Chapter 2

2

I was about to say "do whatever you want," but then I remembered how she framed me.

I pretended to play with my phone while secretly hitting the record button on my voice memo app.

"Lacey, I'm honestly a bit worried. Some wild mushrooms are toxic. Maybe it's better not to risk it."

Lacey's face soured instantly. She claimed she was an expert because she'd eaten them since she was a toddler.

I kept up the act of being a cautious coward, advising her a few more times. This only made her angrier.

"If you don't believe me, come to the mountains with me and watch me pick them!" she yelled.

Lacey came from a family that favored boys over girls. She only made it to college because a local charity funded her.

If it weren't for that, her parents would have traded her off for a wedding settlement years ago.

The compliments from the students today had given her a massive ego boost.

I shrugged. "I won't go. I can't tell the difference between edible and poisonous ones. But I still think you should stop."

As expected, Lacey accused me of being jealous of her success and trying to block her path to wealth.

It's hard to save someone who is hell-bent on their own destruction. And honestly, I didn't want to save her.

She deserved what was coming.

I looked at her with a blank expression. "My family has plenty of money. Why would I be jealous? Whether you sell them or not has nothing to do with me."

I tucked my phone away, feeling satisfied as I watched her fuming.

Now I had evidence. Let's see how she tries to frame me this time.

Lacey was stunned. She hadn't expected the usually sweet Sonya to be so blunt.

Just then, our other roommate, Haya, walked in. Sensing the tension, she asked what was going on.

Lacey started crying, claiming I was trying to stop her from making a living.

Haya frowned, her thin eyebrows knitting together. "Sonya, why are you always picking on Lacey?"

I was speechless. In my last life, when the angry parents were attacking me, Haya and Lacey just stood by and watched.

I didn't bother explaining. I packed my things to head out.

Before the door closed, I heard Haya comforting Lacey. She was already raving about how delicious the mushrooms were.

As predicted, Lacey took Haya to the mountains once. After that, they started selling mushrooms together all over campus.

A few people questioned if they were safe. Haya would jump up and swear she saw Lacey pick them personally.

She called Lacey a foraging master. Watching her walk into the trap, I knew Lacey must be laughing inside.

In my last life, Lacey used me as her shield in the same way.

Lacey tried to recruit Jessa, but Jessa was too busy with her pre-med studies to care.

I was completely isolated. Every day, I watched them count their cash in the dorm.

Lacey's mushrooms became a campus sensation. Her trips went from every three days to every single day. Eventually, her whole family got involved.

She became a celebrity on campus. Everyone waved to her in the hallways.

She was riding high, her posture more confident than ever.

Every time I saw students buying bags of those mushrooms, I prayed they wouldn't get the toxic ones.

In my last life, I tried to warn them, but no one listened to a quiet girl like me.

Instead, Lacey held a grudge and threw me to the wolves when things went south.

This time, I was going to cherish my second chance. I wasn't going to let my mouth get me in trouble.

I couldn't stand being in the same room as them, so I decided to move out.

One day, I went back to the dorm to grab some makeup. I heard Lacey and Haya talking inside.

I was about to open the door when I heard my name.

Haya was praising Lacey's business mind, saying I was probably crying in a corner somewhere.

Lacey scoffed, calling me a fake rich girl. She said I didn't even own any real designer labels.

She even started a rumor that I only moved out because I found a sugar daddy.