Before Mom remarried, she gave my sister and me a house each. My sister chose the sprawling estate in the Hollywood Hills. I was forced to accept the rundown, cramped apartment in Downtown LA. Later, my sister set her sights on the ascetic, untouchable old-money heir living next door to the estate. After failing to seduce him multiple times, she lost her mind and tried to steal his company's highly classified trade secrets to sell them. She was caught by the feds and spent the rest of her life in federal prison. Meanwhile, I hit the jackpot. The downtown apartment was bought out by a mega-developer. I used the buyout money to invest, multiplied my assets dozens of times over, and caught the eye of the ruthless Crown Prince of Wall Street. He proposed to me in a highly publicized event, and our lavish wedding was dubbed the "Romance of the Century" by the media. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the exact moment we were choosing the houses. My sister lunged for the deed to the rundown downtown apartment, her face twisted with malice: "This lifetime, it's your turn to rot in prison! The Romance of the Century is mine!" I almost laughed out loud. Compared to being the disposable fall guy for a billionaire's true love, doesn't lying in a massive mansion counting cash sound infinitely better? 1 Mom leaned against the chest of a man ten years her junior, holding two property deeds. "One is an estate in the Hollywood Hills, the other is a tiny walk-up in Downtown LA. You two choose. "Consider this my final compensation to you sisters. Your dad died young, and I've raised you both to adulthood. I’ve done my duty as a mother, right?" Looking at this incredibly familiar scene, my mind went blank. Wait. Wasn't I just locked in a penthouse by Tristan Astor, being forced to sign my life away to take the fall for his true love’s massive financial fraud? Before I could speak, my sister, Sienna, snatched the deed to the downtown apartment right out of Mom's hands, her eyes gleaming with greed. "I want the small one! You can leave the big mansion for my sister." That was what she said, but the sheer avarice leaking from her eyes betrayed her true thoughts. Seeing this, I finally understood. I had been reborn, and so had Sienna. In our past life, she had eagerly snatched the three-story Hollywood Hills estate, leaving me alone in that cramped, 600-square-foot walk-up. After Mom left with her new boyfriend, Sienna had smugly flaunted her choice in my face. "Ugh, so what if you're downtown? Look at this place, it's a complete dump. "My new neighborhood is strictly for the ultra-elite! Sister, the gap between us is officially permanently wide. Enjoy rotting in your little shack!" She moved into her mansion, and whenever we rarely met, it was just to listen to her brag about her wealth. Later, she set her sights on Silas Montgomery, the old-money heir next door who lived like an ascetic monk. She desperately wanted to marry into his billionaire dynasty. But after he rejected her advances time and time again, she grew furious and vindictive. She tried to infiltrate his home to steal his family's corporate secrets. The FBI caught her red-handed, and she spent the rest of her life behind bars. I, on the other hand, received a massive eminent domain buyout two months later. Using that money, I invested heavily, caught the attention of Tristan Astor, and had my "Romance of the Century." Since we were reborn, Sienna was obviously trying to steal the downtown apartment to steal my timeline. I smiled without a word and obediently took the deed to the Hollywood Hills estate. "Be good, you two. From now on, you're entirely on your own. Don't come bothering me," Mom said, walking away with her boy-toy without looking back. With no one else around, Sienna dropped her act. She looked at everything in the rundown apartment, her face twisting with spite. "This lifetime, you're the one going to prison! The Romance of the Century is mine!" I almost died laughing. She really thought catching Tristan's eye was a blessing? 2 After packing a few of my clothes, I called an Uber and headed straight to my new mansion. Thankfully, even though Mom had abandoned us to chase her own happiness with a younger man, she hadn't exactly mistreated us growing up. She came from old real estate money. She was loaded. I had saved up all my allowance since I was a kid, which amounted to around thirty thousand dollars. That was more than enough to support me lying flat in a mansion for a good while. But as far as I knew, Sienna had zero saving habits. In our past life, she survived purely by pawning off the antique vases and art pieces left in the mansion. The downtown apartment might be in a prime location, but the developer buyout was still two months away. Penniless and unable to cook, she was going to have a very hard time surviving. Sure enough, less than three days later, I got a desperate call from Sienna. "Lend me some money." I was currently lounging on an enormous, plush sofa, wearing a sheet mask and watching TV. "Lend me some money, did you hear me?!" I casually blew on my freshly manicured nails. "No." The person on the other end was going crazy, but likely due to severe hunger, even her yelling sounded weak. "Then what am I supposed to do?! Are you just going to watch me starve to death?" What else was I supposed to do? She was reborn and deliberately stole my path, fully intending for me to go to prison. Did she expect me to make things easy for her? "If you have a problem, call Mom." With that, I hung up. Our dad died when we were ten. Mom was heartbroken for a few years, but when we turned fifteen, she suddenly became a different person. She started traveling constantly, only leaving behind stacks of cash for us. It was as if she was just waiting for the day we became legal adults so she could wash her hands of us entirely. In my past life, I once fell deliriously ill with a high fever in that rundown apartment and called Mom for help. She was vacationing in the Maldives with her boyfriend. She told me that if I harassed her one more time, she would take the apartment back and leave me homeless. So... How on earth would she ever help Sienna? 3 I lived in the mansion for a week. But the more I looked around, the colder, bigger, and emptier it felt. So, I bought some flower seedlings to plant in the yard. The next day, as I was digging in the soil and fertilizing it, a tall shadow suddenly blocked the sunlight. I looked up. Silas Montgomery—the man Sienna had obsessed over for two years in our past life—was standing in front of me, his brows knitted together. My heart skipped a beat. Even though I lived here now, I had zero intention of bothering him. After a moment of awkward silence, I broke the ice. "Hi, I'm Blair, your new neighbor." I extended a friendly hand, but Silas slightly leaned back, keeping his distance. "What are you doing?" I glanced down at my masterpiece. Wasn't it obvious? "Planting flowers. Fertilizing." Under the blazing California sun, I swore I saw Silas's eyelid twitch. "I mean, what kind of fertilizer!" Uh... I embarrassingly kicked at the dirt near the flowers. "Organic fertilizer..." Silas's frown deepened. Realizing he was misunderstanding, I quickly explained: "It's my dog's poop! I read online that it makes great fertilizer!" Afraid he thought I was a menace, I added, "I didn't let him do it near your gates! I strictly made him go in my own yard." Two days ago, out of boredom, I bought a Labrador. I just didn't expect him to produce quite so much material. Silas's expression softened slightly, but he still kept a wide distance from me. Before leaving, he pointed at the flowers I had just planted. "Those plants hate direct sunlight. They'll die if you leave them there." With that, Silas turned and walked back to his own sprawling estate without looking back. I stared blankly after him, noticing that the second he stepped inside, he firmly shut all his windows. So... He just thought it smelled terrible? 4 I listened to Silas and moved the flowers to the shade. Half a month later, they were thriving. But having been cooped up in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks, I was bored out of my mind. I decided to head downtown. I wanted to see how Sienna—who stole my timeline and was determined to strike it rich—was doing. But I didn't have a car, so I had to walk down the winding hill roads first. Three miles in, after thirty minutes of walking, I still couldn't see the bottom. Just as I was nearing despair, a sleek white Bentley pulled over beside me. The window rolled down, revealing Silas's flawless profile. "Where to? I can give you a ride." I was thrilled. After thanking him profusely, I reached for the rear door handle. But his car was too high-end. I had never been in one, and I couldn't figure out how to open the door... Amidst the awkwardness, Silas popped open the passenger door from the inside. He lowered his sunglasses and looked at me. "Sit in the front." I sheepishly slid in, said thank you, and obediently closed my eyes to rest. A few minutes later, the man beside me let out a soft chuckle. "Blair, do you really think I'm your chauffeur?" "No!" I immediately opened my eyes and waved my hands in defense. "I know you live an ascetic lifestyle and keep your distance from women. You're just helping me out of the goodness of your heart. I just didn't want to disturb your peace!" I had heard all about Sienna's aggressive pursuit of him in the past life. He was practically a modern-day monk. I knew my place. I wasn't going to repeat Sienna's disastrous mistakes. Silas glanced at me, his long fingers lightly tapping the steering wheel. When the light turned green, the car accelerated smoothly. Silas spoke again: "I practice mindfulness and keep to myself. I haven't taken a vow of celibacy." Not a monk? So in the past life, he kept rejecting Sienna simply because he couldn't stand her? Once we got out of the hills, I planned to call an Uber, but Silas insisted on taking me all the way. He dropped me right outside the downtown apartment. I had intended to secretly spy on Sienna. Afraid of being too flashy, I got out at the corner of the block. But to my surprise, Sienna stormed out of a greasy burger joint right across the street. "Blair?! "Silas Montgomery?! "Why are you two together??" 5 Riiip. Sienna tore the greasy rag in her hands completely in half. She stared at Silas and me, her face contorted with rage. "You've only been living there for a few days and you're already seducing men! Mom gave you a mansion, you're an adult, why don't you figure out how to make your own money instead of relying on a man?!" She was yelling so loudly that all the neighbors and pedestrians turned to look. Sienna and I grew up here. Most of the people around us were familiar faces. Hearing her scream that, everyone looked at me with deep frowns. "Blair, I know you girls had it rough, but you can't live like that." "Exactly. Why don't you get an honest job like your sister? At least you'd be feeding yourself with dignity." I let out a scoff. Was Sienna insulting herself? Looking at the unbridled jealousy radiating from her face, I just shook my head with a smile. Makes sense. After all, Silas was the high branch she spent her entire past life trying—and failing—to climb. Silas remained silent, but his gaze was fixed steadily on me. He looked like he was waiting to see how I would handle this. "Sister, why are you smiling? Do you look down on this little diner? "I may just be a waitress here, but at least I earn my living with my own two hands! Not like you! Leeching off men!" I raised an eyebrow and walked straight up to Silas. In those few steps, a hundred different solutions flashed through my mind. Should I pretend to be his girlfriend to slap Sienna's face? But if Silas refused to play along, I'd be the one humiliated. Silas looked down at me. The next second, I pulled out my phone for everyone to see and looked up at him. "I'm so sorry, my sister misunderstood. How much was the ride? I'll Venmo you." As soon as those words left my mouth, not just Sienna, but even Silas raised a surprised eyebrow. He stared at me for a moment, then, looking like he found the absurdity of it all highly amusing, he pulled up his Venmo QR code. "It's fine. A dirty mind sees dirt everywhere. "$100." Damn, what a ripoff... After I paid him, Silas drove off. The neighbors who had just been lecturing me awkwardly turned to Sienna. "Sienna, really... why do you always spout such nonsense? We almost misunderstood Blair." Sienna stood frozen in place. I walked up to her with a smile and loudly read the four big words printed on her greasy apron: "Big Mike's Burgers." "Good job, sister. Come help me put in an order." Sienna gritted her teeth so hard her jaw trembled, her eyes wide with fury. "Blair, don't push it!" I gave her a look of pure innocence. "I just came to see how your 'Romance of the Century' is going. How is that pushing it?" With that, I happily took a seat inside. Because Sienna stood there fuming instead of working, she got chewed out by the manager. Watching her hustle back and forth, occasionally getting harassed by drunk customers, I sipped my soda and clicked my tongue. She was probably still fantasizing about her sweet billionaire romance. Little did she know, this was going to be the easiest part of her life. At least right now, her life was still in her own hands. 6 After returning home, I found Silas's contact info in the neighborhood HOA group chat and added him. [I'm really sorry about today, and thank you.] [I only said that because I had no choice. I sincerely apologize again.] I stared at my phone for a long time, but there was no reply. Was he actually mad? He was the untouchable elite of the old-money circle. Countless socialites and heiresses had been rejected by him. This was probably the first time he'd ever been treated like an Uber driver. Since we were neighbors, we were bound to run into each other. I bit the bullet and typed: [How about I cook some of my signature dishes and bring them over as an apology?] An hour later, my phone finally pinged. Silas: [Okay.] I picked some fresh, organic vegetables I had grown in my yard to show off my culinary skills. When I brought the food over, I had a standard, polite smile plastered on my face. But I didn't expect Silas to invite me to stay and eat with him. I smiled and tried to decline, because looking at a table full of nothing but leafy greens, I really had no appetite. But before I could come up with an excuse, several high-end takeout bags arrived at his door. Truffle shrimp, Wagyu beef, and a massive glazed sea bass. Silas gave me a cool glance. "If you're not going to eat, take your vegetables and go home." "I'm eating!" How could I reject such generous hospitality? We ate the meal in total silence, but I was incredibly satisfied. After interacting with him a few times, I realized Silas wasn't the cold, unfeeling robot the rumors made him out to be. Makes sense. How bad could a guy who practices mindfulness and eats organic greens really be? 7 Another month passed, and the news of the downtown eminent domain buyout finally hit. That very day, I received a call from Sienna. "Hahahahaha! Bet you didn't see this coming, did you?! The tables have turned! "Let me tell you, my apartment is getting bought out! I'm getting ten million in cash and two new luxury condos! "Blair, let's see how you compete with me now!" A cold smirk played on my lips as I looked in the mirror, faking an exaggerated, hysterical tone: "What?! "No! Sienna, a piece of that buyout money belongs to me!! You have to give me my share! If I hadn't let you have the apartment, that money would be mine right now!" There was dead silence on the other end of the line. I held back my laughter. Sienna was probably stunned by my sheer audacity. Two minutes later, Sienna roared into the phone: "You shameless bitch, in your dreams!" "You just sit in that empty mansion and watch me become the ultimate elite!!" With that, she violently hung up. I chuckled and tossed my phone aside. Did she really think getting a buyout made her untouchable? To a Wall Street Crown Prince who grew up with unimaginable wealth, ten million was just pocket change for a weekend in Vegas. In my past life, the moment I got the money, I immediately threw it into high-yield investments. It took six months of multiplying my assets before Tristan Astor finally noticed and aggressively pursued me. With Sienna's absolute lack of business sense, that path was a dead end. I stared thoughtfully into the mirror, sinking into deep thought. In the past life, Tristan appeared to love me to death. But in reality, he just needed my pristine financial record and assets. His true love, Daphne, was caught in a massive corporate embezzlement scandal. After Tristan met me, he took me to his corporate lawyers, and shortly after, launched his aggressive romantic pursuit. The second week after I agreed to date him, I was forced into a sham marriage. When the feds came knocking, I was the one legally bound as the CEO of the shell companies, taking the absolute fall for Daphne's crimes. In other words, Tristan just wanted a clean, naive scapegoat to legally bleed dry to protect his true love. As long as the person had clean assets and no powerful backing, he would pursue them. The problem now was that I was still a perfect target. For my own safety, I needed to build my wealth and power fast, so Tristan wouldn't dare mess with me. 8 Using my memories from my past life, I began investing again. But my current capital was way too small. Even if I pawned all the antique vases in the mansion, it wouldn't be nearly enough. After some agonizing thought, I called a luxury real estate agent the next day. I was selling the mansion. This lifetime, if I was going to play, I was going to play big. As I was walking the agent out, I bumped into Silas returning home. He parked his car in front of my gates and looked over. "You're moving?" I smiled and nodded. "I need cash urgently. I'm selling the house and downsizing." Silas didn't say a word, but his eyes darkened. "Where's the new house?" I threw my hands up. I hadn't even sold this one yet, how could I buy a new one?! "Haven't found one yet. Maybe we'll be neighbors again someday." With that, I went back inside to pack my things. I planned to pack slowly, but that very night, the agent called to say there was a buyer. They didn't even negotiate the price! "Did we find a sucker?" The agent chuckled awkwardly. "Rich people don't care about a few million here or there..." "So when do they want to view the house?" The agent paused for a second. "The buyer doesn't plan on viewing it. We can just sign the contract." Was this a scam? I verified everything three times before finally signing my name. That night, my account balance skyrocketed by thirty million dollars. I kept a million to buy a luxury condo, and immediately sank a large chunk of the rest into a tech startup I knew was about to go public. The rest went into producing a few streaming shows that I knew were going to be massive hits. Six months later, my liquid capital had fully recovered and multiplied, making me even richer than I was in my past life. As for Sienna... I heard she was spending her days desperately trying to sneak into the exclusive VIP clubs that Tristan Astor frequented. Her fantasy "Romance of the Century" had made zero progress, and she was burning through her buyout money fast. Seeing her struggle so much, I decided to give her a helping hand. 9 Just like in my past life, my rapid rise in the business world quickly caught Tristan's attention. When I received the exact same gala invitation as I did in my past life, my breathing hitched. It was at this very gala that Tristan pretended to fall in love with me at first sight. In my past life, I was forced to sign piles of fraudulent documents, watched my assets get seized, and was locked in a penthouse while the legal noose tightened. Tristan had imprisoned me, cutting off all my contact with the outside world. Even though I had some money, my foundation was weak. I had no family to back me up and no loyal allies. The one assistant who tried to look for me eventually gave up. I was bled dry financially, left completely defenseless against Tristan's cruelty. Remembering all of that, my heart raced, and my blood boiled. After calming myself down, I took a picture of the gala invitation and texted it to Sienna. Her reaction was explosive: [Where the hell did you steal that ticket?!] [Someone like you doesn't belong at an event like that!!] [Tell me! Tell me right now!!] [Blair, why don't you just die?! You already seduced Tristan in the past life! Can't you just let me have him this time?! You're so toxic, you should just die!!] Reading her increasingly venomous messages, whatever shred of pity I had left evaporated. I replied: [What if I said I wanted to bring you along as my plus-one so you could experience it?] There was a long silence. Two minutes later, Sienna replied: [Hmph, getting cold feet? Even you know you can't hold your own in a room full of real elites, right?] I scoffed and tossed my phone onto the bed. We had the same mother, but I truly had no idea how Sienna's brain was wired. 10 The next day, I brought Sienna into the gala. Compared to my elegant, understated gown, she had clearly blown a massive amount of cash on an extravagant styling team. The moment we walked in, I spotted Tristan surrounded by a crowd of sycophants. My gaze lingered on him for barely a second, but Sienna violently yanked the fabric of my strapless gown. She glared at me, hissing a threat: "Blair, I'm warning you. Tristan is MINE!" "If you dare try to seduce him, I will strip you naked right here and make you the laughingstock of New York high society. Try me!" Honestly, I was tense. Ripping my dress to expose me in public was absolutely something she was crazy enough to do. The second her grip tightened, I grabbed her hand to stop her. "Don't move! "Fine, fine, I promise!" Sienna let out a cold snort, released my dress, picked up her heavy skirts, and began marching toward Tristan. But while I promised I wouldn't seek Tristan out, I never promised he wouldn't come looking for me. Sienna had barely taken a step when Tristan broke away from the crowd and started walking in our direction. Sienna paused, looking back at me with a smug, provocative smile. I raised an eyebrow, watching calmly as her dream man walked right past her, brushing her shoulder, and stopped directly in front of me. "Miss Blair." I swallowed my burning hatred and offered a polite smile. Sienna ground her teeth, glaring daggers at me. Then, she quickly hitched up her dress and scurried back to my side. These two were birds of a feather. I was more than happy to play matchmaker. I exchanged a few brief pleasantries with Tristan, then smoothly introduced Sienna to him. "This is..." Feeling Sienna's hostile glare burning into the side of my head, I said, "This is my relative, Sienna." With how aggressive and proactive Sienna was, Tristan didn't even have a chance to decline. I successfully extracted myself from the situation. I stood by the sidelines, sipping champagne, watching the two of them draw closer and closer. Just as I was about to take another sip, a large, elegant hand smoothly plucked the champagne flute from my fingers. I turned my slightly dizzy head. It was Silas. He was in a sharp tuxedo, and he clicked his tongue in disapproval. "You're drunk."
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