Chapter 1

Eighteen years old, I accidentally killed a privileged jerk to protect Vanessa Thorne.

But she took a bribe from his family and gave false testimony in court.

My self-defense became intentional murder…

I was sentenced to death. After I died, she went to my mother, knelt, and swore she was sorry.

She begged my mom to adopt her as a goddaughter, promising to take care of her in her old age.

In the end, she conned my family out of all our assets and ran off with some guy.

And my mom? Because I was a death row inmate, she lived a life of discrimination, looked down upon, poor, sick, and died heartbroken.

Then I opened my eyes again—

I was back to that evening, the day she invited me to the small alley on South Street.

"Alex Reed, are you coming or not?" Vanessa Thorne’s voice drifted into my ears.

Clear and sweet.

I fought hard to control the rage boiling inside me.

How *dare* this conniving bitch show her face to me again?

Wait, what?!

Where was I?

School?

Besides Vanessa's voice, I heard the noisy laughter and shouts of my classmates.

The sound of reading from the next classroom, echoing clearly.

The setting sun, a cascade of golden light, spilled across the school windows.

I double-checked, triple-checked. I was back.

Reborn to my senior year, the blackboard at the back of the classroom read: "99 days left until college entrance exams."

Back to square one, like a reset button on my life!

"Alex Reed, if you don't come, I'll just ask Cole Miller instead," Vanessa said, a hint of challenge in her gaze, pouting.

Her unzipped school uniform revealed a tight top that clung to her curves, a clear invitation for hungry eyes.

In my past life, I was absolutely obsessed with her, just like this.

Now, in my eyes, she was nothing more than a piece of rotten, decaying flesh.

"I'm not going," I stated, my voice firm.

As I spoke, I stuffed my remaining textbooks into my backpack. I glanced at the classroom, both strangely unfamiliar and intimately known, then turned to leave.

Vanessa blocked my way again.

"Alex Reed, what's your deal?" she demanded loudly.

"I got bullied, and you're just going to ignore it?

"I'm telling you, if you don't come today, we're breaking up."

I stopped, my face cold. "We never even started, so what are you breaking up from?"

Vanessa's mom and my mom were classmates, best friends…

In my past life, I naturally believed that too.

But after I died, what Vanessa and her mom did made me realize I’d completely misplaced my trust.

And my mom had simply picked a fake bestie.

Vanessa, knowing I was infatuated with her, manipulated me again and again.

Cole Miller was the school bully, and he'd harassed Vanessa several times. I'd been furious about it.

But Vanessa didn't see it that way. She even told me that a guy liking her meant she was desirable.

"Vanessa Thorne, whether you ask Cole Miller or any other guy, it has nothing to do with me." With that, I walked around her and headed out of the classroom.

The sky was blue, the air fresh.

Freedom. It felt so good.

"Coward!" Vanessa's sneering voice came from behind me. "Alex Reed, I dare you to never step foot in my house again!"

"Fine!" I turned, my voice calm and icy.