Chapter 9 Pushing Samantha into the Water

Olivia had witnessed everything that just happened.

Crazy.

Frederick really was crazy.

And she, Olivia, appreciated this kind of crazy.

In her past life, she lost everything because she was too soft-hearted, not crazy enough.

Now, having died once, she cared about nothing except her family.

Including her own life.

Clearly, Frederick was the same kind of person as her.

Olivia couldn't help but take a closer look at the man beside her.

This time, she looked carefully.

Sharp features, perfect proportions, with an air of natural nobility.

The last time she saw someone like this was in illustrations of Greek gods from ancient mythology.

Olivia paused while unbuckling her seatbelt, but couldn't resist teasing.

"Mr. Reynolds, the rumors say you keep your distance from women. I've really seen that for myself today."

Frederick's fingertips tapped lightly on the steering wheel twice.

Keeping distance from women.

He'd heard plenty of such rumors.

But hearing it from this woman's mouth, a hint of amusement unexpectedly colored his eyes.

"Miss Shaw doesn't seem like someone who believes in rumors."

"Not necessarily." Olivia had already pushed open the car door. Looking back, she curved her lips into a smile. "At least the rumor about being ruthless—I saw that with my own eyes today."

With that, Olivia left.

Frederick sat in the car, watching that slender yet upright figure gradually disappear, the curve of his lips quietly deepening.

This woman was terrifyingly bold.

If it had been anyone else sitting in his car just now, they would have been scared.

But not her.

What Frederick saw in her eyes at that moment was nothing but pure satisfaction.

Meanwhile.

Olivia had just reached home from the main gate when she saw Samantha pacing back and forth in the front yard.

Seeing her return, Samantha immediately rushed over, her face plastered with a fake smile. "Sister, you're finally back. I'm telling you, you shouldn't get too close to Frederick. That man is no good."

Olivia didn't stop walking, didn't even give her a glance, and tried to walk around her directly.

But Samantha reached out to block her. "Sister, I need to talk to you privately, just a few minutes, okay?"

A flash of coldness crossed Olivia's eyes.

Talk privately?

What could she possibly say?

Eighty percent—no, definitely nothing good.

However, she was quite curious about what would happen next.

After thinking, Olivia discreetly took out her phone, quietly turned on the recording function, then said coldly. "If you have something to say, say it. Don't beat around the bush."

Samantha pointed toward the back yard, looking troubled.

"My cousin came back today too, and my parents are at your house. There are a lot of people. The garden is quieter and more convenient."

With that, Samantha pulled her toward the back garden.

Olivia didn't refuse.

Five minutes later, by the fountain in the back yard.

Samantha leaned against the railing by the pond, her face instantly switching from grievance to resentment.

"Sister, why have you been so cold to me lately? Last time you slapped me, you didn't even apologize! Today at the residential area entrance, I almost got hit by Mr. Reynolds, and you just stood there watching without saying a word! What do you mean by this?"

Olivia let out a mocking laugh, crossing her arms as she looked at her. "You threw yourself at him to make a fool of yourself—what does that have to do with me? Actually, I shouldn't have just watched. I should have helped him step on the gas and run you over. That would've been doing society a favor."

A flash of anger crossed Samantha's eyes, instantly turning to venom.

She refused to let it go, stepping forward and staring hard at Olivia, gritting her teeth.

"Sister, we're cousins after all. You've gone too far with me. You'll get what's coming to you."

Olivia almost couldn't hold back her laughter.

She raised an eyebrow, saying mockingly. "So, what do you want to do?"

"About what happened before—as long as you sincerely apologize to me and give me some compensation, I can let bygones be bygones."

"Compensation?!" Olivia heard the joke of the century. "Samantha, when you say that out loud, don't you laugh at yourself? If you're begging, just beg. Don't shamelessly talk about compensation."

Samantha was furious, wanting nothing more than to slap Olivia twice.

But she didn't dare.

Fortunately, she had anticipated Olivia's reaction. She pointed at the pond behind her, her face full of threats. "Olivia! If you don't give me an explanation, I'll jump in right now! Then I'll tell your parents and your brother that you pushed me!"

Although this method was a bit of a lose-lose situation, she couldn't swallow this humiliation without getting something from Olivia.

But this was the only trick she knew.

And Olivia used to fall for it.

But those days were long gone.

Olivia just felt embarrassed.

To think she was destroyed by such an idiot in her past life—how embarrassing.

She thought Samantha was going to do something, but it was still just moral blackmail, threats, and false accusations.

Olivia raised an eyebrow, pretending to be puzzled. "My own brother—why do you think he'd believe your nonsense?"

"Because I look more pitiful than you," Samantha thought she knew the Shaw family inside out. "What kind of person is your brother? Classic knight in shining armor. Even if he doesn't believe me in his heart, he absolutely won't stand by and watch me suffer! He'll definitely compensate me."

This was what Samantha considered the most brilliant part of her plan.

Either way, she'd get compensation.

The only difference was whether she had to suffer or not.

Olivia's thoughts had already drifted back to her past life.

Her brother Vincent Shaw had protected her since childhood, but he also couldn't stand seeing girls being bullied.

Back then, Samantha relied on playing pitiful and scammed so much money from her brother.

That so-called knight's spirit was actually just her brother's fundamental kindness.

And Samantha's most unforgivable trait was exploiting other people's kindness.

Thinking of this, Olivia's heart turned cold.

But Samantha didn't know.

She only saw Olivia fall silent.

Thinking she had her cornered.

She became even more smug, her smile growing more arrogant.

"Sister, we don't need to make things so tense between us. This was your fault to begin with. Just lower your head and apologize—"

Watching Samantha start acting all gracious after gaining the upper hand, Olivia couldn't take it anymore.

Before Samantha could react, Olivia suddenly reached out, grabbed her by the collar, and forcefully shoved her toward the fountain!

"Ah! Olivia, are you crazy!"

Samantha's eyes widened as she screamed. Her body fell uncontrollably, and the icy water instantly rose past her chest, making her cough violently.

She struggled desperately to climb up, but Olivia pressed down hard on her shoulders, making it impossible to move.

The water was murky. Samantha's hair spread out, plastered to her face, looking like a drowned rat.

Her green dress spread out in the fountain, looking even more like algae that couldn't be cleaned away.

She flailed in the water, her voice trembling, constantly choking on water. "Help... help! Let go of me! I'm going to drown!"

Olivia stared at her expressionlessly.

She was very familiar with these words.

In her past life, when she fell into Samantha's hands, she had said these words more than once.

Slaps, waterboarding, even electric shocks—she had experienced them countless times.

But back then, Samantha hadn't let her go.

Instead, she grabbed her hair, laughing as she admired her misery. "So the Shaw family's eldest daughter does cry when she's in pain, does scream without caring about dignity when her nails are pulled out..."

So now, of course Olivia wouldn't let Samantha go either.

She was like a judge, emotionless, just quietly watching Samantha struggle.

When the struggling weakened, Olivia reached out, grabbed her hair, and pulled her head out of the water, letting her breathe a few breaths of fresh air.

Seeing Samantha catch her breath, she mercilessly pushed her back down again.

Again and again, Samantha's struggles grew weaker and weaker, the fear in her eyes turning to despair.

"I was wrong, I was wrong... Sister, please let me go..."

These pleas were meaningless.

Olivia was just making her pay back a little interest.

Only when Samantha went limp like dead weight did Olivia pull her ashore.

Samantha collapsed on the ground, soaking wet, lips purple, teeth chattering non-stop.

Gradually, color returned to her vacant eyes. The fear faded, replaced by anger and hatred.

She propped herself up and crawled to her feet, using all her strength to run toward the living room.

"Help! Olivia's trying to kill me! Save me!"