Chapter 1

1

My sister-in-law, Lulu, made a career out of being a professional airhead. She spent her days pouting, biting her lip, and playing the ditzy damsel in distress.

Right before my college graduation, she dumped my laptop into a bucket of water. My final thesis was destroyed, my hard drive was fried, and I was unable to graduate.

She just tapped her temple and stuck out her tongue.

"Oopsie! I'm just a little bit clumsy, Faye. You wouldn't actually be mad at me, right?"

On the day of my supposed graduation, she told the police she saw a hit-and-run. She pointed her finger at me, claiming I was the driver who fled the scene.

Overnight, I became the most hated person on the internet. Thousands of people doxed me, and my reputation was shredded.

When I tried to clear my name, she just twiddled her thumbs and looked at me with puppy-dog eyes.

"I didn't mean to do it, truly. I'm just a pretty girl with a slow brain. Everyone makes mistakes!"

I reached my breaking point and told her to get out of my house.

But my brother, Silas, stepped in to protect her. He kicked me so hard I flew down the stairs, and my world went black as my neck snapped.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day she ruined my thesis.

...

The house was chaotic as my family prepared for a big dinner. My mother grabbed me by the ear and yanked hard.

"Don't think you can slack off just because you're the only one with a fancy degree in this house!"

Silas and Lulu were lounging on the sofa, screaming at a video game. I could hear the digital explosions and their frantic laughter.

The phantom pain of my shattered bones still echoed in my mind. My body trembled instinctively, but the sharp sting on my ear snapped me back to reality.

I had been reborn.

Looking at this family of vultures, a wave of icy coldness washed over me.

I froze for a second, fully processing that I was alive again. Before I could say a word, my mother shoved me into the kitchen.

Lulu's fake, sugary voice drifted in from the living room.

"Mom, I really wanted to help, but I'm just so ditzy. I'm afraid I'd just mess everything up. Poor Faye, you're so hardworking!"

She followed it up with a playful wink and stuck out her tongue.

Silas didn't even look up from the screen.

"Why do you care about her? I'm not letting my precious wife touch any dirty dishes. That's what Faye is for. She can't just live here for free forever."

I saw my mother's face twitch with a flicker of annoyance.

Silas wasn't just saying I should be a slave. He was implying my mother should serve them too.

In my past life, I would have felt bad for her and taken over all the chores. But then I remembered how I died. When Silas kicked me down those stairs, my mother's first thought wasn't for my life.

She was worried her golden boy would go to jail.

The whole family had committed perjury, claiming I had simply tripped and fallen. They buried me like trash and focused on comforting my terrified brother and his sobbing wife.

I let out a cold laugh. No matter how much I sacrificed for this family, I would never be loved.

I silently started washing the vegetables without a word of protest.

My mother hovered near me, whispering venomously.

"I don't know why he married such a useless brat. All she does is wait to be fed like a baby. Any other daughter-in-law would be begging to please her mother-in-law."

I knew her game. In my last life, she used me as a weapon, venting her frustrations to me so I would start a fight with Lulu. Then, she would play the peacemaker and look like the hero.

This time, I was going to step back. I wanted to see how long their "harmony" would last without me as a buffer.