Upon hearing Calvin's remarks, my classmates cast scornful gazes from all sides at me.

"I mean, her parents work for them, live off their food, stay in their house, and even ride in their car every day. And yet, she still has the audacity to send love letters to Calvin! I can't help but feel embarrassed for her!"

"I bet she's been reading way too many romance novels!"

Calvin's lackeys kept picking on me.

Noticing my silence, Calvin probably thought I was still the same powerless heiress who had let him spread those rumors about me in the past.

Having died in the past, I understood that with shameless people like him, the more you tolerated them, the more they would push their luck. I snatched the car key from Calvin's hand and flung it out the window. His mouth was agape in disbelief.

"I just want to remind you that my father doesn't like anyone touching his things. If he finds out that you took the key to his precious car just to show off, I'm not sure how you'll get out of it."

There was a moment of silence.

In a panic, Calvin ran to the window and stuck his head out as far as he could. We were way up on the fifth floor, and there were dense shrubs and flowerbeds below. He watched helplessly as the tiny car key vanished into the dense foliage below.

"It's alright, Calvin. We'll all help you search for it."

"You seem quite flustered. It must be a really expensive car, huh?"

"I guess Calvin has been too nice toward the household staff. It's probably why Madison has developed a sense of entitlement."

It was quite obvious that Calvin's fangirls looked just as nervous as Calvin himself.

Calvin adjusted his clothes and feigned indifference. "It's alright. It's just a few hundred thousand dollars, so it's not that expensive. If we can't find it, then so be it. And please don't blame this on Madison. I'm sure she's just feeling a bit insecure. She probably thinks I've been neglecting her, so she's throwing a minor fit."

I merely scoffed and said, "I'll have you know, my father's returning tonight. Have you figured out how you're going to explain it if he notices that his beloved car's key is missing? And by the way, it's not a few hundred thousand dollars—it's one million dollars."

When he heard that, Calvin's forehead glistened with even more sweat. He immediately dropped his nonchalant facade and dashed toward the flowerbed on the first floor. His fangirls rushed after him.

It was publicly known that the chairman of Prosperous Group was Joshua Latham. Yet, very few were privy to the fact that both his children had taken their mother's last name, Smith. It was also because of this that Calvin was allowed to spin his lies about being the heir without anyone questioning him.

I quickly packed my things when I saw that the chauffeur was already waiting by the school entrance.

I noticed several classmates looking in my direction as I got into the car. I also heard quite a few of them whispering about how Calvin and I had just gotten into a fight, yet I was still getting a ride from him after school.

It wasn't until I rolled up the car window that their gazes finally started to shift away.

"Let's go, Mr. Drew!"

Drew Latham, the chauffeur, seemed to be ignoring me. He kept looking out the window toward the school entrance. He then asked, "Don't you want to wait for Calvin, Ms. Smith? Why hasn't he come out yet?"

"You're the personal chauffeur assigned to me by my father. You're getting paid for it, so you should just do what you're hired to do."

Drew immediately turned toward me and said, "I'm so sorry, Ms. Smith. I'm indeed the personal chauffeur assigned by Mr. Latham, so I'll definitely do what you say."

"I hope I don't have to repeat myself anymore, Mr. Drew," I said firmly as I leaned back in my seat with my eyes closed. It was the first time I had spoken so firmly to the household staff, and although there was a shift in his expression, Drew remained silent and started the car.

It was then that Calvin emerged from the flower bed and bushes. He was clutching the car key in one hand, and his backpack was slung over his shoulder. He then walked toward the car I was in.

I watched him stand alone at the school entrance as the car drove away. We left behind a wispy trail of exhaust fumes.

I had just reached home when Karen White, the nanny, suddenly emerged from the kitchen.

Her gaze swept past me. Her eyes were darting around as if searching for something or someone. "Where's Calvin? I thought he was coming back with you, Ms. Smith."

I didn't reply to Karen's questions. I merely passed her my backpack, sat at the dining table, and fixed my gaze on the food. "I'm hungry already, so let's eat."

Karen was dumbfounded. She then walked right up to me with a spatula in her hand. She asked, "Why the rush, Madison? I mean, Calvin hasn't even come back yet!"

She then rubbed her hands together and looked past me at Drew. "I thought you were supposed to pick up Calvin. How could you come back here without him? What kind of father are you? I even made his favorite Atherian lobsters today!"

I noticed Drew standing beside me. He was frantically signaling at Karen with his eyes.

I threw the bowl and cutlery to the ground. The crash echoed through the room. Karen, who had been pacing around, finally stopped and stared at me in shock.

"I said it's time to eat! Is everyone deaf here?"

It went quiet all of a sudden. Luna, who had been cleaning the stairs, Karen, who had been talking incessantly, and Drew, who had been frantically signaling Karen with his eyes, were all struck silent.

"Who do you think is the real head of this household? If you're unwilling to perform the part you're paid for, then feel free to pack your things and move out of here."

I used to be too nice to the household staff at home, which led them to take advantage of me when I was gravely ill in my past life. It was only after I had been reborn that I realized that there would always be people who would take advantage of you—no matter how kind you were to them.

It was only then that Karen slowly lifted the lids from each dish, revealing that half of the over a dozen dishes were seafood. I immediately lost my appetite. I then pulled at the tablecloth, flipping all the steaming dishes onto the floor with a loud crash.

"I don't like what you made today. I want you to make me something else."

Upon seeing the mess on the floor, Karen nervously tugged at her apron in confusion and said, "I spent the entire afternoon cooking these dishes, Ms. Smith. If you don't want to eat them, I'm sure Calvin does! How can you behave so unreasonably?"

Karen was so distressed that she almost sank to the floor.

I had been allergic to seafood since I was a child, so it was never part of our meals. Karen had always kept this in mind and never cooked seafood. Yet, as Dad got busier with work and Callum went abroad for school, I was often left alone at home.

It was around this time that Karen started paying less attention to me, and Calvin started visiting our home regularly. It wasn't long before seafood dishes started appearing on the dining table, and they began testing my willingness to comply.

Moreover, Karen insisted that she was merely doing this for my own good by suggesting I gradually change my eating habits. Yet, despite knowing that I wouldn't take a single bite of it, seafood dishes continued to appear increasingly often on the dining table.

I tapped the dining table lightly with my cutlery to get everyone's attention. I then announced, "You're not needed here starting tomorrow, Ms. White. I'll be reviewing the household accounts, and any unaccounted spending will be directly deducted from your salary.

"And from now on, everyone will sit at separate tables during meals and stick to their jobs. If anyone were to step out of line, they'll face the same consequences."

Upon hearing that, Karen tugged at her apron while looking quite aggrieved. Yet, despite that, she didn't dare to utter a single word and quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor.

I glanced at the clock before heading upstairs to my room. Dad had gone out of his way to secure the best and most expensive private tutor available, and today was her scheduled visit for my lesson.

In my past life, Calvin had just transferred from a rural high school and was struggling academically, ranking at the bottom of the class. I paid the private tutor extra to tutor both of us, and it worked exceptionally well. Calvin's grades improved significantly, and he even became one of the top students in his class.

In the end, Calvin returned home with Dad, and with them was Holly Larson, a student my father had been supporting financially.

Holly and Calvin shared the same hometown. In my past life, when I was bullied and ostracized for writing love letters to Calvin, Holly was the only one who believed in my innocence. In those dark and lonely days, I regarded her as my closest friend. I offered her all my trust and affection.

In the end, I was unexpectedly dealt another harsh blow. I was struggling with my studies due to the bullying, and I was seriously considering transferring schools, yet Holly secretly reported me to the school for cheating on an exam.

In the face of the meticulously fabricated evidence, I couldn't even defend myself, which resulted in disciplinary action from the school.

Even Dad, who had been planning to transfer me to a new school, changed his mind after listening to Holly. He began to believe that I was the problem, leading to his growing disappointment in me.

It was only in my final moments that I learned that Holly not only had feelings for Calvin but also had a deep-seated resentment toward the wealthy. I realized that everything I had gone through was all orchestrated by her behind the scenes.

I could hear Dad's voice coming from downstairs before I even reached the stairs. He said, "I can't believe Madison would behave so unreasonably! How could she do something like that?"

"I don't think Madison did this on purpose, Mr. Latham. I mean, she comes from a privileged background, so it's understandable that she'd feel uncomfortable sharing a table with us. And besides, we're not that hungry, so let's give Ms. White some time to finish cooking."

Calvin and Holly were standing behind Dad. Their gazes were fixed on me as I made my way downstairs.

The moment my dad saw me, his anger dissipated significantly. He simply said, "Alright, come down and wash your hands. It's time for dinner soon."

I immediately threw my arms around Dad's neck, hugging him tightly like I used to when I was a child. I then said with a pout, "You're finally home, Dad! I hadn't eaten breakfast before heading to school, so I was really hungry. And since I didn't know where Calvin was, I decided to come home by myself first.

"I'm allergic to seafood, but Ms. White keeps making seafood dishes every day—even though I've reminded her countless times. I just got really upset and threw a tantrum. I didn't think she'd tell you about this, though."

Dad had been so wrapped up in his work after Mom's passing. He felt guilty about not being there for me, but he just didn't know how to express it—just like I did in my past life. In the end, Holly, with her ability to act cute and cheer him up, ended up becoming more like his daughter instead.

Upon hearing that, Dad wrapped his arms around me and gently patted my back. He then turned to Karen and said, "I've made it very clear on your first day of work that Madison is allergic to seafood. How can I entrust Madison's care to you if you can't even remember something this important?"

I was the only one who knew Dad was coming home, so Karen didn't have time to clean up the evidence of her cooking. Even though she had been the one who tattled on me earlier, she ended up facing the consequences of her own actions.

"It's alright, Dad. I don't think you should blame Ms. White for this. I mean, she is getting up there in age, so it's quite normal for her to forget things at times. I'll listen to her and eat what she cooks from now on."

Holly was taken aback. She thought that she was the only one who knew how to play the weak and submissive card.

Dad glared at Karen. He then pondered for a moment before saying, "I guess she is getting old. I'll find you someone younger, more reliable, and willing to follow orders."

Upon hearing that, Karen and Calvin turned to look at each other, with the latter gritting his teeth in anger.

I leaned against Dad's shoulder and subtly pulled him away from Holly.

It was just the three of us—Dad, Holly, and me, at dinner tonight, as Calvin didn't join us at the table.

Holly, who had always been in cahoots with Calvin, immediately started stirring up trouble. "Are you aware that Madison has become quite a well-known figure now, Mr. Latham? Her name's known all over the school now!"

Upon hearing that, Dad calmly set his cutlery on the dining table.

Holly was really getting into it, throwing out what seemed like a casual joke, but it was actually a veiled attempt to slander me. Her face lit up as she turned to me and said, "You should tell Mr. Latham—"

I cut her off mid-sentence and decided to turn the tables on her. "I'm pretty sure our classrooms are very far apart, so how do you know so much about me? You should be focusing on your studies instead, Holly. You're in the lowest C-class in the grade, after all.

"If you have so much free time on your hands, you should spend it doing some extra revision instead of engaging in such baseless rumors."