In my past life, I helped my impoverished boyfriend rise to become the richest man in Americas. But once he achieved success, he repaid me by burning me and our child alive.

After my death, I saw him embracing the daughter of our family's maid and heard him say, "It's wonderful that she's finally gone. Now we can be together openly. I've had enough of her snobbish ways!"

As if that wasn't enough, the maid then poisoned my parents slowly, causing them to become bedridden and suffer abuse before they tragically passed away.

My rage was overwhelming, but I was powerless.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in my college dorm. The campus beauty roommate was showing off again. "We've just installed an outdoor air conditioner by the pool at my place. You're all invited to come and have some fun!"

The other roommates were thrilled. I picked up the phone and called home, saying, "Dad, Africa is experiencing a deadly heatwave. Let's not use the pool this summer. We'll donate the savings on electricity to the African refugees!"

I thought, This time, I'll make sure you two venomous people get what you deserve, locked away in your own little world.

——

As soon as I walked into the dorm, I overheard a group of roommates chattering excitedly about their summer plans.

Jennifer Minogue, brimming with pride, announced, "We've just installed an outdoor air conditioner by the pool at my place. You're all invited to come and have some fun!"

Her announcement was met with enthusiastic cheers from the others.

"Wow, Jennifer, that sounds amazing! I can't wait to show off on social media!"

Her sidekick, Lillian Quentin, played the role of the clueless one. "Jennifer, what exactly is an outdoor air conditioner?"

Jennifer put on a modest act. "It's the same kind of outdoor air conditioner we used during the World Cup."

The others immediately chimed in, "That must have cost a fortune!"

"Not just expensive—it's tough to even hire those guys. You need to have the right connections!"

"Will there be any handsome guys around?"

Jennifer blushed and said shyly, "I'll invite a few guys over. If any of you have boyfriends, you're welcome to bring them too…"

"Fantastic! I'm going to pick out some sexy swimsuits right away!"

Normally, I would have skipped this, but this time, I not only planned to go, but I also intended to bring my boyfriend along.

So, I immediately agreed, "No problem!"

The other roommates glanced at Jennifer and then at me, their displeasure evident.

As I left, I heard them protesting. "Jennifer, why invite her? She's such a mess."

"Yeah."

Jennifer, looking a bit hurt, said, "It wouldn't be right not to invite her. She's one of us…"

The others responded, "Jennifer, you're too kind. On the day of the party, we'll make sure to keep an eye on her and not let her swim."

I didn't care at all. As soon as I was out the door, I called my dad. "Dad, it's scorching hot in Africa, and a lot of people are suffering. Let's skip the pool this summer. We can donate the savings on electricity and water to the African refugees!"

My dad agreed right away, praising me for being considerate of global issues.

With no water or electricity at the pool, they could roast under the sun!

In my past life, Jennifer's mother worked as a maid in my family's old mansion—a place my parents and I rarely visited.

It was practically a storage facility for our discarded items.

Her mother often stole my old clothes for Jennifer, who flaunted them at school, pretending to be a wealthy socialite.

Jennifer even brought her classmates over to our mansion for playdates.

I was aware of this and turned a blind eye. The clothes were no longer useful to me, and I figured it didn't hurt to let them enjoy the mansion.

It wasn't until after my death that I discovered Jennifer had been involved with my husband, Laird Borden, long before I knew.

Laird, now my current boyfriend, was a poor student in my past life. He had thought Jennifer was wealthy and started an affair with her behind my back. When he realized she was the daughter of a maid, he ended up marrying me instead.

After marrying me, he found Jennifer's lack of demands and her submissive attitude appealing, and she became his idealized "dream girl." He continued his affair with her behind my back.

Later, when I supported Laird in becoming the richest man in Americas, he repaid me by burning me and our daughter alive in the mansion.

After my death, I saw him cradling Jennifer and heard him say, "It's great that she's finally gone. Now we can be together openly. If it weren't for her using her influence to force me into marriage, I would never have stayed with her for so long! And that daughter of hers, every time I see her, I'm reminded of how dark my life used to be. I'd like to throw her off a cliff!"

I finally realized how heartless he was. I was filled with rage, but as a mere spirit, I could only watch helplessly as they enjoyed their happiness, unable to do anything about it.

But that was not all. I watched in horror as Jennifer and her mother poisoned my parents with a slow-acting toxin. They were reduced to a pitiful state of dementia, utterly dependent, and stripped of all dignity, suffering from constant abuse until they met a tragic end.

The agony was beyond anything I could bear. I blamed myself for being blind enough to let these vipers into our lives and causing their suffering.

Thankfully, I'd been given a second chance at life. In this new existence, I am determined to make sure that these vile individuals face the harshest justice.

As planned, I took Laird to my family's swimming pool for the much-anticipated get-together.

Five hours earlier, he'd been obsessively picking out swim trunks, asking me which one looked the best.

If this were my past life, I might have thought he was trying to impress me, but now it was clear he was dressing for Jennifer.

When he wasn't looking, I rolled my eyes. "Jennifer likes red, right? You should wear the red ones today since it's her party."

"Really? She likes red? I think I saw her wear a red dress once," he said, suddenly excited, "I'll just hang up and buy a red one. Babe, can you give me more money so I can buy a red one. I can't let you down, right? I need to look good!"

I thought, So, he's been paying attention to what she wears, huh? Great. Now I'll just be his wallet.

"Um… I'm out of cash this month. How about you buy it first, and I'll pay you back next month?"

"Sure! But don't you forget, okay?"

I thought, What a cheap guy! He can't even buy his own swim trunks without relying on a woman for funding. All he does is scam me for cash!

On the day of the party, everyone except for me showed up in swimsuits.

Jennifer shot Lillian a glance, and Lillian instantly knew what to do.

"Wow! Your sugar daddy is so loaded, yet he can't be bothered to buy you a bikini? I could have gotten you one if I'd known!" Lillian snickered, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

I raised an eyebrow, thinking, What's with this "sugar daddy" nonsense? I didn't even attend her last pool party, so I had no clue about all this.

Everyone's gazes turned oddly toward me, but I could hardly focus on them when I was eager to see what would unfold.

When they finally laid eyes on Laird's red swim trunks, they burst into laughter. Those trunks had a massive logo right on the back, perfectly emphasizing his rear end.

His behavior reminded me of a saying. "Among a bunch of monkeys, I've got the reddest butt."

To my disbelief, Jennifer even praised the red color, saying it suited him well. Laird was over the moon, strutting around like he owned the place.

But the heat outside was unbearable, and the pool was bone dry.

"Hey Jennifer, what's up with your pool? There's no water, and it doesn't look like the AC is running..." one of the guests remarked.

Lillian shot me a knowing glance and quipped, "Maybe it's because an unlucky person showed up, causing both the pool and AC to quit working."

The complaints started rolling in, and Laird jumped ship to join Jennifer's side. "If I'd known you were coming, I would've come alone," he grumbled, clearly regretting bringing me along.

Jennifer, feeling the pressure, quickly called the maid over. "Why is the pool empty? The AC isn't even on! Did you not realize I was hosting guests today?"

Her mother stepped in, bowing slightly to Jennifer. "The master said that the African refugees are struggling, so we're saving on water and electricity to donate to them."

Everyone paused for a moment, processing this. Lillian quickly jumped in to flatter her, "No wonder Jennifer is so beautiful and kind-hearted; with such upbringing, it makes sense!"

The others chimed in, "Yeah, it's clear that's why Jennifer's family is so wealthy. Being kind is the key to making money!"

Then they glanced at me, their looks loaded with insinuation. "Unlike some people who are always looking for shortcuts!"

I thought, What are they even talking about? I didn't take any shortcuts!

I shot back, "What shortcuts? You've seen everything!"

Silence fell between us as they exchanged looks and began to pull away, creating distance between themselves and me.

I thought, Fine! If they didn't want to be my friends, I wasn't losing sleep over it. I have plenty of friends as it is.

As the realization set in that swimming wasn't happening, everyone started trickling out.

Just then, my dad, Clarke Kent, sent the family driver, Logan Allen, to pick me up, giving me the perfect excuse to leave this absurdity behind.

I made sure to check with Laird whether he wanted to come with me. With a smirk, he replied, "What would I do tagging along with you? I think I'll stick around and tour Jennifer's place instead!"

When the Bentley pulled up, Lillian let out an exaggerated gasp. "Look at that! Claiming she's not being sponsored, but here comes an old guy to pick her up. How shameless!"

I had pressing work matters, so I didn't bother to explain and hurriedly got into the car.

Poor Logan, the driver, had a look of frustration on his face. Once we were on the road, he turned to me and said, "Ms. Kent, could we maybe switch to someone else picking you up next time? If my wife finds out, she'll have my head."

I chuckled softly and replied, "Sure thing."