Chapter 1 Not This Time

Lexie stood on my doorstep with her suitcase, looking exhausted from her trip.

"I had a hotel booked, but they told me they'd overbooked and canceled my reservation when I got there. Everywhere else is booked solid because it's close to Memorial Day. I have nowhere else to go."

Her voice trembled as she looked at me pleadingly.

"Please, June. Can I stay here for just a few days? Just a few days, I swear. I'll leave as soon as I find another hotel."

I stared at her blankly as memories of my previous life flooded back.

Lexie had spun me the same spiel when she showed up at my door. I'd felt sorry for her in my previous life. Plus, she was family, so I couldn't bring myself to turn her away when she had nowhere else to go.

I'd even given her the nicest room at my B&B and went out of my way to buy fresh fruit and local pastries to make her feel welcome. To my dismay, she refused to pay a dime after staying for three days.

To make things worse, she left a mean one-star review online.

"What kind of dump doesn't even provide bottled water?"

I was furious. How could she leave me a review like that after everything I'd done for her? I called her right away to ask her to explain herself, but she didn't seem the slightest bit ashamed of her actions.

"Well, it's true, isn't it? You didn't even leave me a bottle of water! I would've reported you if you weren't my cousin!"

I was so pissed off that I let out a bitter laugh. Still, I had no choice but to swallow that loss.

Regardless, what she did next made me fall into utter despair.

She suddenly came storming back into my B&B three months later, pointing an accusing finger at me as she berated me harshly, "This is all your fault! I would've taken my morning-after pill in time if you'd left me a bottle of water in my room!

"Now, I'm pregnant. You owe me for ruining my life!"

Lexie then greedily demanded that I pay her three million as compensation.

I refused.

So, she took her accusations straight to the family group chat, twisting and exaggerating the story to make me look like the villain. She told them that I knew she needed to take medicine, but I deliberately didn't give her any.

My phone started ringing before I could say anything. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and even relatives I hardly knew all called to yell at me.

That wasn't the last of it. She then used all sorts of methods to complain about my B&B to every agency she could think of, reporting things like hygiene, fire safety, and business permits. She reported my business from top to bottom.

Inspectors started coming every few days. Soon, guests grew suspicious, thinking that something terrible had happened in my B&B. As a result, I received fewer and fewer reservations.

My business lasted for two whole months before I finally called it quits.

The thing was, I desperately needed the B&B to cover my severely ill mother's monthly medical bills.

Hence, she soon passed away once I lost that stream of revenue.

She held my hand in her last moments, worried out of her mind about how I would manage on my own after she was gone.

I never forgave myself for that.

Guilt and anger gradually overwhelmed me, causing me to sink into depression and eventually lose my life.

Now, here I was, looking at Lexie saying the same thing she did in my previous life.

I glanced at the suitcase beside her feet, then slowly bent down and picked it up.