Since Monica had blamed me in my last life for ruining her chance to marry into money, this time, I would help her get exactly what she wanted.

I was curious to see whether being a rich wife was truly as wonderful as they made it out to be.

The day after we talked, Monica went on the blind date Aunt Lorelei had arranged with that rich guy, Howard Sharp.

Over the next month, Howard showed up in front of her nonstop, showering her with flowers, gifts, and luxury items.

Wrapped up in all that money and attention, Monica forgot the good-looking boyfriend she had once sworn to marry no matter what.

She turned around and had a whirlwind wedding with the rich guy, successfully marrying into a wealthy family.

After the wedding, her social media feed was full of selfies and luxury items.

Her captions were always things like "New purse from Hubby", "Howard bought me this outfit", and "My husband surprised me with a new car".

She basically mentioned Howard in every sentence, but he never appeared in a single photo.

She was still the Monica I remembered.

Monica had loved makeup and fashion since high school, even though her allowance could never cover those things.

We went to the same school, so she always borrowed money from me.

I didn't have much allowance either, but she kept asking, so I kept giving in and lending it to her.

She was quite popular at school, and almost every guy who chased her was handsome.

She definitely cared about looks, so her boyfriends were always the best-looking ones.

Now, she was enjoying the comfortable life her rich husband provided, but she also had to stare at a face she couldn't stand every single day.

I wondered if she was truly happy living like that.

The next time I saw Monica was during Christmas, when we visited Grandma's house.

She had only been married for about three months, yet she came back alone for her first Christmas as a married woman.

Naturally, the relatives got curious and started gossiping.

But their curiosity disappeared the moment they saw all the gifts Monica had brought.

The elders beamed as they admired the fur coats, jewelry, and expensive wine and tea.

They all praised Monica for being thoughtful, generous, and grateful, saying she had married well but still cared about her family.

Monica just smiled at them without saying much.

She smiled on the surface, but I still caught the flicker of disappointment in her eyes.

Aunt Lorelei was proudly bragging beside her. "It's all thanks to my son-in-law, Howard. He treats Monica so well. Even though he couldn't make it today, he still sent gifts."

Then she held up her own purse to show everyone, saying it was a Christmas present from Howard.

It was a Louis Vuitton designer bag worth several thousand dollars.

Grandma didn't know brand names. She just stared at it and said, "Is this bag really that pricey? It looks like the same kind Tabitha carries."

I was on my phone nearby, and once Grandma said that, everyone turned their heads toward me.

Aunt Lorelei came over, picked up my purse, and examined it closely in surprise. "This bag isn't cheap. Tabitha, did you secretly start dating someone?"

I calmly took my purse back. "Nope. I'm single. I bought it myself."

Sometimes, I truly wondered how Aunt Lorelei's mind worked.

Did she really believe a woman could only meet her material needs through a man?

I worked at a major company. I wasn't making a million dollars a year like the top executives, but I still made at least 100 thousand.

In my last life, after Monica and her boyfriend had gotten married, they borrowed quite a bit of money from me because they were always struggling financially.

I felt sorry for her because I remembered how Uncle Johnny had passed away in an accident years ago and how hard life had been for Aunt Lorelei and Monica ever since.

So, I always felt that as sisters, I should help whenever I could.

But I did not expect that she would never pay me back.

Aunt Lorelei looked surprised, clearly not convinced I could afford a designer brand with my salary. "I know you young people love buying labels to keep up appearances, but that's not a smart move for the long term.

"You'll be 26 next year. Honestly, you should find a wealthy guy just like Monica did. Then you could just ask for the things you would've needed to spend a few months' salary to buy."

I didn't respond, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

My other aunt, Karen Hall, quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "I think Monica and Tabitha are both great. One is married well, and the other has a good job. The only one struggling is my son. He's almost 30, but his job is average, and he still doesn't have a girlfriend…"

Aunt Lorelei took the bait and immediately switched her attention to setting my cousin up.

I looked at Monica, who was sitting beside us. She still hadn't said a word, and her expression hadn't changed at all.

My instincts told me something was off about her.

Ever since Monica had gotten married, the family group chat had been livelier than ever.

Every few days, Aunt Lorelei would send updates about the new gifts Monica and Howard had bought for her.

Whenever she posted, relatives would flood the chat, saying how lucky she was and how thoughtful and capable Monica and Howard were.

Aunt Lorelei never got tired of showing it off.

But then I suddenly realized she hadn't mentioned anything about Monica's job in a long time.

Back when Monica worked as a model, every runway show and photoshoot was posted in the family chat without fail.

Later, when relatives asked about her work, Aunt Lorelei finally said, "Howard felt bad that she was working so hard, so he told her to quit and stay home. They're not short on money, anyway."

One evening after work, I stepped out of the elevator and ran right into Monica.

I instinctively stepped back, feeling guarded.

After all, she had killed me in my previous life. Being alone with her still made my heart jump.

Before I could say anything, she rushed over and hugged me. "Tabitha, what am I supposed to do?!

"Howard cheated on me! He thought I was fooling around with someone before, so he forced me to quit my job. But all this time, he was the one sneaking off to a hotel with someone else…"

Monica cried hysterically while accusing her husband of cheating. She was sobbing so hard that her voice nearly broke.

She talked and talked, but I said nothing.

When she didn't get the comfort she expected, she finally asked, puzzled, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Her confusion made sense. In the past, I would have been cursing him out with her.

I stared at her expressionlessly. "This is the life you chose, isn't it?"

I had wanted to say this in my last life, but by then, I was already bleeding out.

"It's all my mom's fault. If she hadn't forced that blind date on me and pushed me to marry him, I wouldn't be suffering like this."

She was still the same as before. Whenever her choice didn't turn out the way she wanted, she blamed everyone but herself.

If she hadn't been tempted by money in the first place, Aunt Lorelei wouldn't have been able to force her into anything.

A moment later, someone pounded on the door urgently.

I already knew it had to be Aunt Lorelei, so before Monica could stop me, I went and opened the door.

Sure enough, the moment the door cracked open, I heard Aunt Lorelei shouting, "Monica, have you lost your mind? Talking about divorce over something this small?!"