Chapter 2

Noah froze in place, unable to believe what he had just heard.

I let out a scoff and walked past him toward the black car driver, who was still cursing under his breath.

“I’ll transfer you the compensation for the driver later.”

Noah’s fists clenched tightly as the corners of his eyes turned red.

I was startled at first, then quickly realized what was going on. “Oh, I didn’t use the Hayes family’s money. I used what I earned myself...”

“Maya!” he cut me off in exasperation.

I saw a trace of grievance on his face just for a moment.

“You’re the Hayes family’s only daughter. Even if I have to give you the entire Hayes family, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second. ”

I found it amusing and looked straight into his eyes. “Is that so?”

His body trembled slightly, as though something had just clicked in his mind. The publicly recognized heiress of the Hayes family was Elena now! I, the real Hayes family daughter, was nothing more than a delusional woman with a ruined reputation!

I laughed wildly, even as tears streamed down my face.

Back then, I was inseparable from Noah. He even brought me along whenever he filmed. Now, all he did was keep a cold face and order me to give everything to Elena.

He dragged me back into the car. He lowered his head and said, “When Elena wins her physics award, we’ll announce that you’re the real heiress… Everything before that was just a misunderstanding…”

I could not be bothered to respond and turned my head toward the window.

Outside the window, the scenery kept rushing backward, vanishing in an instant.

Before I transmigrated, I was an orphan. I was diagnosed with bone cancer during a medical checkup. I was lying in a hospital bed, constantly fainting from the pain.

When I opened my eyes again, the system had brought me into this world as a six-year-old girl.

A voice echoed in my mind.

[When your affection values with the Hayes brothers and the male lead, Julian Hart, reach 80% and you successfully marry Julian, you will receive a hundred-million-dollar reward and return to your original world.]

Then came a burst of static. I almost thought it was a hallucination.

However, being given a second chance at life with a healthy body did not seem like a bad deal.

The car drove steadily on. Noah held my wrist tightly. His fingers gently brushed over the back of my hand, the same way he used to soothe my insomnia.

As an orphan, I once clung to that kind of favoritism. I even thought about giving up the mission to stay.

However, after Elena was brought back, all that tenderness became hers exclusively. I went from being spoiled to sulking and to breaking down in despair. In the end, all I got was, “Stop acting up. Look at yourself. What do you even look like now?”

The car stopped at the Hayes family’s mansion. I shook off Noah’s hand and got out. He called after me in disbelief, “Maya, I got hurt for you…”

I cut him off without any expression on my face, “If you’re hurt, go see a doctor. What does that have to do with me?”

I pushed open the front door. The first thing I saw was Elena, surrounded by attention like a princess, sitting on the couch.

My eldest brother, Felix Hayes, wore a stern face as he threw a punch at Julian’s shoulder. “Elena hasn't been sleeping or eating well in the past three days because of you! And you're telling me you're taking care of her?!”

Elena hurriedly tried to stop him. “Felix, Zeph, I’m fine now. It was all just a misunderstanding. It’s better now that we’ve talked it out.”

I stood at the doorway, quietly watching their loving family moment.

[Host, dopamine levels detected to be decreasing…]

The system’s emotionless voice sounded lower than usual.

[Host, are you feeling sad right now?]