Chapter 1---Mistaken Identity
Chapter 1-----Mistaken Identity
Smack.
The sudden slap landed hard, stinging like fire. I was stunned, my head buzzing.
But the pain on my cheek reminded me—I had come back.
"Emily! Are you okay?"
"What the hell, Ma'am? Who do you think you are, hitting people like that?"
Lena Scott let out a cry and stepped in front of me protectively.
Following her voice, I looked up. Standing before us was a woman in her forties, well-maintained and wearing flawless makeup.
"Ugh! Homewreckers deserve to be slapped! You're young, a college student—out of all the things you could've done, you chose this?"
She kept hurling insults.
Lena froze, then rolled up her sleeves, ready to argue with her, but I quickly grabbed her arm.
"Ma'am, please, calm down."
My mind was crystal clear. Last time, arguing with her brought more and more onlookers, and even though I was in the right, no one would listen. Right now, the school gate was still quiet. If we kept going, we'd only draw a bigger crowd.
"I don't have a boyfriend. I'm not anyone's mistress. You hit me out of nowhere. I could call the cops for that. But right now, I'd rather understand what's going on."
"Can we talk about this somewhere else?"
I spoke patiently to the woman.
Since she had slapped me first, she was feeling a bit guilty, so she didn't push back.
We went to a nearby café and each took a seat.
I tried to maintain a polite smile as I addressed her. "Ma'am, please take a deep breath and have some coffee. Whatever it is, let's talk calmly, okay?"
She didn't say anything, just stared daggers at me. After a long pause, she finally pulled out her phone from her purse, opened a photo, and shoved it in my face. "Take a look. Is this you in the picture?"
I looked closely. There it was—my face on the screen.
That was how it all started in my last life. She had shown this very photo in front of a crowd, and it became the so-called proof that I was a homewrecker.
"You-you're in college, pretty and young. Why the hell would you throw yourself at a married man? Why ruin someone else's family?"
Lena's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
But she knew me. She knew I wasn't the type to date online, let alone steal someone's husband. She instantly figured out what was going on.
"Ma'am, do you know how many people use fake pictures for online dating nowadays? How could you slap someone without even checking the facts?"
I took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. "Look, I know you're a victim too, but I swear I'm not the person who broke up your family. That photo? My face is all over my social media—it's public. Anyone could've taken it to catfish people."
"Please believe me. I had no idea this was happening. What we need to do is find out who the real mistress is."
"It's... not you?"
Seeing how straightforward I was, the woman started to waver.
