The apartment building was on fire in the middle of the night.
My first instinct was to rush and save my boyfriend, Julian.
Even with extensive burns all over my body, I gritted my teeth and dragged him out.
But then, after my skin graft surgery, I saw Julian on TV, telling reporters:
“My girlfriend tried to set me on fire! I’m calling the police!”
He even produced surveillance footage of me pouring gasoline, clearly preparing to start a fire.
I was utterly defenseless, branded a murderer.
When I confronted him at his place, I found Julian secretly involved with my best friend, Serena.
“Didn’t you say? Once she’s in prison, no one will ever expose your secret as the fake heiress.”
“But only the mouths of the dead stay sealed.”
“Whether you’re with the Albrights or with me, you’ll always be the pampered princess.”
In a panic, I tried to escape, but they caught me and pushed me down the stairs together.
In my last moments, I finally understood. Julian’s efforts to get close to me were all to help the fake heiress clear her path.
When I opened my eyes again, Julian was calling me, screaming for help from the fire.
I ignored him. Instead, I scrolled through his buddies’ contacts and found the one with the hottest body.
“Date? I like guys with eight-pack abs.”
Leo, Julian’s usually quiet friend in the SnapChat group, immediately replied:
“Sure, just don’t regret it.”
A faint smirk played on my lips as I put down my phone.
Gasps filled the air around me.
“Fire! Iris, isn’t that Julian’s apartment building in that direction?”
It was Serena, my “best friend” for years, the rich heiress.
It took dying once in my past life to realize the truth.
She was actually the daughter of their former housekeeper, and I was the real Albright heiress, swapped at birth.
During a routine blood donation last time, she accidentally found out my true identity.
Afraid that I’d return to the Albright family and pose a threat, she conspired with Julian to stage this whole charade.
But this time, I wasn’t playing along.
Serena urged me to get up and help, but I paid her no mind, instead focusing on doing my makeup in front of the mirror.
I put on some killer makeup.
Serena paced beside me, stomping her foot in frustration.
“Your boyfriend just called, asking you to help with the fire. Why aren’t you going?”
“If you’re late and something happens to him, you’ll regret it!”
I couldn’t help but scoff.
“My boyfriend, and I’m not worried. Why are you?”
“If he can call me, he can surely call 911.”
“Besides, if the fire really takes hold, what can a young woman like me do?”
“If Julian truly loved me, he wouldn’t want me to get in the way.”
I continued leisurely applying my makeup. Serena was furious.
“Iris Albright! How can you be so cold-blooded and heartless?”
“If you’re not going, I will! You’re so callous, I don’t want a friend like you anymore!”
She fumed, then turned and stormed away.
My phone vibrated incessantly. I picked it up and saw the SnapChat group was in an uproar.
It was a private group I’d specifically made with Julian’s friends, excluding him.
Ten minutes ago, my “Date?” message had sent the small group into a frenzy.
“Hey, look at me! I’m stronger than Julian!”
“I’m a hottie, Iris, date me!”
Julian’s friends had always been flirting with me.
They acted like Julian’s buddies on the surface.
But their eyes held a knowing look every time they looked at me.
Last time, I overheard them talking in a private lounge.
“Seriously, did you win the lottery or something? How did you manage to score a beauty like her?”
“If you ever dump a stunner like this, remember to toss her our way.”
“For years, you only had Serena in your heart. How did Iris suddenly catch your attention? Even if she’s a bit poor, her face is absolutely stunning, it’s hard not to like her…”
Julian always just smiled and stayed silent, basking in their verbal adoration.
Everyone knew his heart belonged only to Serena.
They knew he would eventually kick me to the curb.
Only I was kept in the dark.
Including that fire, when I rushed in to save him.
But he tried to trap me in the burning room.
Even after I dragged him out, covered in burns myself, he still wanted me dead, pushing me down the stairs.
This time, I would protect both my life and my identity, making sure no one could take them from me.
Just as I was lost in thought, my phone buzzed twice.
Leo sent a message:
“I’m downstairs.”
I sashayed downstairs, looking absolutely stunning.
Walking out of the campus gate, I passed by the burning apartment building.
The roadside was crowded with concerned bystanders, some frantically trying to put out the fire, others calling 911.
My phone kept ringing – it was Julian.
I simply pulled my gaze away, silenced the call, and headed off to my date with his friend.
I was so stupid in my past life, rushing in to save him without a second thought.
But if Julian truly loved me, why would he knowingly try to drag me into danger?
After a satisfying meal and some fun, Leo drove me back.
This time, Julian had to escape the blaze on his own, looking disheveled and covered in ash.
As I returned, my eyes met Julian’s.
His face was a mix of shock, surprise, and resentment.
His friends were celebrating his narrow escape, and reporters swarmed him.
“Excuse me, how did this fire start?”
Julian pointed at me, accusingly, into the camera.
“It was her.”
“I saw it with my own eyes. She snuck in around midnight and poured gasoline nearby, clearly intending to set it on fire.”
Just as I expected.
It was exactly like my past life.
Julian not only publicly slandered me to reporters, accusing me of arson and attempted murder, but he’d also brought those reporters himself.
In my past life, I couldn’t understand why Julian would say such a thing. My eyes red, I looked at him for a long time.
“Julian, are you delirious from the smoke? How could I possibly set you on fire?”
“I’m your girlfriend, and I’m covered in burns from saving you!”
Back then, I had just returned from skin graft surgery.
But Julian violently shoved me to the ground.
“Don’t make excuses!”
“You only got close to me for my money! You knew I had an apartment off-campus, and you wanted to kill me so all my assets would be yours!”
My lips trembled, unable to utter a single word.
I couldn’t comprehend how the sweet boyfriend I had yesterday could turn into such a monster.
But my distraught appearance, to the reporters, looked like an admission of guilt.
Now, Julian, just like in my past life, was accusing me of arson and attempted murder in front of the cameras.
I remained completely calm.
“I have an alibi.”
I patted Leo’s shoulder.
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask him. I was on a date with him when the fire started.”
Julian’s friends stood there, mouths agape, speechless with shock.
Some were even whispering:
“Holy crap, is she playing that hard? Iris actually cheated on him!”
“I told you, Big River, Leo’s family is way richer than yours. Even if she was after money, she wouldn’t pick you.”
“But then again, it could be a crime of passion! You never know what’s in someone’s heart, right?”
Julian’s expression froze. He hadn’t expected me to say that.
His face darkened, and he stared at me intently.
“I don’t know how you hooked up with my friend, but even if he’s covering for you, it doesn’t change the facts.”
He clenched his fist, veins bulging on the back of his hand, and angrily declared:
“I saw the fire with my own eyes. You set it.”
I couldn’t help but scoff.
“Don’t be ridiculous. If you saw it with your own eyes, why didn’t you stop it?”
“Julian, even if you’re going to lie, at least try to make it logical.”
I yawned lazily.
“A full day of dating is quite tiring. I’m going home to sleep.”
“Stop right there!”
Julian grabbed my arm, a cold sneer on his face.
“You think I don’t have proof?”
Soon, Julian produced the surveillance video.
Indeed, it showed a girl.
In the dead of night, pouring gasoline and dropping an unextinguished cigarette butt.
And the clothes the girl was wearing were identical to what I had on right now!
Suddenly, I was the target of universal condemnation, harsh glares and accusations raining down on me.
“Holy crap, it’s actually true! The surveillance video is right here, what more do you have to say for yourself?”
“How could a young woman be so malicious?”
“Exactly! Isn’t he your boyfriend? Even if he rejected your proposal, you shouldn’t resort to murder to silence him!”
Julian, it turned out, had told the cameras earlier that I was not only after his money, but also retaliating because he’d recently postponed our wedding plans.
Julian’s eyes welled up for the camera, as if deeply hurt by me.
“Iris, if there’s anything you want, you can just tell me. If you want to break up with me and be with Leo, I wouldn’t stop you. Why did you have to try and kill me?”
I broke out in goosebumps. What a performance!
Hearing how ‘pitiful’ he was, the people around him started cursing me even more venomously, practically foaming at the mouth.
My gaze fell on the surveillance video, and I suddenly spoke.
“Since you’re all so convinced that I’m the one who committed arson and attempted murder—”
“Why don’t you take a closer look? Is the person in that video really me?”
They insisted it was me.
The face was identical, and the clothes were exactly the same as mine.
But I smiled.
“That face is indeed identical to mine, and even the clothes are pretty much the same.”
I zoomed in on the video, pointing to a specific detail.
“But this woman in the video has six fingers. Are you sure that’s a real person?”
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