I was reborn.

My agent offered me a charity-based variety show, where I would be helping lonely and elderly people for two weeks.

Standing on the set of the program, I realized that I was reborn, and this show would become a turning point in my life.

My vision gradually cleared, and I saw Halle Robbins, the old lady who had condemned me to death in my previous life, standing in front of me as the person I would be helping.

The director urged me, "Leona, what's taking you so long? Just pick one!

"Don't delay the program's progress!"

Suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine. Memories of what Halle had done to me in my last life flashed through my mind. Whenever I met her gaze, I would feel an inexplicable fear and the urge to flee.

Halle was not technically a lonely and elderly person, as she lived with her son. However, her son had intellectual disabilities and relied on Halle for a living.

For the same reason, the production team allowed her to participate in the program to improve her living conditions while also using her son as a marketing tool.

In my previous life, Halle also stood there, lonely and pitiful, watching other "families" being chosen while she remained ignored. She clutched her clothes, looking lost and helpless.

At that time, I didn't have the heart to see her tattered clothes and chose her in the end.

Little did I know that she would trample on my kindness and deceive me so ruthlessly.

I took great care of Halle and her son, even renovating their house with my money to improve their living conditions.

I also bought Halle the latest mobile phone and taught her how to use it to alleviate her boredom.

She often sighed with emotion, "Leona, you are so beautiful, diligent, and filial. If only you could marry my son.

"I really wish you were my daughter-in-law!"

I thought she was just expressing her gratitude, but she turned out to be serious.

When I finished recording and was ready to leave the village, Halle said she wanted to meet me again. I had my agent, Alexia, bring me fifty thousand dollars in cash and plan to give it to Halle to improve her life.

However, the drink she offered me upon my arrival contained a sleeping pill.

She then left me to be raped by her mentally retarded son, Dennis Robbins, who took advantage of my unconscious state.

I tried desperately to resist even when I was in a daze, but I could not utter a single word. The only thing I could do was to shed tears of agony.

Halle, however, stood by like a demon, gleefully filming how Dennis raped me with the phone I had given her.

She muttered, "Good boy, try harder and give us some offspring!"

When the production team and police came to save me after realizing I had not returned, I had already been defiled countless times, seeming like a pile of mud thrown in a corner.

While they tried to take me away, Halle even lost her manners and refused to let me go.

She insisted, "She came to my house, so she is my daughter-in-law!

"If she didn't come to be my daughter-in-law, why did she come here and help us with chores and give us money?

"You're just jealous that I have such a beautiful and rich daughter-in-law, and you want to snatch her away!

"I'm telling you, no one should even think about it!"

After a long period of harassment, the mother and son were finally arrested, and I was taken to the hospital in the city for a medical examination.

I was determined to make them pay, but I didn't expect that they would not receive the punishment they deserved. In order to evade responsibility, Halle blamed all the faults on her mentally unstable son.

And as soon as she regained her freedom, she started searching for me all over the world and even posted the video of how I was raped by her son online, asking netizens to find her beloved daughter-in-law.

What was even more terrifying was that netizens managed to track down my phone number and send it to her, leading to incessant harassing calls from her end.

She said to me gloomily over the phone, "Do you know why I filmed the video?

"I just want everyone to see that you are no longer a decent woman, and no one wants you except my son.

"Now, my dear daughter-in-law, come back and give your mother a grandson, won't you?"

I was already filled with despair. Every time I opened my phone, all I saw was the video of me in the nude circulating online.

The people who once professed their love for me now spewed vulgar and obscene words.

"A complete 3R version."

"Princess, please share the resources."

"Leona Hansom may seem innocent, but little did we know that she had such a big appetite. She doesn't even mind sleeping with a fool."

"Come on, girl. Don't be with that fool! I'm here for you!"

But even so, due to Dennis's mental instability, my repeated attempts to seek justice were in vain. In the end, overwhelmed by grief and anger, I could only despairingly jump from the rooftop.

And my fiancé of seven years, Chasel Ford, took revenge for me by stabbing Dennis multiple times and was sentenced to death.

While my soul wandered, I saw Halle, with her son in tow, trying to claim my body.

"She is my daughter-in-law. Whether dead or alive, she belongs to our family!

"Leona Hansom, you belong to our family no matter what!"

All the past pain came rushing back, and the memories made me sick and filled with endless fear.

How I wished none of this had ever happened. And now, with the chance of a rebirth given by fate, it was meant for me to save myself.

Though I despised them to the core, Halle hadn't done anything now, so I couldn't unjustly accuse or blame her.

The only solution I could think of was to withdraw from the program and address the problem at its roots.

I firmly told the director, "Director, I refuse to shoot with Halle.

"I request to withdraw."

Upon hearing my words, Halle's eyes clouded with disappointment, and tears instantly welled up.

She said, "Director, since Miss Hansom despises me, I won't bother you here anymore.

"I'll go home first. My son must be hungry right now..."

Seeing Halle's pitiful expression made me nauseous, and I wished she would disappear from my sight immediately.

As Halle turned to leave, Doris Barnard, who was also participating in the program, stepped forward and held Halle's arm.

She comforted Halle softly, saying, "Mrs. Robbins, it's okay. Let me talk to Leona."

Doris, somewhat angry, said, "Leona, how can you treat an elderly person like this?

"Since you do so much charity work, why do you remain indifferent now that an elderly person who needs help stands before you?

"Could it be that all your kindness was just a facade for others?"

Doris was my best friend in the industry, yet I never expected her to accuse me out of the blue.

At that moment, I suddenly recalled my previous life. When I was trapped in the center of public opinion, she didn't even offer a word of comfort but was afraid that she hadn't kept enough distance from me.

Thinking of this, I no longer cared about our sisterly bond.

I said, "Since you're so kind and genuinely want to help Mrs. Robbins, why don't you live with her?"

Upon hearing my words, Halle looked expectantly at Doris, as if she was hoping that Doris would choose her.

A glimmer of cunning flashed in Halle's eyes. "Doris, you're such a good girl. Thank you for your concern."

Doris's expression instantly changed. While it was easy to exchange kind words, actually doing it posed a challenge for her.

After all, no one wanted to take care of an elderly person, not to mention attend to a mentally disabled man who couldn't even take care of his basic needs.

Doris was momentarily speechless, but she turned to the director for help immediately.

"Director, did you hear that? How can we continue the shooting if Leona keeps acting like this?"

The director furrowed his brows, appearing somewhat annoyed. Before he could speak, my agent, Alexia, took me aside.

With a hint of warning, Alexia said, "Leona, we had an agreement when you signed the contract. If you back out now, it will disrupt the filming process, you know?

"Do you realize how much money we'll have to compensate if we breach the contract?"

Although Alexia was blaming me, hearing her familiar voice made tears well up in my eyes, gradually moistening them. I couldn't help recalling how hard she had tried to solve my problem in my previous life.

I held Alexia tightly, telling her about the long and vivid nightmare I had just experienced.

After hearing about my suffering in the "dream", Alexia gently patted my back and said, "Leona, it was just a dream. Don't worry too much about it.

"Besides, the best way to face fear is to fight back!"

Her words made a lot of sense to me. If I were to back down now, Halle would be my lifelong nightmare.

In my previous life, they, Halle and her son, ruined my reputation and destroyed my family, but received no proper punishment. Now that I was given a second chance, the last thing I should do was to be a coward.

Since fate had favored me this time, I must make them pay the price and return everything they owed me.

After I was mentally prepared, I returned to the set and told the director, "Sorry I was in a bad mood earlier, Director. I apologize.

"I'm willing to spend these fifteen days with Mrs. Robbins."

Upon hearing my words, Halle wiped away her tears and smiled.

She quickly came over, took my hand, and said, "Leona, I always see your movies on TV, and I really like you.

"It's said you are beautiful and kind-hearted, but in my opinion, you are even better than what they say on TV!"

Perhaps out of caution, I had a feeling that her smile was forced and her enthusiasm was fake.

I took a step back, maintaining our distance.

When I saw her face, her malicious appearance from the past was still vivid in my mind. I didn't want to have too much contact with her.

Sensing my reluctance, she tactfully kept her distance, so I followed her to her house.

Returning to this den, my legs went weak, and every step I took became incredibly difficult.

As soon as I entered the house, a musty smell wrinkled my nose.

It was just like what I had seen in my previous life.

Halle's house was dirty and messy, with garbage thrown everywhere. Flies buzzed around, forming a swarm whenever someone walked by.

Halle's son, Dennis, sat amidst a pile of rubbish, stuffing something into his mouth with his hands.

Dennis was supposedly in his thirties, but he looked like a homeless man in his forties or fifties. His long, greasy hair hung in strands on his face. When he saw me enter, all he did was wear a dopey smile.

His face was covered in freckles, and perhaps due to intellectual issues, his laughter appeared strange, while his rough and greasy skin squished together.

A few unclear words squeezed out of his throat.

"Pretty... Girl... So beautiful..."

Recalling the scene from my previous life when he pinned me down, I could feel my stomach churning violently.

My blood was boiling, and I wished to strangle him. After calming down for a while, I forced a smile.

Seeing my abnormal reaction, Halle apologized embarrassingly, "Leona, I'm really sorry that my house is such a mess. I'll clean it up now."

She picked up a broom and sobbed as she told me about the hardships of raising her son alone all these years.

"Leona, I never meant to make the house so messy. It's just that my son left me no time to clean the house.

"I'll tidy up right away. Please don't mind us..."

Seeing the cameraman following behind, I hurried to grab the broom from her hand.

Continuing the conversation, I said to Halle, "Mrs. Robbins, please have a rest. Let me clean the house!"

Halle was instantly delighted. "Leona, you're so kind. Then I'll leave the housework to you!"

I nodded obediently and said, "Sure, Mrs. Robbins."

Halle lay leisurely on the bed, enjoying the time when she was served well. Soon, she fell asleep.

Seeing her asleep, I became even more motivated and cleaned the house until it was spotless.

I also threw away all the scattered cardboard boxes and plastic bottles.

When Halle woke up and saw the clean and tidy house, she exclaimed in surprise.

"Leona! What have you done?"

I approached her immediately with a smile and said, "I've cleaned the house up as you asked me to. Isn't it nice and clean now?"