The day the Porter family went bankrupt, my elder sister, who had been engaged to Calvin Porter, claimed she was in love with someone else and cut ties with him without a second thought.

I was the one who stepped forward to take her place, becoming the laughingstock of our social circle.

I smoothed away all the hardness in him, tried to shape myself into the woman he liked, and swallowed countless moments of bitterness, hoping only to warm his distant heart.

Until our wedding day.

A car accident happened, and Calvin's first instinct was to shield my sister with his whole body.

"Rebecca, don't be scared. Where are you hurt? We'll get you to the hospital right away!"

He carried her into the ambulance without so much as glancing back at me.

I looked down at the iron rod piercing my chest and felt warm blood gush out.

It was only then I understood. He was not indifferent by nature, he was simply indifferent to me.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Calvin came to our house carrying the engagement gift.

The agony of the iron rod through my chest still lingered, and each breath felt like it tore me apart from the inside.

Just then, Rebecca Smith's voice, sweet and pleading, filled the room.

"Dad, I have someone else in my heart. Marrying him–I just can't do it."

In my previous life, I had fallen for her Oscar-worthy act and stepped in to take her place without a second thought. In this life, though, I refused to fall for it. I simply watched her perform, my lips pressed firmly in a tight line.

The room tensed up for a beat.

Dad–Nash Smith–knitted his brows, his mind obviously racing through the odds.

I braced myself for a repeat of the past, but then Calvin Porter's icy voice cut through the quiet.

He moved closer, his eyes briefly softening as they passed over Rebecca, then turned icy again when they landed on me.

"Mr. Smith, I didn't come here to talk about weddings."

Rebecca let out a relieved breath.

I blinked in surprise. Was it possible Calvin had a second chance at life too?

"And what brings you here?" asked Nash.

Calvin's face was a mask of humility. "The Porter family went broke, no longer fit for Rebecca. If I can't turn things around in three years, let's call off the marriage deal. Fair?"

The air shifted, charged with unspoken thoughts.

Rebecca drifted closer to me, as if by accident, and as she brushed by, my coffee cup tumbled to the floor.

She crashed down after it, a perfect picture of distress.

"Ahh!"

Her scream pierced the air, her hand turning a bright, angry red.

It all happened too fast for me to react.

A second later, I felt a heavy thud against my shoulder.

Stumbling backward from the forceful shove, a throbbing pain spread across my shoulder blades as my vision momentarily darkened.

"How could you be so cruel, Joanna?" he bellowed with fury. "I chose Rebecca. If you've got a problem, take it up with me. If you dare hurt Rebecca again, you and I are going to have serious issues."

I had never seen such raw anger in his eyes.

My heart clenched as if gripped by an unseen force, a pain sharper than the memory of a past life's car crash, where a metal rod had impaled me.

I let out a bitter chuckle. So, he had truly been reborn.

Digging my nails into my palms, the sharp sting helped me cling to the last threads of my composure.

Well, at least then he could openly stand by his precious Rebecca.

However, what he did not realize was that without that fool who was me, blazing trails and clearing hurdles for him, I wondered if he could find success so swiftly again.

Calvin then tenderly lifted Rebecca. Halfway up the stairs, he paused, turning to give me a look loaded with unspoken words.

As his silhouette vanished, I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and pushed down the ache in my heart.

I turned to Nash with a steady gaze. "Dad, I'm thinking of getting some experience at the branch office. Isn't the new company in Zephyr City understaffed?"

Dad's attention finally snapped back to me, and he swiftly nodded. "Sure, I'll have Mr. Wallace arrange everything necessary."

...

"Jo," Dad's voice was tinged with a weariness he tried to soften, "I'm sorry for being useless, for the hardships you've faced. Your sister has always been delicate. You're her younger sister… Could you maybe be a little more patient with her?"

He paused before adding, "I promise I'll make it up to you."

I kept my eyes downcast, concealing the scorn that flickered within them.

Make it up?

Such a hollow word.

I took his words to heart in my previous life, always stepping aside for Rebecca, always putting her first. I had believed that everything I had was thanks to her. Sadly for me, that only led to a grim end.

"Dad, I'm beat. If there's nothing else, I'm heading to my room," I said, my voice flat, giving away no hint of how I felt.

Dad looked like he wanted to add something, but he just waved me off. "Go on."

When I pushed open my door, there was Rebecca, lounging in my room, toying with the ceramic doll Mom and I had made.

It was not a masterpiece, kind of wonky, really, but it was the last piece of Mom I had.

Rebecca's face was twisted with undisguised contempt.

"Well, look who's here. Checking out this pathetic toy, just like your doomed-to-die-early mom, not worth showing off."

She laughed derisively. "Joanna, your mom was nothing but a homewrecker, and you've got the same cheap blood running through your veins. You and your mom have no business stepping foot in the Smith family's home."

Her words cut deep.

The truth was, it was Nash, the ultimate player, who had promised to marry Yessenia Lloyd for her family's clout.

However, he sweet-talked my naive mom, turning her into the joke of Cascade City's elite.

Mom passed away heartbroken, and I was branded 'the mistress's daughter', the Smith family's dirty little secret.

In my previous life, I clung to Mom's last words when she said, "Be patient, Jo. Be gentle on your sister. I'm the one who's failed you..."

I did just that, and what did it get me? A downfall with no coming back.

Thinking about that past life, the secrets I stumbled upon, I could not help but crack a wry smile.

I did not lose it right then and there. Instead, I took my time, closing in on her with each calculated step.

I leaned in, my voice a hushed whisper by her ear, "Imagine, sis, if Cascade City woke up to headlines screaming that the Smiths' precious Rebecca, the jewel they've doted on for over two decades, isn't actually a Smith by blood. What then?"

Rebecca froze, her body going rigid as the words sank in.

I stepped back, cocking my head to the side, taking in the sight of her pale, color-drained face.

With eyes wide in shock, she barely managed to stammer, "You... how did you find out?"

I reclaimed the ceramic doll from her grasp.

Cradling the doll, I gave my head a little tilt, my tone icy, "From now on, stay out of my room, and don't mess with me. Otherwise, I won't think twice about broadcasting your little secret to all of Cascade City."

Rebecca shot me a venomous look before staggering out of my room.

I set the porcelain doll down on the table, my fingers trembling uncontrollably.

...

In the dead of night.

I was yanked from my bed with brute force and slammed onto the freezing floor.

My knees and elbows screamed with pain.

I looked up to find my father's furious eyes on me, his words a torrent of anger.

"How vicious you are despite being so young, Joanna. You know your sister's allergic to acrylic; she can't even touch it.

"How could you leave that dirty thing in our home?! Were you trying to off her?!"

He was holding my porcelain doll.

"No, Dad," I pleaded, crawling toward him, pain forgotten in my desperation.

"It's not the doll. I swear it doesn't have any acrylic, it really doesn't!

"Please, just give it back to me, please? It's the only thing I have left from my mom!"

I tried to grab it, but he shoved me back hard, and I tumbled to the floor once more.

"No excuses!" Nash's fury was boiling over as he jabbed a finger at the doll.

"Ever since your sister came out of your room, she's been covered in rashes and can barely breathe. The doctor says it's an acrylic allergy. What else could it be, if not this junky toy?"

He lifted his arm.

"Please, no!"

Crash!

The porcelain doll lay in pieces before me.

"Mom… Mom!"

I crouched and shakily tried to gather the broken fragments. Alas, no matter how gently I tried, the doll was beyond repair.

It was not until the next day, when Rebecca walked by my room, that I started to snap out of it. I picked myself up off the floor.

I had someone clear out the room.

Silently, I moved to the desk, my eyes landing on the dusty family portrait.

There they were, Rebecca and Nash. Her smile was so bright that it hurt to look at.

Outside, the sky was a menacing shade of gray.

I set the photo on fire with a lighter, and I watched in silence as it turned to ash.

...

In the days that followed, I kept my tears and tantrums to myself. Slowly but surely, I let out the news and proof of my dad ditching his first love.

Seeing him run around like a headless chicken gave me a twisted sense of satisfaction.

By the time I left Cascade City, Rebecca and Nash's world had crumbled.

The day before I took off, Calvin showed up at the Smiths'.

"Heard you're heading to Zephyr City," he said, his voice so flat I could not read him.

"Yeah," I muttered, not even looking up as I shuffled through some papers that did not matter anymore.

He took a step closer, and I could feel the weight of an unseen pressure bearing down on me.

"Zephyr City's a real maze, with secrets as deep as the ocean. Wouldn't you rather stay in Cascade City? I'm here, at least." There was a worry in his eyes that I did not recognize.

I swiftly, icily replied, "I can handle myself, Mr. Porter. You should save your concern for yourself."

A dark cloud passed through his eyes before he grabbed my arm, his grip so tight that it felt like my bones might snap.

"Joanna, you can ask me for one favor–as long as it doesn't hurt Rebecca. I owe you that much."

I looked down, thinking to myself, 'Yeah, you owe me big time, from a whole other life.'

Right then, Rebecca strolled up, all smiles, hooking her arm through Calvin's. "Calvin, Jo, what's all the serious talk about?"