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All Chapters of A Bottle of Water Ruined My Life: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

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

Chapter 2 Not My Problem

Lexie's face immediately lit up as she said, "I knew you wouldn't let me down—" I threw her suitcase out the very next second. It rolled a few times before hitting the pavement with a loud thump.Then, I drawled, "Take your complaints to the hotel if they messed up your reservation. Why are you bothering me instead?"The air fell silent for a couple of seconds.It took her a moment to realize what had just happened, her smile still plastered on her face."June, are you serious? It's a holiday weekend! You're really going to leave me out on the street?"Her eyes immediately filled with tears, and her voice cracked. "I'm desperate here..."I watched her pull the same sad act I'd fallen for before—the excuses, the begging, even the tears at the right cue. Not a single thing had changed.In my previous life, I felt sorry for her and took her in. Unfortunately, that choice had cost me my business, my mother, and eventually my own life.I tugged my lips into a smirk. "I'm so sorry.

Chapter 3 Some Things Never Change

Lexie gritted her teeth as she bent down to stuff the clothes that had spilled back into her suitcase and yanked the zipper shut. Then, she stood up and shot me another furious glare.The anger in her eyes had intensified.Then, she dragged her suitcase and followed Peter into his B&B.I followed after them, which immediately caused him to frown."June, what are you doing? Are you trying to steal my customer?" I ignored him and walked straight up to Lexie, lowering my voice so only she could hear. "Congratulations, Lexie. Looks like you found the right person to scam this time."I didn't bother waiting for her to respond before turning around and heading back to my B&B, pulling the metal gate shut behind me.…After that day, I swiftly sold the B&B I'd spent years building.As my business hadn't faced any public criticism or online harassment, I managed to sell the B&B that I'd spent blood, sweat, and tears to build for a good price.The money I received was enough to cover

Chapter 4 I've Got Evidence

Only this time, Peter was the one who got scammed, not me. I couldn't help but wonder what he'd look like when he saw Lexie's one-star review.Still, that wasn't the main event here.This time, it didn't matter what stunt Lexie was going to pull because I already had the necessary evidence to protect myself.Sure enough, the group chat exploded when I was heading to the hospital cafeteria to get my mother a little something."June! Show yourself right the fuck now!"Her voice messages came in starts and stops as she sobbed all the way."Do you... have any idea what you've done to me? You wouldn't let me stay... at your place, so I had no choice but to go next door! That Peter... he's a monster! He kept forcing me to drink… It was already too late when I woke up. I'm pregnant… It's all your fault!"None of this would've happened if you'd just let me stay with you that night!"The rest of the voice message was just her crying.Then came the long word vomit of texts. "I'm pregnan

Chapter 5 Calling Her Bluff

The family group chat went completely silent the second I sent that message. It was as if someone had pressed pause on them all.More than ten seconds passed before Lexie finally sent another voice message. This time, there was no hiding the obvious panic in her tone. "What the hell are you talking about? What right do you have to call the cops? Are you out of your mind?"I didn't bother replying.Then, she sent another voice message. Her tone had undergone a complete 180, carrying an unmistakable hint of threat as she snarled, "June, I'm warning you! If you dare call the police, I'll expose every dirty little secret you've been hiding!"She continued, "Don't think I don't know about your B&B! That place was unsafe, and you used connections to get your health permits approved! You should know better than anyone just what you've done!"I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that. She had used these same accusations to threaten me in my previous life. She made it so that I wouldn'

Chapter 6 What a Performance

Lexie sent more than ten texts, and she cursed me out in every single one of them."What the fuck? The cops actually called me!""June, you psycho! You really called the fucking police?""What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to ruin my life?""I'm warning you! If the cops show up, I'm telling them that you put me up to all of this!"I listened to her messages, but rather than getting angry, I just felt sad.Lexie was my cousin, and my mother had treated her better than she did me sometimes. My father had secretly given her 5,000 dollars when she couldn't afford her college tuition fees.He had spent three months hauling bricks at construction sites, working himself to exhaustion just to save up that much money.Yet here she was, threatening to ruin my life over money.She'd succeeded in my previous life, but I had no intention of letting her win in this one.…It hadn't even been ten minutes since I'd called the police, and the family group chat was already wild

Chapter 7 Face to Face

In my previous life, Lexie had allied with Peter to report me. In this life, they'd turned against each other. Honestly, the two of them tearing each other apart had really saved me a lot of trouble.…Lexie sent another voice message about 40 minutes later, saying tremulously, "The police are here. June, just you wait."Linda was quick to follow with a voice message of her own, sobbing as she choked out, "Dear God! What did we ever do to deserve this? How could something like this happen to our family?"The group chat fell silent. None of them dared to say a word.I put my phone away and went to get my mother some water.She watched me with a worried expression. "June, what's really going on with Lexie?"I handed her the glass and tried my best to keep my voice calm. "Mom, it's nothing. Lexie got herself into this mess, and she'll have to deal with the consequences. I only reported what she said to the police. They'll handle it."My mother let out a sigh. "You know how your

Chapter 8 Turning the Tables

Peter continued, "And now she's pregnant and claiming I'm the father! How am I supposed to prove I'm innocent now?"The officer turned to me. "Ms. Austin, you're the one who reported this incident. Is there anything you'd like to add?"Every head in the room turned toward me as soon as those words fell from his lips.I curled my lips into a smile. "Officer, I'll admit I may have acted a little impulsively. When my cousin started crying in our family group chat, saying she'd been assaulted…. Well, my first instinct was to help her get justice—as a family should."However, I changed the subject and added, "But after giving it some thought, I realized there were a few things that didn't quite add up."The officer furrowed his brow. "Such as?""Well, Lexie says she was assaulted, but she stayed at Peter's B&B for three days. If something had happened on the first night, then why didn't she leave? Why did she stay for two more nights?""Shut up!" Lexie shrieked, cutting me off. "What

Chapter 9 The Evidence Speaks

The timestamp on the footage read 9:43 p.m.The officer fast-forwarded through the recording. Peter appeared at the entrance about ten minutes later, got onto his scooter, and rode away.…He didn't return until 7 a.m. the next morning.Throughout the night, there was no sign of Peter returning through the entrance or Lexie leaving the property.The officer turned to her with a frown. "You told us Mr. Hayes forced you to drink and then assaulted you that night. But this footage shows he left shortly after you checked in and didn't return until the next morning."Her lips trembled, and she couldn't answer.I let out a quiet sigh. "Lexie, maybe you're mistaken? Maybe it happened on a different night?""No!" she shrieked suddenly. "It was him! It happened that night! I know it did!"The officer looked down at the documents in front of him. "There's one more thing we need to clarify. Based on the medical records from the hospital, the estimated timeline of your pregnancy doesn't s

Chapter 10 A Second Chance

Linda lunged toward me in an attempt to yank me over, but an officer nearby quickly stepped between us.So, she grabbed Lexie's arm and shouted, "We're the real victims here! What gives you the right to bully us?"Barbara immediately fired back, threatening to take them to court.The two women began shouting across the table, causing the mediation room to descend into chaos once more.The officer rapped on the table, but it still took some time for them to finally quiet down. He turned to Lexie, his voice cold. "It's clear what has happened. Are you going to continue raising a fuss?"She buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.Linda sank into her chair, her face ashen. She looked as if she'd aged ten years in seconds.…Night had already fallen by the time we left the police station.Linda and Lexie were up in front, with Linda supporting her. Suddenly, Lexie turned around, her eyes filled with hatred. "June, you'll get what's coming to you."I said nothing.

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