"Cerise, you have it in your hand the whole time…." I drank my milk and licked the edge of my lips. "Use Kristen's secret against herself."

… ​​

There was a long pause after. I had expected this. Cerise was a weak-willed, passive girl, she literally had the upper hand against Kristen the whole time, but she let herself get bullied.

But who am I to judge? I was also passive when those bullies abused me in my previous life. Though, I'm pretty sure that I would use this kind of secret for my benefit if I discovered it in the previous life.

Wouldn't it be nice if I had Kristen to protect me with her reputation? My previous life would've been a lot easier with that.

"Em, that secret… is very dangerous…." Cerise warned. "Kristen has been trying to kill me because of this secret…."

Oh, come on, you only made it even more interesting than before with your warning.

"Wow, Cerise… I didn't know that you're holding a big secret. Since you said that she wants to kill you because of this, that means the secret must've been very important."

Cerise paused again. I had to be patient with her. Because I knew that she was contemplating whether to tell me or not about this Big secret that Kristen had.

"It is a big secret," Cerise replied. Her voice sounded calmer than I thought. I expected her to freak out like a madwoman.

"I… I don't know how to tell this. I've been keeping this for so long, Em…." Cerise hesitated again.

"Cerise, do you want her to kill you? You know that she is a malicious woman at heart, right?"

"Kristen is not malicious! She.... she…"

"Just admit it, I mean, you'd be pretty blind if you're still trying to deny her death threat against you," I chugged some cold hard truth in her throat, hoping that she would finally yield. Seriously, her hesitation started to get on my nerves.

"… You're right…." Cerise muttered. "I don't know what turned her like this. Kristen is very gentle when she protected me in middle school. Maybe it's because she's befriending Ashley."

"Ashley must've been the bad influence for Kristen…."

No, Kristen had always been nefarious in the first place. You were just blinded by her kindness back then, even though I knew what kind of 'kindness' Kristen gave to you.

She had just realized that you had no use and was done playing around as your angel. She moved on and befriended Ashley instead, because of money and popularity, of course.

"Ah, really? That's too bad…." I sighed. "Maybe we should take on Ashley later. Who knows what bad influence will she give to another good girl, right?"

"T—That's… extreme…."

Cerise hesitated again, but I knew that she was actually considering my suggestion. Because it seemed that Cerise genuinely saw Kristen as her best friend until Ashley changed everything.

"Haha—Don't think about it too much, Cerise. I was just joking," I said. I looked at the ceiling and grinned, "But my suggestion about Kristen still stands. You have something that can shut her up, but why don't you use it?"

"I—I don't know how to…." Cerise replied. "If I tell someone about her secret, then they wouldn't believe it. Kristen is such a good girl after all…."

That's not how you were supposed to do it. Cerise naively thought that she could just threaten Kristen right in front of her face. That was a dumb idea. Kristen would kill her for real.

But I got an idea. I knew what I should do to make sure Kristen bowed down and became my lapdog with that secret.

"Cerise, if I say that I have a way, will you believe me?"

"W—What do you mean, Em?"

"Didn't I tell you that I will be the one who helps you when you're in a clutch? I know that you're too scared to use that secret as a weapon."

"Y—You will face Kristen?!" Cerise's sudden holler startled me. "Emmy, you're crazy! Kristen has a big reputation!"

"So what? Do you think I will let you get threatened by her?" I tried to assure Cerise. I wanted her to yield, even though it was tough.

"I know how to defeat her with that secret. But you must trust me," I assured her. "But, you must tell me that secret."

"Cerise, it all depends on you. Tell me that secret, or suffer the rest of your life under Kristen's abuse."

…

…

I waited for Cerise to respond. She became understandably quiet. I thought Cerise would be stalled for so long, knowing how weak-willed and brainwashed she was.

But when she opened her mouth, I finally got my jackpot.

"Em, I don't want to get hurt…."

"If… if I tell you the secret, can you shut her down as quickly as possible? So she has no chance to attack me."