Chapter 3

The next morning, I was woken up by the doorbell.

I opened it to find Chloe standing there, holding a large paper bag.

"Amelia! I made you some organic dandelion and mint cleansing tea. It’s great for reducing inflammation."

She was wearing a floral sundress, her makeup flawless. She looked like the perfect, sweet family friend.

I didn't reach for the bag.

"How do you know my door code?"

Chloe tilted her head, her smile unchanging.

"Ethan gave it to me. He said you weren't feeling well and asked me to check on you."

Without waiting for an invitation, she pushed past me, walking straight into the kitchen to grab a mug.

She moved around the space like she owned it.

"Here, try it. I made sure not to put any sweetener in it."

She handed me a steaming mug.

I looked down. The pale yellow liquid had a few mint leaves floating on top.

She had done this in my past life too.

Except back then, she brought a matcha detox shake.

I had taken one sip, and the moment the liquid touched my tongue, a bitterness so foul it felt like pure poison flooded my throat.

I spent the entire night throwing up until my stomach acid turned yellow.

I pushed the mug back.

"I'm not drinking that."

Chloe’s smile faltered.

"Amelia, don't be like that. I spent two hours brewing this."

"I'm not being any way. I just don't want you wasting your time."

I leaned against the counter, my gaze cold and steady.

"After all, you have a livestream later, don't you? What’s on the menu today? Pure wormwood extract? Or goldenseal powder?"

Chloe’s fingers tightened around the mug.

"Amelia... how did you know I was going to use goldenseal today?"

"Just a guess."

She stared at me for a few seconds. The warmth in her eyes vanished, replaced by a cold calculation, before she quickly put her mask back on.

"You’re so weird today, Amelia. I don't eat stuff like that. I just do normal green juices."

"Right. Have fun with that."

I took the mug from her hand, walked over to the sink, and poured the hot tea straight down the drain.

Behind me, Chloe gasped, her manicured nails digging into her palms.

"Amelia... do you have a problem with me?"

"No."

"Then why did you just pour out the tea I worked so hard to make for you?"

Her voice began to tremble with tears.

This trick worked on Ethan every single time.

I turned around. Her eyes were already red, her lip trembling, her chin tilted up in the perfect picture of an innocent victim.

"Save it, Chloe. Ethan isn't here. Your little performance is wasted on me."

Her face went instantly cold, the mask slipping off entirely.

But in less than a second, she was weeping again.

"Amelia, I don't know what I did wrong... Did I misunderstand something?"

The sound of keys jangled at the door.

Ethan walked in. The first thing he saw was Chloe crying in the kitchen, and the empty mug sitting in the sink.

His face darkened instantly.

"Amelia, what did you do?"

Chloe wiped her eyes right on cue. "Ethan, it's fine! Amelia probably just didn't like the tea... My cooking is terrible anyway. It's my fault."

Ethan rushed to Chloe’s side, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"Chloe spent her entire morning making this for you, and this is how you treat her?"

"I said I didn't want it."

"If you didn't want it, you could have just said so! Why did you have to dump it right in front of her? Do you have any idea how hurtful that is?"

Looking at him shielding Chloe so protectively, I found it hilarious.

In my past life, when I was curled up on the bathroom floor clutching my stomach in agony, he was busy sending virtual roses in Chloe's livestream chat.

"Ethan, you get this mad over a dumped cup of tea. But do you have any idea that my mouth has tasted like pure battery acid since yesterday?"

"Here we go again."

He let out a harsh, mocking laugh.

"Amelia, can you stop making everything about yourself? Chloe eating healthy has nothing to do with you. If your mouth tastes bad, go see a doctor. Stop trying to blame her."

Chloe kept her head down, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed quietly.

Ethan’s heart practically broke for her.

"Come on, Chloe. Let’s go. We don't need to deal with her nonsense."

He began guiding Chloe out of the apartment. As he passed me, he stopped.

"If you're still going to Mexico, then we have nothing left to talk about."

The door slammed shut.

Standing in the empty living room, a fresh wave of intense bitterness flooded my mouth.

It was worse than before.

Chloe must have started eating the goldenseal powder.

I walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

My tongue was covered in tiny, painful red blisters.

In my past life, these didn't appear until the third day.

She was ramping up the dosage.

My phone buzzed with an Instagram notification.

Chloe’s livestream was live. The title read:

*"Trying the Extreme Goldenseal Powder Challenge. Doing whatever it takes to pay off my brother's medical bills."*

The comment section was overflowing with sympathy.

*"Oh my god, that stuff is notoriously bitter! Chloe, you didn't even flinch!"*

*"This is a real independent woman. Unlike some people who just sit at home playing the rich housewife."*

*"Keep going, Chloe! Sending you all my love and super chats!"*

I locked my phone screen.

I dragged my suitcase out of the closet, unzipped it, and began throwing my clothes inside.

Three days was too long.

I changed my flight. I was leaving tomorrow.

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