Chapter 4

Back on campus, the exact rumors that destroyed me in my past life were now slapped onto Maya.

As her best friend, whenever curious classmates poked around, I acted utterly baffled.

"I really don't get it either. The baby was clearly her boyfriend Luke's. But when I went with her to the clinic, Mrs. Hayes showed up and claimed it was Ethan Hayes's heir! I didn't even know she had broken up with Luke..."

With that single statement, the rumor that Maya was a cheating gold-digger playing two men was set in stone.

Students cursed her shamelessness with disgust, and even her parents back home were publicly humiliated.

Soon after, Maya returned to school to withdraw permanently.

When she came back to the dorm to pack her things, she had withered down considerably in just a few days, sporting a nasty purple bruise on her forehead.

Yet the moment she spotted me, the exhaustion vanished, replaced by a radiant sneer.

"Chloe, the one who slept with Ethan this time is me. I'm the one carrying his heir. Are you eating your heart out with jealousy?"

I understood immediately. Maya had been reborn too.

Having secured the wealth she craved in her previous life, she was desperate to flaunt it in my face.

Playing dumb, I asked,

"Maya, didn't you say the baby belonged to Luke? How did it suddenly become a Hayes?"

Our roommates instantly perked up their ears.

"Shut your mouth! What kind of garbage are you spewing? I'm carrying Ethan Hayes's child! The firstborn grandson of the Hayes empire, the future heir!

Oh, I see. You're just jealous! You're furious that I’m going to be the future Mrs. Hayes!

Ever since we were kids, Chloe, you always had to compete with me—grades, scholarships, praise from teachers! But this time, you can never take away what's rightfully mine!"

Maya looked wildly smug, completely oblivious to the utter disgust in everyone else's eyes.

...

After Maya left, my campus life settled into peaceful normalcy.

Every day, Maya would spam my SnapChat with photos flaunting designer bags, diamond jewelry, and endless stacks of cash handed to her by the Hayes family.

A few months later, she sent me an invitation to Mrs. Hayes’s extravagant birthday gala at the Hayes estate.

Remembering what I went through in that house, I genuinely wanted to see what kind of "paradise" she was living in, so I accepted.

She was draped in a haute couture gown, nose tilted toward the ceiling as she looked down on me.

"Chloe, look at that cheap rag you're wearing. This is my future mother-in-law's gala, packed with the elite. You look like a total embarrassment."

Though her words were dripping with venom, her face was beaming with petty triumph.

"Whatever. Someone of your low status doesn't belong among these guests anyway. Put on an apron and serve drinks. That's the only job suited for someone like you."

She tossed a server's uniform into my arms and ordered a maid to watch me change.

I complied smoothly, feeling not an ounce of anger.

Because I knew: the higher she flew right now, the harder she would shatter later.

During the party, Mrs. Hayes dragged the visibly pregnant Maya around the ballroom, introducing her to socialites:

"Mr. Vance, good evening. Her? Oh, she's nobody. It's the grandson in her belly that matters."

Halfway through the evening, the man of the hour, Ethan Hayes, finally arrived.

Seeing his mother hovering around a heavily pregnant woman, he frowned in pure confusion.

"Mom, who is this?"

Mrs. Hayes took Maya’s hand, scolding playfully, "This is Maya! When your drink was spiked at the hotel last month, she was the one who saved you. She's carrying your child! I gave her permission to have it, so even if you never marry, the Hayes family has its heir!"

Ethan’s face twisted into utter shock. "How could she possibly be carrying my child? The moment I was drugged that night, I went straight to the ER. I never touched a woman!"