The Heiress's Second Chance at Vengeance Free Preview

"Eliza, it's time to go." The cold voice of the prison guard reminded Eliza.

Today was the day of her execution.

Inside jail, Eliza sat curled up in the corner; her hair was disheveled, and she looked like a complete mess.

"Where is Zayden? Why hasn't he come to see me?" Eliza’s voice choked with emotion.

Today was the day of her execution. Was he really that heartless?

The guard’s tone carried a hint of impatience as he said, "Today is the wedding between Mr. Zayden and Naomi. He already said he wants nothing to do with you, even until death. Stop wasting our time."

Upon hearing him, a sharp pain shot through Eliza’s chest.

Naomi? The girl from the Rivers family?

She was also from that family!

A month ago, Zayden was still her husband.

Less than a month after their divorce, was he already in such a hurry to marry Naomi?

Well, of course.

Naomi had always been adored and swarmed by devotion since childhood. She was even Zayden’s first crush.

As for her, she was just a murderer awaiting execution.

Thinking of this, Eliza let out a bitter laugh.

The guard urged her, asking, "If you have any last wishes, speak up. Don’t delay our work."

Eliza asked, "My parents… did they ever bring me up?"

The guard roared, “No!”

Eliza had run someone over, causing their death. The Rivers family had long cut ties with her. How could they possibly remember having a daughter as a murderer?

In fact, the Rivers family strongly demanded her execution.

Everyone in Westbrook knew that the Rivers family’s eldest daughter had a low educational qualification and a bad reputation.

Compared to the second daughter, Naomi, who had a prestigious degree and a good image, the contrast was like night and day.

Hearing the guard’s words, Eliza felt throbbing pain in her chest.

That was right. How could she dare to hope her parents, who pushed for her death sentence, would come and see her one last time?

It turned out that all these years of her life - her cautious efforts and careful flattery—were all in vain.

Whether it was her parents or Zayden.

They had only Naomi in their eyes.

Eliza suddenly felt herself so laughable.

She had humbled herself, endured endless grievance, and she ended up paving the way for Naomi in the end.

A bitter smile spread across Eliza’s lips.

Be it Zayden or her parents, love or kinship - if she had a second chance, she wouldn’t want any of it.

The two guards escorted her to the execution room.

She was pinned to the ground; the gun aimed at her heart.

Eliza slowly closed her eyes.

With a sudden jolt of pain, a loud ringing echoed in her ears.

She didn’t know how long it had passed.

Eliza felt her soul detach from her body and then suddenly plummet.

As if plunging straight into the sea, she was freezing cold all over.

Voices of men shouting and whistling enveloped her.

"Damn, that was intense! She just jumped without hesitation."

"Zayden, your clingy girlfriend is really obedient. You told her to jump off the boat, and she actually did it!"

"Girlfriend? Come on, Eliza’s not even worth that title. There is no way Mr. Zayden would fall for someone like her!"

What was going on?

Wasn’t she dead?

Before Eliza could make sense of it, the overwhelming suffocation of being submerged in water welled up within her.

She had no time to think as she struggled and surfaced.

She flailed around and finally climbed onto a lifeboat; she looked wrecked.

The mocking voices continued to echo from the ferry.

"She only stays underwater for three minutes. Zayden, I don’t think she likes you that much."

"Yeah, I thought she was more than this."

"Zayden, let’s drive the boat off and make her swim back—what do you think?"

Zayden’s group of friends spoke with scorn and disdain.

But on the lifeboat, Eliza felt a strange familiarity hearing those voices.

She looked down at her delicate, fair hands and froze.

She had done housework for years—her hands had long become swollen and calloused. How could they now be so soft and smooth?

What was going on?

Eliza looked around.

It hit her soon—this was Zayden’s 17th birthday party!

The Rivers Group was a publicly listed company, and it was one of the biggest corporations in Westbrook.

So Zayden was a well-known rich kid.

For his 17th birthday, the Holt family had rented an entire ferry to celebrate.

All his friends were there.

Among his friends, Eliza wasn’t on the list initially.

It was Naomi who said she wanted to attend his birthday party, so she persuaded Zayden to let her come.

Zayden didn’t want to reject Naomi, so he allowed her on board.

The cold sea breeze made Eliza shiver.

She spotted Zayden on the deck; he was dressed in a white shirt, his youthful face already showing signs of cold detachment.

Zayden was the school heartthrob—his chiseled face and delicate facial features could captivate anyone.

His mature, serious personality attracted countless girls at school.

He was never short of people wooing him. But Eliza was the most shameless among them.

That time, she had come to the birthday party and handed the gift that she had spent effort preparing over to Zayden full of joy.

But without even looking at it, Zayden threw it into the sea.

The others jeered, saying that if she dove in to retrieve the gift, Zayden would accept her feelings.

The result was she really jumped.

She couldn’t swim. In the end, she didn’t get the gift back and had to climb onto the lifeboat in humiliation, heartlessly abandoned by Zayden in the sea.

She rowed the lifeboat for three hours before making it back to shore.

Thinking of all the foolish things she’d done for Zayden, Eliza felt laughable.

Staring at the lifeboat beneath her, Eliza’s eyes darkened.

This time, no one would make fun of her again.

With the sound of gas hissing from a valve, screams erupted from the deck.

"Holy crap! Has Eliza gone mad?"

"Zayden! Look at Eliza! Has she gone mad? She punctured her lifeboat!"

Zayden had no intention of looking at Eliza in the beginning, but upon hearing the exclamation from someone beside him, he shifted his gaze toward the water.

The person who was supposed to be on the lifeboat was now gone.

Another person’s face turned pale, and they said, "Did she go into the water to retrieve the gift again? Does she have a death wish?"

The onlookers also paled in shock.

They had just wanted to mess with Eliza a bit; no one actually hoped for someone to die.

In such cold weather, she dove in the sea again. What if she really died?

Naomi, who had been hiding in a corner, also looked very unsettled when she saw that Eliza actually punctured her lifeboat.

She only meant to embarrass Eliza! She couldn’t actually die!

The monthly exam was coming soon. If Eliza weren't around to help her cheat, she’d be in big trouble!

Thinking of this, Naomi rushed out from the corner and anxiously held Zayden’s arm. "Zayden! Please get someone to save Eliza! If anything happens to her, I won’t be able to live with myself!"

Tears streamed down Naomi’s cheek; her face looked aggrieved.

Zayden frowned.

The next second, he took off his coat and jumped into the water.

The seawater was icy and biting.

Zayden hadn’t expected the night sea to be this cold.

Every second in the water was a torment.

"Eliza! Give me your hand!"

Just as he found Eliza and tried to pull her up, Eliza suddenly opened her eyes and kicked him in the stomach underwater.

The kick stunned Zayden, causing him to panic and swallow several gulps of seawater accidentally.

Seeing Zayden struggling in pain underwater, Eliza felt a rush of satisfaction.

She had held her breath for a long time and knew that Naomi wasn't bold enough to really let her die.

Even those on the shore only wanted to mock her; they weren't bold enough to let anything happen to her.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have thrown down the lifeboat.

Seeing Zayden about to drown, Eliza finally reached out and pulled him to the surface.

The rescue staff on the ferry quickly pulled them both up onto the deck.

Seeing Zayden coughing up several mouthfuls of water, Naomi rushed forward, worriedly asking, "Zayden, how do you feel? Are you alright?"

Zayden didn’t respond; his eyes fixed on Eliza in the distance.

That kick underwater—he was almost certain it was intentional!

"Eliza! How could you be so reckless? You can’t even swim, yet you still jump in on purpose! Everyone throws you the lifeboat out of goodwill, yet you sabotage it! Are you troubling us all on purpose?"

Naomi stood on the moral high ground, telling Eliza off with righteous indignation.

As if Eliza were the one making things difficult for everyone.

Naomi completely kept quiet about how they had all coaxed and bullied her into jumping in the first place.

That was her dear Naomi—always kind and understanding.

Others chimed in:

"Yeah, Eliza, you went too far! Do you know how expensive a lifeboat is? You dragged us all into this mess for just a lousy gift. How selfish of you!"

"Exactly! Given that worthless stuff, even if you got it back, Zayden wouldn’t want it!"

The people around Zayden were long used to mocking Eliza.

To them, she was nothing but a shameless lapdog.

Under all those scornful stares, Eliza slowly pulled out a fountain pen from her hand. Then she said calmly, "Zayden, this is the birthday gift from Naomi. I went to retrieve it for her."

Upon hearing her, Naomi froze and thought, What gift?

She hadn’t prepared anything for Zayden.

After all, simply attending Zayden’s birthday banquet was more than enough to please him.

The crowd was stunned as they thought, A gift from Naomi? Wasn’t it from Eliza?

"Here you go," Eliza said as she tossed the pen into Zayden’s arms without a change in expression.

Zayden looked at her and felt that her expression had changed.

Usually, Eliza would have looked at him with hope, waiting for praise.

But now, her gaze was calm, as if looking at a stranger.

Eliza didn’t spare him another look and turned to leave the deck.

Silence filled the air for a moment.

Then someone suddenly shouted, "Isn’t that Albert's pen? Naomi, you are impressive! You actually managed to get that?"

"Albert..." Naomi stammered; her smile froze on her face.

She didn’t even know who that was!

Back in her cabin, Eliza let out a cold laugh.

Of course Naomi didn’t know.

Albert was Zayden’s favorite scholar.

The black fountain pen wasn’t expensive but rare.

In her previous life, Eliza saved up for a long time and chased after Albert every day, tirelessly as a fan, just to have him sell one of his pens to her.

But in the end, the fountain pen was thrown into the sea by Zayden without a second thought.

Now, she had no intention of wasting any more effort on Zayden.

She might as well push him straight into Naomi’s arms and tie them together.

"Eliza! Why did you say that just now?"

Just as Eliza was about to return to her room, Naomi rushed up frantically.

She had no idea who Albert was and had nearly embarrassed herself in front of Zayden.

Eliza looked at Naomi, who was enraged and accusing. She said calmly, "What? Don’t you like Zayden a lot?"

"How could I like Zayden? Eliza, I have said that I’d never take what belongs to you!"

You would never take what’s mine?

Eliza thought to herself, You would never take what’s mine? and sneered.

She had heard those exact words in her previous life.

In her previous life, Naomi had always known she liked Zayden. She even held Eliza’s hand once and promised, "Eliza, Zayden is someone you love, and I’ll never compete with you over him."

Eliza had been naïve, believing her sister truly treated her well. She even felt gratitude and took the blame for her over and over.

Later, she realized that Naomi loved stealing things from her.

Every time she succeeded, she felt a sense of triumph.

Eliza remembered—after she went to jail in her previous life, Naomi visited her once. Her smile was as pure and innocent as ever, yet full of disdain. She casually said, "Zayden's just mid; I don’t even really like him. But what can I say? I love taking what belongs to you."

As she spoke, Naomi raised her delicate hand; her fingers were as pristine and smooth as ever. What was more important was that her ring finger was adorned with a sparkling diamond ring - the one thing Eliza had longed for over twelve years.

Zayden had once said that when he had the money, he would give her a proper wedding and put a ring on her finger with his own hands.

She believed him.

She waited, and waited. Even until the divorce, that wedding never came, nor did that ring.

Naomi said with feigned regret, "This was from Zayden. It’s only worth 420,000 dollars. But honestly, the quality and craftsmanship are just mid. I don’t really like it."

Then she took off the ring and casually tossed it in the rubbish bin.

Eliza knew that she did that on purpose.

But she also knew that even if Naomi threw the ring away, Zayden would smile and buy her an even bigger one.

Zayden was never short on money—he just didn’t think she was worth spending it on.

Thinking of that, Eliza pulled her hand away from Naomi and said, “Then it seems we really are sisters through and through. I just realized today that Zayden is just mid.”

"Is that so?" Suddenly, Zayden appeared before her, sneering coldly.

The moment their eyes met, Eliza felt a sting in her heart.

Even though she had already let go in her heart, facing the man who had once accompanied her for twelve years and been her husband for seven, she still felt a lingering bitterness and resentment.

Zayden walked to Naomi’s side and pulled her behind him protectively. He said coldly, "Eliza, what trick are you up to this time? You knew that gift was from Naomi, but you didn’t explain it to me. Now you’re trying to badmouth me, taking advantage of her innocence. Don’t you think that’s disgusting?"

Soon, Naomi realized Zayden had misunderstood.

He thought Eliza had been badmouthing him to Naomi, trying to manipulate her into thinking he wasn’t a good person.

Well, that made sense.

In Zayden’s eyes, she had always been a scheming woman willing to do anything to achieve her goals.

This time, similarly, he assumed she had deliberately let him misunderstand so he’d throw away the gift supposedly from Naomi, making Naomi hate him.

"Zayden, your imagination is quite something," Eliza said coldly.

Her indifference made Zayden frown.

In the past, Eliza never talked to him in that tone.

"Zayden, you’re mistaken! Eliza didn’t mean it like that..." Naomi chimed in vaguely, indirectly confirming that Eliza had spoken ill of him.

Zayden said, "Naomi, you’re too kind. You never know how vicious this woman’s heart is."

He then turned his cold gaze to Eliza and said, "Don’t think that just because you’re my fiancée, I’m bound to you. That engagement was arranged by our parents when we were kids. If I don’t agree to it, it doesn’t count for anything."

Eliza replied coldly, "Is that so? I think the same. I’ll speak with my parents when I get back. Let’s cancel the engagement. From now on, we’ll go our separate ways."

Zayden’s frown deepened - he hadn’t expected Eliza to say such words, thinking, Does Eliza actually agree to break off the engagement?

"Eliza! What nonsense are you saying? No matter how furious you are, you can’t just cancel the engagement!" Naomi exclaimed, panicked, tugging at Eliza’s sleeve.

Looking at the hands pulling on her, Eliza found it laughable.

Why couldn't she break off the engagement?

She could never forget what had happened in her previous life.

Not long from now, Zayden would announce their breakup publicly, leaving her utterly humiliated, and start dating Naomi soon after.

Later, when the Holt family fell into hard times, Naomi declared she saw no future with him and broke up without hesitation to go abroad.

It was Eliza who had stayed by Zayden’s side, begging her parents, who never liked him, to lend him money to get through the crisis.

She had even dropped out of high school and lived with him for five years without status or title, cooking and caring for him like his wife.

In her previous life, when they went to the courthouse to register their marriage, Zayden held her hand and promised never to betray her.

And yet?

When Naomi returned to the country after just two days, everything changed after she shed a few tears.

On the day of their divorce, Zayden, who hadn’t come home in ages, coldly tossed the divorce papers in front of her and said, "Eliza, Naomi's back. She’s even willing to divorce for me. You know I’ve never had feelings for you. Let’s get divorced—it’s better for both of us."

Seven years of marriage—and he made a clean break with her, saying he never had feelings for her.

Thinking of how miserable she had lived in the previous life, Eliza wanted nothing more than to let go.

Eliza just wanted to end things herself before Zayden had the chance to humiliate her again.

With that, she flung off Naomi’s hand and said, "I’ve made myself clear. Since this is what Mr. Zayden wants, I’m happy to oblige. Tomorrow, let’s have both families discuss the engagement cancellation."

Upon finishing her words, Eliza gave Zayden a faint smile and said, "Zayden, I only have one sister. Ever since we were kids, I have always given her whatever she wanted. I hope you don’t disappoint her."

With that, she turned away.

In that moment, the smile faded from her face.

In her previous life, Zayden betrayed the wife who had stood by his side for twelve years—all for Naomi.

This time, she was letting go first!

These two tragic lovebirds had better stay locked together and far away from her.

As for Naomi...

Since she loved taking what wasn't hers so much, this time Eliza would let her have Zayden and take back everything else that should have been hers in her previous life.

It was late at night.

Zayden’s birthday banquet had ended. Everyone else had a driver to take them home—except Eliza.

It was hard to hail a cab by the sea. She finally got a ride after waiting for half an hour and returned home to the Rivers family past midnight.

The lights in the living room were still on.

Nathan and Evelyn sat on the sofa; their expressions were serious as they watched her walk in.

Seeing her parents made Eliza’s heart sink.

Evelyn asked, "Didn’t you go to Zayden’s birthday banquet? Why are you back so late?"

She frowned, continuing, “Naomi got home long ago! What kind of girl comes home this late? What kind of example are you setting for Naomi?”

Eliza glanced at Naomi, who sat on the sofa.

Zayden had sent her back in the Holt family’s private car—of course, she got home early.

But Naomi hadn’t mentioned how she was abandoned by Zayden at the seaside.

"Mom, don’t be mad at Eliza. She just stayed a little longer to have fun," Naomi said softly, snuggling against their mother with feigned sweetness.

Hearing that, Evelyn's expression softened. "See? Naomi's still speaking up for you! When will you start acting like a proper older sister?"

An older sister?

Ever since she was a kid, she had to give up everything good to Naomi, simply because she was the older sister.

In the end, both her grades and her love were taken away from her.

In her previous life, after Naomi killed someone in a hit-and-run, their usually cold mother had actually held her hand tenderly and said, "Eliza, you’re her elder sister. She’s about to get married. You wouldn’t want to watch your sister die, would you?"

The fact that she was the elder sister meant she had to take the blame for Naomi and take on the charge of the hit-and-run.

When the victim’s family caused a scene in court, she was beaten until she vomited blood, while Evelyn was only concerned with protecting Naomi, who was standing by as a family member.

Did all of this happen to her simply because she was the older sister?

Eliza asked, "Mom, Dad, do you both think that as an older sister, I should sacrifice everything for Naomi, including my life?"

Nathan and Evelyn both frowned; they didn’t understand why she would say such strange words.

Evelyn snapped, "It’s late; what nonsense are you spouting now? I would want to ask you instead—I heard from Naomi about you breaking off the engagement with Zayden. What's going on?"

Facing the scolding, Eliza responded calmly, "Zayden doesn’t love me, so he wants to break off the engagement, and I agree."

A sudden bang echoed through the room.

Evelyn slammed the table, standing up angrily, and said, "Nonsense! Why don't you tell us about such a big matter?"

Eliza had anticipated her mother's reaction.

In her previous life, because Zayden didn't like her, the Holt family had attempted to break off the engagement multiple times.

This caused her to lose face at school and become a laughingstock of the entire Westbrook.

At that time, feeling disheartened, she had agreed to the breakup, but Evelyn had slapped her angrily, saying that her actions had affected Naomi's reputation.

Yeah, how could a woman who was publicly dumped by her husband still be worthy to be Naomi's older sister?

Naomi, acting like a sweet little angel, walked over to Evelyn and tried to comfort her emotions. She said, "Mom, Eliza didn’t do it on purpose; please don’t be angry at her."

This time, Eliza clearly saw the flash of smugness in Naomi's eyes.

Naomi had been struggling with how to get together with Zayden. Now that Eliza had voluntarily broken off the engagement, it was exactly what she had wanted.

She thought to herself how silly her sister was.

The Holt family was such a good match, but she refused to marry into it. Now, after breaking the engagement, no one would dare to marry Eliza.

Evelyn said, "Since Naomi is pleading for you, I’ll let it go this time. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the Holt family to apologize, and we’ll pretend that no one mentioned breaking off the engagement. The midterm exam is coming soon, so focus on studying."

Evelyn took a deep breath and continued, "Naomi has always been in the top three in her grade. But for you, your grades have been slipping, and the teacher has approached me and mentioned that with your current performance, you might not even make it into college."

When Evelyn brought up midterm exams, Naomi’s expression was a little uneasy, and she said, "Mom, why are you bringing that up? Eliza is so smart. I’m sure she’ll do well in the next exam. We should believe in her."

Hearing Naomi defending her, Eliza couldn't help but find it laughable.

Naomi had been a top student in middle school, but after entering high school, she couldn't keep up with the pace, and her results went into a downfall.

Eventually, Naomi came and begged for her, asking if she could swap test papers with her.

In her previous life, Eliza did what Naomi told her, covering for Naomi, and ended up having their parents get called in by the school.

In the end, even the teachers stopped believing in her learning abilities.

In one exam, she took it with her real ability and didn’t swap papers with Naomi. As a result, she scored first in her grade.

The teacher suspected her of cheating, and it was Naomi who stood up and tearfully said that she was afraid Eliza wouldn’t make it into college, so she swapped the papers with her in a momentary lapse of judgment.

No matter how much she tried to explain, her parents and the teachers no longer believed her words.

Later, Naomi shamelessly said that if she hadn’t begged for mercy for her, Eliza would have been punished.

It was laughable that she had actually believed this absurd excuse in her previous life.

But the good news was, she had only covered for Naomi’s cheating twice up until now.

This time, she wouldn’t be stupid enough to help her cheat.

Under the watchful eyes of Evelyn and Naomi, Eliza reached out and grabbed Naomi’s hand, then said with a smile, "Thank you, Naomi, for believing in me. This time, I’ll work even harder and try my best in the exam."

Having her hand held by Eliza, Naomi instinctively stiffened.

Eliza had always been quiet and felt inferior in front of her. She would never actively hold her hand or say such warm and mushy words.

This feeling made Naomi uncomfortable.

But since their parents were there, Naomi couldn’t draw her hand back and could only force a smile looking at Eliza.

Late at night, Eliza returned to her room.

It was a small attic.

The attic barely had enough space for a bed and a simple study table.

Her room was completely different from Naomi’s spacious and luxurious bedroom.

The Rivers family had other guest rooms, but her mother said those were reserved for relatives, asking her to bear with it.

Nathan silently agreed.

To them, Eliza had no status in this family.

Thinking of this, Eliza let out a mocking laugh.

In her previous life, she had valued family ties above everything and willingly became the servant of this family, enduring all the impartial treatment.

This time, she wouldn’t be so foolish as to repeat her mistake.

The next morning, Eliza didn’t prepare breakfast for the family as she left for school before dawn.

The school was empty, and the lights in the classrooms were off.

Eliza climbed up to the classroom on the fifth floor. She opened the door, entered the classroom, and turned on the lights.

As soon as the lights turned on, a figure appeared in the back row of the classroom.

Eliza frowned and thought, Zayden? Wasn’t he celebrating his birthday last night? What was he doing in the classroom? Had he not gone home? Forget about it; it had nothing to do with me.

She had already divorced Zayden in her previous life. Even if she didn't, she had no intention of having any ties with him in this life.

With that thought in mind, Eliza carried her bag and walked toward her seat.

Zayden’s tired eyes landed on Eliza, and he said in a deep voice, "Who told you to come to school at this hour?"

His tone was full of questioning, even with a hint of disgust.

He didn’t like others prying into his whereabouts and even disturbing his rest.

Upon hearing Zayden's words, Eliza felt speechless.

Did she need Zayden’s permission to come to school?

Seeing that Eliza didn’t respond to him in an unprecedented way, Zayden’s frown deepened. He kicked her chair and said, "Are you mute now?"

Eliza replied, "Aren't you being childish?"

Growing up with Zayden, Eliza knew that he had always been a quiet and deep person.

At this age, Zayden was aloof and liked to act mysterious, but deep down, he was still a teenager.

In her previous life, because she liked him, she always tried to come up with conversations with him, enduring all his annoying habits.

But now, she wouldn’t tolerate it.

If he had a problem, he should fix it!

Zayden said, "Eliza, what are you up to this time?"

Since last night, Eliza had seemed like a completely different person.

Not only did she stop following him around, but she also coldly mentioned breaking off the engagement.

Eliza opened her exercise book and started revising, completely ignoring Zayden.

After being ignored a few times, Zayden’s mood became even more frustrated.

Zayden said, "My mom disagrees with breaking off the engagement. You think of something to solve it."

He tossed the problem at Eliza.

At that moment, it came to Eliza's realization why Zayden had stayed in the classroom overnight.

It turned out that his mother disagreed with the breakup.

It was just natural; how could she agree?

No mother-in-law wouldn’t like a well-behaved, obedient maid who was easy to manipulate.

Zayden continued, "Eliza, are you deaf?"

Seeing that Eliza still hadn't said a word, Zayden couldn’t help but mock her, "Or maybe you don’t want to break off the engagement at all? Was last night just you throwing a tantrum?"

Eliza suddenly put down her pen as a smack echoed through the classroom.

That unexpected move froze Zayden.

Eliza stood up from her seat and began organizing the books in her drawer.

Seeing this, Zayden furrowed his brow and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Changing seats," Eliza replied.

"What did you say?" Zayden thought he had misheard and asked again.

Back then, when Eliza asked her classmates to switch seats to sit in front of him, she could even go out of her way, writing her classmates' homework for a month. But now, was Eliza actually moving away?

Seeing that Eliza wasn’t going to explain herself, Zayden stood up and pressed her books down onto the desk, asking, "What exactly do you want?"

It seemed like Eliza was constantly trying to get his seats, matched him with Naomi, and now, she's moving her seat again.

Eliza shook off his hand and said, "Zayden, I hope you can understand human speech. You're good at studying, but your constant chatting with Naomi during class distracts me. If I sit in front, you won’t find me bothersome, and it makes things easier for me as well."

Having been reborn, she had long forgotten what she learned in high school. Fortunately, it wasn’t yet the senior year. She could still refresh her knowledge if she worked hard studying. With the upcoming monthly exam, she couldn’t afford to slack off.

Sitting in front of Zayden would only interfere with her studies.

Zayden stared at Eliza for a while, unable to recognize even the slightest trace of the old her. In the past, Eliza wouldn’t have dared speak to him like this, let alone glance at him with such a look. But now, she was serious. She walked to the front of the class, swapped seats with a girl, and even helped move her belongings thoughtfully to the back.

She knew that all the girls in the class wanted to sit closer to Zayden. It was a rare opportunity to sit close to him. Now that she was offering it for free, no one would turn down such a favorable offer.

Zayden watched as Eliza ignored him, and rage surged within him for some reason. He thought, What was this? Was she playing hard to get?

Time passed in the classroom. Eliza quietly sat at her new seat, reviewing the knowledge she had learned in high school. Her notes were thorough, so she quickly got back on track with the knowledge from her previous life.

Sitting at the back of the classroom, Zayden observed her studying seriously. Eliza still didn’t attempt to talk to him for an entire hour.

It was then that Zayden realized that Eliza wasn’t just messing around because it was almost time for the first period of class, and other students would soon arrive at the classroom one after another.

If she didn’t move back to her old seat soon, then it meant that she had really changed seats.

For a moment, Zayden felt uneasy.

Other students started entering the classroom one after another.

When they saw Eliza and Zayden both in the classroom, everyone exchanged knowing glances.

Without hiding their disdain for Eliza, some of Naomi’s close friends sneered.

"Some people really have no shame, chasing after Zayden like this."

"Exactly! Coming to school this early just to be near him."

"Doesn't she feel shameless, trailing behind him all the time? My mom says girls like that don’t respect themselves."

After all, she had always been the quiet one in class, speaking to no one except following Zayden around.

Such kinds of people were always boycotted in school.

On the other hand, Naomi was popular, positive, and cheerful. Regardless of boys and girls, teachers or students, they all like Naomi without exception.

"Oh my god, Eliza, why are you sitting in my seat?" A cute-looking classmate exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

Eliza recognized her as Scarlett, a girl from a well-off family who competed with Naomi openly and subtly. She was Naomi's fake friend.

It was obvious that Scarlet liked Zayden, so she had chosen to swap seats with her.

After all, Zayden’s desk partner was Naomi, so having Scarlet sit in front of Zayden would annoy Naomi a bit.

Eliza said, "I think I’m a bit nearsighted, so I want to sit in front. If you don’t want to switch..."

Scarlett replied, "Of course I don’t mind! I’m always happy to help. If you can’t see the board, just sit here; no need to be polite!"

Scarlett was the kind of girl who would feign to be shy but was very pleased deep down. She looked at Zayden, who was sitting behind, with a shy look; her eyes filled with eagerness.

She had always wanted to sit in front of Zayden, but due to Naomi, she had never dared ask. Now that Eliza had offered, she couldn’t be happier.

The rest of the class looked puzzled.

Everyone knew that Eliza had always liked Zayden.

Why was she suddenly switching seats?

Zayden listened to Eliza’s nonsense and couldn’t help but laugh in anger.

He had known her since childhood—how could he not know that she had excellent eyesight, yet she now claimed she couldn’t see the board?

Who would believe such a ridiculous excuse?

"Zayden..." Scarlett shyly attempted to strike up a conversation with him, but she noticed he wore a cold expression. Zayden replied coldly, "I don’t like being disturbed, so please don’t turn around during class."

With that, her smile stiffened.

It was clear that Zayden only ever smiled at Naomi.

Just as morning class was about to start, all the students had arrived, except for Naomi.

It was then that Naomi rushed in from outside the classroom, her hair slightly disheveled from being in a hurry.

Zayden asked, "Why are you so late today?"

"I..." Naomi faltered. She was about to question Eliza but then noticed that her seat was now occupied by Scarlett.

Eliza was sitting in the front row.

Naomi’s face darkened.

Every morning, it was Eliza who woke her up and made breakfast for the family. But today, she had no idea why Eliza left without saying anything!

This caused her to oversleep and almost be late.

"What's wrong?" Zayden asked, frowning with concern.

"Nothing, I just woke up late," Naomi quickly covered up her emotions.

She had always been a self-disciplined girl in front of Zayden.

She would never want Zayden to know that she needed Eliza to wake her up every morning.

Sitting in the front row, Eliza wasn’t afraid of Naomi complaining to Zayden. After all, she no longer cared about these two.

Besides, Eliza knew very well that even if Zayden had asked, Naomi would never admit it.

After all, everyone knew that waking up early was just a matter of setting an alarm, but Naomi insisted on having Eliza wake her up every morning like a maid. This was because she enjoyed treating her as a slave.

If others found out about this, Naomi’s disguise would crack, and Zayden’s image of her as the perfect first love would no longer exist.