Part 1Reborn to Ruin the Home Wrecker

I got early admission to Stanford, but Mia begged me to give my spot to her.

When I refused, she cried, "Your family is rich. Going to Stanford is just the icing on the cake for you. But if I go, it could change my whole life..."

She even secretly opened my admissions packet. "You're so smart, even if you take a gap year, you'll still get into Stanford. But I only have this one chance..."

Just like that, my parents and my brother, whose hearts ached for her, forced me to step aside.

Later, on my way to enroll at Stanford anyway, I was crushed to death by a semi-truck.

After I died, I heard her crying in my brother's arms, "She only lost her life, but I lost my identity as a Stanford student..."

When I opened my eyes again, I was looking at Mia, who was timidly trying to please my parents.

I smiled.

In this life, as long as she's miserable, I'll be happy.

* * *

The gears of fate began to turn the moment Mia pushed open the front door of my house.

And thanks to her, after I died, I was reborn.

"Chloe! Don't just sit there. Come over and meet Mia. She's going to be part of our family from now on," my dad called out to me.

But Buddy, the golden retriever in my arms, barked aggressively at Mia, his hackles raised, just like in my previous life.

Mia's eyes welled up with tears, and she hid behind my older brother, Liam.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, I'm scared. Maybe I should just go back to my own house... sob."

Playing the victim to get her way again.

I couldn't help but sneer.

In my past life, the day after Mia arrived, my beloved dog, Buddy, whom I'd raised for three years, was crushed to pieces by a delivery truck.

I was too consumed by grief back then to think clearly. But looking back now, who else but Mia could have done it?

After all, Buddy had gone through two thousand dollars' worth of professional training. He was incredibly well-behaved and never ran out into the street.

Before my parents could scold Buddy, I cut them off:

"Mom, Dad, did you forget? You only agreed to let me bring Buddy home because he's a good guard dog. If he didn't bark, that would be a problem!"

My parents opened their mouths to speak but stopped themselves.

"Ah, right. Don't be scared, Mia. Buddy just barks at strangers. He'll get used to you."

Catching the word "strangers," I couldn't help but let the corners of my mouth curl up.

Mia bit her lip a little harder.

"Stranger"—that was the word Mia hated most in this life.

Meanwhile, my idiot brother, Liam, grabbed a water bottle and threw it at Buddy.

"Stupid dog, if you bark again, I'll eat you!"

Buddy whimpered and lay by my feet, looking full of grievance.

I rubbed his little head.

Mia's mother was my mom's best friend. Two days ago, she and her husband died in a car accident.

Rumor had it they were on their way to pick Mia up from dance class.

Unable to bear seeing Mia become an orphan, my parents brought her straight to our house. They constantly whispered in my ear about how pitiful Mia was and how I needed to let her have her way.

In my past life, I yielded to her at every turn, but it only made her bolder.

She used her manipulative, "pick-me" tactics to steal all the affection from my family, and eventually, she set her sights on my early admission spot to Stanford.

Because of that, I died a gruesome death in a car crash on my way to enroll.

Only after I died did I learn how despicable and cheap I was in Mia's stories.

Being reborn, if I let these idiots hurt me even a little bit, I'd have lived this second life in vain!