Rebirth: We Play by My Rules This Time

Bree froze, a single tear still clinging to the corner of her eye.I turned to our housekeeper, Harold Smither. "Harold, go up to my study and bring down the folder on my desk."This was the first thing I did after coming back. I drafted a contract.A few minutes later, a document over a dozen pages thick landed on the coffee table in front of Bree. The cover read, "Residential Conduct Agreement and Liability Waiver"."Sign it, and you can move in."I stood over her with my arms crossed.Bree picked it up, looking dazed, and flipped to the first page. Her face fell immediately.The terms were spelled out in black and white."First, the host family (the Whitmore family) provides the first-floor guest room for the resident (Bree Webb) to occupy free of charge. The resident's access is restricted to the guest room and designated common areas on the first floor. The second and third floors are strictly off-limits."Second, the resident has self-reported a tendency toward severe de

On the surveillance feed, Bree slipped out of her room in a paper-thin white silk nightgown that was practically see-through. She was barefoot and carrying an empty glass. She drifted toward the kitchen like a ghost.There was no way a scholarship student on a stipend could afford that nightgown. She'd come prepared, and it was obviously a costume.She stopped in the kitchen doorway and spotted Eric standing with his back to her, drinking water. She tugged her neckline down a little and then called out in her sweetest voice, "Eric, you're still up too."Then, she pretended to twist her ankle, let out a little yelp, and threw herself toward his back, glass and all.In my last life, this was the exact moment Eric instinctively turned around and caught her. She splashed water all over him, their bodies pressed together, and she burst into tears on cue. That was how the whole nightmare started.But this time around, the second Eric heard that sugary voice, every hair on his body stood

The three top-tier investment firms that had already agreed to terms called overnight to pull out. It was playing out exactly the way it did in my last life.That evening, someone nearly hammered the front door off its hinges. My uncle, Ray Whitmore, stormed in with a handful of company executives in tow, seething.In my last life, he was the one who pressured my parents relentlessly at this exact stage until they agreed to the insane decision of marrying Eric off to Bree."Where's Eric? Get that little bastard out here!" He was shouting the second he walked through the door, his face twisted in outrage."Look at what he's done! One day, and the company's lost billions of dollars in market value! The board is ready to eat me alive!"Eric walked out of his study, jaw tight and fists clenched. But he wasn't panicking. He just looked at me."Uncle Ray, Eric didn't do anything." My voice was ice."If he didn't do anything, why would she put her own reputation on the line to make it

Bree let out a cold laugh. "Ten million dollars? That's not going to cut it. I don't just want money."Once this blows up big enough and Eric has no choice but to marry me to shut everyone up, I'll be Mrs. Whitmore. And then the whole family is mine."The recording ended. The conference room was dead silent. The only sound was the low hum of the projector fan.Travis shot out of his chair, knocking it over. Sweat poured down his face as he bolted for the door."Stop him!" the senior officer barked.Two officers outside pushed through the door immediately. One of them had Travis pinned to the floor in seconds, and the handcuffs clicked shut behind his back.Bree slid out of her chair like she'd lost every bone in her body and crumpled to the ground. She stared at the screen, unblinking, like she was watching her own life come to an end.I stood over her and repeated her own words back to her in the exact same tone she'd used, "I don't want money. I just want him to answer for wha

Dozens of major accounts with millions of followers were permanently banned and hit with civil damages ranging from hundreds of thousands to over a million dollars each.The online landscape went through a long-overdue cleanup after the case. All those keyboard warriors who'd made a hobby out of screaming "eat the rich" finally learned that spreading lies came with a real price tag.And for Whitmore Industries and Eric, the whole disaster actually turned into a blessing in disguise.The national spotlight had put Eric's character and resilience on full display, and his tech startup got more exposure than money could buy. The investors who had pulled out took a second look at the man who'd kept his composure through all of it, came back with their checkbooks, and doubled the valuation.The day the truth came out, Whitmore Industries' stock surged to a record high.As for Uncle Ray, the evidence against him was airtight. He was sentenced to five years and lost every ounce of influen