I'm the heiress of the elite Graham family, and yet my life is like hell.

After all, the rolls of fat keep clinging to my body. No matter how hard I try, I can never get rid of them. Even if I don't eat for the entire day, my weight still rises exponentially.

When I'm on the verge of dying from organ failure, I see my parents showing up with the adopted daughter, Freya Graham, in front of my sick bed.

Freya covers her nose while gazing at me with a mixture of smugness and disgust in her eyes.

"Thank you so much for taking the brunt of the misfortune for me, Dakota! Otherwise, I'll be the one plagued by the fat!

"Then again, you've already had it good. You've lived a lavish life for many years, after all. This lifestyle is something that you can never experience for the rest of your life!"

I widen my eyes in shock. But it's because of my overwhelming emotions that I can't breathe at all. In the end, I die tragically with hatred in my eyes.

It turns out I'm just the fake heiress who the Grahams have adopted. My purpose is to shoulder the misfortune that's meant for Freya this whole time!

She gorges on food every day, only for all of her fat to accumulate on my body instead!

When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the first day when I start putting on weight like mad.

In this lifetime, since Freya doesn't want the body fat this badly, she might as well live her life as a living skeleton!

"Don't worry, Dakota. You're just slightly on the chubbier side. At the end of the day, it's your health that matters the most!"

I lay helplessly on the hospital bed, watching the eerily familiar scene before me with a sense of disbelief.

Right now, my parents, Walter Graham and Ingrid Schaffer, were wiping tears from their eyes. Yet, there was no trace of genuine sadness in their eyes. Instead, the way they looked at me was like they were staring at a pile of trash—calm and unfeeling.

My health was what mattered the most? If this kept up, I was going to become severely obese! How could I possibly be healthy?

Just then, the doctor came in with the examination report. Only then did I truly realize that I had been reborn. I had returned to the very day when I first started gaining weight uncontrollably.

"There's nothing serious with Ms. Graham's health, but she should still watch her diet and exercise more."

It was just the same as in my previous life. The doctor had no idea where this sudden excess fat on my body had come from.

In my previous life, I had been just as confused. My food intake and diet had never been excessive, yet I still kept gaining a ton of weight.

Had I not learned the whole truth right before I died in my last life, I never would have known that I was just a substitute the Graham family had adopted, a scapegoat meant to take on all the misfortunes meant for Freya Graham, the real daughter of the Grahams.

Freya Graham loved indulging herself, eating and drinking to her heart's content every day, yet all the weight ended up on me.

Looking at Walter and Ingrid, who were pretending to be heartbroken, I smiled coldly. "Mom, Dad, don't worry. This time, I will definitely succeed in shedding weight!"

Walter and Ingrid were momentarily stunned. Then, they looked at me with relieved expressions. "Dakota, we believe in you! But losing weight is really tough. It's no big deal if you're just a little chubby! After all, you're already engaged to Jonah. We'll make sure he marries you no matter what!"

In my past life, I had fallen for every word of that nonsense. They did everything they could to deter me from losing weight, tempting me every way they could.

In the end, I grew so obese that I couldn't even walk or get out of bed, and I finally gave up all hope. I could only watch helplessly as more and more fat piled onto my body.

Even when I fasted and refused to eat or drink, the fat would still appear out of nowhere. That feeling of utter helplessness was both despairing and exhausting.

Now, looking once again at Walter and Ingrid, who clearly didn't want me to lose weight, I was secretly determined to do all that it took, even if I had to risk my life, to shed every last pound of unwanted fat.

I didn't believe for a single second that they were stopping me from losing weight just because they were being kind and wanted to spare me the hardship.

Every night after returning from the hospital, I would hide alone in my bedroom and exercise, trying to reduce the fat on my body.

From learning workout routines to jumping rope and doing high knees, I tried it all. But after two whole weeks of those, I was left devastated. Not only had my weight not dropped, it even went up by a full ten pounds instead!

Every step I took left me gasping for breath. When I pinched the layer of fat on my large belly, I could barely see my toes anymore. I closed my eyes in despair.

All of a sudden, a piercing scream came from outside my room.

I struggled down the stairs, each step heavy and labored. When I finally reached the first floor, I saw Freya standing in front of a mirror, screaming in terror.

Freya was the real daughter of the Graham family. In my previous life, although she had been slim, she still maintained a normal weight and looked nowhere as ridiculously thin as she was now. Presently, she looked more like someone who had been maltreated for a long time.

She whipped around and glared at me fiercely, her eyes blazing with rage. "Dakota Graham, have you been exercising and trying to lose weight every day? Who allowed you to do that?"

When I heard her question, all the pieces in my mind suddenly clicked into place.

No wonder Walter and Ingrid never wanted me to lose weight and were always stopping me from exercising. Even when I had gotten so obese I could barely walk, they still insisted I was perfectly normal.

And after two weeks of trying to lose weight, I hadn't lost even an ounce. Instead, my weight just kept climbing and climbing. It turned out that all the weight I had worked so hard to lose had actually been taken off Freya!

She had swapped our constitutions. However, there was always a price to pay. All the fat she gained ended up on my body, but any weight I managed to lose would come off hers.

Once I understood the truth, a cold smile crept up my lips. Without any warning, I raised my hand and slapped Freya hard across the face.

Staring at her through narrowed eyes, I spat in disdain, "Who do you think you are? Do you really think I need to report everything to you just because the Grahams adopted you?"

With the extra weight of my body adding power to the blow, that single slap left Freya's left cheek swollen, and a few of her teeth had even loosened.

She seemed completely stunned by the slap and couldn't react for a long moment.

And honestly, that was fair. All these years, I had always been gentle and mild. I had never bullied or insulted anyone the way other young heiresses might. And because of that, Freya had truly believed that despite being the daughter of the Graham family, I was a pushover.

Just then, Walter and Ingrid, having heard the commotion, hurried down from upstairs. When they saw how swollen Freya's face was, they were both startled.

I let out a cold laugh and accused Freya first, "Mom, Dad, Freya doesn't know her place, so I taught her a lesson. I think we should kick her out of the Graham family. I can't stand the sight of her."

Hearing this, Freya finally snapped out of it. Her eyes turned red as she burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs. She looked at Walter and Ingrid with a pitiful, tearful expression, her tear-filled eyes full of sorrow. "I didn't do anything. Dakota hit me for no reason."

Seeing the pleading gaze she fixed on Walter and Ingrid, silently begging them to punish me, I smiled scornfully. Then, right in front of them, I slapped her again. This time I put all my strength into it, releasing almost every ounce of resentment and frustration I had from both this life and the last.

Walter and Ingrid could only watch Freya with pained expressions. But since I was the one who was supposed to be their real daughter now, they couldn't exactly do anything about it.

In the end, Walter could only clear his throat lightly and try to reason with me gently. "Dakota, Freya is still young. She might not have handled some things perfectly, but don't be too hard on her. Try to cut her some slack. After all, she's just a young lady trying hard to earn a living."

I sneered inwardly. At the end of the day, Freya was his flesh and blood. Naturally, he would protect her. I also knew that getting Walter and Ingrid to kick Freya out was impossible. After all, she was their real daughter. Besides, only by keeping her right under my nose could I truly make her suffer.

So, I smiled and nodded in agreement with Walter. "You're right, Dad. If Freya's real parents happen to be suffering from some terminal illness, kicking her out now would be pushing her whole family straight toward death!"

Walter's and Ingrid's expressions turned sour the moment the words left my mouth. My remark was practically jinxing them right to their faces. But they couldn't exactly lash out, so they had no choice but to swallow their anger.

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, hurried footsteps sounded from outside the door.

Moments later, a tall, lean man appeared in the living room.

My fiance, Jonah Peckett, furrowed his brows and asked in a soft, gentle tone. "What's going on today? Why does everyone look so miserable?"

I looked at him with delight, thinking that someone who would finally side with me had arrived.

But before I could even take a step toward him, I heard Jonah's voice, now laced with anger, asking, "Freya, how did you get that bruise on your face?"

I froze mid-step after taking just two steps forward when I heard Jonah's words. The fat on my body jiggled wildly from the sudden halt.

Jonah, who had turned around, caught sight of that. A flicker of disgust and revulsion flashed in his eyes, though he quickly hid it.

The next second, when he walked up to me, he was all smiles. "What's wrong, Dakota? Did you and Freya get into an argument? It must have been Freya who upset you, right?"

His eyes were filled with deep affection as he gently took my hand. "Which hand did you hit her with? Does it hurt? Next time, let me be the one to handle such matters!"

Looking at Jonah's concerned expression, I knew deep down that he was only pretending to take my side when in reality, he was really just protecting Freya.

I didn't feel heartbroken by that. Instead, I felt a deep sense of irony. The entire Graham household had their hearts set on Freya, and I had thought he would be the only one who would stand by me. But as it turned out, he, too, had long since fallen under her spell.

Then again, with how obese I was, I was no competition against Freya, who was slim and curvaceous. Any person would choose her over me.

In the end, with Jonah's interference, the whole incident eventually blew over.

But the venomous, hateful look in Freya's eyes made me shiver involuntarily.

"I'll get back at you for everything when you finally die from obesity, Dakota," Freya whispered in a low voice as she passed by me.

My face remained expressionless, but my jaw was clenched so tight that I could taste a faint hint of blood.

I turned down Jonah's insincere invitation and went straight back to my room, ready to continue my exercise routine to lose weight.

But I had barely started when a knock came at my door.

Jonah walked in, his brows deeply furrowed, yet still putting on a tender expression as he said, "Dakota, won't you stop trying to lose weight? You know I'll still marry you no matter what you look like, right?

"I like you best just the way you are right now. If you get too thin, there won't be any softness left!"

His words made me so disgusted that I gagged. However, I understood his real intention. Freya had most likely sent him.

Even Walter and Ingrid appeared outside my room, all of them urging me to go out and let Jonah take me for some fresh air.

I wanted to refuse, but with everyone pestering me, I gave in.

As we passed the dining room downstairs, I spotted Freya stuffing herself with food.

Remembering the vicious look in her eyes and her words from earlier, I knew exactly what she was plotting.

In my previous life, she had already caused me to literally die from obesity. Now, she wanted me to go down the same path again?

Well, then she couldn't blame me for turning her into a bag of bones. We'd see who died first. Would she die from losing too much weight first, or would I die from obesity first?

As soon as we got outside, I ignored Jonah's attempts to stop me and started running. I had barely even made it out of the neighborhood when I was drenched in sweat, my clothes completely soaked.

Jonah, who was following behind, was furious. He grabbed my wrist with brute force, trying to yank me to a stop. But instead, he was dragged along like he weighed nothing as I kept running.

It wasn't until I was completely exhausted and had to rest that I noticed the sorry state Jonah was in. He even lost one of his shoes!

I pretended not to notice and put on a grateful face. "Thank you so much, Jonah. You actually came running with me to help me lose weight! How can I ever repay you for being so nice to me? How about I give you a kiss to show my appreciation?"

Instantly, the anger on his face vanished. When he saw me puckering my thick lips and leaning in toward him, he looked as though he had just swallowed something foul but had to hide it. In the end, he hurriedly shoved me away and stormed off in resentment.

After Jonah left, I headed to a nearby gym and spent the whole day working out.

When I returned home drenched in sweat, Freya was sitting on the couch, gorging herself with cake and chips.

She looked at me, and for a moment, fear flashed in her eyes. Then, she glared at me with pure hatred, her voice dripping with venom as she demanded, "Dakota, have you been working out again?"