Sally wasn't about to let me steal the spotlight. She grabbed a huge portion of spicy wings and stuffed it straight into her mouth.

My heart shot up into my throat.

I swallowed hard right along with her.

The next second, she ate the whole thing without even flinching.

"It's definitely hotter than last time, but it's still manageable. Guess the owner held back a little. Come on, let's get the gifts rolling. I'll have them crank up the heat!"

I still remembered when I first met her. She used to say she was allergic to spicy food. Even a little too much heat would make her face flush bright red.

But now? Not a hint of color. It was like she hadn't eaten anything spicy at all.

A bad feeling twisted in my chest.

The chat suddenly exploded.

[Look at that girl. Her whole face is red. She's burning up.]

[Burning or just desperate for attention? This is so gross. Sally's way better.]

On screen, I saw myself. I was flushed red from head to toe.

Breakouts spread across my face in seconds, and a sharp, uncontrollable pain stabbed into my stomach.

It felt like thousands of needles digging deep inside me. I doubled over, cold sweat soaking through my back.

I must've looked completely out of it, because I threw off the rhythm of Francis's stream.

His face darkened as he dragged me aside. "Do you have any idea what tonight is? We've got a deal with the sponsor. If the stream hits ten million viewers for thirty minutes, we get a hundred thousand dollar bonus!"

My whole body trembled from the pain. My nails dug into his arm. "Take me to the hospital. Now."

His gaze swept over me, cold and distant. There wasn't a trace of concern left, just annoyance.

"Kyla, if you keep pulling this jealous act, we're done."

Even as he said it, his eyes stayed fixed on Sally.

He mentioned breaking up as if it meant nothing.

I tried to explain, but another wave of pain crashed over me, worse than before. My vision went black, and I nearly passed out.

Then, something hit me. I turned to look at Sally.

While I had been talking to Francis, she had already finished an entire platter of spicy wings. Now, she was reaching for a second dish, slow-braised barbecue pork ribs, just piled high with an extra coating of spicy dry rub.

"Three carnival gifts, triple spice coming right up..."

I practically crawled over and grabbed her hand to stop her. "Sally, eating this much spice is bad for you. I'll treat you to something else, anything you want."

She looked torn. "Kyla, I already promised my viewers I'd finish all three dishes. Some big spenders just dropped a ton of gifts. I have to."

If I let her keep going, I would end up dead again, just like last time.

Then, I remembered something. I turned and asked the staff for three bottles of liquor.

"How about this?" I said. "You eat the spicy food, I'll drink instead."

She had a severe alcohol allergy. Even a sip could send her into shock.

There was no way she could stay calm seeing me hold those bottles.

However, she only glanced at me before turning back and continuing to eat.

My stomach was already in agony, but I forced myself to down a full glass of hard liquor.

Nothing happened to her. Not even a rash.

Maybe one glass wasn't enough. I grabbed the bottle and drank the whole thing.

Still nothing.

The pain in my stomach grew worse and worse until I couldn't take it anymore. I lunged forward and snatched her utensil away.

"Stop eating..." I begged.

But this time, Sally didn't play nice. She yanked it back, her tone turning sharp.

"Kyla, I know we're close, but this is my job. I hope you respect that. I'm not like you, with someone to support me. I have to work if I want to eat."

Just a few sentences, and she painted me as nothing more than a kept woman living off Francis.

The chat instantly turned on me, telling me to get out.

I tried to say something else, but Francis had already signaled his assistant to drag me away.

The moment we reached the corner, the pain in my stomach ripped through me like it was being torn apart.

My legs gave out, and I hit the floor hard.

Everything went black.

Somewhere far away, I thought I heard a voice message from Sally.

"Don't let her die. If she's gone, how am I supposed to stream? And make sure the visuals look good…"

When I came to, I was back home. I could hear Francis and Sally talking in the living room.

My stomach still ached faintly.

"Francis, Kyla cost me 30% of my revenue tonight. If she shows up and ruins my streams again, I won't go easy on her just because of you! Either you guarantee she stays out of it, or I'm switching agencies."

She was the company's top earner. There was no way Francis would let her walk.

He agreed immediately, saying that from now on, I would be locked inside the house whenever she streamed.

Fear crawled up my spine as I stepped back, accidentally kicking the doorframe.

Francis turned, his eyes cold. "Since you heard all that, remember this…"

I cut him off and rushed at Sally.

"Sally, you can't actually handle spicy food. You're just transferring the heat onto me, amplifying it a hundred times while you barely feel anything! My stomach is about to rupture from all the heat. You have to stop!"

She frowned, looking at me like I had lost it. "Kyla, are you sure you've got that right? You fainted earlier, so we took you to the hospital. The doctor said there's nothing wrong with you. Are you still out of it?"

I shook my head. "That's impossible."

In my last life, every time I collapsed, the doctors said it was from eating too much spicy food. They warned me never to touch it again.

So how could they find nothing now?

Seeing the confusion on my face, Francis threw the medical report at me. "Look for yourself. You're perfectly healthy."

I stared at the results from the endoscopy, completely frozen.

Why was everything different from last time? Unless...

I looked up at Sally and saw a flicker of provocation in her eyes.

She had come back, too.

That meant she knew what I was trying to do and had already taken precautions.

Was I really going to end up like last time, nothing more than a tool for her to make money and marry Francis?

No. I refused.

I turned and ran into the kitchen, grabbing a large bucket of pickled chili peppers.

I needed to prove to Francis that I wasn't lying.

These were insanely hot. No normal person could finish them.

If Sally could, then something was definitely wrong.

Before she could respond, Francis shoved me hard. The bucket burst open against me. Pepper juice splashed straight into my eyes, and they turned bloodshot in an instant.

Even Francis froze for a second before grabbing me. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to…"

He didn't get to finish.

Sally bent down, picked up a pepper from the floor, and popped it into her mouth.

"I'll do it. I'll eat them right now."

Ten minutes later, she had finished the entire bucket without a single reaction.

Meanwhile, I was writhing on the floor in agony. It wasn't just my stomach anymore; it felt like my whole body had been sliced open and soaked in chili peppers.

Francis called an ambulance right away.

But after every test they ran, the doctor's conclusion was nothing like what I expected.

"Sally has eaten a large amount of extremely spicy food and shows signs of chronic gastritis. She shouldn't be consuming this much spice at once. Kyla's stomach is empty, and everything looks normal. Gastro and neurological exams are both clear."

My heart sank.

She had actually managed to make it so nothing showed up on my tests.

But then, why did hers clearly show she had eaten spicy food? That didn't make sense.

Unless… She wasn't just transferring the heat. Maybe she could transfer physical conditions, too.

I was about to question her when Francis cut me off, his tone sharp. He pulled off my engagement ring.

"We're done! I'll have my assistant put out a ban. You're not allowed anywhere near the company or our streaming locations again."

No. We couldn't break up.

If we did, I would lose any chance of uncovering the truth.

Under Sally's mocking gaze, I forced myself to back down and admit I was just jealous.

"Francis, I know I messed up. Can we not break up? I…"

He shook my hand off, as if it disgusted him.

"I'm not asking. I'm telling you. If you hadn't pursued me for two years back then, I never would've gotten with you. Looking back, it was the worst decision I ever made. You don't deserve me. The only person I've ever loved is Sally. If you have any self-respect, pack your things and leave."

His words got harsher with every sentence. I had no choice but to pretend I didn't hear them.

The doctors and nurses nearby watched the whole scene unfold, already annoyed by all the rounds of tests I had ordered.

Now, the way they looked at me was even worse.

"Seriously, how can someone be this shameless? She just won't let go, no matter what."

"Well, look at the guy. He's tall, rich, and successful. Who wouldn't want that? I heard his streaming company pulls in a ton of money."

The company!

My eyes lit up. "Francis, when you started that company, every dollar came from me. If you insist on breaking up, then I'm taking it back."

Back then, he had insisted on signing an agreement to prove he wasn't living off me. The company was under my name, and I had 100% ownership.

His expression darkened instantly. "Kyla, you're ruthless. You can have my body, not my heart. The only person I love is Sally."

Hearing him confess to Sally with that kind of tenderness dragged me straight back to the days when he used to pursue me.

He probably didn't even remember.

I never chased him. He was the one who came after me.

After he made it big, people started joking that a girl with a regular salary couldn't have landed someone like him without trying hard.

Over time, even he started believing it.

Now that I had exposed it in front of everyone, he grabbed Sally and left without another word.

I turned and walked out of the hospital, too.

While Sally was getting checked earlier, I had caught a glimpse of something. If my guess was right, then everything finally made sense.

Half an hour later, I stood in front of a run-down orphanage on the edge of town.

It all came back to me.

I didn't let anything show. If Sally realized I had figured it out, she would destroy the evidence without hesitation.

I took a cab home like nothing had happened.

Sally and Francis were on the couch, wrapped up in each other like I didn't exist. They didn't even bother pretending when they saw me.

I acted like I hadn't noticed and went straight to my room.

The next morning, I realized the door was locked from the outside.

Francis had taken Sally to the national spicy eating championship.

This time, I didn't scream or fight as I had before. I sat quietly and opened his stream.

Unlike the other contestants who were shoving food into their mouths like maniacs, Sally didn't look right. She stared at the pile of chilli peppers in front of her, one hand pressed to her stomach. Her face was pale, her lips trembling.

"Sally, what are you doing?" Francis leaned in, his voice low. "Start eating. You're already behind."

She forced one pepper into her mouth.

The next second, her entire face flushed red. "Fr-Francis, my stomach hurts. Help me…"

Before she could finish, she coughed up a mouthful of blood, splattering the tablecloth in front of her.

The whole place erupted into chaos.

As the ambulance rushed her away, Francis finally unlocked my bedroom door. He stormed in, fury written all over his face.

"Kyla, what did you do?!"

I smiled faintly. "You tell me."