Chapter 1

The scholarship understudy in our ballet company was a notorious "clumsy sweetheart."

Right before the Principal Audition, she secretly laced the pain-relief cream she gave me with a high concentration of banned substances.

It led to me being reported for doping. I was expelled from the company on the spot, my reputation was ruined, and my ballet career was completely destroyed.

When I confronted her, she hid in my fiancé's arms, crying so hard she almost passed out.

"Eve, I really just wanted to help you perform perfectly... I'm so stupid, I can't even tell the difference between muscle rub and banned drugs."

My fiancé held her, comforting her, and then yelled at me instead:

"She was just trying to be nice! Why do you have to be so cruel to a young girl?!"

Later, as I spiraled into severe depression, they tricked me into going to the river under the guise of "getting some fresh air."

While my fiancé went to park the car, she took the opportunity to shove me hard off the icy steps, leaving me to drown alive in the freezing river.

When questioned by the police, my fiancé didn't hesitate to commit perjury to clear her name, insisting I had jumped because I couldn't handle the scandal.

I opened my eyes again. I was back to the day before the Principal Audition.

……

"Eve?"

That familiar female voice pulled me back to reality.

Daisy leaned in, cradling a small glass jar in her hands.

"I know your Achilles has been bothering you, so I went out of my way to buy this pain-relief cream. Let me rub it in for you?"

Staring at that jar of pale yellow ointment, my fury skyrocketed.

In my past life, I used this exact cream.

The next day, a surprise WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) test found high concentrations of banned substances in my system. I was fired on the spot, my reputation shattered, my ballet career ruined forever.

When I confronted Daisy back then, she hid in Julian's arms, weeping until she almost collapsed: "I just wanted to help Eve perform perfectly... I'm so stupid, I can't even tell the difference between ointment and banned drugs."

Julian had shielded her protectively, snapping at me:

"She just made a mistake out of the goodness of her heart! Do you have to be so vindictive?!"

What followed was my downward spiral into depression.

They lured me to the riverside, claiming they wanted to help me clear my head. While Julian parked the car, Daisy shoved me into the icy water, staging it to look like a suicide.

When the police investigated, Julian perjured himself without a second thought to get her off the hook, swearing I had jumped because of my ruined reputation.

The suffocating sensation of freezing river water still burned in my throat.

I stared dead at Daisy's hypocritical face, my past despair forging into cold, bone-deep hatred.

I snatched the glass jar out of her hands and hurled it violently into the trash can.

Everyone in the dressing room froze, their eyes snapping toward us.

"Eve... are you throwing it away because it's too cheap?" Daisy's voice trembled with a sob. "I saved my dishwashing tips for a whole week to buy that for you. It's the best I could afford."

Julian walked in just then, saw Daisy wiping her tears, and immediately pulled her behind him.

"Eve, what the hell are you doing? I know you're an heiress and look down on the rest of us normal people, but that was Daisy's heartfelt gift! How could you just throw it away like trash?"

A few other dancers who had always been jealous of me started chiming in.

"She is so arrogant. If she doesn't like it, just say so. Throwing it is so insulting."

"Does she think everyone owes her?"

Daisy's tears fell faster. She gripped the hem of Julian's shirt. "It's all my fault. I don't belong here. Please, everyone, don't blame Eve."

I looked at this group of people with ice in my veins and spoke directly:

"Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows it is strictly forbidden to use any unknown topical treatments before a competition. Daisy, that cream you bought contains ingredients that will instantly trigger a positive result on a doping test. Are you really that ignorant, or did you do it on purpose?"

Called out, panic flashed across Daisy's eyes before she burst into even louder sobs.

"No! I don't know anything about banned drugs!" She raised a hand as if to slap her own face. "I'm so sorry, Eve! It's my fault for being so uneducated I can't even buy a gift right!"

Julian's heart bled for her. He grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"You little fool, don't hurt yourself."

Then, he turned to me with a fierce, warning glare. "Eve, there's a limit to being petty! You know Daisy isn't the smartest. She just meant well! Do you really have to use a simple misunderstanding to bully her?!"

I was completely done.

I stepped up to him, raised my hand, and slapped Julian across the face as hard as I could.

Julian's head snapped to the side. He cupped his cheek, staring at me in utter shock. "Are you insane?! You dared to hit me?"

"Fuck her 'meaning well'." I let out a cold laugh. "I can't afford the kind of 'good intentions' that will ruin my entire career. If you love them so much, you can keep them. And as for an ungrateful, brainless leech like you? I'll hit you if I want to."

"Julian, as of today, our engagement is off. And my family's sponsorship of you and your family is revoked. Immediately."