Chapter 3

Seeing me appear, Chloe didn’t look guilty or embarrassed at all. Instead, her face was filled with pure contempt and defiance.

Holding the hand of Tyler—who was sporting dyed yellow hair and looking like a total street punk—she asked arrogantly, "What the hell are you doing here, Natalie?"

She looked so proud, without a single trace of the quiet, sweet girl she used to be.

She had completely embraced being trash.

The scene mirrored my past life so perfectly that I dazed out for a second.

But my eyes quickly fell on their tightly locked hands.

Noticing my gaze, Chloe smirked. Before I could even ask, she raised their joined hands like a trophy. "This is my boy, Tyler."

She was incredibly proud of herself for bagging such a "hot" boyfriend.

Tyler, seeing that I wasn't saying anything, lost his patience.

If I hadn't interrupted, they would probably be messing around in the motel room by now.

He pointed at me and sneered, "Yo, lady. My girl asked you a question. Are you fucking deaf?"

The harsh words hit my ears, but I didn't feel a single spark of anger.

This was the "dream guy" Chloe worshipped. A low-class punk who couldn't speak without swearing.

And Chloe, my precious little sister whom I had pampered since childhood, just stood there watching her boyfriend curse at me.

She didn't say a single word to defend me.

Instead, she looked at him with admiration, as if watching him insult me was some sort of turn-on.

I remembered how Chloe had excitedly told me, "Natalie, there’s a new guy in my class. He’s so manly, completely different from the losers I know."

I looked Tyler up and down. Sure, he had decent looks.

But he was pure trash.

I played with my freshly done nails and said calmly, "You're not eighteen yet, Chloe. The booking confirmation was sent directly to my Snapchat because of the family plan."

Chloe finally remembered how the app worked and stomped her foot in annoyance.

Then, she glanced at Tyler, took a step forward, and held out her hand to me. "Since you’re here, give me some cash. We need to grab dinner, and booking this room took all my money."

She demanded it so naturally, as if I owed her the world.

Through years of my unconditional love and indulgence, Chloe had come to believe that everything I did for her was my duty.

She thought she could treat me however she wanted, and I just had to take it.

Just like in my past life, when she brought those men to rape me. While I screamed in agony and despair, she dug her sharp nails into my cheek.

She hissed, "Natalie, you’ve never had a man in your life. I’m doing you a favor, why aren't you grateful?"

Thinking about that scene made my chest tighten with a brief, sharp pain.

I looked at Chloe. "What do you mean you have no money? I just gave you $100 this week."

Hearing this, Chloe rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"What can $100 even buy these days? It barely covered a couple of drinks and food for us. Honestly, Natalie, I think you’re abusing me on purpose."

If this were my past life, I would have been in tears, feeling incredibly hurt.

Other kids only got $50 a week. I was so worried she would feel insecure because we didn’t have parents, so I survived on instant ramen just to scrape together $100 for her.

Yet, she didn't have a shred of gratitude. She just wanted more.

Of course she was out of money. She paid for every single date with Tyler, and even the motel room today was paid for with her lunch money.

Tyler’s family was rich, but his dad had a whole second family with a mistress.

Most of his dad's money went to the mistress. Tyler's mother didn't dare to confront her husband, so to keep up her "rich housewife" image, she heavily cut Tyler’s allowance.

In reality, Tyler had less cash on him than Chloe did.

Unfortunately, Chloe, blinded by love, didn’t notice anything wrong. She even foolishly thought paying for him was some kind of romantic test of loyalty.

But the current me already knew she was an ungrateful viper. I had zero expectations for her.

I sat down on a nearby bench, crossed my legs, and said with a look of fake guilt, "Oh, Chloe. I left the house in such a rush today that I forgot my wallet. How about I go back home and get some cash for you?"