When we arrived at the Newman residence, Mrs. Newman, whose name was Mabel Winchester, showed me to my room. Not only did I have a bedroom all to myself, but I also had a private study and lots of pretty clothes. I didn't have any of these things when I was adopted in my previous life.

Feeling grateful, I promised her, "I'll work hard on my studies and repay your kindness for adopting me."

She gave me an approving look and told me I could call her "Mom". She also suggested letting the family driver take me to and from school, telling me I could come to her if I ever had any problems.

The next day, I gracefully got out of the car while Clarissa glowered resentfully at me. She immediately rushed toward me. "Kayla! What trick did you use to get the Newman family's driver to drive you around?"

That was something she never got to enjoy in our previous life.

Blinking, I replied, "Mom cares about me and kindly instructed the driver to take me to and from school."

Then, I glanced behind her. "Did you walk here? That's over five miles! You must be exhausted, Clarissa."

Clarissa looked humiliated, but she stubbornly retorted, "Hah! What do you know? Don't you dare come begging me for help once I make it big in the future! And don't get too smug either. The Newmans are just putting on a show. I'd like to see how long you get to enjoy such an easy life."

I ignored her. As I stood before the familiar school gates, my heart surged with emotion.

In my previous life, after being adopted by Susan, I only got to attend school for a month before being forced to drop out. I never got to graduate from high school or take the SATs, which remained one of my greatest regrets.

Thank goodness for this do-over. I finally had the chance to make up for it.

Our classmates had already heard about what happened. Most of them were the type to suck up to the rich and look down on the poor, so those who used to surround Clarissa were now crowding around me instead.

Isla Jones, who used to be one of Clarissa's lackeys, came up to me and picked up my fountain pen.

"Your pen is so pretty, Kayla!"

Smiling, I took it back from her and said, "It's a present from my new mom to welcome me into the family. She had it custom-made for me."

Clarissa snapped loudly, "Hah! What's the big deal? It's just a lousy pen. Why are you guys sucking up to her just because of it?"

Isla shot back, "Then, why don't you show us a pen like this, too? Don't tell me you don't have one!"

Clarissa's face turned scarlet. She couldn't possibly show everyone the pen Susan had given her—a shabby ballpoint pen without a cap.

Snorting, she declared, "What do you know, huh? You're all a bunch of shallow fools. Sooner or later, I'll prove to you that I'm better!"

She grabbed the fountain pen and threw it onto the floor. Her eyes were red. Even though she said nothing, I could hear the tantrum she was throwing in her head.

[What the hell? Why does she get to have a gift? I didn't get a single thing in my previous life! Why does she get to have everything? This pisses me off so much! What has gotten into Mabel, that old hag, anyway? Why is she being so nice to Kayla?]

I couldn't help but chuckle after hearing her thoughts.

"You still have the nerve to laugh? What are you laughing at, huh? Do you think the Newmans would've adopted you if it hadn't been for me? Would you get to have a life like this?" Clarissa screeched.

She wasn't satisfied with just lashing out at me. She even reached out to grab me, but I dodged her hand and leisurely bent down to pick up the fountain pen before smiling at her.

"What's the matter? Are you jealous because you saw all the things you never got to have before? You're upset that I'm being treated better than you were?"

Clarissa's expression stiffened. She pointed a trembling finger at me and stammered, "Y-You've been reborn, too?"

Smirking, I remarked, "And maybe I came back with a little something special that you don't have."

However, she swiftly regained her composure and scoffed. "What kind of special thing could you possibly have? Either way, I'll be getting the last laugh this time. I'll be the one who marries rich and gets the huge demolition compensation!"

I shrugged. "You sound pretty confident. In that case, allow me to congratulate you in advance."

A couple of days later, Clarissa dragged me into a quiet spot and snarled under her breath, "Why didn't you tell me that Susan doesn't even own a house? Where did your demolition compensation come from?"

I laughed. "Would you have even believed me if I tried telling you about it before?"

Her gaze darkened. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do now!"

I pushed her away before offering a bit of advice. "Save up some money to survive first."

Clarissa froze. It'd never occurred to her that for some, even survival was a luxury.

In her eyes, I had only gotten lucky, and that's why I became a rich woman overnight. She had no idea how much effort it took and what sacrifices I had made to get there.

After I was forced to drop out of school, I started taking whatever jobs I could find. I didn't just have to support myself—I had to support Susan too, all while constantly guarding against her taking my money to gamble.

I worked three jobs a day, living off the cheapest food I could find. Sometimes, I helped Mrs. Porter, an elderly neighbor of mine, with her stall at the farmer's market. And when she was ill, I spent an entire week taking care of her.

Mrs. Porter had a hard life, too. Her husband had died, and her son didn't care about her. He left her alone in the house to fend for herself. As I felt bad for her, I was the one who would help her out from time to time.

In the end, when she passed away, she left her house to me.

When her son found out, he caused a huge scene, demanding that I return the house to him. Eventually, I gave him 20 thousand dollars to buy the house from him.

Well, it was now time to see whether Clarissa could endure the kind of hardship I had gone through.

It wasn't long before she looked visibly haggard. Her complexion turned sallow, and she spent the entire day yawning. She always looked like she got little to no sleep.

I did the math and figured that Susan would've probably revealed her true colors by now.

Sure enough, after class that day, Clarissa rushed off to get to her part-time job on time. When she got home that night, she still had to make dinner for Susan. She also got slapped and yelled at for not doing a good job with that.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

In my previous life, this was exactly when Susan forced me to drop out of school. The same should probably be happening to Clarissa, right?

Yet, for the next few days, I still saw Clarissa in school. Not only had she not dropped out, but things seemed to be going better for her. She no longer nodded off in class, and she stopped going to work after school.

What was going on?

Clarissa came up to me with a smug expression and said, "Well, Kayla? Even without relying on your stupid ideas, I'm still doing pretty well for myself. I don't need to drop out of school or go to work. You must be so jealous of me right now.

"It's such a shame. It won't be long before you realize that life with the Newmans is not a bed of roses. Eventually, you'll also get kicked out of the family, and your reputation will be destroyed!"

With my books in hand, I pushed her aside. "Gee, you're so incredible. Now, can you get out of my way?"

Clarissa snorted in disdain. "What a nerd you are. What's the use of studying all day anyway?"

Perhaps my indifferent expression ruined her fun, so she left me alone. As I watched her walk away, I fell into deep thought.

Something about this was definitely off. To make sure I didn't fall into the same fate as my previous life, I decided to have someone keep an eye on Clarissa so I could stay updated on her situation. I hired a private investigator, Peter Cassidy, for the job.

At the same time, I began preparing for my exams. This was the first major exam I'd be taking since being adopted by the Newmans. I didn't want to disappoint them.

While I spent all of my time studying, Clarissa finally stumbled into a spot of trouble.

Early the next morning, she ambushed me and dragged me into a corner. Her eyes were red as she questioned me. She asked, "You knew it was going to happen, didn't you? You've been waiting to see me make a fool of myself, haven't you?"

Her hair was disheveled, and her torn clothes revealed the bruises mottled across her skin.

I let out a faint sigh. "So, it finally happened."

She grabbed my hand tightly, and her expression became twisted. "Tell me what I should do this time!"

I pulled my hand free. "It's simple. Give them what they want."