The poor girl I supported for three years slept with my husband and spent my money the whole time.

And when she shoved my son and me off that rooftop, laughing, she leaned close and said, "Your golden life ends right here."

My grievance wouldn't die. I came back.

I opened my eyes to find her kneeling in my living room, sobbing, begging me for three hundred thousand to pay for her mother's kidney failure surgery.

1

Margot Henson knelt dead center in the entryway, forehead scraped red from bowing, a crumpled diagnosis sheet clutched in her hand, weeping so prettily she could break your heart.

My mother-in-law, Rosamond Chavez, sighed over her teacup. A handful of distant relatives chimed in from every direction. Eugene Delgado stood by the window, impatience all over his face.

I stood in the doorway, and in my ears I could still hear Boris Coleman's screaming as he fell, and Margot's icy whisper against my cheek: Jasmine Fox, everything of yours is mine now.

I never imagined I'd actually come back.

And come back to this exact day, the first time Margot ever showed up begging for help.

In my last life, this was the very spot where I softened.

Not only did I transfer her three hundred thousand on the spot, I covered every cent of her mother's follow-up treatment after that. I doted on her like a real little sister, kept her fed and clothed, found her a job.

And in the end? I raised myself an ingrate who bit the hand that fed her.

Margot sobbed at me, "Jasmine, I know I shouldn't have come to trouble you. But I've got nowhere else to turn."

"My mom's kidney failure is terminal. The doctor says if she doesn't get the surgery she won't make it through the month!"

"Three hundred thousand is all I need for the medical costs. I'm on my knees begging you!"

And she drove her forehead into the floor again, hard.

Aunt Priscilla, the distant one, jumped in at once. "Jassie, sweetheart, your family's so well off. Three hundred thousand is what, the price of one handbag to you?"

"Help the poor child. It's a good deed, a blessing. How can you just stand there and watch someone die?"

Rosamond turned her accusation on me. "You've already supported her for three years. What's another three hundred thousand?"

"Margot's had a hard life. Her father died young, it's just been the two of them leaning on each other, and now the poor woman's lying in a hospital bed. If you won't lift a finger, word gets out and people will be pointing at this family behind our backs."

Eugene reached for me. "Jasmine, just give her the money!"

"We'll run it through the company account later. Call it corporate charity. Buys us a good name too."

The moment his fingers touched my wrist I yanked my arm away like I'd been burned.

In my last life he was exactly like this, playing the thoughtful husband who made my decisions for me, when the whole time he'd already been in bed with Margot.

This three hundred thousand was nothing more than the first sum the two of them conned out of me.

I lifted my eyes and swept them over everyone in the room, then let my gaze settle on Margot's tear-streaked face. "No," I said, flat and cold.

The living room went dead silent.

Margot froze mid-bow, her eyes full of shock, as if it had never once crossed her mind that I'd refuse so cleanly.

Aunt Priscilla recovered first, her voice all sour edges. "Jassie, what a thing to say!"

"The girl's on her knees. Where's your compassion? Your heart must be made of stone!"

I gave a cold little smile. "Aunt, you've got so much compassion. Why don't you put in a hundred thousand?"

"We'll scrape together the other two hundred. Consider it a blessing earned for your family. Quite a bargain, really!"

Her face stiffened, and she shrank back at once. "You know exactly what my situation is. My son just bought a house. Where would I ever get a hundred thousand?"

I let my eyes drift over the relatives lined up to enjoy the show. "You can't spare it," I said coldly, "so where do you get the nerve to demand I hand it over?"

"Three hundred thousand isn't pocket change. Whoever finds her so pitiful can pay for her."

"Don't climb up on your moral high ground and be generous with other people's money."

Rosamond exploded, jabbing a finger at my face. "Do you have any of a decent woman's kindness left in you at all?"

"You've disgraced this whole Delgado family!"

"The girl kneels at our door and you just refuse, flat out. Word gets around and how are your father and I supposed to show our faces in public!"

I answered calmly. "That isn't how kindness works."

"If it were really money to save a life, of course I'd help if I could. But who's to say this diagnosis sheet is even real?"

"Who's to say she'd take the money to a hospital and not somewhere else entirely?"

Margot burst into loud, wailing sobs. "How can you slander me like this!"

"Jasmine, I know you look down on me for being poor, but you can't gamble with my mom's life!"

"If I had any other option at all, I would never have come to beg you..."

Before she finished the words she swayed on her knees, looking like she was about to faint.

Eugene stepped in at once to catch her, then whipped his head around and roared at me. "Jasmine, you've gone too far!"

"You know exactly what kind of person Margot is. How could she possibly lie about something like this?"

"I'm telling you, this money, you're paying it whether you want to or not!"

I watched him shielding her and felt nothing but the sheer irony of it.

In my last life I'd been blind, that was the only reason I ever thought this man was steady and dependable.

I didn't give an inch. "If you want to play the good guy," I said mildly, "reach into your own pocket. Leave mine out of it."

With that I stopped bothering with their ugly expressions and turned to go upstairs.

Behind me came Rosamond's cursing, Margot's crying, and the vicious crash of Eugene hurling a cup.

I shut the door, leaned back against it, and felt a thrill I couldn't contain at being alive again.

Boris. My son.

This life, Mama will never go soft again. I will never let the wolf through the door again. No one will ever lay a hand on the two of us again.

I thought that once I'd refused her the first time, Margot would at least stay quiet for a few days.

I didn't expect that the very next morning, the moment I reached the foot of the company building, I'd see a dense ring of people crowded across the plaza.

Dylan James, my assistant, came running over in a panic, his face pale. "Ms. Fox, we've got a problem!"

"That Margot Henson has been kneeling downstairs for almost an hour now, holding up a sign that says you'd rather let her mother die than lift a finger to help."

"People are filming videos and posting them online, and the comments are all calling you cold-blooded—"

I walked to the glass wall of the building and looked down.

Margot was in that same old T-shirt, washed until it was nearly gray, kneeling in the center of the plaza. A large sheet of white paper was spread in front of her, reading, "Please, kind souls, save my mother from kidney failure. Rich sister won't lift a finger."

She was crying her eyes out, sobbing to the crowd in broken fragments, "I'm not trying to force her. I really am at the end of my rope..."

"I offered to sell myself to Jasmine, to slave for her, just to borrow three hundred thousand to save my mother's life. But she said I wasn't worth three hundred thousand, and then she insulted the two of us..."

At once someone in the crowd chimed in.

"That's way too much. So what if she's got money!"

"Bullying poor people like that, isn't she afraid of what's coming to her?"

"Expose her! Let everyone see the face of this heartless woman!"

Camera flashes went off one after another, countless phones aimed at her.

I watched her performance coldly.

I was still watching when my phone rang. It was Eugene.

I picked up, and the other end came at me full blast. "Jasmine, are you satisfied now?"

"The whole city is laughing at the Delgado family!"

"Wire five hundred thousand to Margot right now, then run a public apology in the paper and make this go away!"

I laughed coldly. "She asked for three hundred thousand and you're throwing in another two hundred on your own. Eugene, aren't you generous with her."

"Is this about the money?" Eugene roared. "It's about our name!"

"I'm warning you, fix this fast, or I'm not done with you!"

I let out a soft sigh and, pretending to give in, said, "Fine, I'll give her the money."

"But on one condition. She signs a formal loan agreement, with the repayment date and interest spelled out. Otherwise, forget it."

Eugene faltered for a second, probably not expecting me to fold so suddenly, then said impatiently, "Fine, fine, she'll sign, whatever!"

"I'll send her to your office this afternoon. Have the money ready and don't pull any more stunts!"

I hung up and gave a cold little smile.

Margot, you think this three hundred thousand comes free?

This is the first piece of hard proof of your fraud.

At two in the afternoon, Margot showed up at my office right on time.

She wore that same pitiful look, apologizing under her breath the moment she came in. "Jasmine, I'm so sorry, I've caused you trouble."

"I really had no other choice, that's the only reason I stooped to this..."

I cut her off, pushing the printed loan agreement across to her, my voice flat. "Three hundred thousand, six percent annual interest, paid off within two years."

"Sign it, press your fingerprint, and the money hits your account right away."

Margot looked at the agreement, her whole face wronged. "Jasmine, do we really have to sign this?"

"I thought you were helping me because you actually cared..."

I cut her off again. "Helping you is a kindness. Not helping you is my right."

"For the three years you were in college, I paid for every last expense. I've already helped you plenty!"

"This three hundred thousand is a loan, not a gift."

"If you won't sign, you can leave right now, and you won't get a single cent."

She looked as if she'd suffered some unbearable humiliation, but in the end she picked up the pen and signed, then pressed down a bright red fingerprint. "Thank you, Jasmine. I promise I'll pay it back as soon as I can."

When she walked off with the bank card, her steps were light, the smugness in her eyes impossible to hide.

I watched her back with cold eyes, forcing down the urge to tear her apart on the spot.

That same evening, the hashtag "Rich woman relents and funds poor girl" hit the trending list. People praised the "power of public opinion" and praised Margot for being "strong and devoted to her mother."

I scrolled through the comments, expressionless, and saved the scanned copy of the loan agreement into an encrypted folder.

The higher she climbs now, the harder she'll fall later.

Half a month later, Eugene came home from a work dinner one night, drunk, fumbling with his shoes.

I took his suit jacket from him, and the moment I did, I saw it—a faint pink lipstick mark on the inside of his shirt collar.

I knew that shade too well.

In my last life, Margot had used this exact lipstick to leave her marks on Eugene, letting me find them on purpose, stirring up my emotions one step at a time until everyone was convinced I was a paranoid, jealous wife.

I stood in the entryway holding the shirt, waiting for him to sober up.

Eugene took a sip of water, looked up, saw the shirt in my hands, and his face changed in an instant.

"What are you doing with my shirt?"

"This lipstick mark. Whose is it?" I held the shirt up, my voice calm.

His eyes darted away. He tugged at his collar and lied without missing a beat. "Probably some female client brushed against me at the dinner tonight. An accident."

"Can you stop being so paranoid?"

I smiled at him, mocking. "What female client leaves lipstick on the inside of your collar?"

"Eugene, when you lie, could you at least put some effort into it?"

That set him off. "Can you stop making a scene over nothing?"

Rosamond naturally took his side, laying into me, scolding me for being suspicious.

Right then, the doorbell rang.

Margot stood outside, a soup thermos in her hand, her makeup flawless, nothing like the shabby, worn-down girl she'd played before.

"Auntie, Eugene, Jasmine." She stepped in timidly and set the thermos on the table. "My mom's surgery went really well, so I made some black chicken soup and came to thank you all…"

As she spoke, her eyes flicked, seemingly by accident, to the shirt in my hands, and she immediately lowered her head, her voice going smaller. "I'm sorry. Did I come at a bad time?"

"Were you two fighting? This is all my fault…"

"What does it have to do with you!" Rosamond grabbed her hand at once, aching with sympathy. "Some people are just petty and love stirring up trouble over nothing!"

"Margot, don't take it to heart. Come, sit."

Margot's eyes reddened instantly. "Jasmine, please don't misunderstand Eugene."

"This afternoon I ran into him downstairs at the company and told him how my mom's follow-up went. Maybe I brushed against him then without meaning to."

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have stood so close…"

Rosamond shot me a hard glare and said in that snide tone of hers, "See? See? I told you it was a misunderstanding!"

"You just had to twist it into something ugly. Why do you have to be so small-minded?"

Eugene let out a breath too, and said to me impatiently, "Hear that? It was an accident."

"Jasmine, chasing shadows every single day. Is it fun for you?"

I watched the three of them play off each other, like watching a cheap little farce.

I looked at Margot with a cold smile. "Your mom just had major surgery. Instead of staying at the hospital with her, why are you off finding my husband every day?"

"Dressed up like that, too. Who knows what you're really after?"

Margot's face filled with wounded outrage. "Jasmine, how can you say that about me?"

"I just wanted to thank Eugene in person. He's the one who found me the best doctor. I can't even repay him enough, how could I have any other intentions…"

I gave a cold snort. "Gratitude that lands on his collar? Gratitude that arranges a chance meeting every single day?"

"Margot, you take my money to pay for treatment, then turn right around and go after my husband. Do you have any shame left?"

"I didn't!" She shook her head, sobbing, covering her face, her shoulders heaving violently. "Jasmine, if you hate me, I'll just leave, but you can't slander me like this!"

"I'm a girl from the countryside. My good name matters more to me than my life…"

Eugene pulled Margot behind him, his face livid, and shouted at me, "Have you had enough?"

"Look at the state she's in, and you're still going after her for no reason at all!"

"I think you're just jealous. You can't stand to see anyone else do well!"

Rosamond chimed right in, shrill. "For our family to end up with a daughter-in-law as small-minded as you, we must have terrible luck going back generations!"

"You can't even find room in your heart for a girl as pitiful as Margot. Are you even human?"

Three mouths turned on me, every word an accusation, as if I were the one who'd done something wrong.

I said flatly, "Fine. I'm jealous. I can't stand anyone."

"So I'll ask Miss Henson not to set foot in my home again, and not to seek out my husband on her own."

"After all, avoiding the appearance of impropriety—surely Miss Henson understands that much?"

Margot nodded through her tears, her voice choked. "I understand, Jasmine. I won't come again."

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

And with that, she covered her face and ran out crying.

Eugene shot me a vicious glare and chased after her.

Rosamond stormed into the kitchen, slamming things around, cursing under her breath the whole way.

I stood alone in the empty living room, took out my phone, and pressed stop on the recording.