Chapter 2

Naomi didn't intend for me to attend this event. To her, this daughter of hers was nowhere near as likable as her sweet and obedient niece, Tanya.

If my father, who was abroad, hadn't heard about it and called me up to tell me to enjoy myself, I would've still been held up at home by Naomi, under the guise of me needing to prioritize my studies.

In my previous life, when Naomi stood by and watched as Tanya tormented me, I kept asking myself why. Why did my own mother who raised me from birth treat me like this?

But, in my final moments before death, I found out the truth…

Now that I had been reborn, I was going to see who would end up humiliated this time.

Soon, a middle-aged woman came in. I looked over, but it wasn't Naomi who came. It was Sally King, the butler who'd been serving the Gould family for many years. A young man was beside her—Richard Burke, the son of the Burke family who owned a convenience store chain in Arberton.

In my previous life, I'd saved him from upcoming traffic, but he avoided me like the plague and fell head over heels for Tanya instead. Not only did he help her humiliate me, but he even went around spreading false rumors about me.

Richard eyed me in scorn before checking Tanya carefully.

"I'm glad you're alright, Tanya," he said gently.

Sally chimed in, "Mr. Burke rushed over when he heard something happened to you, miss!"

Ignoring Richard, I looked at Sally and scoffed. "What's this? My mother isn't coming over herself?"

Sally rolled her eyes at me in disdain before saying, "Mrs. Gould is busy with something, so she asked me to take a look and see who's the fool who dares to mistreat the daughter of the Gould family."

"Oh?" I slowly rose to my feet and approached Sally. "When you say the daughter of the Gould family, are you referring to Tanya Hall?"

As soon as I said that, all the young women around us exclaimed in shock.

"Tanya Hall? Why would her last name be Hall?"

"Gould Group is owned by the Gould family!"

Tanya wobbled on her feet, looking frail and pitiful. "Sophie, Mom only brought you back to the Gould family out of pity for you! How can you make up malicious lies about me like that?"

Seeing this, Amy became even more convinced I was lying. She raised her voice and hollered, "How ridiculous this is! How dare a needy relative try to cause a scene here?"

After hearing that, all the other socialites in attendance started mocking me. Some even got physical with me in the hopes of currying favor with Tanya.

Caging me in, they started yanking at my clothes and hair. Some even tore off the jewelry I was wearing and threw it onto the floor before stomping on it.

"What an ungrateful woman you are! The Goulds wasted their kindness on you!"

Amy shoved me to the floor and stomped on my back before jeering arrogantly, "Hey, weren't you quite the talker just now? Why aren't you saying anything now?"

Tanya covered her mouth, but she couldn't hide the upturned corners of her lips as she smugly declared, "Sophie, I warned you, but you refused to listen to me. You're nothing in the Gould family!"

Richard raised his arm to block Tanya's view. "Don't look, Tanya. She's nothing but a disgusting toy for us to play with."

As I struggled against the people attacking me, I fixed my eyes on Tanya and asked, "Do you know that my father will be coming back in two days?"

Gould Group was a massive conglomerate with an emphasis on international dealings. Three years ago, one of the subsidiaries abroad fell into a crisis. My father didn't want to give up on it, so he decided to head over there and deal with the situation himself.

Not only did he succeed in turning things around, but he even got it publicly listed. Since his job was done, he was coming back in a few days.

His impending return was precisely why these wealthy families wanted their children to establish a connection with his daughter.

In my previous life, when Tanya and Naomi found out my father was coming home soon, they decided to kill me. The night before he returned, Tanya drugged me before dumping me in the back alley behind a bar. Naomi stood in the distance and watched as a group of men assaulted me.

I couldn't take the torment. That very night, I jumped off a building to take my own life.

Even though I had been reborn, just the thought of the pain and anguish I went through made me feel suffocated.

After hearing what I said, Tanya panicked for a moment, but she quickly regained her cool. Pretending to be unaffected, she lowered her voice and whispered in my ear, "So what if I do? Richard is going to get engaged to me tomorrow. Once that happens, it'll only be a matter of time before I become Mrs. Burke!"