Faking lightheadedness, I said, “I’m sorry, Pearl. I still haven’t managed to get a bite to eat. My blood sugar is low, so I can’t take your blood now. Let me get someone else to do it for you, alright?”

“You can’t!” Two voices rang out at the same time.

I looked at Pearl and Wyatt in confusion. “Huh?”

Wyatt quickly threw an arm around me and said, “Maya, Pearl came all this way to see you specifically, only because she trusts you. Can you bear to disappoint her?”

‘Trust?’ I scoffed to myself. It was because of “trust” that I died so horribly in the previous timeline.

It was exactly because I trusted Pearl that I did not tell Benjamin about her AIDS diagnosis after I learned about it.

What had she done in return?

After she infected Benjamin with AIDS, she insisted that I had set her up.

“If Maya had told us the results when we were doing our pre-wedding health check, I would definitely have broken up with Benjamin! I love him so much. I could never bear to infect him with AIDS! This is all Maya’s fault! She wanted to ruin us all!”

Even more devastating was how my boyfriend of many years had sided with her instead of me.

“This isn’t the first time Maya has done something to hurt Pearl. Pearl only got AIDS because she used a tainted needle on Pearl when she took her blood!”

With Wyatt’s testimony, all my attempts at explaining myself became useless.

No one believed me. The hospital fired me, and someone even set my house on fire.

For survival, I was forced to uproot my family and move to another city.

However, with Pearl whispering in his ear, Benjamin intentionally crashed into us in a gigantic truck and killed my whole family.

…

After my death, I saw Pearl move into Benjamin’s villa with Wyatt.

It was then that I knew that they had been sneaking around behind my back for a long time.

Shaking myself out of my reverie, I pushed Wyatt away. “Since Pearl trusts me so much, I should do my best. But I’m not in the best condition right now. Since it’s lunchtime, I’ll have my meal first.”

“I have some bread here.” Terrified that I was running off, Pearl took some bread out of her bag.

I did not accept it, and Pearl’s expression turned awkward.

“How about this? Since I’m getting married today, I’ll treat you both to a meal.”

I was waiting for Benjamin to say this.

Due to my insistence, Benjamin drove us to a fancy restaurant.

When the waitress saw Pearl, she came over and greeted her enthusiastically, “Welcome, Miss Hutton. Why aren’t you here with your boyfriend today?”

Benjamin looked at Pearl in puzzlement.

Panicking, Pearl berated the waitress angrily, “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you see my boyfriend standing right here next to me?”

“But—”

The waitress had more to say, but Pearl shoved her and said, “But nothing! This is my first time in this restaurant. Get it through your skull. You’ve mistaken me for someone else!”

At this point, the waitress could only apologize and agree with her.

Meanwhile, I was on the verge of bursting into laughter.

I only chose this restaurant because I knew that Pearl and her ex-boyfriend had always gone on dates here.

However, this was not enough for me.

I immediately took out my phone and sent an anonymous text to Pearl’s ex-boyfriend.

I was sure he still did not know that she had given him AIDS.

Once all our food was served, Pearl noticed Timothy Hodgeson at the entrance of the restaurant. As he scanned the place, her face instantly turned pale.

“Pearl, are you okay?” Benjamin looked over at her with concern.

Pearl ducked her head and nearly buried her face in her arm. She then faked a stomach upset and said, “Darling, I think it’s my time of the month. Can you get me some pain medication from the drugstore?”

I brought out the ibuprofen that I took with me everywhere and gave it to her.

“I have some. Here, take these.”

Pearl glared at me, and her gaze was filled with hatred. Still, she managed to force a smile. “Thank you, Maya, but I can’t take ibuprofen. I need naproxen.”

Then, she resumed her coy act with Benjamin. “Darling, please? Didn’t you say you’d care for me all my life?”

“Alright, I’ll go right now!”

Benjamin grabbed his keys and immediately left the restaurant.

Right then, Timothy finally spotted Pearl.

He rushed over with a knife and yelled, “Pearl Hutton, you wretched woman! You gave me AIDS!”

Frightened, Pearl hid behind Wyatt. Nevertheless, she was insistent on denying Timothy’s claims.

“What nonsense are you spouting? I don’t have AIDS, so how could I have given it to you? If you don’t believe me, ask Wyatt! He works at a hospital!”

When Wyatt’s name was mentioned, he earnestly swore, “That’s right. I can attest that Pearl definitely doesn’t have AIDS.”

“If you’re not at fault, what are you hiding for?”

Timothy was well known for being a ruthless bully. He would always torment others, and no one had put him in his place before.

Even when Pearl dumped him, he managed to swindle tens of thousands from her as a “break-up fee” before he let her go.

After I texted him, Timothy immediately underwent a test to check for AIDS.

The moment he got the results, he rushed over with a knife.

Pearl did not want to die, so she quickly tried to explain, “You’ve slept with so many women. How can you be sure that I’m the one who infected you? Besides, if I had AIDS, why would the richest man in the city be willing to marry me? Am I right?”

However, Timothy had lost his rationality in his need for vengeance. He raised his knife and swung it downward.

As a result, the knife sank right into Wyatt’s shoulder.

Blood instantly splattered everywhere, including Pearl’s face.

Timothy realized that he had stabbed the wrong person and saw the fresh blood all around. He was so shocked that he tossed the knife aside and rushed out of the restaurant.

By then, the waiters had already called emergency services.

Looking at the weak but very much breathing Wyatt, I could not help but find it a shame.

Wyatt sure was lucky. Why could he not have been killed?

When Benjamin received news of what happened, he rushed to the hospital.

Sobbing violently, Pearl threw herself into his arms.

“It’s all my fault, darling! If Wyatt hadn’t tried to save me, he wouldn’t have been stabbed by that hooligan!”

“What in the world happened?” Benjamin asked.

A waiter who had tagged along to the hospital swiftly replied, “That hooligan claimed that Miss Hutton gave him AIDS! That’s why he was waving a knife around and threatening violence.”

When Benjamin heard the word “AIDS,” his eyes visibly widened.

He shoved Pearl away, and his expression turned grim. “You have AIDS? Didn’t you say you were a virgin?”

Pearl cried even harder.

“Darling, how could I possibly have AIDS? That man was falsely accusing me. He’s pursued me many times, but I’ve always rejected him. He must have learned that I was getting married, so he tried to kill me and use that horrible story as an excuse!

“Besides, won’t you find out if I have AIDS after Maya does my blood test?”

With tears staining her face, Pearl looked incredibly pitiful. So, Benjamin slowly relaxed.

“You’re right. If you really had AIDS, you would have tried to infect me much earlier on.”

The both looked at each other soulfully while it occurred to me how much of an idiot Benjamin was.

However, Pearl’s lies would soon be discovered.

I checked with the doctor on Wyatt’s condition and learned that he was still in surgery. “Anguished,” I grabbed Pearl’s hand and begged, “Pearl, you have to save Wyatt! He’s lost too much blood, and the hospital doesn’t have enough B+ blood in the blood bank. You’re the only one among us who has B+ blood. Only you can save him!”

A nurse came up at that very moment too. “Miss Hutton, to ensure that your blood is safe and to ensure the patient’s health, please come with me for a blood test.”

“No. I can’t,” Pearl nearly shouted with a horrified look on her face.

We instantly looked at her in confusion. Even Benjamin was frowning.

I pushed down the delight I felt and asked her in a perplexed tone, “Pearl, why won’t you do a blood test? Do you actually have AIDS?”