Chapter 2

2.

But I was wrong. I didn't die.

It turned out the vendor who sold the poison was a scammer who had watered it down to save money.

The vendor even showed up at the hospital with a fruit basket, clutching his chest.

"Good heavens, kid! Thank God I'm a greedy crook and watered that stuff down, or I'd be paying for your funeral right now."

Jasper was sitting next to me, his eyes red as if he'd been crying.

"I was just joking with you. Why did you actually drink it?"

"Zoe, since when did you become so fragile?"

The original Zoe wasn't fragile.

She was a dedicated villainess whose only purpose was to frame the heroine and die.

The heroine was Chloe Gardner. Recently, Zoe had tried to sabotage her exams by putting laxatives in her food.

However, Zoe had gotten scared halfway through and swapped the tainted food for a normal meal.

Chloe still ended up with a stomachache and missed the exams anyway.

That only meant one thing―she was faking it!

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Jasper walked over, a flicker of genuine worry in his eyes.

In the story, Zoe loved to prank him when they were kids, so he grew up hating her.

As an adult, he targeted her at every turn.

He was a teacher at our school and constantly framed me for cheating.

Because of him, our parents beat me regularly.

I didn't want to deal with him; I was too busy figuring out how to finish the job.

The original Zoe was supposed to die today.

Only by dying could I return to my own world.

"Talk to me!"

Jasper grabbed my hand, trying to force a reaction.

I shoved him away with all my strength, sending him crashing to the floor.

"Get out."

"What do you think you're doing?"

Xander suddenly stormed in and slapped me again.

"How dare you push Jasper?"

This was the eldest Yates brother.

He had always been the silent, cold type who ignored me.

He only started showing a bit of kindness when we got older.

But that kindness vanished the moment Chloe arrived.

Chloe was the daughter our parents adopted, and the second she stepped into the house, everyone adored her.

I guess that's what happens when you have a heroine's halo.