Clara promptly purchased those earrings. Then, she looked at me smugly.

I remained nonchalant.

After all, she was going to marry Silas.

It would be better if I had nothing more to do with the two of them.

Complicated feelings gripped me as I recalled the events of my previous life.

Suddenly, a necklace on the stage attracted my attention.

Its style and size resembled the one my mother had worn when she still lived. Its details were zoomed in on the screen.

I stared at that familiar necklace and was lost in a trance.

I was certain that it belonged to my mother.

I heard that it had gone missing after my mother’s passing.

Beyond all expectations, it had shown up there.

Even my assistant noticed something wrong with me and immediately raised her paddle to bid for the necklace.

Initially, Clara was uninterested in that jewelry.

But she suddenly grew eager when she saw my expression.

I gradually felt weak as the price kept increasing.

I gnashed my teeth and put all my money, including the seven hundred thousand dollars given by Adam and my savings, on the last bidding.

Clara was pondering something before she pulled Silas’ hand and started acting coquettishly.

“Silas, I want that.”

Naturally, Silas had noticed the competition between us. He turned to look at me calmly.

The comments surfaced again at the sight of my pale face.

[As long as Jane puts herself down and reaches out to Silas, Silas will buy this for her!]

[Silas acts like he hates her. But in fact, he loves her deeply!]

[Hurry up! You’re driving me crazy. All it takes is some nice words from you!]

[Silas just wants to see Jane give in. Why didn’t she understand?!]

I read the comments and clenched my fists. My fingers were shaky.

No, they were wrong.

During my previous life, I had believed those comments and reached out to Silas. I even humbly begged him. What did that result in?

He still snatched away everything that I cherished and gave them to Clara. He never once cared about me.

Hence, I would not humbly give in to him again.

When Silas noticed that I did not want to give in, he raised his finger slightly and raised the price to fourteen million dollars.

For a moment, the memories from my previous life overwhelmed me.

Deep iciness gripped me until I could hardly breathe.

I did not look at Silas again until the auctioneer’s gavel struck for the last time, regardless of how the comments tried to persuade me.

After the auction, Adam held a party for all the nobles and the rich of the circle.

Clara was quite smug.

After dinner, she stopped me in the garden and purposely raised the necklace around her neck.

“I don’t know why you like this old thing so much, but it’s pretty.”

She called it an old thing. But I remembered my mother always wearing it. Of course, Clara would be able to recognize it.

I was in a trance.

Clara pointedly blinked and grinned when she walked toward me.

“I’ve snatched away two of your favorites consecutively. Well, even I’m ashamed of that. I’ll let you have these earrings then.”

She fished out the emerald earrings that she had just bought and handed them to me.

I wore no expression as I looked at her, but I did not want them.

Clara stopped smiling. Instead, she looked at me coldly and maliciously.

“You won’t give up, will you?” She stared at me and gnashed her teeth, murmuring.

Suddenly, her gaze turned unreadable. She let go and covered her mouth, screaming, “Oh! I didn’t hold them well. You’ve got to pick them up.”

With a clank, the expensive earrings were smashed onto the marble floor and cracked a little.

“Don’t bother. Keep them for yourself.”

I sneered and turned to leave. But I heard a plop. I did not expect Clara to jump into the pool.

She struggled in the water. Her slim-fit white dress had turned almost transparent. Her long black hair spread in the water. She looked weak and helpless.

She begged me miserably. “Jane, I was wrong. Just let me off!”

Then, a familiar voice rebuked me from behind.

“Clara has always been weak. How could you push her into the pool in such cold weather?!”

I turned around.

Silas’ gaze was cold. His loud voice came with suppressed anger.

[Silas came to say sorry to Jane. But it’s not going to happen now.]

[He purposely bought the most expensive item to give Jane.]

[He didn’t talk about it, but he still cares about her.]

[But there’s going to be a misunderstanding between them now.]

[So, is he still going to try winning her back now?! I’m looking forward to it!]

The comments grew suspicious when the onlookers saw how angry Silas was.

[Couldn’t Silas see through such bad acting skills?]

[Is it acting? Or is he trying to beat her at her own game? We wouldn’t know.]

In a few seconds, these words disappeared in the endless comments.

[As long as Jane makes things clear to the male lead, the male lead will take her side!]

[Yeah! As long as she says it, Silas will believe her!]

[Why didn’t they talk it out? I’m driven mad!]

They wanted me to explain myself. How naive!

In my previous life, Clara had jumped off the building during my wedding.

Silas was certain that I had purposely provoked Clara.

After Clara died, they discovered her diary in her room. It was full of memories of how our mother abused her and was biased toward me. On top of that, she wrote about how I had bullied her. She was always walking on thin ice at home.

But anyone could tell that the diary was new based on its papers and the color of the ink…

However, Silas would not believe me, no matter how I explained myself. I even showed him the result of the cops’ investigation. He was still adamant that I had caused Clara’s death.

He got quite drunk on the day of the first anniversary of Clara’s funeral.

He stabbed my chest, cruelly twisting the sharp blade to torment me.

I knew that explaining myself would be meaningless.

Silas jumped into the pool without any hesitation and rescued Clara.

A waiter nearby hurriedly handed warm water and a towel to him.

Although Silas was an impatient man, he meticulously wiped Clara dry.

His gentle gaze and careful actions made him a different man from when he was with me.

Clara looked at me. She bit her pale lips, and her fair skin was stained with tears.

“I bought the thing she liked today. Normally, she resents me. It’s fine, Silas. She knew that this pool was shallow and wouldn’t hurt me. She probably just wanted to punish me.”

Those few words were enough to send Silas into a fury.

“The pool was almost frozen. Are you calling it a mere punishment?! If I came any later, you might have drowned!”

Silas slowly turned toward me. Great anger burned in his eyes.

Clara yanked his sleeves and looked worried. “But there are no grudges between us. Why would she want to kill me?”

Silas threw me a contemptuous sidelong glance.

“Clara, your family spoiled you and showered you with love. Of course, the idea of such a wicked woman would be foreign to you. Some people would do just about anything when they’re jealous of others.”

Silas was implying that I was jealous of Clara for being able to marry him.

While talking, he suddenly got close to me. His gaze abruptly turned sharp as he pinched my chin and forced me to look into his eyes.

Then, he slowly spoke in a low voice, “Clara and I are childhood sweethearts. You’re just an outsider.”

We were at an impasse.

Suddenly, Clara screamed, “Silas, my necklace fell into the pool just now! It’s gone.”

Silas let go of me and narrowed his eyes.

“Since you lost it, jump into the pool to find it. You guys keep watch! Don’t let her come up before she finds it!”

He turned to bark orders at his surrounding men.

In the next second, someone pushed me into the pool.

Before leaving, Silas looked at me with the same frigidity as he did in my previous life.

“You love pushing people into the pool, don’t you? How does it feel now?”

The cold water enveloped me and slowly drowned me.

By late midnight, I started to lose consciousness. It was unbelievably cold.

Immense exhaustion gripped me. Time slowed to a crawl. Every second was torture to me.

In a trance, I felt great dizziness. My eyes slid shut.

In the busy and noisy hall, the lights were bright, casting different shadows on the scene. People kept toasting each other, and the sweet scent of wine was lost in the noisy crowd.

“I heard that… Jane fainted in the pool that day.”

Someone walked over and poured a glass of wine for Silas. He looked quite curious.

Clara nodded and looked at Silas innocently. “When she woke up, she insisted on marrying the guy from the Cook Family who was going bankrupt. I’m sure I’ve got her mad these days. That’s why she said that out of spite.”

While talking, she acted like she was blaming herself.

Silas extended his fingers and gently wiped away her tears. “It’s not your fault. Serves her right.”

Clara faked a smile and looked at him obediently.

“The Cook Family is situated at Nodon. When she’s married, she’ll be far away from us. Silas, you don’t have to worry about her bothering you again.”

Initially, she assumed that Silas would echo her words. However, he snorted.

“Humph! She wants to marry him?” Then, everyone else burst into laughter.

Everyone there knew for a fact how Silas had captured Jane’s heart at first sight. She was madly in love with him. Of course, she could not reconcile with the idea of marrying someone else. Certainly, Jane had said that just out of spite.

[Look! Even the male lead is waiting for Jane to come back to him!]

[Everyone knows that it’s not over between Silas and Jane. But Clara refuses to believe that.]

[The male lead looks unconcerned. But he definitely wants Jane to come to him quickly…]

[Even if he picked the wrong woman, he’ll still end up with Jane!]

No one noticed how Clara’s gaze gradually dimmed while nestled in Silas’ arms. It was hidden by her long eyelashes.

It was two days to my mother’s death anniversary. I planned to visit her grave.

She was buried in Nodon, which was her hometown.

I heard that it had been her only wish before she passed away.

Hence, I bought a flight ticket and packed my luggage. Someone stopped me before I could leave.

“Are you going to Nodon, Jane?” Clara scanned my luggage and sounded certain.

“What if I am?” I impatiently wanted her to step aside.

She cracked an innocent-looking smile. “Now that I think about it, it’s been a long time since I last visited Mom. Can I go with you?”