Chapter 2 She Is Back

As soon as Sarah finished speaking, Elisa and her friends were stunned.

How much???

832,000 dollars???

That was enough to buy a house back in their hometown.

Elisa and her friends all came from ordinary families.

To show she wasn't materialistic or greedy, Elisa didn't accept the expensive gifts Ronald tried to give her. So far, she had only asked Ronald to help her dad find a decent, high-paying job.

Elisa knew Sarah's things were expensive, but she didn't realize they were this expensive!

A dress costing over 200,000 dollars?

And a bag worth hundreds of thousands?

Such vanity!

She knew Ronald's family was even richer than Sarah's, and since Ronald was the sole heir, being Mrs. Ronald would make her more glamorous than Sarah...

Elisa's three friends were panicking.

That was over 800,000 dollars!

They had gotten jobs at Ronald's company through Elisa's connections, earning 10,000 dollars a month, which was high for them. But they could never afford to pay that much!

Tears welled up in Elisa's eyes. "Ronald, I..."

David, seeing the opportunity for more drama, stirred the pot. "Didn't you all say you'd take responsibility? Ronald, will you end up paying Sarah?"

Elisa's friend argued, "She's worn those clothes and bags before. There's no way they're still that expensive. Altogether, they're worth at most 20,000 dollars."

David scoffed, "That's already a generous price. Her bag is listed at 490,000 on the official site. It's a limited edition, and even at double the price, you can't find it. It's gone up to a million online. Her dress is new, the latest season, and today's the first time she's worn it."

Ronald stared at Sarah. For some reason, since her fall, she didn't seem to look at him the same way...

Elisa glanced at her three friends. She still needed their help in the future and couldn't alienate them now.

Over 800,000 dollars wasn't a big deal. Ronald had the money, and she could get it from him later.

With tears in her eyes, Elisa said, "They're my friends, so I should take responsibility... I only have 10,000 dollars in savings. Sarah, I didn't know you cared so much about money. I'll transfer my savings to you and write you an IOU for the rest."

"No need," Ronald said, handing Sarah a check for a million.

He felt angry but didn't know who to blame.

Elisa was so naive, clueless about everything. Her friends were also innocent, not understanding high society rules, so they couldn't be blamed. That left only Sarah to blame.

"Sarah, I didn't know you loved money so much," Ronald sneered. "Maybe money is the most important thing to you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone abroad."

Sarah, "..."

Otherwise, what? Without money, you wouldn't be standing here acting high and mighty.

Sarah was different from the "unforgettable crush". She had experienced tough times and knew what mattered in life.

Getting a million-dollar check right after time-traveling here, she didn't feel like staying and arguing with these people.

Sarah slowly said, "If I can't get an apology, getting some money is good too."

Apologies might not be sincere, but money was real.

With that, Sarah left.

David looked at Ronald and said, "Ronald, go ahead and believe them. I think you've lost your mind!"

David quickly caught up with Sarah.

"Sarah, let me take you home," David said. "It's late, and you should go home, take a hot shower, and change your clothes. A million isn't much, but making them feel the pinch is satisfying!"

Sarah said, "A million isn't much?"

She knew the Brown family was wealthy, but she had heard they'd fallen on hard times recently. They weren't so rich that a million was pocket change. Even a wealthy heiress shouldn't be that indifferent to money.

Sarah had carefully chosen her outfit to make a good impression.

She remembered that in the novel, the female lead, Elisa, had a father who loved to spend money recklessly and often begged Ronald for tens of thousands. The most generous gift the male lead, Ronald, ever gave was a diamond ring worth 15 million when they got married, and even that had made the female lead, Elisa, nearly faint with joy.

"It's a lot for us," David said, "but didn't you say your husband gave you a black card? As long as you don't bother him, you can spend 20 million a month with no problem?"

David added, "Ronald is just bewitched by Elisa now. He'll eventually realize that you're the one he loves. When you get divorced, you'll definitely marry Ronald."

Sarah, "..."

She had nearly forgotten that the original Sarah in the novel had a husband. His presence in the story was so minimal and he was a level above the male lead. After the "unforgettable crush" died in the novel, he felt nothing and even helped the male lead in his career, serving as a kind of golden touchstone.

"20 million a month...!!!" Sarah exclaimed. "Why would I divorce a bank?"

David drove Sarah home.

In the original novel, the "unforgettable crush" and the CEO were in an arranged marriage, living separately and only coming together for important occasions.

When Sarah got out of the car, she was stunned by the villa's exterior. The novel described her as living alone after separating, but she hadn't expected her solo residence to be such a massive villa.

She couldn't understand why the "unforgettable crush" would give up being a rich wife to pine after the male lead.

In her original world, Sarah's job had her around a lot of wealthy second-generation types, but she herself had been poor, having to work early to pay for her father's medical bills.

The villa's butler looked momentarily surprised when he saw Sarah, but he quickly composed himself and welcomed her in, "Lady, you're back."

The butler was a typical elderly silver-haired gentleman in a suit, looking very attentive.

The sudden use of that title made Sarah feel like she was acting in a drama. To keep up the facade and avoid raising suspicion, she nodded lightly without saying much.

Once in her room, she let out a long sigh of relief.

No matter what, since she was in this book world, if she couldn't go back, she'd avoid the original Sarah's actions, stay away from the main characters, and live her own life to avoid that tragic ending. She decided to adapt to her new environment for a few days before considering anything else.

The original Sarah's phone was surprisingly waterproof and still worked.

As soon as she turned it on, she received a text from Ronald, "Sarah, reflect on what happened today. I remember you weren't always so money-obsessed."

Sarah ignored him and browsed through her contacts.

To be honest, because the original novel was so long, with one minor character appearing after another, she didn't remember many names besides the key main and supporting characters.

She still didn't know the name of the CEO who gave the "unforgettable crush" an unlimited credit card.

She scrolled through the contacts list, not recognizing many of the names the original Sarah had saved. It wasn't until she saw someone labeled "Smith" that she had a lightbulb moment. She remembered this big shot was from the top-tier Smith family in City N.

The swimming pool had reeked of disinfectant, so Sarah took a shower. Exhausted, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Holden walked in from outside, and as soon as Butler Ted saw him, he hurried over. "Young Master, Lady actually came back today… A young man brought her home."