Rebirth of the Sinned Tainted Moonlight

The stepfather who tried to sell me hacked my abusive stepmother to death. The ex-boyfriend who once strangled me to death contracted a ruinous infection along with the best friend who betrayed me. When I visited my stepfather in prison holding my college admission letter, he looked at me and asked, "Did you orchestrate all of this?" I smiled. "Be careful what you say, Uncle Jack. Accusations require proof." Early in the morning, smack! A stuffed doll hit me squarely across the face. A young boy stood in the doorway with bright, wide eyes, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk. "Mom! The lazy girl won't make me breakfast! I'm starving!" The boy wailed at the top of his lungs, squealing like a stuck pig. It grated on my nerves. Hearing her precious son cry, my stepmother, Helen, barged into the room, her hair a disheveled mess. She grabbed a fistful of my hair in pure rage. "You little parasite, why aren't you up making breakfast for your brother?!" A suffocating tightness still gripped my chest, and I gasped desperately for air. The sharp, stinging pain on my scalp made one thing crystal clear: this was not a nightmare. I had been reborn. I was back to being eighteen, on the exact eve of Jack Miller selling me off to Lucas Davis. "What are you waiting for, you useless brat?!" Helen delivered a vicious kick to my side. "I'm going, I'm going..." I curled in on myself, playing the part of a timid, cowed victim, but behind my lowered head, a cold smile touched my lips. In my previous life, I had been weak, docile, and blind to people's true colors. That compliance allowed every single one of them to climb the social ladder by stepping on my bones and drinking my blood, living lavish, pampered lives. And in the end, they strangled me to death. This time around, every single one of them would pay. I glanced up and caught my stepbrother, Toby, grinning maliciously at me. He had done that on purpose. After serving breakfast to the three of them, I sat alone at the edge of the table, picking at the cold leftovers. Jack sauntered over, his beer belly protruding. "Hey, you. Clean yourself up today and put on something nice. I'm introducing you to my boss's son. You'd better serve him well and get on his good side." A lecherous, greasy grin stretched across Jack's fat face. It was utterly sickening. Two crisp hundred-dollar bills were slapped against my cheek. My heart skipped a beat. My chance had arrived! Jack was just a low-level clerk in the city zoning department. Getting up there in years, his window for a promotion was closing fast. When he heard that his department head's son was still single, the wheels in his twisted head started turning. In my past life, I had gone to this dinner too—only back then, it was after taking such a severe beating that I couldn't get out of bed for three days. I had shown up to the restaurant covered in bruises, trembling like a frightened animal. This time, I was going to skip the beating. Pain wasn't on my agenda anymore. I nodded submissively. Just as I reached out to take the cash, Helen rushed over and snatched the bills from my hand. "Why are you giving her so much money?! Does she really need all that just to wash her face?" Jack's expression instantly darkened. He gripped his belt aggressively. "You stupid woman, if you ruin my shot at this promotion, I'll beat you within an inch of your life." Helen flinched, her body trembling slightly, but she stubbornly held her ground. "A hundred is plenty for her!" I sneered inwardly. What was a hundred dollars supposed to do? She just couldn't bear the thought of losing her live-in maid who worked for free."Hi, I'm Lucas Davis." A charming, boyish grin curved his eyes into flirtatious crescents. He was effortlessly handsome and undeniably captivating. Looking at the man I had once given my entire heart to, an icy dread washed over every inch of my skin. In my past life, he was the one who choked the life out of me with his bare hands. Every cell in my body screamed to run, but I forced my feet to stay planted. Right now, he was my only ticket out of the Miller household. I had to make him fall head over heels for me. I put on a shy, demure demeanor, ducking my head to conceal the icy hatred and calculated malice swirling in my eyes. "I... I'm Nicole." I had deliberately chosen a soft, pastel-pink sundress. My long black hair cascaded past my waist, and my lowered head exposed a slender, pale neck. I looked gentle, fragile, and utterly harmless. After a few rounds of wine, both my future father-in-law and Lucas were thoroughly enchanted by me. Having lived with them for five years in my past life, I knew every single one of their likes, dislikes, and subtle ticks. "Old Jack, this boy of yours doesn't look a thing like you," Director Davis remarked casually, eyeing Toby. I noticed Helen's face pale instantly. I stifled a laugh. Of course he didn't look like Jack—because I knew the face he actually resembled. "He's far better-looking than the two of you," Director Davis added with a chuckle. Oblivious to the undertone, Jack raised his wine glass with an oily chuckle. "Isn't that the truth, Director? Everyone says so!" Pride practically dripped from his voice. "Nicole, pour the Director some more wine," Jack ordered. Watching my quiet obedience, both men became even more pleased. "Lucas, why don't you take Nicole out for a walk?" Jack suggested with a greasy smile. Lucas smoothly took my hand in his, pressing a soft kiss to my knuckles. His gaze was dripping with rehearsed romance. "Nicole, to be honest, I've stayed single all these years because I just hadn't met the one who made my heart race. But today, I did. I really like you, Nicole. Would you give me a chance to pursue you? Don't worry, I promise I'll treat you like a queen." In our past life, long after the wedding, Lucas had drunkenly confessed the truth: he married me because he had an obsession with innocent, pure girls. Back then, he saw me as weak, pristine, and untouched—the ultimate pure white moonlight, completely different from the materialistic women he usually ran around with. Seeing someone so fragile only made him want to taint and claim me. "You don't have to give me an answer right now, but I'll always be here waiting," he said softly. "Why are your hands so cold? And trembling? Is this your first time holding a guy's hand?" His tone was overwhelmingly gentle and considerate. I nodded timidly. A wave of profound satisfaction washed over Lucas's face. He showered me with an endless stream of sweet, practiced lines, strutting his feathers like a peacock in heat. I simply fed him whatever words he wanted to hear. Lucas quickly convinced himself that I was the destined soulmate of his dreams. In reality, I stood there watching his performance with complete, chilling detachment. What true devotion? It was nothing more than a playboy's standard playbook. A heavy, sweet trace of women's perfume clung to his collar, and his phone buzzed continuously with flirtatious notifications. Who had he been hooking up with right before this dinner? Once upon a time, I had fallen entirely for his romantic front, believing he was my savior. In truth, he was the monster who shoved me straight into the abyss."Nicole, why haven't you been picking up my calls? I'm parked right outside your building! Come down, please." Lucas had become obsessed with me lately, confiding his deepest thoughts and pretending we shared a profound connection. People always crave what they can't fully possess, don't they? With my hair draped messily over my shoulders and my cheek slightly swollen, I slowly walked down the stairs. "Lucas," I called out in a timid, trembling whisper. "Nicole, what happened to your face?!" "Lucas... maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore." "What? Why?! Nicole, I'm completely in love with you!" He pulled me tightly into his chest, clutching me as if terrified of losing me. "My stepmother... she said wealthy guys like you always shower girls with expensive gifts if they're serious. She said you haven't bought me anything, so you're just using me for fun! When I tried to defend you, she beat me... She said she was going to marry me off to some old man for cash." Tears spilled over my cheeks as I sobbed against his shirt. The very next day, Lucas showed up at our apartment carrying high-end designer gift boxes. Between veiled pleasantries, he made it abundantly clear that Jack and Helen needed to treat me with respect. Sure enough, the two of them backed off considerably. But alongside that caution came a growing contempt from the Davis family toward my step-parents. Meanwhile, my image as the untouchable, pure white moonlight was permanently cemented in Lucas's mind. He spoiled me relentlessly. He had fallen for me, yet his wild playboy habits never truly stopped. One evening, Jack stumbled home plastered. His drunken, bloodshot eyes swept over me from head to toe. "Nicole, you've really blossomed, haven't you?" He reached out, his clammy hands aiming to grab my waist. Helen watched from the kitchen counter and looked away, pretending not to see. Ever since I hit puberty, Jack had peeked at me in the shower and tried to grope me whenever he had the chance. It had all been happening with Helen's silent blessing. I violently jerked my arm back. "Jack, Lucas told me he only loves girls who are completely pure." Sober, Jack might have restrained himself out of fear of Lucas's father. But thoroughly drunk, he threw caution to the wind and swung his hand, slapping me across the face. "You little tramp! I've fed and housed you for years, what's wrong with a little touch? You think you're royalty now?!" Seeing me get hit, Toby clapped his little hands and laughed gleefully. The slap finally caught Helen's attention. "Watch it! If you bruise her face and ruin the match with the Director's family, all our plans go down the drain!" They both knew the Davises were thrilled with me and that an engagement was imminent. "Right, right..." Jack mumbled, shaking his head. "Nicole, go grab some ice from the freezer. Put it on your face. We can't have your pretty face ruined." I turned toward the bathroom. In the mirror, my cheek was already swollen red. No. This wasn't dramatic enough. I dialed Lucas's number. "Lucas... I love you so much. Maybe in the next life, we can be together..." "Nicole?! What's wrong? Don't scare me!" Lucas's voice shook through the receiver, pure panic lacing his tone. He had lost his mother at an early age and suffered from a deep-seated maternal deficit. To him, I was the spitting image of the idealized mother figure he craved: gentle, self-sacrificing, submissive, and pure. He could never allow that fantasy to shatter. When Lucas raced up to the rooftop of our apartment complex, he found me standing right on the edge of the parapet. My body was covered in freshly inflicted bruises, my face was severely swollen, and my shirt was torn raggedly down the shoulder. "Nicole, what happened?! Step back, don't do anything reckless! Did your step-parents beat you again?!" Those cowards wouldn't dare beat me this severely; they still relied on me as their golden goose to climb the corporate ladder. Every single tear and bruise on my body was my own doing. Looking at his frantic, terrified expression, I found it almost laughable. Was this the twisted logic where he could sleep with whoever he wanted, yet expect absolute purity from me? Utterly sickening. I buried my face in my hands, sobbing in utter despair. "Jack... he tried to assault me... I can't live with this shame anymore!" In my previous life, I had never dared to speak up about Jack's groping, silently enduring his filthy hands even after marriage because I was terrified Lucas would find me tainted and discard me. A momentary flicker of disgust flashed through Lucas's eyes, quickly followed by urgent anxiety. "Did he... did he manage to do anything to you?!" I shook my head violently. "No! I fought him off with everything I had! But rather than be disgraced like that, I'd rather jump, Lucas!"