In my previous life, my best friend gave me a lock-shaped good-luck pendant. I never expected that once I put it on, it would never come off. Soon after, I came down with a fever that lasted seven days straight.

When I finally woke up, everything in my life began to fall apart. Misfortune followed me everywhere.

That was when I discovered the truth—I had swapped fates with her husband. He would get my wealth while I would get a short, ill-fated life.

From then on, the two of them lived a life of effortless wealth, making money without even lifting a finger. Meanwhile, I sank into poverty, plagued by constant bad luck. I struggled through life and did not even make it to 30 before I was killed in a car accident.

As I died, my mentally disabled younger brother cried out and rushed in front of me to shield me. However, he could not stop the incoming vehicle, and we died there together.

When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn back to the moment she was about to put the pendant on me.

I let out a cold smile and pondered. Since she was so desperate to steal my wealthy fate, then she could have a XYY husband instead.

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”

With a loud bang, the door flew open. My best friend, Zoe Walker, walked in holding a cake with lit candles. Only then did the rest of our roommates realize it was my birthday.

“Oh my god, Zoe! You’re so thoughtful!”

“I’m so jealous Maisie has a best friend like you.”

Zoe suppressed the smug look on her face and pretended to be shy. “Oh, it’s nothing. Of course, I should treat Maisie well.”

She handed me a gift box and asked me to open it. Inside was a gold lock-shaped good-luck pendant.

Everyone gasped. “That must have cost a fortune!”

In my previous life, I was pleasantly surprised that Zoe even remembered my birthday. Seeing such an expensive gift moved me even more. However, I had not known then that the pendant was a cursed one! Once worn, it would swap my fate with her boyfriend’s!

Back then, I ran a high fever for an entire week. There was no warning, no explanation. Even the doctors were helpless.

After I recovered, everything in my life started going wrong. I fell into poverty and constant misfortune. I could barely even afford food.

Meanwhile, her husband began living a charmed life—finding money on the street, winning the lottery, and enjoying endless good luck.

I only managed to live ten more years before I was hit by a car.

As I lay dying, a fortune teller who had once read my fortune happened to pass by. He said my fate should have been one of unimaginable wealth and prosperity. How could it have ended so tragically?

That was when I finally realized the truth. My fate had been stolen the moment Zoe put that lock on me when I was 20.

A ruthless gleam flashed across Zoe’s eyes, but she gently held out the lock.

“Maisie, let me help you put it on. I spent so long picking out this gift. It’ll definitely suit you.”

My heart jolted. The lock had been specially crafted and fitted. Once it was on, I would never be able to take it off for the rest of my life.

I quickly stepped aside to avoid her.

She froze for a moment, then immediately looked hurt. “Don’t tell me you don’t like the gift I got you? I saved up my allowance for half a year just to buy it.

“Forget it. I’m used to people not liking me anyway. My gift is probably trash too, so, of course, you’d reject it.”

As soon as she said that, our roommates immediately felt sorry for her and started criticizing me.

“Maisie, she put so much thought into that gift! How heartless can you be to ignore her like that?”

“I seriously misjudged you. In that case, we won’t give you any gifts either.”

Left with no choice, I said I appreciated both the gift and her intentions, but I was already wearing a necklace.

Zoe’s eyes reddened. “The one I'm giving you is more expensive than that. Doesn’t it deserve a place around your neck?”

Just then, Miles Gray's rough voice came from downstairs. “Maisie! C-Come down!”

It was my brother.

Only then did I remember that my family had planned to take me out to celebrate my birthday. I used that as an excuse to slip away downstairs.

However, Zoe followed me and grabbed my arm. “Maisie, just try it on. I promise you’ll like it!”

Even though I had already accepted the gift, she looked determined not to give up until she personally put it on me.

Miles’ eyes widened, and he suddenly shoved Zoe aside.

“She already said she doesn’t want to wear it. Stop bothering her!”

Zoe was startled for a moment and stood there frozen.

I quickly made an excuse that I had something to do and pulled my brother away.

However, I never expected her to make a post about my brother on the campus' online forum. The photo attached was taken by a passerby.

It captured the moment my brother pushed her away. Her face was full of shock and panic.

The caption read: [I was just trying to give her a gift out of kindness, but her brother yelled at me. Am I really the one in the wrong here?]

Several comments under the post were clearly stirring things up:

[This guy has XYY syndrome. His brain’s messed up. You're beautiful and kind. Stay away from your best friend.]

[Isn’t he one of the Gray’s family… Honestly, every time I see her brother, I get creeped out.]

[Why is he even alive? Someone should just take him out!]

The post was going viral, obviously being artificially boosted. Hundreds of comments piled up instantly, all attacking my brother and I.

A few of the comments turned out to be from Zoe’s alternate accounts. The comment threatening to take out my brother was from Zoe’s boyfriend himself.

I trembled with rage.

Miles had shown no signs during prenatal checks. By the time he was born and diagnosed with XYY syndrome, it was already too late.

Even with all his issues, our family had never given up on him.

Yet now, under Zoe and her boyfriend’s influence, he was facing this kind of online abuse.

I looked at the cursed lock pendant and, suddenly, a thought struck me.

Still, I did not know if it was right or wrong. Did I really have the right to decide someone else’s life?

Miles sat on the couch. His eyes were vacant as drool dripped from his mouth. His eyes were set far apart, and his pupils were unusually small, giving him a somewhat unsettling appearance at first glance.

All these years, our family barely let him go out alone. If we could, we would have him chained for safety. Our mother had even quit her job just to stay by his side.

I hesitated for a moment and murmured to myself, “Is this really the right thing to do? If I give you Lucas’ fate, you’ll become normal, but you won’t live past 35… Yet if I leave things as they are, when you grow older…”

In my previous life, Miles lived his entire life with his disability and got mocked wherever he went. He would tremble around strangers and lock himself in his room in anger, leaving himself bruised and bleeding.

Lucas’ fate might not bring wealth, but he would live a peaceful and uneventful life.

Now that I was faced with this choice, I did not know what to do.

Miles, for the first time, said, “Go… Go ahead, Maisie…”

I froze for a moment, suddenly realizing he was actually responding to me.

Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. Being trapped in that body had to be far more painful than I could imagine. Hence, I solemnly placed the lock pendant on him.

As graduation approached, Zoe had already secretly registered her marriage with Lucas because she did not want to spend money on a wedding banquet.

Two years earlier, Zoe and I came across a fortune teller.

He marveled at my fate, claiming that every aspect of it was full of wealth. He said I would have 30 years of great luck after graduating, with both expected and unexpected income flowing in. I would practically be making money while lying in bed.

Zoe refused to believe him at that time. However, everything he predicted for me came true over the next two years.

She had probably been coveting my fate for a long time.

In my previous life, she stole my wealth and lived in luxury for the rest of her days, while I died a premature death because of her.

This time, it was her turn to pay the price.

I would give her a husband with XYY syndrome and see if she could handle it!

I went to a jewelry store and bought a lock pendant that looked exactly the same, then wore it myself. That finally shut those people up.

Zoe happily took a photo with me and posted it on social media. Her caption clearly carried a hidden meaning: [Good luck stands by my side.]

Lucas commented underneath: [Honey, just wait. I’ll get rich and take care of you! (Thumbs up emoji)]

She replied: [Okay, honey. (tongue-out emoji)]

I was curious to see how exactly they planned to get rich.

…

Just when I thought everything was going smoothly, the same signs from my previous life started appearing. I had a high fever that would not break, my throat was hoarse, and I was bedridden. How could this be happening?!

My anxiety grew each day.

Fate was unpredictable.

If fate had destined me for unexpected wealth, then every time I tripped outside, it would be over a pile of gold!

Still, if I had really swapped fates with Lucas again, then what was the point of my rebirth?

The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became, and there was no one I could confide in.

Meanwhile, Zoe grew annoyed with me after she saw me with the pendant. She even moved out of the dorm and did not bother pretending to be polite anymore.

Everyone Zoe met, she would tell them, “I had someone read her fortune. Maisie’s future is cursed. She’s sickly. Stay away from her.”

I clenched my teeth and propped myself up despite being weak and feverish. I went to see the fortune teller who had read my fortune in my previous life.

After hearing the full story, he told me that there was definitely something I had not noticed yet, and I needed to go back and search carefully.

I had no choice, so I dug through every gift Zoe had ever given me, but I found nothing.

Just when I was about to give up, I shook a pillow, and a tiny paper figure floated out. Its face was drawn to resemble Lucas, and his birth details were written on the back!

The fortune teller exclaimed, “That’s it! The lock and the paper figure work together, and since you've touched the lock, the effect on you is stronger. Luckily, you found it early.”

I broke out in a cold sweat.

That same day, I slipped the paper figure under Miles’ pillow and instructed my parents to watch him while he slept.

The next day, my fever gradually subsided.

This time, I was determined to see how Zoe could enjoy her fortune as she did in my previous life.

…

Soon enough, Miles caught a fever, which scared my parents. They wanted to take him to the hospital, but I stopped them. I promised them that this fever would pass and they would have a normal son soon.

My parents hesitated for a moment, still in disbelief.

After all, Miles had been mentally disabled for almost 20 years!

To keep Zoe from suspecting anything, I pretended to still be sick and texted her: [Can you bring me lunch?]

She did not even bother pretending. [Don’t you have hands? Am I your mom or something?]

Me: [I thought we were best friends. Why are you treating me like this just because I’m sick?]

Zoe: [Best friend, my ass! I’ve hated you for ages! Consider us done!]

Me: [What did I ever do to you?]

The last message failed to send.

She blocked me.

I took a screenshot of the conversation and posted it to my social media.

[My best friend won’t even bring me lunch when I’m sick, and she blocked me. I can't help but feel hurt!]

Comments flooded in immediately:

[Wow, she’s really like this behind the scenes. No wonder…]

[This woman’s such a drama queen. Two-faced! Who would want to be friends with her?]

On the bright side, I also got a lot of supportive messages from kind strangers.

An hour later, there was a loud knock at the door.

Zoe opened it, clearly annoyed, and tossed the packaged lunch onto my desk.

“There, happy now? You’re such a drama queen. I swear, delete that post or I’ll rip your mouth apart!”

She had exerted too much strength when tossing it. The oats spilled all over my desk and dripped onto the floor.

I took a photo of the mess and posted it:

[My so-called best friend deliberately spilled my lunch all over my desk and even threatened to rip my mouth if I said anything else. What do I do? Can I even still be friends with her?]

A bunch of comments called her a gangster and even gave her the nickname ‘Mouth-Slasher'.

In no time, she was famous, and people talked about her with sarcasm.

My phone would not stop buzzing. Zoe was furious. She called me nonstop, trying to get in touch. However, I declined expressionlessly and blocked her.

I secretly went to the hospital to check on Lucas. Sure enough, Zoe was there, clutching her phone in frustration.

“Look at her! She’s ruining my reputation! That horrible woman! I hate her!”

Lucas tried to calm her, “It’s okay, honey. The fortune teller said the fate swap is in progress. Just wait for a few more days. I’ve got her fate. We’ll never run out of money.

“I’ll take you shopping for houses, cars, planes, and yachts! Will you still care about something this small then?”

Zoe was mesmerized by his promises and held her breath. “Honey, promise me you’ll love me forever.”

“Of course.”

I secretly let out a cold laugh. Unfortunately, their wishes were doomed from the start. Nothing came without a price in this world.

After all, every gift that fate promised would come with a hidden cost.