Filed to story: The Real Heiress Strikes Back (Rebecca Collins) Book PDF Free
Rebecca Collins opened her eyes, surveyed the surroundings, and looked at the familiar room from her memories. She had indeed returned. Reaching out to grab her phone from the nightstand, she checked the date before a smile appeared in her eyes. What perfect timing.
Just as she was thinking, a knocking sound echoed. She got up to open the door and saw a handsome man standing there, questioning her immediately, “I called you earlier. Why didn’t you answer?”
Rebecca replied calmly, “I didn’t feel like it.”
Standing before her was her second brother, Titus Collins, who was also her current agent.
He was momentarily stunned, visibly not expecting his sister to say that. He furrowed his brows and lectured impatiently, “Stop causing trouble, will you?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Say something new. I’m tired of hearing the cliche from all of you.”
Since returning to the Collins Family, her mother and five brothers kept telling her not to cause trouble.
Titus choked. “Is this amusing to you? Ros wants to be in that variety show. What harm would it do if you just let that happen? Must you make the whole family unhappy?”
Rebecca looked at him coldly. “This is an opportunity I fought for myself. I won’t give it up. It’s your business if you’re unhappy.”
Rebecca did not grow up with her family from a young age. Instead, she got lost at four when Aaron Collins, her fifth brother, took her out to play. After that, the Collins Family adopted a girl of similar age and even changed her name to Rosie Collins.
A year ago, the Collins Family found Rebecca and brought her back home. However, they overly favored Rosie and looked down on Rebecca. Whenever she clashed with the adopted daughter, it was always Rebecca who was considered troublesome.
Before entering the entertainment industry, she worked hard and used her talent to climb from an unknown to a C-list actress in just over a year. After being recognized by the family, they brought her home, asked her to terminate the contract with her original company, and transferred her to the entertainment company owned by the Collins Family. In the meantime, Titus became her agent.
Rosie, who originally studied music, suddenly wanted a part in the entertainment industry. She also joined the company and was mentored by Titus. In the past year, she received all the good resources, directly jumping from an unknown to a C-list actress.
Meanwhile, the resources Titus provided Rebecca were the ones that Rosie rejected. Last month, she saved the wife of a director and gained a spot as a guest on a highly anticipated new variety show before it even aired.
Similarly, Rosie showed interest in the show and expressed her desire to join. However, the guests were already confirmed, and it was not easy for someone of Rosie’s popularity to be added under special circumstances. Hence, Titus and the family suggested that Rebecca give up her spot to Rosie.
She knew that Rosie intentionally wanted to snatch her opportunity, so she refused and was then condemned by her entire family. Last night, she insisted on not giving up her spot and returned to her room after arguing with them.
Titus had appeared now because Rosie had not given up and pretended to be pitiful in front of him; that was why he came to her again. He took a deep breath. “I’ll find you a better opportunity. Just give this up for Ros.”
Rebecca sneered. “I don’t care about your better opportunity. Just give it to your beloved Rosie.” She did not want to waste any more words with Titus and simply shut the door.
His eyes showed some disbelief when he looked at the closed door. That was the first time Rebecca had shown him disrespect since returning home, his expression dark. “Rebecca, you’re being unreasonable.”
He knocked on the door again, but she did not open it. Only then did he leave with a stern face. After shutting the door, Rebecca’s heart could barely stir up emotions. In her previous life, she yearned for family affection, and after being recognized, she had always tried to please the Collinses.
For instance, she took care of their various needs, made their meals, gave massages, accompanied them in acting and dancing, and so on. She tried to fulfill whatever tasks or requests they had, but in the end, she failed to make them love her. When she and Rosie were kidnapped, everyone chose to rescue Rosie first, and she ended up losing her life.
At that moment of death, she completely lost hope and severed her ties with the Collins Family. However, she did not expect to be bound by a system that took her to various mini timelines to fulfill tasks. Upon completion, she would be rewarded with life points, and only by accumulating them could she return to this world.
Rebecca extended her right hand and looked at her palm; her lifeline was short. It meant that she had less than a year left, only until the time of her death in her previous life.
The system informed her during the unbinding process that she needed to be adored by more people to extend her life. The more people who favored her, or the more people she helped to gain popularity, the longer her life would be.
It was similar to exchanging faith for life points but would not affect those who liked her. Otherwise, she would not harm others for the sake of extending her own life. Now, saving her life was crucial because she needed more time or energy to continue getting entangled with the Collinses.
She packed up her belongings and put them in a suitcase. Since returning to the Collins Family, everything was bought for her by the housekeeper, and she did not take anything. As such, she calculated the expenses since coming to the Collins Family and noted them down.
At the same time, she took out the bank card her father gave her when she returned. Luckily, she had not used any money in it. She opened the door as she carried the suitcase and went downstairs.
At that moment, everyone was in the living room. When they saw Rebecca with her bags, they were displeased. Salma Johnston frowned and looked at her. “What trouble are you up to this time? It’s been nothing but chaos ever since you returned.”
Rebecca found it amusing. “Did I insist on returning? I remember you all came to pick me up, right? And what trouble did I cause? Rosie wanted my resources, and not giving them makes me the bad guy? If we’re being clear here, aren’t all of you the unreasonable ones?”
Salma did not expect Rebecca to talk back, so her displeasure deepened. “Ros just likes that variety show. You’re the young lady of the Collins Family now, while Ros has lost that status. Shouldn’t you compensate her? Moreover, Titus said he’d get you a better opportunity in exchange. Why do you have to fight over it?”
Luca Collins, the third brother, added, “I think you just can’t stand Ros, so you deliberately target her.”
Andrew Collins, the fourth, impatiently said, “Rebecca, can’t you just be good? Why do you have to cause trouble?”
In her previous life, Rebecca might have been upset by such unfair accusations, but not anymore. Instead, she sneered and said, “You guys are truly good at blaming others for your own fault. I never knew that defending what’s rightfully mine would make me the unreasonable one. Not only are you ignorant, but you’re also shameless. First of all, I never stole anything from her in the first place. On the contrary, she replaced me and enjoyed a comfortable life in the Collins Family for years. Secondly, you need to understand that it was you who lost me back then. I don’t owe her anything, and I certainly don’t owe any of you either. So, what exactly do I need to compensate for?” When Salma was about to speak, Rebecca added, “As for the young lady of the Collins Family, she can have it. I don’t really care about it.”
Salma was stunned for a moment, not expecting Rebecca to say such things. “What do you mean?”
Rebecca replied with indifference, “I mean it literally. I am cutting off all ties with you and leaving the family. In the future, we will go back to being strangers when we meet.” She added, “Your beloved adopted daughter will remain the little princess of the Collinses. You don’t need to worry that I will steal anything from her or try to take your love for her. I am simply making things easier for all of you.”
Rebecca couldn’t care less about her biased parents and brothers, treating them as if they had no blood relation to her.
When she was young, Aaron lost her, and human traffickers intended to sell her as a child bride in the mountains. Thanks to her master saving and adopting her, her life wasn’t as miserable as it could have been.
Her words successfully changed the expressions of the Collinses. They never expected her to decide to cut ties and leave them.
Rosie, leaning against Salma, glanced at Rebecca with a subtle expression. She looked at her while her face showed an apologetic and guilty expression. “No. The one who should leave is me. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to snatch your opportunity. I just liked that variety show, so Titus went to talk to you. I don’t want to participate in that variety show anymore. You don’t need to be unhappy. I don’t want to anger and worry you.”
On the surface, she appeared guilty, but in reality, it was a strategic retreat. This way, she could distance herself from accusations of intentionally competing with Rebecca for resources while also showcasing her considerate and generous nature. She was playing her act in front of the Collinses, subtly implying that Rebecca was using the threat of cutting ties and leaving the Collins Family.
As expected, the family members’ expressions turned unpleasant.
Rebecca looked at Rosie and retorted without reservation, “Don’t try to act innocent and pitiful in front of me with that look. I won’t fall for that.” She spoke her mind without holding back after completely giving up on family affection. “You say you want to leave and have been saying it for a year, but you’re still here. I’ve long been tired of your act of strategic retreat. Only fools would believe it.” She intentionally exposed the truth. “Of course, you wouldn’t actively ask me for resources. As long as you say it, these lackeys will naturally present you with whatever you want. You don’t need to put on a show for them. I don’t care about your thoughts since I’ve already stopped caring about what you guys think.”
These words successfully darkened the faces of the Collinses.
Rosie’s expression changed slightly. She suppressed the anger in her heart and hugged Salma with a touch of grievance. “I’m not. Don’t say such things about our family.”
In her heart, she wondered if Rebecca had gone crazy by choosing to confront her head-on and speaking so harshly. Although being rebuked by Rebecca left her feeling quite displeased, the fact that Rebecca had created such a scene today would only make everybody dislike her even more. So, she endured her sarcasm.
As expected, Salma was infuriated. “What are you saying? Where are your manners?”
Rebecca shrugged. “I was born to my parents but not raised by them. My manners have long vanished.”
The family was speechless. Salma looked at Rebecca with disappointment. “Are you still blaming us? It seems we made a mistake bringing you home. We’ve compensated you a lot this year. What more do you want? Why do you have to compete with Ros? Can’t you just peacefully be sisters?” She emphasized. “Although you are our biological daughter, Ros has been by our side all these years in your place. In our hearts, she’s an important part of the Collins Family; she’s my daughter.”
Rebecca used to find these words piercing and heart-wrenching, but she truly didn’t care anymore. “What did I compete for? Since I returned to the family, you two have been clinging to me. Everything I do is interpreted as vying for favor and wanting things that don’t belong to me. If you have paranoid delusions, seek therapy. I won’t play along.”
She took the bank card from her bag and threw it onto the table in front of them. “This is the compensation you gave me, and I haven’t used a single penny from it.” There were 150 thousand on this card, barely the amount of Rosie’s monthly allowance, but that was the compensation for Rebecca over the years. “I won’t take away the things the housekeeper bought for me, but for the things I’ve used, I will pay you in cash.”
Then, she placed the written paper on the table. “In the year plus that I’ve been here, I’ve spent less than 15 thousand, including living expenses. Here’s the list. I just transferred 15 thousand to this card. From now on, we settle our accounts.”
What could be solved with money was not a problem. So, on her side, she and the Collinses were even, but what they owed her would be forever outstanding.
Rebecca’s actions made the Collinses feel as if she were serious, rendering them somewhat embarrassed. Salma couldn’t accept that her daughter, who had been obedient all those while, would do such a rebellious and disobedient thing.
She slammed the table with her hand, her face full of anger. “Fine. Go ahead. But once you step out of our gate today, don’t think about coming back.”
She believed Rebecca wouldn’t act on it. Just as Rosie said, this was a tactic of strategic retreat by threatening them with leaving. If Rebecca succeeded this time, who knew how she would stir things up in the future?
Salma let Rebecca leave, not because she wanted her to but to warn her not to cause trouble again. The others didn’t speak, unanimously sharing the same thoughts.
Of course, Rebecca knew what they were thinking. I look like I’m bluffing, don’t I? “I’m leaving for good.” After saying that, she grabbed her suitcase while showing no attachment and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Steven Collins, her father, spoke, “Stop making a fuss. Ros won’t want that variety show opportunity anymore. In the future, I’ll have Titus fight for some good gigs for you.”
Regardless of the circumstances, she was still his biological daughter, and he couldn’t let her leave just like that. Moreover, leaving home after just over a year since returning would make their family a joke in the eyes of others.
