Chapter 2

"Eve, I heated some milk for you. No matter how late you're preparing the proposal, take care of yourself."

My brother Daniel placed the cup on my desk, his voice gentle.

But this scene almost made me fall out of my chair.

Just then, my husband Mark pushed the door open.

He set a lunch box on the table. "I heard you've been pulling all-nighters, so I made soup to nourish you."

I had experienced this scene twice before.

In my previous life, I thought I was the luckiest woman in the world.

My brother, seven years older and already the company CEO, had always been extremely protective of me.

And my beloved husband Mark was my most trusted harbor.

But after my rebirth, I felt nothing but coldness.

In my previous life, when I presented the proposal to the client, my core content turned out identical to Katherine's.

After the client discovered it, they immediately complained to senior management.

As the brightest rising star in the department, I was supposed to be promoted through this project.

But once the scandal broke, I was instantly swept into a whirlwind of accusations.

I turned to my brother, the CEO, and my husband Mark, who was in the same project team, begging them to help me clear my name.

But they refused.

Daniel even apologized to the client on my behalf, begging the company to only issue an internal reprimand because I was a first-time offender and his sister. And Mark avoided my gaze from start to finish.

This incident sparked intense debate among colleagues and the industry.

"I knew she only dared to plagiarize on such an important project because the CEO is her own brother and her husband is on the team. Isn't this a family fraud?"

"Exactly! Someone with no professional ethics like her should be banned from the industry!"

Under the public pressure, the company launched a harsh investigation.

Soon after, the investigation results "confirmed" that I had plagiarized Katherine.

I, who had always been hailed as a genius newcomer, was branded a thief.

Meanwhile, Katherine, who had previously been mediocre, became famous overnight and gained the promotion and glory that should have been mine.

Just like that, she became the company's new star.

And I became a professional pariah everyone despised.

Because of the severity of the situation, I was fired immediately and blacklisted by the industry association.

Stripped of my professional credentials, I could only take odd jobs.

But whenever employers recognized me, they would find excuses to dock my pay or fire me outright.

Penniless, I lost all hope.

On a snowy night, I jumped into a lake that was about to freeze.

But to my surprise, when I opened my eyes, I was back to the week before the final client presentation.

Looking at my brother earnestly "helping me refine my proposal" and my husband going out of his way to "nourish my body," my emotions were suddenly a tangled mess.