Jake Carter called and asked to meet. We settled on the small hometown diner we used to hit up.

He couldn't look me in the eye the entire time, and we didn't exchange a word during the meal. It wasn't until we were about to leave that he finally pulled a property deed from his bag.

"This is for you," he said. "I accept my defeat. Consider it compensation for your emotional distress. Your name is already on it."

I didn't bother with polite refusals. I took the deed, mumbled a quick thanks, and got up to leave.

Jake scrambled to his feet, calling out from behind me with the one question he'd been burning to ask all along. "If you loved me back then, why did you let Brenda get to me first?"

I turned around, looking him in the eye for the first time all day. "Are you really going to pretend you never knew how I felt? You were just playing dumb the whole time."

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered. "Can we still get dinner together tomorrow?"

"Forget it. I don't need your apology," I said blandly. "You were a victim in this mess, too. As for dinner, don't bother. I'm resigning from the company tomorrow, and it's best if we don't see each other again."

The iron wire ring I once treasured as proof of love had turned out to be a cage. Stepping out of the diner, I threw the rusted ring straight into the trash.

From now on, I would live for myself.

Every time Brenda Carter slipped away to meet her secret lovers, she told her husband, Jake Carter, that she was staying over at my apartment.

This time, after calling her dozens of times with no answer, the furious man marched to my place.

Heavy, frantic pounding rattled my front door as Jake yelled at the top of his lungs, "Open up, Jessica Kemp! I know you're in there! Every time you go out to wild out, you drag Brenda into your mess.

"She's an innocent girl. How could you have the heart to drag her down into your gutter?"

He didn't stop, his voice echoing down the hallway.

"You took her to that bar where she drank that roofied cocktail and got assaulted, and she ended up pregnant. Her reputation is ruined! Do you have any idea what that kind of trauma does to her?

"Every time you had an abortion, Brenda was the one holding your hand! When you got in deep with loan sharks, Brenda bailed you out! She has been nothing but a loyal friend to you, so why won't you just leave her alone?

"I've turned a blind eye for a long time out of respect for her friendship with you, but if you don't clean up your act and stop harassing her, don't blame me for what comes next. Open this door right now and let her out!"

His voice was booming, drawing the attention of the entire building. Before long, some of the neighbors started chiming in through the walls.

"Jessica, you're still so young. Why are you throwing your life away like this?"

"If you want to ruin your life, fine, but don't drag Brenda down with you. You've completely ruined that poor girl's future!"

The shouting outside grew louder, but inside, I stood frozen in disbelief.

I had no idea about any of this. I wasn't sleeping around. I hadn't been pregnant, and I certainly didn't owe a dime to loan sharks.

Brenda had whined to me about how bored and lonely she was in her marriage, begging for some excitement. To keep Jake in the dark, she used me as her perfect shield.

I didn't want to see her marriage implode, so I idiotically kept her secrets, not expecting her to weaponize my silence.

She pinned all her trashy affairs, accidental pregnancies, and debts onto me, ultimately making me take the fall for a crime that ended my life.

The blinding terror of my death in that past life was still fresh in my mind. But now that I was reborn, I refused to play the sacrificial lamb again.

The Carters were one of the most prominent families in the city. Marrying Jake was Brenda's golden ticket out of her working-class roots.

Jake's parents had always looked down on her humble background. If they ever found out she was actively stepping out on their son, she would be thrown out onto the street without a cent.

Looking through the peephole, I saw Jake flanked by a squad of burly security guards. If I refused to open the door, they would definitely break it down.

The moment I turned the lock, Jake shoved his way inside and pinned me forcefully against the wall.

"Where is she?" he demanded, his grip tightening. "Where are you hiding Brenda?"

His eyes burned with pure, unadulterated disgust. It cut deep, considering how close the two of us used to be before his marriage.

I gritted my teeth, staring right back at him. "I don't know. And I didn't drag her anywhere."

Jake shoved me away with a sneer. "You don't know? Fine. Search the place! Tear it apart until you find my wife."

My apartment was tiny. Even if they flipped every mattress and emptied every closet, they wouldn't find a trace of Brenda. Because she wasn't here.

Jake completely lost his patience, marching back over to rip me up by my collar. "Where the hell did you hide her?"

In his mind, Brenda was innocent and pure. Any wrong turn she took was because a lowlife, debt-ridden slut like me had manipulated her.

I looked at his furious face and decided it was finally time to break his illusion.

"Why don't you go ask Michael Brooks?" I spat, a cold smile touching my lips. "I'm sure he knows where your pure, innocent wife is right now."

Michael Brooks was a regular worker at Jake's company. He also happened to be the side-piece Brenda was currently sleeping with.

Jake's face went dark. "What are you trying to say?"

I let out a mocking laugh. "Come on, Jake. You always brag about being the smartest guy in the room. Can't you put two and two together?"

He flew into a blind rage, his fists clenching. If I weren't a woman, he would have leveled me right there.

"Brenda has done everything for you, and you don't even have the decency to be grateful!" he roared, his voice shaking. "Instead, you stand here spinning disgusting slanders against her. I feel sorry for her. She threw her kindness away on a parasite like you.

"We've been married for years. I know who my wife is. I wouldn't believe a word of your pathetic lies."

There were times I genuinely wondered if Brenda had brainwashed Jake. To him, my words were completely worthless, while Brenda's lies were gospel.

"I told Brenda months ago to cut ties with you," Jake sneered, his eyes flashing with anger. "But she kept defending you. She said you were her best friend and she couldn't bear to watch you ruin your life.

"She begged you to clean up your act and even paid off your debts out of her own pocket. And this is how you repay her? You're a total lost cause.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have locked her in the house before ever letting her near you. Jessica, I'm giving you one last chance. Where is she?"

His words were laughable, and I didn't need anyone to preach at me.

In fact, I'd wasted so much breath trying to talk sense into her, but Brenda never took me seriously. Whenever I pressed too hard, she would just take my hands and burst into tears.

"Jake is never home. He stays out all night. How am I supposed to handle that? You're a woman, too. Can't you understand what I'm going through?

"You have to cover for me this time. If he finds out I'm cheating, he'll divorce me in a heartbeat. We're best friends. You don't want to ruin my life, do you?"

Every time she said that, I'd cave and help cover up her affairs. Yet my sympathy only fueled her recklessness. In my past life, that weakness was what eventually landed me in prison.

When I didn't answer, Jake's rage boiled over. He pulled out his phone, his voice dripping with malice. "Your parents still think you're their sweet, perfect daughter. How do you think they'll react when they find out what a disaster you really are?"

My father, Robert Kemp, has served as the Carter family's housekeeper for decades, handling all their household operations ever since Jake's father was a young man.

Jake dialed his number without hesitation.

A moment later, Robert's tired voice came through the speaker. "Hello, Mr. Carter? Is everything alright?"

Jake shot a smug look at me. "Robert, I'm calling to talk to you about your daughter."

Robert paused. "Jessica? What about her?"

Jake let out a cold laugh. "I suppose you don't know she has been sleeping around and got pregnant."

Robert wasn't convinced. "Pregnant? No, that's impossible. Jessica would never do something like that."

He suffered from severe high blood pressure. Fear shot through me as I caught the panic in his voice.

I lunged forward and tore the phone from Jake's hand. "That's not true, Dad. Don't listen to him..."

Before I could finish, a security guard grabbed me from behind and slammed me hard against the floor. The phone slipped from my grip, skidding across the hardwood right back to Jake's feet.

He picked it up and gestured to the guard to clamp a hand over my mouth. Then, he calmly resumed the call.

"She's been running wild for a long time. Every time she got herself into trouble, Brenda was the one who accompanied her to the clinic.

"A while ago, Brenda went to a bar to pick her up and caught some guy spiking Jessica's drink. To protect your daughter, Brenda snatched the glass and drank it herself. She was assaulted and ended up pregnant because of it.

"Brenda has been so consumed by guilt that she's tried to take her life multiple times. And it's all thanks to your daughter."

Pinned flat against the floor, I couldn't move an inch. All I could hear from the phone speaker was Robert's breathing, growing dangerously heavy and shallow.

I thrashed wildly, desperate to claw my way back to the phone, but the guard only pressed his weight harder into my spine. I could only emit muffled, panicked cries against his palm.

Jake ignored the pure hatred in my eyes and kept talking. "On top of that, Jessica ran up millions in gambling debts with loan sharks. Brenda stole money from me just to bail her out.

"Instead of being grateful, Jessica has been slandering her name. I know you think she's a good kid, but you need to see her true colors.

"She'll stab her best friend in the back today. Who knows who she'll drag down with her tomorrow? You guys should watch your backs."

He hung up, cutting off any chance for me to explain. He looked down at me, pinned to the floor with raw, bloodshot eyes, and grinned with sickening satisfaction.

"Don't blame me for this. I'm just giving your parents friendly heads-up. A girl like you is capable of anything," he continued. "Honestly, I should have banned Brenda from seeing you years ago. She even bought you a house just to make sure you had a roof over your head, and this is how you repay her?"

My eyes widened. "What are you talking about? When did she buy me a house?"

Jake let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "I seriously admire your acting skills. You can lie right to my face without even blinking, even when it's all caught up to you.

"Brenda was terrified you'd gamble everything away and end up on the street, so she used my money to buy a place under your name. She made me promise never to mention it to protect your pathetic pride."

He leaned down. "But a parasite like you doesn't deserve dignity anyway."

A lightbulb went off in my head; I realized where Brenda was hiding.

Jake kept such a tight grip on her credit cards that she would never dare check into a hotel with Michael. It would leave an immediate paper trail.

That meant the secret house wasn't a gift for me at all. Brenda had bought it as a private nest to carry on her affair.

I smirked. "Fine. You claim Brenda bought that house for me, but you don't have any proof. I don't even know where it is. If you're so confident, take me there.

"If you can prove it's mine, I'll do whatever you want. I'll stay away from Brenda forever and issue a public apology to the press."

Predictably, my defiance rattled his ego.

"You asked for it," Jake snorted, turning to his security detail. "Get her in the car."

"Wait a minute!"

"What, getting cold feet?"

"What happens if that house isn't mine? I'm not risking my reputation for nothing."

Jake was entirely sure of himself, so he didn't hesitate to take the bait. He let out a condescending laugh. "If it's not yours, you can keep the place. Brenda bought it with my money anyway, so I have the right to hand it over."

I nodded. "It's a deal."

...

An hour later, we pulled up to the property Brenda had allegedly bought for me.

The moment I stepped out of the vehicle, a brutal slap caught me across the face, snapping my head to the side. Dizzy and stinging, I turned to see my father, his face purple with rage, and my mother standing right behind him, her eyes already swollen from crying.

"You ungrateful brat!" Robert yelled, shoving a finger in my face. "How could you do something like this? You've humiliated this entire family."

I didn't need to guess who had leaked our location.

Jake and I grew up together; he knew my vulnerabilities better than anyone, and he knew my worst nightmare was disappointing my parents.

He figured that by orchestrating a massive family intervention, I'd lose my nerve, break down, and stop meddling with Brenda.

When Robert raised his hand again, my mother, Linda Kemp, rushed forward to pull him back. "Robert, calm down! She probably just made a mistake."

She turned to Jake, pleading desperately, "Jake, you've known Jessica since she was a little girl. You know her character. She isn't a wildcard who sleeps around. There has to be a misunderstanding. Please, for my sake, don't take this out on her."

Jake shot me a look of pure disdain. "The sweet, perfect girl you think you raised is a total act. She's incredibly manipulative. I fell for her tricks once, but now I see her for who she really is.

"If she would just admit where Brenda is and confess to taking the house, I'd show some leniency. But she's digging her heels in. I had no choice but to call you two out here to deal with her."

Linda grew pale with distress. She clutched my shirt collar, sobbing openly. "Jessica, is any of this true? You've always gotten great grades and been such a good kid. How did things get this bad?

"If you were short on cash, you should have come to us! Why would you go to loan sharks?"

"None of this is true, Mom," I insisted.

But Jake wasn't buying a word of it. "Looks like you won't talk until we force your hand."

He stepped closer, looming over me. Fearing he'd hit me, Linda threw herself between us, tears streaming down her face.

"It's my fault," she wept. "I failed as a mother. But please, can you spare her out of respect for how long her father has worked for your family?"

She was about to bow when I hauled her back up. "Mom, stop! What are you doing?"

Desperate to protect me, she clutched Jake's coat. "Jessica has always cared about you. You promised to marry her when you were kids, and she's never forgotten that. She still has that ring you made her out of wire when you played house."

I was frustrated. "Mom, why are you telling him all this?"

After the initial shock, a flash of disgust crossed Jake's face, as if the mere thought of me harboring feelings for him was utterly repulsive.

I turned to face him. "You really want to blow this up?"

He was unfazed. "Why? You are scared to own up to what you did?"

"No," I replied smoothly. "I'm just worried the audience isn't big enough. If you really want a showdown, let's make it a real party. Call all our mutual friends. Call our relatives, our old high school classmates, and every employee at your company. Invite the media while you're at it."

Jake hadn't anticipated me calling his bluff. He instinctively took a step back. "You're out of your mind."

I stared him down with a mocking smile. "What's the matter, Jake? Scared?"

His eyes bulged with rage. "You want a circus? Fine. Don't come crying to me when you're publicly ruined."

The Carter family basically ran this city. When Jake put out a summons, nobody dared to ignore it. Within an hour, a massive crowd of relatives, family friends, and former classmates began swarming the property.