Chapter 1 - A Smile at the Funeral

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...“The moment I woke up in my 18-year-old body, I didn’t cry. I laughed. Because this time… I get to destroy you all with style.”...

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They say when you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes.

Lies.

All I saw was the blank, white ceiling of a private hospital room, and the smug smile of my so-called sister—Zara Lin, the biological daughter who came back and took everything I had.

I died unloved. Unwanted. Forgotten.

I had sacrificed my youth, my dreams, and even my self-respect for a family that tossed me aside the moment their “real daughter” returned. I gave up scholarships to manage the company Father handed to me. I ran the household like Mother asked. I even smiled through the pain when my fiancé—Julian Han, the man I thought loved me—proposed to Zara in front of me like it was a favor.

And in the end, I died alone, coughing blood, while they argued outside over who should inherit my shares.

Pathetic.

But the real joke?

I opened my eyes… and it was seven years ago.

The day of Grandfather’s funeral.

The day everything started crumbling.

⸻

The heavy scent of incense snapped me from my thoughts. My black lace dress clung uncomfortably to my skin. A younger version of myself stared back at me from the mirror—eighteen years old, wide eyes, flawless skin, no signs yet of the stress and betrayal that would age me before my time.

I smirked.

So we’re doing this again, huh?

From downstairs, I could hear the soft murmurs of relatives gathering. Hypocrites, the lot of them. Pretending to grieve, while secretly calculating what they could gain from Grandfather’s passing.

I moved with practiced grace down the stairs, but this time… there was steel in my spine.

Let them look. Let them whisper. I was no longer the docile “fake heiress” desperate for love.

As I descended, I locked eyes with Zara, standing at the front door with a hand on Julian’s arm. She was beautiful, delicate—exactly the kind of daughter my parents wanted. She hadn’t even returned home yet in this timeline. But soon, she would.

Not this time.

My steps faltered just for a second.

Julian.

He looked at me as he always had—like a man admiring something he owned. In the past, I would have lowered my eyes, blushed, let his charm fluster me.

Now? I smiled. Not shyly. But like I already knew his bank account balance, his secrets, and just how quickly his precious company would fall if I decided to make one phone call.

“Julian,” I said, with a slight tilt of my head. “Still clinging to my family’s name, I see.”

He blinked. “…What?”

“Oh, nothing.” I brushed past him, my voice light. “Don’t mind me. I just woke up feeling strangely… generous today.”

Zara’s smile faltered. Her instincts were sharp. Good. She should be scared.

Because this time, I wouldn’t be fighting for their affection.

I would be fighting for their ruin.

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