I spent a decade bullying the Vance family’s heir, relying entirely on our childhood sweetheart status. Who could have predicted that the very day after he went abroad, I’d be exposed as a fake heiress and kicked out of my home overnight? Later, at the true heiress’s birthday banquet, the newly returned Carter Vance confessed his love on the spot. The surrounding crowd was moved to tears. But the very next second— "Wait, who the hell are you?! Where is Chloe?!" Thanks for asking. I’m currently busy selling corn dogs at the night market. 01 When Carter found me, the night market was at its absolute peak. The streets of the old downtown district were packed with people, bustling with noise, and thick with the smoky scent of street food. He was wearing a custom-tailored three-piece suit, a pair of thin-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. As a wealthy heir pampered since birth, every single strand of his hair was styled to perfection. He looked completely and utterly out of place in this gritty night market. "Chloe?" He stared at me in sheer disbelief. I glanced up at him, not surprised in the slightest. "Oh, you're back?" Then, I lowered my head and expertly flipped a sizzling corn dog on the grill. "I’m a bit swamped right now. No time to catch up. Just give me a minute." Hearing this, he instinctively frowned, then raised his voice. "Chloe!" I didn't even look up. "Corn dogs are three dollars for one, five dollars for two. How many do you want?" Silence hung in the air for two seconds before he choked out a single sentence: "...Two." "You got it." Two minutes later, the two of us were squatting behind my food cart, eating corn dogs. The pampered young heir had probably never eaten anything this cheap in his life. After one bite, his brows knitted together in disgust, but when he met my gaze, he obediently swallowed it down. He looked like a pathetic, kicked puppy. Meanwhile, I scarfed down my corn dog in three bites and turned around to get back to the grind— "Chloe," he called out to me again. I turned to look at him. "What?" He stared at me earnestly. "I went to your house to find you. You weren't there." "Oh, right, I haven't had the chance to tell you. I left the Sterling family." I thought for a moment, then asked, "Did you see Riley?" "Yeah." "Is she pretty?" Carter frowned slightly. The gentlemanly upbringing he’d received since childhood prevented him from insulting a girl, so he simply mumbled, "She's alright, I guess." After a pause, he added, "But she’s not as pretty as you." I nodded. "Alright, keep this in mind. She is the true heiress of the Sterling family. She’s the one who was supposed to grow up with you. She had a really hard life all these years and finally made it back home. You need to treat her well." At the very least, don't make an enemy out of her because of me. That way, you won't end up with that tragic ending again. With that said, I turned to leave— But I couldn't move. I sighed in exasperation. "What is it now, Your Highness?" "You said that if I came back, you'd agree to be my girlfriend." Carter gripped my arm tightly and blinked. His eyes instantly turned red, looking exactly like a wronged golden retriever. "Does that still count?" Only then did I remember. Back when Carter was refusing to study abroad, I might have promised him a few things just to coax him onto the plane. Carter and I were childhood sweethearts. Relying on that status, I had bullied him for over a decade. He was the dignified heir of the Vance family, sitting at the absolute pinnacle of high society, yet he always followed my every command. Back then, I treated Carter like he belonged to me. But who could have imagined that in just two short years, the gap between us would become as vast as the sky and the dirt? But... this was an ending I had anticipated a long time ago. "It doesn't count anymore." I reached out and gently pried his fingers off my arm. Meeting a gaze that looked like he was about to burst into tears at any second, I lowered my eyes. "Carter, we aren't equals anymore." So, in this life, you need to live well. 02 In my previous life, my ending was incredibly tragic. From the day Riley returned to the Sterling family, I became obsessed with making her life miserable. Relying on my status as the Vance family heir's childhood sweetheart, I did everything in my power to sabotage her. In the end, everyone turned their backs on me. The Sterling family, having finally reached their breaking point, joined forces and threw me into a psychiatric hospital. Riley, on the other hand, went from an innocent little flower to the beloved darling of the Sterling family. Later, she voluntarily broke off her engagement with Carter and slapped everyone in the face by marrying his shrewd, capable uncle. She ended up having triplets in one pregnancy and became the absolute treasure of the Vance family's true patriarch. Riley and I were like two sides of a mirror in a trashy billionaire romance novel. One fell from grace to total abandonment; the other rose from the ashes to ultimate glory. It was as if we were just blindly following a script. From beginning to end, only Carter stood firmly by my side. He defied his engagement for me. He publicly went to war with the elders in his family multiple times and treated his actual fiancée, Riley, with nothing but cold disdain. Because of that, his position as the heir was snatched away. He went from the golden boy of the Vance family to an outcast. Eventually, on the day I was dragged off to the asylum, he died in a horrific car crash while trying to save me. He could have had a wonderful life. Carefree, wealthy, and perfectly happy. If it hadn't been for me... So, when I was reborn, I didn't hesitate to persuade Carter to study abroad. And on the day I was exposed as the fake heiress, I didn't fall to my knees and beg the Sterlings to let me stay. Instead, I took my severance check, packed my bags, and left cleanly. This time, I didn't want Carter to see any of my misery or humiliation. I would rather remain in his memories as the bright, arrogant Chloe he grew up with—his proud childhood sweetheart. 03 I changed into my uniform and stepped out of the locker room. My part-time job tonight was as a bottle service waitress at a high-end private club. In the past, as the eldest daughter of the Sterling family, I used to frequent this place with other rich kids. But this was my first time being here as the help. The manager sent me to deliver drinks to a VIP room. The moment I pushed the door open, the first person I saw was Riley. Just like in my past life, she sat in the center of the crowd, wearing a pristine white dress, surrounded by admirers. According to the timeline, she had fully adapted to high society by now. Relying on her innocent and kind personality, she had won the approval of the Sterling family and was their undisputed little princess. Sitting next to her was a crowd of familiar faces—all my former wealthy playmates. I frowned slightly, kept my head down, and walked in. I originally just wanted to drop off the liquor and slip out unnoticed because I had much more important things to do tonight. But as I turned around, someone recognized me. "Chloe?" The guy who spoke happened to be holding the microphone. As his voice echoed, the entire room fell dead silent. Everyone's eyes locked onto me. "It really is you!" The guy chuckled, as if he had just found a hilarious new toy. "When did our great Miss Sterling become so pathetic?" The moment he said that, laughter erupted across the room. "Figures. A fake is still a fake." "Hilarious. I can't believe she actually fell this hard." The rich kid who spoke first, Chase, leaned in close to Riley and sneered. "See, Riley? I told you Chloe was inferior to you in every way." "Carter only plays nice with her because they grew up together. Don't worry, give it some time, and he'll naturally fall for you." Riley glanced in my direction and spoke in a timid, soft voice. "But... I think Carter still likes her more." Hearing that, I instantly understood. Chase was doing this on purpose. Because at the birthday banquet two days ago, Carter had confessed his love on the spot before realizing he had the wrong girl. It made Riley a laughingstock in their social circles. So, to get on Riley's good side, these people were purposely kicking me while I was down. How childish, I mocked internally, though my gaze shifted to a girl sitting in the crowd. My former best friend, Mia. In my past life, her family went bankrupt right before I was exposed as a fake heiress. They sold all their real estate just to barely cover their debts and had to move to a different city. Later, even after the true heiress scandal broke, I was allowed to stay with the Sterlings, though my allowance was slashed in half. Even then, I gave half of that money to Mia to help her family survive their darkest days. Because she was my one and only best friend. In this life, her family's company unexpectedly received a massive injection of capital. Not only did they avoid bankruptcy, but over the last two years, their assets had skyrocketed, nearly matching the Sterlings. Yet, meeting my gaze now, she guiltily shrank back into the sofa, avoiding my eyes. In the end, she didn't speak up to defend me. My expectation slowly turned into sheer disappointment. I opened my mouth, wanting to ask her, Why? But I found that the words just wouldn't come out. "Chloe, are you okay?" Seeing my silence, Riley took the initiative to walk over. "I'm so sorry, everyone didn't mean to laugh at you." She looked like the perfect, considerate little flower. Logically, this was the part where I was supposed to feel "humiliated," drop the drinks, and storm out— "Hey, hey, hey, where do you think you're going? Is this how the club trains its staff? Get over here and pour my drink!" Chase yelled, looking incredibly smug as he actively picked a fight. "Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll toss you a couple thousand in tips." "Chloe, life must be pretty hard since you left the Sterlings, huh?" When I didn't reply, his eyes rolled, and he took it a step further. "Perfect timing. My bed has been a little cold lately." "You've got a decent face and a killer body. Why don't you just follow me..." As his words grew increasingly vulgar, the rest of the room put on faces eager for a good show. Only Riley frowned slightly. Just as she was about to speak— BANG. The VIP door was kicked open. Carter, who had arrived late, stood in the doorway with a face like thunder. Under everyone's stunned gazes, he stormed into the room. He stopped dead in front of Chase, his eyes sharp as daggers. Gritting his teeth, he asked, word by word, "Who exactly did you just say had a 'decent face'?" For a split second, the room was terrifyingly quiet. Even I was a little surprised. Carter liked peace and quiet. Unless he was following me around, he rarely set foot in places like this. "C-Carter, bro..." Chase hadn't expected Carter to show up. His legs instantly turned to jelly. "I-I was just joking..." In front of Carter, he didn't dare act tough. "Oh?" Carter tilted his head, his face completely devoid of emotion. "Who gave you the nerve to joke with her?" At that moment, another wealthy heir who used to be close with Carter stepped up to smooth things over. "Come on, Carter, we all know you and Chloe used to be close, but she's not one of us anymore. We all grew up together, there's no need to ruin the vibe over her..." Before he could finish, Carter cut him off. "Oh, so you do remember we all grew up together?" He glared at the guy, then swept his icy gaze across the varying expressions in the room. "What exactly did she do wrong? Did she ask to be switched at birth? Did she ever do a single thing to wrong any of you?" "The girl I held on a pedestal like a princess—this is how you treat her?!" He scowled furiously. "Are all of you out of your damn minds?" 04 Honestly, it wasn't just Carter. Even having lived two lives, I still couldn't understand it. Why did the playmates I grew up with instantly kick me while I was down the second they learned my true identity? Why did the best friend who swore we’d be sisters for life refuse to say a single word for me when I hit rock bottom? It felt as if the world operated on a pre-written code. More than a decade of affection and loyalty vanished into thin air the exact moment the "fake heiress" label was slapped onto me. From beginning to end, only Carter stood firmly by my side. So, the more he did, the less I wanted him dragged into this mess. But Carter was like a husky off its leash—completely uncontrollable. The rest of the room was too stunned by his screaming to react. The next second, Carter, whose aura had just been ten feet tall, turned to face me and instantly deflated. "Don't be scared, I wasn't yelling at you." He thought for a second, then added, "I know swearing is bad. It’s a character flaw of mine. Don't learn from me." Catching the complex, bewildered looks the others were shooting me, my mouth twitched. I quickly grabbed Carter by the arm and dragged him out of the room. "Hey, I wasn't finished! How could they treat you like that..." "Shut up." It wasn't until we reached the emergency stairwell that I finally turned to look at him. "Why are you here?" "To find you, obviously," he said, looking completely innocent. "Didn't I tell you we aren't equals anymore? You don't need to follow me around..." "Chloe," he interrupted me. Looking at me with dead-serious eyes, he asked, "So, for the past two years, while I was gone... is this the kind of life you've been living?" Hearing that, I fell silent. "Chloe, I regret it. I shouldn't have listened to you and gone abroad." His eyes were filled with so much heartache it made me dizzy. It reminded me of my past life. Back then, he had looked at me the exact same way and whispered, "Chloe, my heart breaks for you." If there was anyone in this world who would love me unconditionally and without reservation... It could only be Carter. Taking a deep breath, I said softly, "Carter, just give me a little more time." I will work hard to stand by your side once again.
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