My mother saved Vivian Palmer’s life, and in return, the Palmer family promised to unite our families through marriage. My sister was eager to marry into the Palmer family, only to discover her husband was merely an unwanted illegitimate son. Shortly after the wedding, she ended up homeless. After I graduated from a top university, the true heir of the Palmer family proposed to me. During a press conference, my sister rushed forward and pushed me down the stairs, but she lost her footing and fell as well. After being reborn, she pretended to be generous by giving me the opportunity to marry into the Palmer family, yet whispered spitefully in my ear, “Jeanette, enjoy this life of luxury for me.” When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day the Palmer family came to discuss marriage arrangements with us. Vivian Palmer was helped out of her luxury car, surrounded by suited bodyguards that my father envied greatly. Behind her stood Herbert Palmer, the youngest son of the Palmer family. With his refined demeanor and handsome features, he wore the latest Patek Philippe watch, his bespoke suit enhancing his extraordinary presence. The Palmer family was Chicago’s wealthiest, leading the national household products industry with assets exceeding ten billion dollars. This elite family, previously only seen in magazines and on television, now stood at our doorstep, wanting to join our families through marriage. My mother was overjoyed and quickly pushed my prettier sister forward. But surprisingly, my sister didn’t step forward. With a stern face, under everyone’s gaze, she declared righteously, “Mom, I don’t want to take shortcuts. I want to achieve success through my own efforts! Marriage and happiness aren’t for trading. Since I seem to be the only one who feels this way, let Jeanette go instead.” Everyone was shocked, especially my parents. Bethany Yates had always been competitive, constantly trying to outdo me in everything, yet today she suddenly seemed like a different person, yielding to me. But I already knew her true intentions. Expressionless, I packed my belongings, grabbed just one travel bag, and got into the car arranged by the Palmer family. My parents’ confusion was justified. In my previous life, Bethany had dressed impeccably to marry into the Palmer family and, with my parents’ support, had made quite an impression on the Palmers. Not only that, to prevent any mishaps, she had spread rumors about me, smearing my reputation by claiming I led a promiscuous lifestyle. I became a laughingstock, while she appeared elegant and noble by comparison. She had thought that after marrying into wealth, a privileged life and high social status awaited her—a fairy-tale romance with the handsome, rich Herbert that would blossom after marriage. But what awaited her instead were countless dirty, sordid affairs within the wealthy family. Vivian had only allowed a girl of ordinary background like her to marry Herbert because he was an illegitimate son without any power or status. Bethany not only failed to access the Palmer fortune but also faced daily humiliation from others. “A filthy, lowly rat like you doesn’t deserve to be part of the Palmer family.” “A cheap whore and a bastard no one wants to acknowledge—what a perfect match!” Unable to bear the torment, she blamed everything on Herbert, physically and verbally abusing him, and even trying to seduce other Palmer heirs. But a girl like her, with nothing but good looks and no other qualities, ultimately became just a plaything for rich young men, discarded once they grew bored. When Herbert’s older brother Cedric Palmer took control, both of them were thrown out. Bethany went to Cedric begging for mercy, foolishly thinking she could trade her body for wealth, only to face deeper humiliation. “Being with a dirty, cheap gold-digger makes me sick. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re after. I’m not as stupid as Herbert—not every woman deserves to be with me.” Meanwhile, I endured that dark period, studying diligently at the University of Chicago, eventually graduating with honors as the only student that year with a perfect GPA, receiving countless job offers. Later, at a presentation, I caught Cedric’s attention. He pursued me intensely and gave me a nationwide, spectacular wedding. Bethany, left with nothing, finally snapped. At my wedding, she pushed me down the stairs, but fell herself in the process. Living this life again, she made her choice early, decisively rejecting Herbert to follow the path I had taken in my previous life. She knew that although she would have to endure years of tedious studying, once she connected with Cedric, she could change her destiny. Watching me leave, Bethany’s face revealed a mocking, triumphant smile. “This time, you can enjoy this life of luxury for me, my dear sister. And I will take back everything that should have been mine!”
I had long prepared myself to be ostracized and tormented by the rest of the Palmer family. So when they poured scalding hot soup on me and ordered me to stand in the yard as punishment, I didn’t say a word and silently complied. It had snowed all night, and as I stood on the freezing stone pavement, the sensation in my feet changed from stinging pain to numbness, until I completely lost all feeling. “I’ve seen plenty of women like you who scheme to marry above their station,” Jessica Palmer, the second daughter of the Palmer family, said with her arms crossed, looking at me coldly, her tone full of mockery. “You’re just a child from an ordinary family, and no matter who you marry, that fact will never change.” I was starving, my stomach practically touching my spine, and even the household servants stood nearby laughing at me. Jessica took a plate of leftover food and casually tossed it at my feet, as if feeding a dog. “Hey, eat up. It’s my treat to you.” Immediately, a burst of laughter erupted around me, and countless malicious gazes fell upon me. I looked down at the cold food on the ground without saying a word. Suddenly someone shouted, “Cedric is back!” Those people scattered immediately. A pair of polished black handcrafted leather shoes appeared before my eyes. I looked up to see Cedric’s handsome face. In my previous life, those eyes that once looked at me with tenderness were now as cold as the ice beneath my legs, regarding me without emotion. He only glanced at me once before looking away as if I were trash. Those immaculate leather shoes stepped right over the food in front of me without hesitation. Life in the Palmer family meant I was treated worse than a servant. No wonder Bethany refused to marry Herbert in this life. But regardless, I was still Herbert’s wife in name. In front of outsiders, they had to pretend to get along with me. I walked into the hall with the Palmer family, watching as they were guided to the VIP seats by the event organizers, while I could only sit in the farthest corner. This college innovation and entrepreneurship competition was jointly sponsored by several large enterprises, with Palmer Group holding the highest position. Sitting at the end, I listened to the speeches with boredom. For a chemistry genius like me, these students’ ideas were far too naive, and I started to feel drowsy after listening for a short while. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out. “As people increasingly pursue natural and healthy lifestyles, I believe all-natural ingredients will become the mainstream trend in the future cosmetics industry.” Bethany stood on stage, speaking confidently. Her glossy, smooth hair was tied in a high ponytail, with a few strands deliberately left loose around her face to frame it perfectly. Her poised, confident presentation and excellent content won a round of applause from the audience. I looked toward Cedric, who sat in the front row, staring intently at the girl on stage, his eyes full of admiration. “Bethany, may I ask if the honeysuckle extract you mentioned was developed by you alone?” Bethany turned, slightly bowing her head with a hint of shyness as she nodded. Her white dress swayed gently with her movement, making her look pure and gentle, like a white jasmine flower. “Yes, it took me a year of research to develop it.” If the setting had allowed it, I would have laughed out loud. In my previous life, the technology that made me famous took countless professors and graduate students at the University of Chicago nearly ten years to research. Even though I ultimately completed it, I never dared to take all the credit or claim others’ hard work as my own. For Bethany to claim she did this alone in just one year, she would have to be a genius among geniuses. But I knew too well that she wasn’t. The audience, however, was none the wiser. Unsurprisingly, Bethany won first place in the competition and successfully secured an internship at Palmer Group. Cedric looked down at her, his eyes full of appreciation. The two chatted intimately, and when amused, Bethany covered her mouth as she laughed softly, looking as pure as a girl in an oil painting. Everyone present was shrewd enough to understand but chose not to point out the obvious. They collectively ignored the adult male desire evident in Cedric’s eyes. Bethany walked up to me, deliberately adjusting the suit jacket draped over her shoulders—Cedric’s jacket. “Jeanette, how are you adjusting to life in high society?” She certainly knew I was being ostracized, as she had experienced it all in her previous life. In my previous life, she had approached me the same way after I had just finished a press conference and been hired by Palmer Group with a high salary, saying, “No matter how proud you are, you’re just an employee. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never match my status!” But in this life, she changed her approach, proudly saying, “I don’t want to depend on anyone. I want to achieve my dreams through my own abilities.” With that, she turned and walked away. I raised an eyebrow. Cedric was standing nearby and heard what she said. A meaningful smile appeared on his face.
Bethany and Cedric left one after another. But I couldn’t care less where they went. I took my business cards and, following my memories from my previous life, went looking for people who could help advance my career. Everyone at the event was an industry leader who knew exactly who I was, and naturally, none of them thought much of me. I felt neither shame nor anger, and I ignored the hateful glares from the Palmer family members who looked like they wanted to tear me apart. After all, I was now part of the Palmer family too. My humble demeanor was what they found so shameful. Without Herbert around, I was just a country girl with the title of his wife. These people certainly wouldn’t treat me kindly. Despite being rejected repeatedly, I patiently continued to introduce my ideas. In my previous life, Bethany thought she could only establish herself in the Palmer family through Herbert, spending her days playing mind games with the other women. This only made everyone despise her and think she lacked proper upbringing. But I knew that to secure my position in the Palmer family, I needed undeniable capability, not connections. On the way home, Jessica deliberately brought up my attempts to network with the influential guests. “Jeanette, I can see you have big ambitions. How many business cards did you hand out?” I ignored the mockery in her words, mentally going through the list of people who had once collaborated with me in my previous life. Right now, they were just college students with startups who couldn’t even get through the front door of Palmer Group. Jessica burst into unrestrained laughter. “Jeanette, low-class people will always be low-class. No matter how hard you try, we’ll only ever see you as a joke.” But I didn’t think she was right. I gave her an awkward but polite smile. Whether they accepted me or not didn’t matter at all. Because I didn’t even plan on keeping the Palmer family in my sights. Although Herbert and I were married, we didn’t have a true marital relationship. In my previous life, Bethany always complained that Herbert was useless, so my impression of him was filled with negative words like “spineless,” “weak,” and “worthless.” But after living with him, I discovered he wasn’t like that at all. When he learned that my parents had forced me to marry him, he immediately accepted my proposal for a marriage of convenience. Though we lived together, we were more like friends. As an illegitimate son, he was ostracized by the rest of the Palmer family, with no dignity or status—but he had money. “My father gave my mother a black card before. After she passed away, the card became mine.” “I know you’ve endured a lot of hardship during my absence. I have no other way to make it up to you except through money. Do you mind?” How could I mind? I was more than happy! Herbert wasn’t skilled at running a company; his real talent was programming. But in the Palmer family’s eyes, this ability had no value. So he had to leave early and return late every day looking for work, and even with a bank’s black card in his hand, he feared that one day this security would be taken away. In my previous life, Bethany looked down on him, mocked him coldly, and joined his family in ostracizing him. His concern touched me deeply. “Okay,” I nodded with a smile, accepting the card. “Thank you. If you ever need my help, I’ll do everything I can.” I invested the money in several small startups. No one paid attention to these companies founded by young people. They were like specks of dust in the storms raised by these large corporations, too insignificant to notice. Everyone thought these fragile seedlings would soon wither and die. This amount of money was trivial to the Palmer family, and they didn’t pay much attention. But for us, it was a matter of life and death. Because I planned to recreate the technology that had shocked the industry in my previous life. I rented a laboratory. Although I lacked baseline data, I had performed those experiments countless times before—they were etched into my bones. Back then, I practically lived in libraries and labs, surviving on cheap instant coffee. I could reproduce the entire experimental process with my eyes closed. This was why Bethany could never replicate my success from my previous life. I heard that Cedric invited Bethany Yates to dinner, but she declined, saying she had evening study sessions. The next day, rumors spread throughout the school that the heir to a top-tier wealthy family was pursuing Bethany. Bethany quickly denied it, but the more desperately she tried to distance herself, the more others believed it was true. She was quite clever in this regard. Cedric never lacked women, especially those who threw themselves at him. In my previous life, the main reason he took interest in me was because I was different. My calm demeanor, innocence, passion for research, and indifference to power intrigued him and even sparked his desire to conquer. In this life, Bethany was attempting the same strategy. Her playing-hard-to-get attitude successfully caught Cedric’s attention. She knew men always obsess over what they can’t have. I lay on my memory foam mattress, enjoying the comfort of its massage mode. My hair felt fresh, smooth, and glossy after a scalp treatment. Meanwhile, Bethany was probably lying on that hard little bed at home, plotting her next move to win Cedric over. I smiled to myself, thinking, “She has no idea what ugly truths lie behind the marriage she so desperately wants.” In my previous life, it took me a long time to realize that someone like Cedric, who had fought in the business world for years, wouldn’t marry me simply because I was “pure and kind.” It wasn’t until after our marriage—when he confined me at home, forbade me from working, stole all my research achievements, and tried to force me to conduct research exclusively for him—that I understood his true intentions. When I refused, he finally showed his true colors. He kept me under house arrest, confiscated all my communication devices, and stripped away my freedom. Every day, I could only stare at four white walls and gaze longingly at the sunlight through that small window. Later, when I developed mental health issues, he didn’t spare me. Instead, he held press conferences to gain sympathy, exploiting my suffering to squeeze out whatever value I had left. Perhaps he had genuine feelings at some point, and that faint affection was real. But his emotions were too light, too shallow—so fragile they couldn’t withstand any clash with his interests. I’m curious how he’ll treat Bethany once he sees through everything, and whether Bethany can endure his torment. Because of my “restlessness,” the Palmer family’s hostility toward me became increasingly obvious. Before, they would restrain themselves out of respect for Vivian when they tried to make things difficult for me. But now, they probably knew that even Cedric disliked me, so they became completely uninhibited. They cut up my clothes, deliberately humiliated me at parties, spat in my food, and even set my hair on fire in public, standing around watching me frantically put it out while laughing uncontrollably. They believed they had every right to punish this “gold digger,” to teach a lesson to this lowly woman who dared to taint their noble bloodline. But I didn’t show the panic they expected. I watched them like children playing cruel pranks, without a trace of fear in my eyes. I cut off all my long hair in front of everyone. When my hair fell to the ground, I saw Cedric standing at the doorway with a complex expression. His gaze was dark and unreadable, churning with emotions I couldn’t decipher, as if wondering how long I would endure for the Palmer family’s money. ***** Actually, I wasn’t just putting on a brave face. After being slandered in my previous life, the bullying I endured was far worse than what I’m experiencing now. To change my fate, I had to work part-time jobs while studying hard. But in this life, I have the Palmer family’s resources. I don’t have to worry about my parents stealing my tuition money for “investments,” or about the school kicking me out of research groups because of rumors. This is already an enormous help to me, so those insignificant pranks don’t matter. Besides, their arrogance won’t last much longer. As for Bethany, I heard she often skipped classes to attend dinners and dates with Cedric. With her frequent absences, she failed miserably in her final exams, flunking most of her courses. Research was out of the question—she hadn’t touched a lab coat all semester, and the lab manager had barely seen her. Her professor warned her not to neglect her studies just because she had secured an internship. But she dismissed it, claiming she was a genius who should achieve the highest results with minimal effort. When told her poor grades might affect her graduation eligibility, she remained unconcerned, saying that in today’s society, connections and resources matter more than grades and degrees. Eventually, her professors gave up on her. Even my parents believed that rather than studying, securing the heart of the future leader of the Palmer Group was the most important thing. Moreover, my precarious position in the Palmer family had already thoroughly disappointed them. Once they realized they couldn’t get much benefit from me, they promptly cut ties and fully supported Bethany instead, hoping she would become the mistress of the Palmer Group. These rumors reached me later, as I was currently busy with the final stages of my experiment.
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