Donna rose onto her toes, leaning close to her mother's ear. "No," she whispered. "I don't want him."

Her gaze drifted to the man standing a short distance away—posture relaxed, expression assured.

He watched her with smiling eyes, confident and bold, as if her choice were already decided.

In that moment, the warmth in his gaze seemed to hold a love that went bone-deep.

Robert! The very same Robert who, in another life, had thrown her from that terrible height just moments before.

The phantom agony of shattered bones and torn flesh still screamed through her veins. The man before her wasn't the boy she had once loved. He was the demon who had devoured her without a second thought.

Laura looked surprised, then concerned. "Donna, what happened? Did Robert upset you?"

A mother knows her child. Others might see a lovers' quarrel, but Laura had caught the shift in her daughter's eyes—the adoration gone, replaced by a tangle of hatred, disgust, confusion, and pain.

Donna tore her gaze away, wishing she could flay the vile man where he stood. Swallowing the bitterness, she smoothed her expression into calm. "I just don't like him anymore."

She was the heiress of the Donna family. Her likes and dislikes required no justification.

Laura simply chalked it up to a whim. Smiling, she stroked her daughter's soft hair. "Alright, if you don't like him, you don't. Our Donna is far too brilliant for a boy from the Robert family."

Emotion tightened Donna's throat. "Thank you, Mom."

No matter how strange her decisions, her mother always stood by her.

In her past life, she had been so blinded by Robert that she'd neglected everyone else—even her own parents. She remembered how, once he seized control of the group, he had sidelined every member of her family. He'd sent her mother to a sanatorium overseas, cut off for years.

If her mother had been here, perhaps her end wouldn't have been so wretched.

"Mom, I don't want Robert. I want Gerald."

Laura's face stiffened. "Gerald... Why? You know his situation is different. He has no family..."

Donna cut her off gently. "Mom, I'm your daughter. To me, even the grandest family name is just a bonus. My garden has plenty of flowers; one more or less doesn't matter. I want Gerald."

Laura hesitated. "Donna, you have four other suitors besides Robert. It doesn't have to be Gerald. He's not... suitable for you."

Donna shook her head. "But I like him. The others are only nice to me because they covet the family group. Gerald is different. He doesn't care about the group. He just... cares for me."

That single statement silenced any further argument.

"Alright," Laura conceded. "Let's set this aside for now. I need to discuss it with your father."

News that the Donna family heiress had not chosen a fiancé at her coming-of-age ball spread like wildfire through Southport. Officially, the family claimed Laura couldn't bear to part with her daughter so soon and had postponed the decision.

As for when it would be made, no further information was given.

The Robert family wasn't worried. Everyone knew Donna was head over heels for Robert. She'd marry into their family sooner or later—handing the Donna Group over in the process.

Donna spent two long nights stitching together the memories of the years to come.

When she came downstairs, a girl was sitting on the living room sofa, dressed in a white sundress, her hair pinned up in a butterfly bun.

Grace!

Impossible.

In the original timeline, Donna hadn’t even known Grace existed until after she married Robert.

Yet here Grace was, right in front of her.

“Hello, sister. My name is Grace. I’ve come to see Robert.”

This Grace wasn’t yet the queen of the entertainment industry. She lacked the polished allure of adulthood, but her eyes held that same unmistakable, calculating gaze.

Her face, too, looked plainer and more unremarkable than it would once she became a star.

“Sister, your dress is so pretty. Can I touch it?” Grace took a step closer. “I wish I had a beautiful dress like this too.”

Watching her approach, feeling those disgusting eyes roam over her, Donna was hit by a wave of nausea.

If it weren’t for this woman’s scheming, her whispered betrayals, Donna wouldn’t have ended up dead in a ditch.

Before Grace’s fingers could brush the fabric, Donna slapped her hand away.

“Get away from me!”

They were both teenage girls. Donna wasn’t particularly strong, but Grace stumbled and fell to the floor, her eyes instantly welling up. She bit her lip, staring back.

“Donna!”

A frantic shout came from behind.

Robert rushed out of his room and strode over, helping Grace to her feet. “Are you hurt?”

Grace bit her lip, fighting back tears. “Robert, I went to your house looking for you. Megan said you were here, so I came over. I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to barge in…”

Doors around them began to open one by one. Larry, Donald, Randy—several of Donna’s suitors peered out to see what was happening.

As candidates chosen by Laura for Donna, they all lived in the family home, though their rooms were on the floor below hers.

“Donna, are you insane?” Larry had a hot temper and was Donna’s age; they’d always traded barbs. Now he stormed forward, swearing under his breath. “Does everyone who comes here have to get beaten up by you first? What did she even do?”

Donna crossed her arms and leaned back against the sofa. “Has my family fed yours too well? Is that why you dare speak to me like that?”

They’d all grown up together. Even though Donna felt no love for any of them, she’d never said anything so deliberately cutting—words meant to slice straight to the heart.

Larry froze, flushed red, and clenched his fists as if to step forward.

Donald quickly pulled him back, signaling not to provoke Donna.

By the door, Robert let out a cold laugh. He carefully lifted Grace onto his back and turned to leave.

Larry, Donald, and the others followed Robert out, their voices trailing back with scattered words of concern for Grace.

Donna sat on the sofa, watching them go with cold eyes.

Megan. So Grace was already this close with Robert’s family.

It wasn't only Robert. Every one of her suitors had known about Grace from the very beginning.

From start to finish, she alone had been kept in the dark.

What about Gerald? Had he, too, known early on that Robert had a Grace by his side?

A sharp pang twisted in Donna’s chest.

All the kindness she had shown those suitors over the years now felt like daggers plunging straight into her heart.

“A pack of ungrateful wolves! And one scheming snake!”

A young, angry voice came from behind her, and Donna’s heart leapt with hope.

“Gera—”

The name died on her lips. It wasn’t Gerald standing behind her, but Evan—the youngest of her suitors.

There he stood, dressed in an adorable set of pink pajamas, glaring toward the door where the others had just left. His face burned with righteous anger, completely unaware that Donna had almost mistaken him for someone else.

A flicker of disappointment passed through her eyes before she lowered them, picking up her glass of milk to begin breakfast.

She’d forgotten. By now, Gerald had already left her family’s estate, likely headed north to where his own family’s roots lay.

Suddenly, Evan rushed forward, grabbing her arm and shaking it in a whiny plea.

“Donna, let’s go find Robert, okay? We can’t let that awful woman trick him away!”

The milk glass slipped from her hand, shattering on the floor into a white, spreading puddle.

Donna raised an eyebrow. “So what if she tricks him away? If I’m not worried, why should you be?”

Evan froze, his eyes darting away—that telltale guilt plain as day.

“I… I’m just worried for you, Donna. If Robert gets taken by someone else, he won’t be able to become your fiancé.”

If she hadn’t known the ugly truth of Evan’s feelings, she might have actually believed he was looking out for her.

She stood, calmly pulling her arm free.

“Don’t trouble yourself. After all, it’s my fiancé who might be taken, not yours—right?”

She gestured toward the mess of glass and milk on the floor.

“You made this. Clean it up. And don’t ask the housekeeper. You’ll pick it up yourself. By hand.”

In her past life, after she’d chosen Robert, the other suitors had all been sent back to their own families.

Yet they’d all kept in close contact with Robert afterward—especially Evan. She’d always known that.

At first, she’d thought it was just the bond between brothers who’d grown up together. Until countless late nights, when a drunken Evan would call Robert, and she finally understood: Evan had always been in love with him.

That admiration had twisted into a raging obsession. Just like hers had.

But she’d never hurt Evan. She’d only quietly encouraged Robert to see him less.

Yet in the end, it was Evan who had laughed wildly as he cut the rope that held her suspended.

The two people she’d trusted most had joined hands to kill her.

She needed to find time to talk to her mother. These people had to leave her family’s home. Having them parading in front of her every day was becoming too much to bear.

By lunchtime, Robert and the others had returned, all sitting silently at the dining table, waiting for her.

Donna’s rule—established by her mother when they first arrived—was simple: no one could start eating until she picked up her utensils.

Evan sat beside Robert, several of his fingers bandaged, tear tracks still visible on his cheeks. He looked every bit the wronged, pitiful victim.

Donna couldn’t be bothered to look at him. She’d only taken one step down the stairs when she sensed something was wrong.

There was something on the stairs.

Before she could react, her foot slipped. Her whole body pitched forward, tumbling down.

Ball bearings on the steps. Lubricant on the railing.

No matter how desperately she clawed, she couldn’t catch hold of anything to save herself.

Everyone watched, cold-eyed, as she crashed down the staircase.

Every bone in her body screamed with pain. Blood welled from a gash on her forehead, blurring her vision.

With her last strength, she could only manage a faint, broken plea.

“Help… me…”