From Single Mom to the Billionaire's Queen: Aleira Tan

"Molly, you're the best!"

"Thanks for taking the whole class on this trip. We're so lucky to have a friend like you!"

As everyone crowded around Molly Landry, showering her with praise, it suddenly clicked.

I'd been reborn.

I was back on the day Molly invited our entire class on a trip to Maldelis.

In my last life, this trip was when she won everyone over for good. After that, the whole class adored her and believed anything she told them.

Later, those same people covered for her, turned against me, and blamed me for things I'd never done. In the end, they helped drive me to my death on the streets.

Now Molly stood in the middle of the crowd, basking in all the attention. And somehow, even while praising her, they still found time to mock me as I sat alone in the corner.

"Molly, why'd you even invite a cheapskate like Amber?"

"Seriously. I borrowed 200 dollars from her once, and she wouldn't stop asking me to pay her back. You're nothing like her, Molly. You actually know how to be generous."

Molly immediately jumped in to defend me. "Come on, don't say that. We're all classmates. We should look out for each other."

But her defense only made everyone's contempt for me even more obvious.

"Molly, you're way too nice. Who else would put up with a cheapskate like her?"

"Seriously. She doesn't get along with anyone, either. Just looking at her makes me sick!"

"Amber, you should be on your knees thanking Molly. If she hadn't insisted, none of us would've let you come on this trip!"

Nice?

Molly was anything but. She was cold, calculating, and downright vicious.

In my last life, my family had felt sorry for her and paid her expenses. And this was how she repaid us.

Behind my back, she went around telling everyone I was cheap, broke, and antisocial. She turned the whole class against me and got them to shut me out and bully me.

But I wasn't cheap. I just didn't waste money on things I didn't need. I wasn't very talkative, either, so I mostly kept to myself.

Molly used both against me, bad-mouthing me every chance she got. Eventually, she even drove my family's company into bankruptcy.

The creditors hounded us relentlessly, and in the end, Mom, Dad, and I were all killed.

My hands curled into fists as I thought about everything that had happened in my last life.

Who would've thought helping Molly would come back to bite us like this?

I was still lost in thought when someone gave me a hard shove. I looked up and found Felicia Cohen, Molly's sidekick, glaring at me with her hands on her hips.

"Amber, the heiress is waiting for you to thank her. Are you deaf or what?" she snapped.

Heiress?

I looked at Molly, who was dressed head to toe to look the part, and scoffed to myself.

If anyone here was an heiress, it was me. Molly was just the daughter of our neighbor, Lauren Wright.

Lauren had moved in next door after Molly finished middle school. She and Mom quickly became friends, and Mom soon learned how rough her life had been.

Lauren's husband had been addicted to gambling. He'd been beaten to death years earlier, leaving her buried in debt and raising Molly alone.

Molly had always done well in school, though, and eventually got into the local high school.

Lauren wanted to give her daughter a better place to study, so she moved here and worked one job after another just to keep Molly in school.

Mom felt sorry for her and helped out whenever she could.

Eventually, Lauren pushed herself so hard that she collapsed. After that, she could no longer afford Molly's tuition or even her own medical bills.

Since Molly had good grades, Mom offered to pay her tuition. She also sent Lauren money regularly to help cover their living expenses.