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?"

I lunged forward in one swift motion, and the floor seemed to tremble beneath me.

Grabbing the cake in front of Freya, I smashed it straight into her face, then forcibly stuffed all the potato chips into her mouth.

Freya tried to fight back, but her scrawny frame was just no match for me at all.

"You're just an adopted daughter! You think just because the Graham family adopted you, this is really your home? Was the lesson I gave you this morning not enough? You seem to lack basic manners. I guess you need me to teach you those, too!"

Then, several heavy, resounding blows landed on her face once again.

It wasn't until Walter and Ingrid rushed downstairs that they finally managed to pull the already hysterically sobbing Freya out of my grasp. By that point, her face was already covered in cake crumbs and bits of potato chips mixed with her own blood from my slaps.

Her face was terribly swollen, she was missing a few teeth, and her speech was slurred. "I don't care what it takes! Get rid of that bitch! I want Dakota out!"

The moment she finished shouting, I charged forward and slapped her across the face again.

"Mom, Dad, do you see what a foul mouth Freya has? She doesn't know how to behave and has no respect for the rules. Leave her to me! I'll teach her a proper lesson! We don't want her upsetting you in the future!"

With that, I grabbed Freya by the collar and started dragging her toward the basement.

She was instantly terrified and began shaking all over. Clinging desperately to the leg of the couch, she begged through sobs, "No! I don't want to go down there! Save me!"

Finally, Walter and Ingrid could no longer stand watching their real daughter being treated this way. They stepped in and scolded me sharply.

"That's enough! Even though Freya used to be a maid in this house, we've adopted her as our daughter, so she's your adopted sister now! This is her home now, and she can do whatever she wants! On the contrary, how can you be so cruel toward your own sister?"

Hearing this, I sneered inwardly. I was being cruel? Well, what about them? In my previous life, they'd watched me grow so fat that I wished I were dead. Had they not treated me cruelly, too?

I had been bedridden, unable to even control my own bowels and bladder, and every day, I could smell a sickening stench coming off my own body.

Even the maids who were supposed to care for me could casually hit and curse at me as they pleased. I had been treated no better than an animal, barely clinging to life.

Overwhelming hatred instantly consumed me. Fortunately, the last shred of reason kept me clear-headed.

I laughed coldly and turned to go upstairs. But instead of going straight to my room, I hid around the corner on the second floor and listened to the conversation between Walter, Ingrid, and Freya.

"Mom, Dad, I don't care about the consequences anymore. I really want Dakota dead! How dare she hit me? I can't even talk properly now!"

Walter said in a low voice, "Calm down. At the rate things are going, she'll soon be too fat to walk. Once she's stuck in bed, she'll be completely at your mercy!"

After their conversation ended and I heard them coming upstairs, I quietly slipped back into my bedroom.

Based on how things went in my past life, I had three more months left before I would be too fat to walk. This time, I'd like to see who was rendered immobilized first!

To lose weight more effectively, I planned several different workouts the next day. But even though I had already come to an agreement with the owner of a weight-loss class, they suddenly changed their mind and refused to take me when I showed up.

Even the gym I had booked in advance made excuses about their trainers being too busy and turned me away.

Over the next few days, I went to several places, and the same thing happened every time.

By evening, I returned home exhausted and completely out of breath, having accomplished nothing. I walked in to see Freya and Jonah together. She held her head high arrogantly, looking at me provocatively while stuffing various high-calorie foods into her mouth.

"Did you run around for nothing again, Dakota?" she taunted.

Jonah looked at me with disdain and openly fed Freya right in front of me. "With the way you look right now, you should just give up on trying. You're never going to lose all that weight!"

I knew then that all those gyms and weight-loss centers rejecting me were their doing. But I didn't care. Their smug, triumphant smiles weren't going to last very long.

…

One morning two weeks later, a piercing scream shattered the early morning silence.

I had just opened my door, ready to go out for a run, when I saw Jonah stumbling out of Freya's room in utter terror, backing away in fear.

"Don't come near me! Stay away!" he shouted.