Chapter 2

Faking lightheadedness, I said, “I’m sorry, Pearl. I still haven’t managed to get a bite to eat. My blood sugar is low, so I can’t take your blood now. Let me get someone else to do it for you, alright?”

“You can’t!” Two voices rang out at the same time.

I looked at Pearl and Wyatt in confusion. “Huh?”

Wyatt quickly threw an arm around me and said, “Maya, Pearl came all this way to see you specifically, only because she trusts you. Can you bear to disappoint her?”

‘Trust?’ I scoffed to myself. It was because of “trust” that I died so horribly in the previous timeline.

It was exactly because I trusted Pearl that I did not tell Benjamin about her AIDS diagnosis after I learned about it.

What had she done in return?

After she infected Benjamin with AIDS, she insisted that I had set her up.

“If Maya had told us the results when we were doing our pre-wedding health check, I would definitely have broken up with Benjamin! I love him so much. I could never bear to infect him with AIDS! This is all Maya’s fault! She wanted to ruin us all!”

Even more devastating was how my boyfriend of many years had sided with her instead of me.

“This isn’t the first time Maya has done something to hurt Pearl. Pearl only got AIDS because she used a tainted needle on Pearl when she took her blood!”

With Wyatt’s testimony, all my attempts at explaining myself became useless.

No one believed me. The hospital fired me, and someone even set my house on fire.

For survival, I was forced to uproot my family and move to another city.

However, with Pearl whispering in his ear, Benjamin intentionally crashed into us in a gigantic truck and killed my whole family.

…

After my death, I saw Pearl move into Benjamin’s villa with Wyatt.

It was then that I knew that they had been sneaking around behind my back for a long time.

Shaking myself out of my reverie, I pushed Wyatt away. “Since Pearl trusts me so much, I should do my best. But I’m not in the best condition right now. Since it’s lunchtime, I’ll have my meal first.”

“I have some bread here.” Terrified that I was running off, Pearl took some bread out of her bag.

I did not accept it, and Pearl’s expression turned awkward.

“How about this? Since I’m getting married today, I’ll treat you both to a meal.”

I was waiting for Benjamin to say this.

Due to my insistence, Benjamin drove us to a fancy restaurant.

When the waitress saw Pearl, she came over and greeted her enthusiastically, “Welcome, Miss Hutton. Why aren’t you here with your boyfriend today?”

Benjamin looked at Pearl in puzzlement.

Panicking, Pearl berated the waitress angrily, “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you see my boyfriend standing right here next to me?”

“But—”

The waitress had more to say, but Pearl shoved her and said, “But nothing! This is my first time in this restaurant. Get it through your skull. You’ve mistaken me for someone else!”

At this point, the waitress could only apologize and agree with her.

Meanwhile, I was on the verge of bursting into laughter.

I only chose this restaurant because I knew that Pearl and her ex-boyfriend had always gone on dates here.

However, this was not enough for me.

I immediately took out my phone and sent an anonymous text to Pearl’s ex-boyfriend.

I was sure he still did not know that she had given him AIDS.

Once all our food was served, Pearl noticed Timothy Hodgeson at the entrance of the restaurant. As he scanned the place, her face instantly turned pale.

“Pearl, are you okay?” Benjamin looked over at her with concern.

Pearl ducked her head and nearly buried her face in her arm. She then faked a stomach upset and said, “Darling, I think it’s my time of the month. Can you get me some pain medication from the drugstore?”

I brought out the ibuprofen that I took with me everywhere and gave it to her.

“I have some. Here, take these.”

Pearl glared at me, and her gaze was filled with hatred. Still, she managed to force a smile. “Thank you, Maya, but I can’t take ibuprofen. I need naproxen.”

Then, she resumed her coy act with Benjamin. “Darling, please? Didn’t you say you’d care for me all my life?”

“Alright, I’ll go right now!”

Benjamin grabbed his keys and immediately left the restaurant.

Right then, Timothy finally spotted Pearl.

He rushed over with a knife and yelled, “Pearl Hutton, you wretched woman! You gave me AIDS!”