Thinking back on everything from my previous life, I wanted nothing more than to tear these two to pieces.
But I held myself back. It wasn't time to expose them—yet.
Instead, I smiled and agreed to Zach's demand.
"Don't worry. I'll lose the weight."
Zach looked at me, still doubtful. "Really?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
Seeing how obedient and eager I seemed, his tone softened. "That's my girl. I can't wait to see you at a hundred pounds. You're going to be a knockout bride."
He leaned in, intending to kiss me.
Just before his lips touched mine, a hostile gaze stabbed into me. I glanced sideways and caught the jealousy burning in Lauren's eyes, her hands clenched tight at her sides.
Of course, she couldn't stand seeing Zach show affection to me. She quickly stepped forward, slipping between us with a bright smile. Pressing herself close to his arm, she fluttered her lashes and pouted.
"Zach, don't be cruel! No PDA in front of your lonely single friend. If you hog Jen all to yourself, I might just have to steal her from you."
Unfortunately for her, Zach had zero interest in someone who weighed 150 pounds and stood only 1.5 meters tall. He dodged her attempt to get close without even thinking.
Lauren's expression stiffened, irritation flashing across her face. She didn't blame Zach, of course—she turned her hostility toward me instead.
Pretending to tease, she said, "Jen's such a foodie. Can she really lose weight? What if she ends up an even fatter embarrassment?"
Zach immediately shifted his suspicious gaze back to me.
Both of them stared at me, each carrying their own twisted agenda.
Under their piercing eyes, I smiled and nodded.
"Don't worry. I won't disappoint either of you. I'll slim down exactly the way you want."
As soon as I finished speaking, I pulled out my phone in front of them and signed up for a weight-loss bootcamp.
Their eyes lit up instantly, almost glowing with satisfaction.
Zach lifted his phone excitedly and began giving me "instructions."
"Jen, look. This is the ideal. I want you to get a waist like hers, and curves right… here. My future happiness is in your hands, babe."
Lauren joined in, clinging close as she nagged nonstop.
"And remember, Jen, a hundred pounds is the magic number! The perfect number. Not ninety-nine, not a hundred and one. Exactly a hundred."
The two of them basked in their own delusions.
I looked at their greedy, ugly faces and couldn't help the cold laugh rising in my chest.
I looked at them—at Zach, who saw me as a lump of clay to sculpt into his digital fantasy, and at Lauren, who saw me as nothing more than a metabolic mule to carry her own flaws.
I came from an orphanage and had treated these two as the only family I had—my boyfriend of three years, and my closest friend. Yet in the end, they schemed against me, betrayed me, and murdered me.
This time, they would both pay the price.
