Initially, I had liked Edward.

But I never understood why he hated me so much.

Until the day in my previous life when I was hit by a truck, he was the first to rush to my side, pretending to care as he pressed down on my wound as if he wanted my blood to flow faster.

He whispered, "Do you know, Sophia? In our first year, I was secretly eating dry bread alone until Nicole noticed my situation and added my name to the school's financial aid list. That's how I got to live comfortably. She's my princess, the person I want to protect most. She's been so good to you, and yet you kept hurting her. You deserve to die!"

...

Seeing me stay silent, Edward became even more smug. "Scared, are you? Sophia, this is just the beginning. You'll pay dearly for your arrogance and stupidity!"

What he didn't know was that I had already paid the price.

Noticing the bulge in his pocket, I reached out and pulled out a diamond necklace, one of my mother's keepsakes.

Edward hated me, yet he joined the others in grabbing my jewelry, which was beyond ridiculous.

When Edward saw the necklace in my hand and then looked down at his pocket, his face turned red. He tried to snatch it back. "Give me my stuff! We're in a classroom with cameras! Are you crazy, stealing like this in broad daylight?"

I quickly stepped back and secured the necklace, looking up at Edward without a trace of the affection I once had.

Maybe sensing the shift in my demeanor, Edward pulled his hand back and gritted his teeth. "Are you sure you won't give the necklace back?"

I shook my head. "Edward, you'd better stay loyal to Nicole for the rest of your life because you're not getting anything from me ever again."

"When have I ever gotten anything from you? Are you out of your mind?" Edward was trembling with anger, but he didn't dare grab the necklace from me. He clenched his fists. "Sophia, just wait. The police will be here soon, and you'll have to face the consequences!"

I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to call the police, but Nicole suddenly panicked and slapped the phone out of his hand. "Edward, what are you doing? We're all classmates. Are you really going to ruin Sophia's future over something so small?"

Nicole turned to me, her tone now tinged with a plea. "Sophia, haven't I been good enough to you? If it weren't for me, you'd be dead already. Please stop this. Just give the jewelry back, okay?"

"Of course not."

Ignoring Nicole's pleas, I called the butler. "Kevin, there was a break-in at our home. Could you please send me the surveillance footage from outside my room last night?"

Before I could even hang up, Nicole let out a desperate scream and rushed over to me. She tugged at my sleeve, whispering, "Sophia...Have you lost your mind? Are you really going to send me to jail over some jewelry? Do you want to ruin my life? You better confess! Tell the others that you were just being greedy, or I'll never forgive you!"

Nicole still thought I was the pushover from my past life, the one she could manipulate as she pleased.

She didn't know that I had already repaid her so-called life-saving favor with my own life.

I looked at her self-righteous face and shook her hand off. "It's not just some jewelry. These are my mother's keepsakes. Nicole, there's no way I'm letting this slide. You took what's mine, and you have to give it back!"

Nicole had no options left. She collapsed to the ground, sobbing.

Edward looked like he wanted to fight me out of sheer pity for her.

The whole class urged her to call the police.

"Nicole, why are you even hesitating? Call the police and don't let her get away with this!"

"Exactly, throw Sophia in jail. She's nothing but trouble!"

"Yeah, Nicole, call the police. You're too kind for your own good. Sophia doesn't deserve your compassion."

...

My phone rang.

"Ms. Johnson, I've sent the video to your phone. The thief was Nicole."

Before Nicole could stop me, I quickly posted the video to our class group chat.

The classmates were stunned as they watched the surveillance footage, their faces growing more and more unpleasant.

In the video, Nicole was holding a transparent trash bag. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she sneaked into my room. Not long after, she came out with the bag filled to the brim with jewelry, the very same pieces she had been handing out to her classmates.

After closing the door behind her, she even muttered to herself, "Hmph! How dare you not share such nice things with me, Sophia? I'll make sure you learn your lesson!"

For a moment, the only sound in the classroom was Nicole's arrogant voice echoing again and again.

"Ah!" Nicole suddenly let out a hysterical scream. "Stop watching! Stop watching! Who gave you permission to watch? I'm not a thief. I'm Sophia's savior! The Johnson family's money is supposed to be half mine. I'm taking what's rightfully mine, so how is that stealing? How?"

"So, Nicole really is the Johnson family's nanny's daughter?"

A classmate finally managed to voice the question.

In an instant, the once noisy classroom fell silent.

Everyone clutched their pieces of jewelry, hesitating about whether to return them to me.

"Nicole, if you're broke, don't act like you're rich. You made us all happy for nothing."

The leader spoke up and handed the jewelry back to me.

Gradually, other classmates who could no longer hold out began returning my things as well.

Nicole, enduring the strange looks and hearing the blame and ridicule from her classmates, finally broke down.

Nicole suddenly jumped to her feet, shouting, "No! I'm not the nanny's daughter! I saved Sophia's life! I'm the Johnson family's adopted daughter, Sophia's sister! I was sharing my family's things with you, so why are you all looking at me like this? You ungrateful wretches aren't worth my kindness!"

Hearing her speak like that, Edward, who had been clenching his fists and unsure of what to do, finally let out a sigh of relief.

He stood behind Nicole. "Sophia, is this how you treat someone who saved your life? Do you feel proud seeing her so upset? How can you be so cruel?"

Nicole, seeing she had someone supporting her, began her performance anew.

Nicole wiped away her tears. "Sophia, you're so inconsiderate. Your family is filthy rich, you spend thousands dollars on just one meal, so why can't you help out your classmates? You can't be so petty! I only took your things to share with them because I was worried about your excessive spending. I was trying to accumulate good karma for you, to keep you from going to hell when you die. How can you blame me for that?"

Watching her over-the-top and clumsy performance, I couldn't help but clap my hands. "Bravo! Keep going."