In my past life, my mother had adopted me out to my aunt, but kept my older sister close to her.

I followed my aunt into the world of business and became a success that everyone envied.

My sister, consumed by jealousy over my life, seduced my husband.

To claim my fortune, she even schemed to burn down my villa. But she hadn't counted on the fire spreading too fast—we both perished in the blaze.

Reborn, I now had a second chance. And of course, my sister was the first to step forward, claiming she should be my aunt's daughter.

I smiled. Things were panning out just as I'd hoped.

I woke with a start. The room around me was familiar, yet the searing pain from the fire still lingered in my mind.

But strangely, my body bore no wounds at all.

Before I could fully collect my thoughts, a knock sounded at the door, followed by my aunt's voice.

Listening in on the conversation between my mother and aunt, I realized with startling clarity: I had been reborn.

In my previous life, at this exact moment, my aunt and an old man from the island country of Zandumore were planning to move overseas. Before leaving, my aunt came to bid our family farewell.

She looked at my mother and said, "With your current finances, it's too stressful to raise two children. Perhaps you should let one child come with me to Zandumore."

This time, unlike in my past life, I didn't rush out the door. I stayed quietly in the room.

"Which one of you do you want to come with me?" my aunt asked.

Just like before, my mother made the same choice. "Harper can go with you. She's so well-behaved."

Immediately, Emma Paisley blocked our mother. "Why should Harper enjoy a good life? I'm going!"

Mom tried to reason with my sister. "Emma, sweetheart, I just can't bear to part with you. Let Harper go."

My sister snapped. "Mom! Are you crazy? Zandumore is amazing! Why should Harper get all the benefits? Once I get settled there, I can bring you over to enjoy it too!"

Mom hesitated. But the thought of a future where Emma could enjoy such a life made her heart ache with desire.

Seeing our mother waver, Emma became desperate. "Mom, if you don't let me go, I'll—I'll just die right here!"

"Stop, stop, stop! My good girl… Mom agrees, okay?"

I hid behind the door, listening to this mother-daughter duo dreaming of a bright, blissful future. I almost laughed out loud.

"Good place?" I scoffed silently. "Don't be naive. Surviving there is not easy at all."

I knew Emma, like me, had been reborn. In our last life, she saw me investing, making money, and buying a villa. She thought it was all because I had gone to Zandumore to get a golden life.

What she didn't know was that she had only glimpsed the glamorous surface. Only I knew the horrors that awaited there.

At the right moment, I stepped out. My sister froze, as if I were an enemy ready to strike.

My aunt glanced at me hesitantly. "Harper… do you want to come with me?"

I shook my head lightly, saying nothing.

Emma shot me a venomous glare before lunging at my aunt's knees, collapsing to the floor.

"Aunt Grace! Please take me! Harper has always been mischievous and disobedient, but I've been good. I promise I'll take care of you and make you proud!"

Seeing her resolve, my mother, though aching inside, sided with her daughter. "Yes, Emma has always been so filial. You should take her with you."

My aunt, unwilling to give up on me, stepped closer. "Are you really sure? Life on Zandumore is a thousand times better than here. Don't you want a comfortable life?"

I took a step back and shook my head. "Aunt Grace, my teachers have always told me to love my country. I don't want to live on Zandumore."

My aunt, surprised by my stubbornness, finally gave a helpless sigh. "Fine… then Emma shall come with me."

Emma's eyes lit up. She took my aunt's hand and cooed, "Thank you, Mama."

Hearing her call my aunt "Mama" made my stomach twist in disgust. I stole a glance at my mother—she had turned away, her heart breaking.

When my aunt led Emma off to handle the paperwork, she didn't forget to taunt me. "You have no idea what a golden opportunity you've just thrown away. No matter how hard you try, what can you achieve in this backwater town?"

I smirked inwardly. I understood perfectly why my aunt wanted me: I was prettier and more obedient than my sister, and once grown, I would be the perfect money tree she could shake at will.

Emma had gotten her wish and was going to Zandumore. For days, she strutted around, constantly mocking me.

"Ha! Harper, Harper! I'm about to change my destiny and become someone of importance, while you'll be stuck here forever, just an ordinary nobody."

I forced myself to suppress a flicker of glee and feigned innocence. "You're just going to some island country… how does that make you someone important?"

She sneered. "You idiot! I'm going to live in luxury, and besides…"

She leaned close, her breath tickling my ear. "Besides, I might even find a rich, handsome islander to be my husband."

After saying that, she looked at me like I was an ant beneath her heel, as if she were the one who had been handed a golden ticket.

I smiled faintly, my tone sweet and sincere. "Then I wish you get your heart's desires."

The paperwork was completed quickly. At the farewell, my mother clutched Emma's hand, her eyes glistening. "Make sure to stay in touch. Don't forget me, your real mother."

Emma yanked her hand away impatiently. "Ugh, I know! You're so annoying. Do you realize long-distance calls are expensive? Don't bother me unless it's important."

My mother's eyes turned red as she fell silent, and the pitiful expression on her face made my chest tighten with conflicting emotions.

In my previous life, I had no desire to go, but my mother couldn't bear to part with my sister. She had been eager to send me away. I had cried, begging her to let me stay.

And what had she said?

Oh, she counted the money my aunt had given her and said, "Once you go, don't come back. Just send me money from there, or I won't recognize you as my daughter."

Pathetic. Heartless, and in the eyes of the law, I truly wasn't her daughter anymore.

After sending my sister away, my heart leapt.

'My dear sister… ready to descend into hell?'

This life, I finally wouldn't have to endure the misery I had suffered before.

When I returned home, my mother sneered at me. "I don't see the point in your studies. Stop wasting time and start working. Eventually, you'll marry anyway."

I felt a deep, bitter chill. My mother had never liked me. When she was pregnant, everyone had said I looked like a boy. She had told anyone who would listen that she was carrying a son.

When I was born a girl, she rolled her eyes in disbelief, nearly fainting from frustration.

My father was a little disappointed but never hated me. My mother, however, had despised me from the moment I entered the world. She said I had killed the son who should have been born and that I must be a demon girl.

Emma had been ecstatic. She knew that if I had been born a boy, her status in the family would be threatened.

From a young age, Emma had followed our mother in tormenting me. I had tried to fight back, even telling my father, but all I got in return was a harsh beating.

When my father fell ill and died, my mother's cruelty grew unchecked. If it weren't for the government subsidies I brought in, she would have abandoned me without a second thought.

Emma hadn't been gone long before my mother couldn't wait to force me to quit school and work.

I refused. I knew, with absolute clarity, that knowledge could change my destiny.

So I played along, soothing my mother, convincing her I would work when I grew up, all the while studying harder than ever.

My homeroom teacher told me about a guaranteed admission spot—if I earned it, I could attend university tuition-free.

I knew this was my one shot, so I threw myself into my studies even more fiercely. Every night, I waited until my mother fell asleep, then secretly lit a candle to read.

Life was hard, yes, but compared to my past life, it was paradise.

Perhaps fate finally smiled on me: I earned the guaranteed admission. My teacher wanted to tell my family, but I shook my head, asking her to keep it a secret.

My mother, of course, tried to stop me from taking the exam. Thinking back, in my previous life, she had spent a fortune sending Emma to an expensive vocational college. Yet now, she refused to let me attend university.

It didn't matter anymore. I was leaving this suffocating place. Quietly, I went to the exam anyway.

By the time my mother grabbed her stick, searching the house, I was already on the train to university.

The fare had been given to me by my father's old friend, Howard Evans. I promised I'd repay him tenfold someday.

He waved me off, pity in his eyes. "You poor child… go. Don't come back."

University life was beautiful. I had to work part-time to make ends meet, and my meals and clothes could never compare to my classmates', but I was happy.

By now, Emma should have encountered my ex-husband, Axel Brixton. I imagined she would surely try to seduce him, thinking he could whisk her away.

How laughable. How could she think that man was worth it?

She had no idea that in my past life, I had only gone along with him to escape my aunt.

Axel seemed refined and handsome, but he was nothing more than an abusive, controlling man.

Emma thought my aunt would treat her like a beloved daughter, but that was never the plan. My aunt had married Zandumore man solely for a green card, using it to run illicit operations.

As soon as I arrived, I was forced to learn disgusting Zandumorian phrases to entertain men. That island man, my aunt's husband, was a pervert—he made me wear bunny ears and a maid outfit, dancing for him over and over.

Countless times, I had wanted to run, but I was alone in a foreign land, unable to speak the language, with nowhere to turn.

When I came of age, my aunt made me work in her shady operation, hosting one client after another.

That's when I truly understood despair. I lived like a broken doll under the neon glare of drunken, decadent nights—a life that felt more like a nightmare than reality.

Until Axel appeared. He spoke a little English and asked if I wanted to leave with him. I had no choice but to nod.

I thought life might finally improve. Instead, I fell from one abyss into another.

Axel had violent tendencies. After I went with him, the beatings began sporadically and eventually became daily.

When he was in a good mood, he had me learn Zandumorian with him. I endured everything, worked every job I could find, washed dishes, carried heavy loads, and countless nights I slept on the streets just to avoid his blows.

Eventually, I clawed my way back to some semblance of a life and found a way to return home.

Now, I couldn't help but wonder: How far could Emma possibly endure?