The Influence I Couldn't Escape

To my dismay, my mom shot me a disapproving look. "Sienna, your luggage is already here, so just stay for now, alright? Moving everything back and forth is too much trouble. And it's just you and Annie in the dorm. She's such a nice girl. It'll be good for you to have each other for company."

I froze for a moment.

In the past, my mom would've immediately bought one the moment I said I wanted to move out. It wouldn't have mattered to her if there hadn't already been an apartment near the school.

Yet, she told me no despite already having a place waiting, simply because moving was inconvenient.

"And Sienna, I asked Annie just now, and she only gets 500 a month for living expenses."

My mom didn't even look at my expression as she continued speaking. "I thought about it, and giving you one million all at once is too much. It'll only encourage you to spend recklessly. I'll be giving you 500 as your allowance. I've also canceled your supplementary card."

"Mom, didn't you say the one million was to help me learn how to manage money? Even the allowance I got back in high school was more than 500."

I was utterly flabbergasted.

Even though this time she hadn't handed the money to Annie, it was obvious she was already being influenced. Still, I hadn't taken a single sip of that milkshake, barely even interacted with Annie. So… just what was going on here?

"Sylvan, didn't you say you had a gift for me on the first day of school?"

I could only turn to Sylvan. He'd been downstairs directing the staff moving the luggage and hadn't stayed in the dorm for long. He shouldn't have been affected.

"Don't worry, I didn't forget. Here's your gift."

I finally let out a sigh of relief when I saw the familiar indulgent smile on his face and the set of keys resting in his palm. It looked like he hadn't been affected after all. Maybe my mom hadn't either. Perhaps she'd just changed her mind on a whim after hearing Annie talk.

'Forget it. What matters is that they're okay. Worst case, I'll just get a part-time job and rent a place myself.'

I smiled and reached out to take the keys, but something felt off the moment they landed in my hand.

These weren't the keys to the car he had prepared for me.

They didn't even look like car keys.

"Sylvan, this is…"

"This? Annie mentioned just now that it's more convenient to ride an electric scooter around campus, so I picked up a secondhand one for you. What do you think? Pretty thoughtful of me, right?" he said proudly.

"But Sylvan, you know I don't even know how to ride one."

I couldn't understand it at all. I hadn't even known when Annie had spoken to him. I'd seen that car myself right after I finished the SAT. I knew what I saw. He'd kept it hidden on purpose, saying he wanted to save it for the first day of school.

He had said something about how special occasions should be celebrated.

So how had it turned into a secondhand scooter?

I felt panic rise in my chest upon hearing my mother and Sylvan constantly bringing Annie up. I was terrified they would fall even deeper into this thrall, so deep they wouldn't even care about their own safety anymore.

"Mom, I really don't want to stay in the dorm. Why don't you give me the keys to the apartment, and I'll move everything over by myself, okay?" I grabbed onto her arm anxiously, desperate to get her away from this hellhole as soon as possible.

Alas, my mom shook me off.

"Sienna, just stay here for now. Get along with Annie. I'm sure you two will become good friends. When you have time, you should bring Annie over as well."

Why? Why was this happening?

They had barely even spoken to Annie. Yet, shit had already hit the fan. It didn't matter how much I argued, as I couldn't change my mom's mind. To make matters worse, there were no spare dorm rooms available for me to switch into right now.

In the end, I had no choice but to stay.

She Still Made It Through

"Well, if it isn't Ms. Gavell. What are you doing here, shaking milkshakes?"

"Aren't you your family's precious little princess? Yet you're now stuck living in a dorm, can't even afford food, and have to work a job like this."

"Did your family company go under, or did that perfect image you worked so hard to build finally fall apart?"

I was working part-time at the time, trying to save up enough to move out and stay far away from Annie. I hadn't expected to run into my old high school classmates. They had never liked me back then. Now that they'd caught me like this, they didn't hesitate to pounce.

I didn't want to engage. I just focused on making their milkshakes as quickly as possible, hoping they'd leave.

However, they took my silence as avoidance and laughed even harder.

Then, they ordered 80 cups of whipped frozen lemonade. They even specifically requested that I be the one to make them.

"You were so cocky back in high school. This is what you get, Sienna!"

"Do it properly. I'll file a complaint if even one of them tastes off."

Right then, the boss showed up. The moment he heard about the large order of 80 cups, he immediately smiled and arranged seats for them.

Then, he turned to order me to finish everything quickly.

He even told me that I wouldn't pass the probation period if I mess things up, and that the past ten-plus days of work would go unpaid.

I wanted to throw everything down and walk out on the spot. However, the image of my family lying in pools of blood from my previous life flashed in my mind, along with the helplessness and despair I'd felt back then. So, I clenched my teeth and endured the humiliation.

I had to move out as soon as possible. I didn't even have the time or energy to argue, even if the boss had threatened not to pay my wages.

…

I worked until nightfall.

My arms were so sore I could barely lift them before finally finishing all 80 cups. I hadn't even had dinner, but I still had to listen to their endless mocking and nitpicking.

As I dragged my weary bones back, I happened to get a call from my mom. She asked if I'd eaten, if I'd been doing okay these past few days. When I heard her voice, all the frustration I'd bottled up that day came rushing out, and tears threatened to spill over.

I forced them back down, silently resolving to move out as soon as possible.

My mom and Sylvan seemed to be gradually returning to normal after returning home. They hadn't brought up the allowance or the car again, but they also hadn't mentioned Annie anymore.

Instead, they kept calling to check on me, especially after I'd said my throat wasn't feeling well a couple of days ago. After I saw the doctor, my mom even started texting me at every mealtime to remind me to take my medicine.

It seemed that they had simply gotten too close to Annie and couldn't avoid being influenced back then. Now that there was some distance between them, Annie's thrall on them was fading. It likely also helped that I hadn't drunk the milkshake this time.

My hypothesis was right. My family would return to normal as long as I stayed away from Annie.

Just when I thought everything was finally looking up, Annie suddenly dragged me over to show off her outfit when I walked into the dorm one day. Apparently, she was going to audition for a girl group reality show.

I immediately went on red alert.

In my previous life, her entry into the entertainment industry had started with that very show.

Back then, our family had nothing to do with the entertainment world. Yet, they had poured in everything they had just to secure resources for her. They even went as far as to jump to their deaths in a final act to generate publicity and buzz for her.

Otherwise, she would never have made a name for herself with her abilities.

This time, she shouldn't even have been able to pass the initial auditions without my family's help.

I quickly realized I was wrong.

That weekend, I decided to go home for a meal. After all, it had been a while. However, my mom insisted that I bring Annie along.

"Mom, Annie's been busy with audition rounds these past couple of days. She doesn't have time," I said casually, brushing it off. The last thing I wanted was for them to get close again.

"I know that show. Don't worry. Your dad has already connected her with the organizers. She'll definitely pass the auditions."

I froze on the spot.

"Mom… have you been in contact with Annie?" My voice was already starting to tremble.

"Of course. We added each other on WhatsApp the day school started. Oh, right, you might've gone to the restroom then, so you didn't know. Sienna, you were absolutely right to stay in the dorm. You would've missed out on meeting such a wonderful girl otherwise."

There was even a trace of fondness in my mom's voice as she spoke.

"But Mom, our family has never been involved in the entertainment industry." I still held onto a sliver of hope that she would give up helping Annie.

"We haven't, but your dad met someone connected to the show during his business trip a couple of days ago. And Sienna, you don't understand. Annie grew up without parents. It hasn't been easy for her to get this far.

"Now that she's your roommate, it must be fate. If I can help, I will," her tone grew increasingly sympathetic.

"No, you can't. That's basically helping her cheat. Annie's such an upright person! She wouldn't want to get in through the back door," I cut in quickly, grasping at any excuse I could find. I couldn't let them start helping her again.

Then, I softened my tone. "Mom, think about it. If you help her this time, what about next time? We can't support her forever. If she doesn't pass on her own ability this round, then getting eliminated in the next stage would just be false hope. She might even resent you for interfering."

It seemed that my words worked as my mom seemed to realize the problem and quickly said she wouldn't get involved anymore. I finally let out a long breath of relief.

Annie spent all her time on appearances, so she knew nothing about singing or dancing. Plus, her looks were nothing extraordinary. In my previous life, there was no way she would've become popular if our family hadn't spent so much money building her image and fighting for resources.

This time, she shouldn't even be able to step into the industry without anyone backing her.

My part-time wages finally came in right after dinner. I immediately packed up and moved out. Since Annie and I weren't even in the same major, we wouldn't run into each other in class either. I had truly distanced myself from her this time around.

I also used my mom's phone to delete Annie's WhatsApp contact, cutting her off from my family entirely.

I made more frequent trips home over the following days, making sure my mom had completely stopped contacting Annie. Not only that, but my mom and Sylvan eventually returned the one-million allowance and the luxury car to me.

They even gave me the keys to the apartment near school, telling me I could move out anytime I wanted.

I had completely escaped Annie's evil clutches, and my life returned to normal. Now that all that nonsense was behind me, my mood improved so much that even the air felt sweeter.

More than a month passed like this. One day, I was lying on my bed scrolling through my phone when a video suddenly caught my attention.

It was the girl group show Annie had auditioned for, and the contestants had already been selected. They had released clips from the preliminary rounds as part of the promotion.

I saw Annie in those clips. Still, what really caught my eye was the person who had been standing beside her in that fleeting shot. That was because that person looked like my mom.

'What the hell is going on?'