back from overseas.

The moment she returned, it was like a switch had flipped in him. Every thought and every ounce of his attention went to her, while I was left on the sidelines, completely invisible.

We'd been planning a wedding, but because of Brooke, it got pushed back indefinitely.

I couldn't keep waiting around forever, so I made up my mind to end things with Gavin and let him be with Brooke.

But then the news broke—Brooke had gotten wasted and trashed a bar. She'd also stolen a bottle of perfume from a department store counter and run a red light.

I went to Gavin, thinking that the best thing for her would be to turn herself in and cooperate. Perhaps they'd go easy on her.

Gavin looked at me coldly. "What the hell are you talking about? Those were all things you did. Are you really that disgusting? Trying to pin your own mess on Brooke?"

I'd frozen, wanting to ask him what he meant by that. Before I could, the victims from all three incidents tracked me down together.

I tried desperately to explain, but every one of them produced surveillance footage. And the person caught on camera committing those acts had my face.

I couldn't defend myself. In the chaos that followed, the mob shoved me to the ground, and I was trampled to death.

Now that I'd been given a second chance, I needed to find out why that surveillance footage showed my face. No amount of doctoring could produce fakes that convincing. Someone had done this to me, and I was going to figure out who.

Since I'd confessed to the perfume theft and shown a cooperative attitude, the police only held me for three days before letting me go.

I walked out of the station and pulled out my phone to check the news. I wanted to see whether this life would unfold the same way—whether someone was already setting me up again.

I hadn't made it very far when I spotted a group of people up ahead, all glaring straight at me. The moment I got close, they swarmed.

"That's her! She's the one who stole the perfume from our store! I got fired because of her! You owe me money!"

"That's her! She smashed up our place and broke every bottle behind the bar. That was hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of liquor!"

The last one was the most worked up, practically shaking. He was the father of the kid who'd been hit in the red-light accident.

"You shameless little bitch, running that red light. My son is still in the hospital. If he ends up with lasting damage because of you, I will make your life hell!"

In my previous life, this was the moment I'd panicked, tripping over myself to explain. But this time, I knew none of it had anything to do with me. So why would I panic?

I kept my voice calm. "None of that was me. I never did any of those things."

The fired store clerk shoved her phone in my face. "Still trying to lie your way out of this? If it wasn't you, then who was it?"

She was livestreaming the whole confrontation. "Everyone watching, take a good look at this face. Stay far away from this woman unless you want your stuff stolen too!"

The others nodded along eagerly. "Yeah, get her on camera! Let's see her try to run from this!"

I was about to move away when I heard Gavin's voice cut through the noise. "Elena, I didn't think you were actually capable of something like this. We're done. You will never set foot in my family's home."

Right beside him, Brooke had her hand wrapped around his arm. "Elena, how could you do something like this?"

My gaze drifted over to Gavin's side, where the real culprit stood looking at me with open disgust.

I rolled my eyes and turned to the crowd. "If you're all so sure that it was me, you'd better have some proof. Otherwise, what are you basing this on?"

The others let out a cold laugh. "We knew you'd say that. If we hadn't checked the surveillance footage, we really would've let scum like you walk free."

One of them held up a phone and shoved a video right in my face. I stared at the footage, and sure enough, the person on screen was me. I honestly hadn't expected them to still have it this time around.

The person then held the video up to the livestream, and the comment section erupted immediately.

"She was so calm just now, I actually thought they had the wrong person. But they've actually got the footage. This woman's probably a serial thief!"

"Got slapped in the face with evidence, huh? Let's hear what excuse she's got now."

"Call the police! Get her arrested! Society doesn't need trash like this!"

I looked past all of them and let my eyes settle on Gavin and Brooke. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could've sworn I caught a flicker of satisfaction on both their faces.

I'd thought spending three days in custody would've been enough to stop them from framing me again, but clearly I was wrong.

With the surveillance footage backing them up, the victims grew even bolder and closed in on me with their hands out.

"Elena Chambers, pay up! I got fired from the department store because of you. That perfume you stole? I had to cover the cost out of my own pocket. You owe me for the perfume and my lost wages. A few thousand dollars should cover it!"

The bar owner jumped in next. "Yeah, and what about me? Do you have any idea what those bottles you smashed were worth? That was my entire collection, built up over years, over 500 thousand dollars worth. Pay up!"

Then there was the elderly couple. Their son had been hit by a car and was still lying in a hospital bed.

The old man pointed at me, shaking with fury. "I don't care about anything else. If something happens to my son, you're paying for it with your life!"

"That's right!" the old woman added. "If our son doesn't recover, you couldn't pay us enough even if you had 100 million dollars!"

The crowd was getting out of control. I cleared my throat. "Everyone, please calm down and hear me out!"

I pointed at Gavin and Brooke, who'd been standing off to the side, enjoying the show. "The person who did all of this isn't me. It's her, Brooke Ashton.

"She's the one behind everything. None of it has anything to do with me. Please believe me!"

The words had barely left my mouth before Gavin stormed in, furious. "Still denying it? The evidence is right there, and you're trying to pin this on Brooke? Are you even human?"

Brooke's eyes welled up with tears, her face the portrait of wounded innocence. "Elena, if you can't afford to pay them back, I can even lend you the money. Why are you trying to drag me into this?"

The livestream camera swung over to capture Gavin and Brooke perfectly on cue, and the comments flooded in with sympathy.

"There's no way that pretty lady's the culprit."

"Has this woman lost her mind? She's just lashing out at random people now."

"She's vicious. She's got hard evidence against her, and she's still trying to frame someone else. Imagine what she'd pull if there wasn't any proof."

Just then, the wail of a police siren cut through the noise.

A squad car pulled up nearby, and the same police officer who'd processed my case stepped out. "We got a call about a suspect at the scene."

Everyone pointed at me in unison. "It's her!"

The officer blinked in surprise. "Elena Chambers? Didn't I just release you? How are you a suspect again?"