Totally fictional, brain left at the door.

"Renesmee, don’t worry. I’ll find the top doctors to fix your face, okay?"

"Here, this is a family heirloom bracelet. I’m giving it to you. Let's trade—your jade bead for it, as our engagement token. When you're discharged, we’ll get engaged."

She looked up. Sitting next to her was a clean-cut boy, holding out a clear green jade bracelet, his eyes full of warmth, smiling right at her.

Renesmee froze a little—wait, was this a rebirth?

Back to when she was eighteen, before her face was fixed, when the internet was still tearing her apart.

"You feeling okay, Renesmee? Is your face still hurting? Want me to get the doctor?"

Ramsey, thinking she was just unwell, looked down at the hand she had clutched to her chest.

She was gripping a red string tight. It hung around her neck, the other end clenched in her fist—it must’ve been holding a pendant or something.

Snapping back to reality, Renesmee scanned the room, then glanced at the boy across from her—Ramsey Sherman. Her eyelids lowered slightly. "I'm fine."

He didn’t think too much about it.

"Then let’s finish the exchange, yeah? This bangle’s from my mom. She told me to give it to you. It’s traditionally for our future daughter-in-law. She really likes you."

"Is that so?" Her voice was so soft it could barely be heard.

Of course, she remembered this exact moment.

Sure, her trashy reputation online started when she debuted at fifteen, and the burn scars didn’t help either. But the real downfall began right here.

Last time, she had taken Ramsey’s bracelet and handed over her jade bead—something she'd worn since she was a kid—as an engagement gift in return.

Not long after, she had followed Ramsey to what she thought would be their engagement party at the Sherman home.

As soon as Mrs. Sherman saw the bracelet on Renesmee’s wrist, her face went pale. She demanded to know where it came from.

Stammering, Renesmee said it was a gift from Ramsey—a token of engagement.

Mrs. Sherman let out a cold laugh.

“Are you serious? First of all, nobody told me about any engagement. And do you even know how much that bracelet is worth? Imperial jade, worth millions! You think we’d exchange that for some so-called promise token?”

Her face drained of all color. She turned to Ramsey for help.

Ramsey looked stunned.

"Renesmee, didn’t you just say you were going to the restroom? You went upstairs and stole my mom’s bracelet instead?

How could you do this? I never believed the hate online about you. I even took your side when they said you cheated on your exams. And when your face got ruined, I never said a word.

But now... how am I supposed to trust you?"She couldn’t defend herself no matter what she said—they all saw her as a thief, even ended up at the police station because Mrs. Sherman reported her.

In the end, it was her half-sister Kathleen Barker who went to the Shermans and begged them to drop the charges.

But that only brought a bigger wave of online hate—nasty comments and curses flooded in nonstop.

Her senior year of high school was a total mess, she barely made it through, and her college entrance scores were a disaster. She didn’t even want to go to university anymore.

It was Kathleen who told their stepmother, and they somehow got her into the acting college Kathleen was attending.

But she couldn’t keep up. After just over a year, she dropped out and went back to her hometown.

The next two years were just... blank. Depressed and disoriented, she ended up seriously ill. Her stepfather sold their house and borrowed money left and right to try and get her treated in the city.

Her mom had been in a coma since she was little, her stepfather’s health wasn’t great either—always doing hard labor to make ends meet. There was no extra cash for her treatment.

Still, her stepdad did everything he could. Sold anything worth something, begged wherever he could beg, dragged her to the city hospital—but it wasn’t enough.

At last, he went to her biological dad for help.

Even though Benjamin Barker never liked her, he still managed to get her transferred to another hospital—but it was already too late. She died on that bed.

It felt like her soul just slipped out of her body, floating up above, staring at the frail body lying there, skin and bone.

She thought about going home to take one last look. But just then, the hospital door creaked open.

In walked Lucy Robshaw and Kathleen Barker—her stepmother and half-sister.

Kathleen wrinkled her nose. “Is she dead?”

Lucy nodded, calm like nothing happened. “Dead.”

Kathleen let out a cold little snort. “Finally. Those years were unbearable. Good thing we got what we wanted. She never caught a break in college either. Guess those years didn’t go to waste.”

As she spoke, she pulled out a necklace from under her shirt.

Hanging from it was a delicate, translucent jade bead. The very one Renesmee Stanton had stupidly handed over to Ramsey Sherman all those years ago, thinking it was just a trinket.

Lucy placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, voice gentle. “You’ve been through a lot, Katie, but we had to make her give it up willingly. She was so guarded we couldn’t get her to hand over the bead no matter how good we acted.”

“Lucky she’s a hopeless romantic. After barely a year with Ramsey, she just gave it away.”

“And since you two are technically related by blood, adding a bit of her blood to it made the bead work for you. Otherwise, even if somebody else got it, it’d be useless.”

At that moment, it all clicked. Everything had been a setup from day one.

Being taken into the Barker family, getting treated so “nicely” by Lucy and Kathleen, Ramsey’s so-called love—all of it had been for her jade bead.

Even those awful incidents during college weren’t just bad luck—it was all them.

But that bead? It had no real value. Why did they want it so badly?Kathleen Barker stared at Renesmee Stanton lying on the hospital bed and muttered, “What a waste. The liquid inside the bead’s barely enough—only one drop a day, and it even needs to be shared…”

Wait, what? Liquid inside the bead? Shared?

Before Renesmee could even wrap her head around that, a bright flash of light burst in front of her eyes—

And just like that, she found herself in one world after another, living as someone else, carrying out the wishes left behind. It felt endless, like an infinite cycle she’d never break free from.

But she hadn't expected to open her eyes and actually come back—right to this very moment, when Ramsey Sherman was still sweet-talking her into swapping that bead.

Renesmee dropped her gaze, a cold smirk tugging at her lips.

This time, she wouldn’t be anyone’s pawn.

This time, she’d take back everything—and hold every single one of them accountable.

Not a single one would get away.

Ramsey started to panic a bit when she stayed silent.

He had promised Kathleen he’d retrieve that bead, and now Renesmee just sat there zoning out. So he simply shoved the jade bangle into her arms and reached for the red string in her hand, thinking if he could get the bead directly, it didn't matter—Kathleen said as long as Renesmee gave it willingly, they were good. She had just agreed, right?

But before his fingers could snag the string, Renesmee caught his wrist.

That threw Ramsey off. “Renesmee? What’s wrong? We’re supposed to trade now.”

She glanced at the jade bracelet in her hands.

“This looks super expensive. My bead? Not even sure what it’s made of. Let’s not make things awkward—I don’t want to owe you.”

Ramsey tensed, rushing to explain, “No, seriously, it’s not worth much. It’s just been in the family for generations—that’s what makes it special.”

Truth was, it was one of the pricier pieces he’d swiped from his mom’s jewelry box. He remembered how well Kathleen treated Renesmee, though, and resented that Renesmee never appreciated it. He wanted her to suffer a little. Once he had the bead, he’d humiliate her at the upcoming party.

Renesmee’s smile never reached her eyes.

In her past life, she also turned this bracelet down, saying it seemed too valuable.

Ramsey had said the exact same thing then.

Now, she shoved the bracelet back at him and tucked the bead necklace into her collar.

“Let’s not. I haven’t even officially met your mom—you think I’d dare accept something like that? It’d be just my luck she’d think I stole it.”

Ramsey’s stomach dropped a little at that, but he didn’t push.

He also didn’t dare snatch the bead, especially since Kathleen had made it clear—Renesmee had to give it herself.

Freshly reborn and still adjusting, Renesmee really wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. So she just turned, lay back on the bed, and said flatly, “I’m tired. You should go.”

Ramsey stared at her back for a few seconds before forcing a smile and mumbling, “Alright. Get some rest then, Renesmee. I’ll come by again tomorrow.”

As soon as the door clicked shut, Renesmee sat up, headed for the door, and gently eased it open. She waited until his footsteps faded down the hallway, then slipped out behind him.