I stand before the judges at the jewelry design competition and admit to plagiarism. Then, I announce my withdrawal from the contest, along with my resignation as Design Director of Fairchild Group.

My fiance, Caleb Fairchild, shoots daggers at me. "If you walk away from this competition, our engagement is off!"

My father follows up by slapping me across the face. "First, you plagiarize your own sister, and now you're breaking off your engagement with the Fairchilds? Are you trying to ruin our family?"

"Oh, I'm not just calling off my engagement. I'm also cutting off my ties with you," I respond apathetically.

I make this decision because I have been given a second life.

In my previous life, my stepsister and I competed in this contest. First place earns the title of the nation's top jewelry designer and 50 million dollars from Fairchild Group.

However, round after round, her designs are exactly the same as mine, and she submits them before I do. The judging panel gives me a pass because of Caleb and lets me advance to the finals, but not without a warning to never plagiarize again.

I refuse to believe it. I switch to a brand-new computer, lock myself in my room, and pour everything into a new design. Yet, when the final designs appear on the big screen, history repeats itself.

In the end, my sister takes first place and walks away with everything that should have been mine. The reputation I painstakingly built is ruined, and my name is dragged through the mud online.

My parents are ashamed of me. They knock me out and sell me off to the countryside to marry an old man. Ultimately, I die after endless abuse.

When I open my eyes again, I'm back at the semifinals. Everyone is pointing at me as they stare at the two identical designs.

"Could you explain what's going on here, Clara?" The judge's stern voice rang in my ears.

I, Clara Gardner, snapped back to reality and scanned the entire venue. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms tightly around my chest because just a second ago, that wretched old man had tortured me to death.

My fiance, Caleb Fairchild, demanded, "Well, what are you waiting for? Say something! What's with that posture? Are you afraid? You're representing my company as the chief designer, and this is how you embarrass me?"

That was when it hit me. I had been reborn.

The very next second, my half-sister, Sophie Gardner, smiled sweetly and linked her arm through mine. "I know you don't want to admit that your younger sister is better than you, Clara. It's honestly my fault as well. I shouldn't have stolen your spotlight.

"Why don't we do this instead? Let's both explain our design concepts. If yours sounds better than mine, I'll admit I plagiarized your work. Deal?"

Before I could respond, she picked up the microphone and explained, "This necklace is inspired by a celestial legend. It's said that the shimmering stars in the Milky Way are fragments of longing scattered by the god of love…"

Her explanation matched exactly what I had in mind.

Applause erupted from the audience. Caleb gently took her hand and pecked it, while my father and stepmother looked at her with unmistakable pride. I was the only one left standing there like a clown, frozen on stage, unable to say a single word.

Whispers spread through the crowd. "She must have plagiarized her sister's work. All those stunning designs she released before were probably drawn by her sister, and she just slapped her own name on them. How shameless!"

But their words didn't register in my head. In my past life and in this one, I was utterly shaken.

If she had only copied my drawings, there would have been countless ways to do it. Yet, the design concept existed only in my head. How could she describe it exactly as I had imagined it?

Thus, I picked up the microphone and faced the audience. "Fine, let's say I plagiarized her work. But how can any of you be sure she didn't steal someone else's work or hire a ghost designer?"

Caleb pointed right at my nose. "Do you think everyone is as filthy as you are?"

I snorted. "It's pretty impressive of you to date someone that disgusting for three years."

"Clara Gardner!"

The audience caught on and immediately erupted into murmurs. "Hold on, she's right. If she were that kind of person, how could Mr. Fairchild have dated her for three years without noticing? There must be some kind of misunderstanding."

"Yeah. Clara has a point. Perhaps she and her sister hired the same ghost designer. That would explain why their designs overlapped."

As doubts spread, I curled my lips into a faint smile.

Sophie's brows drew together almost imperceptibly before she plastered a gentle smile on my face and took my hand. "Clara, if you're indignant, why don't we compete in front of everyone? I don't want your reputation ruined. I'd feel terrible if that happened."

My father and stepmother both sighed. "After everything your sister's done to you, you're still indulging her. You're just too kind for your own good, Sophie."

Just then, my gaze landed on Caleb's grandmother, Olivia White, whose eyes were full of disappointment, and I made up my mind. "Alright. Let's do three rounds. I'll let you choose the themes, and I'll choose how we compete. How does that sound?"

In this life, no matter what, I was determined to get to the bottom of this.

"That sounds fair, Clara. Let's go with family, friendship, and love."

I snorted. "Alright. First round, family. We'll each use a computer and design in real time."

"Sure. That's fine with me."

In no time, two computers were brought onto the stage, and we sat facing each other. I closed my eyes, visualized my design, and got to work immediately.

I was confident that even if someone was spying on my screen for her, she could only copy what I'd already drawn. She would lag behind me, and her lie would unravel.

Half an hour later, I was halfway done when Sophie rose from her seat with a smile. "I'm done, judges."

My heart sank when her design appeared on the massive screen. It was exactly what I was drawing.

I wasn't even done yet, and she had already completed it. How was that even possible?

"Let me explain the concept behind my design. It features a diamond set inside a soft platinum arc. It is based on a story between my mother and me.

"My mother had a difficult labor when she gave birth to me. The doctor said I refused to come out. My dad’s never been one with words—he joked I was a stubborn little stone to get out. But Mom said I’d grow up to be a diamond, just as tough and unyielding."

Her words stole the air from my lungs. That was my story with my mother. How could she possibly know it?

Having said her piece, she shot me a triumphant look, as if to say, "So what if I plagiarized your work? What can you do about it?"

Just then, my unfinished design was projected onto the screen, and laughter immediately rippled through the audience.

"Damn. Didn't she say she didn't copy her sister's work? Her design is the same as hers, and she hasn't even finished it. Now, this is embarrassing!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Olivia sigh in disappointment.

Ever since my mother passed away, I had never felt the warmth of a family again.

Olivia had treated me like her own granddaughter. To make sure Caleb treated me right, she told me that after I married Caleb, she would transfer all her shares to me, so he'd be working for me, not the other way around. Yet, even she had started to lose faith in me.

There was no way this was happening. My mind raced. Perhaps my father had told Sophie that story.

However, even if she knew the backstory, there was no way she could design the exact same piece as mine. Hence, I decided to test her again. "Fine. I'll count this round as my loss. Let's move on to friendship. This time, we hand-draw it on paper!"

Before, she finished the design before I even did. Perhaps she had used some kind of AI or data modeling to predict my unfinished design. This time, with pen and paper, there was no way she could replicate it perfectly again.

Soon, two easels were set up on the stage, and we stood facing each other.

The same thing happened again. I deliberately drew at snail speed and even made several mistakes.

Halfway through, I stopped drawing and looked up to study Sophie's expression. To my surprise, she stood up again and handed in her work. "I'm done."

Her hand-drawn piece was slightly different from what I had put on paper, yet it matched exactly what I had envisioned in my mind.

"This piece is shaped like a lighthouse, with a dazzling diamond set at the top. It tells a story about my best friend and me. I was once stranded at a harbor in an unfamiliar city. My phone had no signal, and it was raining cats and dogs.

"The light from a distant lighthouse cut through the storm and guided me to shelter. Later, I found out my best friend had stayed up all night at her computer, using satellite tracking to locate me. Then, she contacted the harbor manager and had the lighthouse turned on just for me."

My heart sank. This was something that had happened between my best friend, Ivy Lancaster, and me. It was an incident only the two of us knew about.

My legs felt like Jell-O. For a split second, I wanted to give up.

Everything that happened next was no different from before. My unfinished drawing was projected onto the massive screen, eliciting waves of ridicule.

"Jesus, she can't even copy it right. She messed up in so many places. This is humiliating!"

"Get off the stage!"

I looked at Olivia, who was shaking her head.

Caleb asked her, "See? One test was all it took. I told you she's not worthy of marrying me. She's a fraud! Do you believe the one who saved me back then was Sophie now?"

Three years ago, I had happened upon Caleb as he lost his footing due to hypoglycemia and fell into an enormous body of water. When I pulled him out, he was barely conscious. All he remembered was the emerald pendant around my neck, the one my mother had given me.

Later, he tracked me down based on that memory. We fell in love in a heartbeat and were soon engaged.

Everything had been smooth sailing. We were only a month away from our wedding when I was involved in a severe car accident. I spent two months bedridden in the hospital before I recovered, and not long after I was discharged, I was forced into this competition.

Then, it hit me—Caleb had forced me into this competition to make Olivia give up on me. I was the one who was destined to lose. No matter what I did, he was never going to let me win.

Caleb joined the audience and demanded, "Get off the stage!"

Just then, a sharp slap cracked through the air.

Everyone watched as Caleb clutched his face and stared at a woman in horror.

"Are you a damn parrot? Shut the hell up!"

Then, she ran up to me. "Pull yourself together, Cleo! I'm here. Let's see this through together!"

That woman was my only friend, Ivy. Her arrival reignited my courage.