Reborn, No More Scapegoat

As soon as they heard there was something juicy to watch, everyone swung their curious gazes toward me, launching into wild guesses without bothering to even learn the facts.

"Isn't that Jessica Kemp?" a former classmate whispered. "She was always so quiet in school. I never would have pegged her for something like this."

"Well, appearances are deceiving," another chimed in. "She acts like a total angel in public, but who knows what trashy things she's doing behind closed doors?"

"Poor Brenda," a relative sighed. "She bails Jessica out constantly, only to get dragged through the mud. I hope she finally sees through Jessica and cuts her off for good."

Even the reporters who had rushed over were already pointing their cameras at me, broadcasting live.

The nasty gossip didn't make me angry. In fact, a rush of dark excitement surged through me. I couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they realized their precious Brenda was currently in bed with another man.

Alright, now that the whole gang is here, let's take a tour of this house Brenda supposedly bought for me," I said, clapping my hands. "Let's just make sure she didn't actually buy it for some other guy and use me as her scapegoat."

"Are you serious, Jessica? You're still slandering Brenda at a time like this?" someone shouted from the crowd.

Another echoed, "Brenda's unfortunate to have a backstabber as her friend."

I didn't bother arguing with them. I just gestured for Jake to open the door.

He shot me a glare. "Don't think you're getting out of this by pretending you forgot your keys."

I shrugged casually. "Even if I had them, your security goons dragged me out of my apartment so fast I didn't have time to grab anything. But hey, why don't you just knock? Maybe someone's home."

Jake's patience wore thin. "I don't have time for your mind games. You're the one who insisted on calling everyone out here. Are you trying to waste our time?"

"I'm just asking," I countered with a smirk. "Are you brave enough to knock or not?"

Reverse psychology works like a charm. Furious and eager to prove me wrong, Jake slammed his fist against the door. "What's there to be scared of?"

A familiar voice drifted from inside. "Who is it? I literally left a note saying to leave the delivery at the door! Why are you knocking?"

Jake frowned, recognizing Brenda's voice. He whipped his head around to stare at me in total shock. "You hid her in your house?"

Before I could reply, the door swung open. Brenda appeared in a lace nightgown, rubbing sleep from her eyes. When she saw who was standing there, her jaw dropped.

"J-Jake?" she stammered. "What are you doing here?"

She instinctively clamped a hand over her collarbone, trying to hide a cluster of fresh hickeys. But the sudden, panicked movement only drew everyone's eyes straight to them.

Right on cue, a man's voice drifted out from the bedroom. "Babe, who's at the door?"

A guy wearing only a pair of shorts stepped into the doorway. Spotting Jake, he froze on the spot.

The scene spoke for itself. Even fools could tell what was going on. The three of them stood frozen, staring at one another as the air in the hallway turned to ice.

I stood at the back of the crowd, a cold smile finally spreading across my face. The real entertainment was about to begin.