Chapter 1

In my past life, my best friend, an influencer with a million followers, sold my private schedule and my fear of men to a crazed male fan, all for the sake of a "viral hit."

She called it "testing a boyfriend's protective instincts."

When that man, knife in hand, dragged me into a dark alley, she hid behind the camera, excitedly counting the skyrocketing traffic.

My boyfriend, Ethan, lost control trying to save me, injured the man, and was vilified online as a "violent maniac" and sent to prison. I was labeled a "drama queen seeking attention" and, in despair, jumped from a high-rise.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the "desensitization test" party she had meticulously arranged for me.

Looking at the spiked drink she offered, I smiled.

This time, I wouldn't just tear up her script; I'd make her personally experience what a *real* live broadcast of despair felt like.

The deafening bass pounded against my eardrums, and colorful spotlights, like venomous snake tongues, slithered across the dim private room.

I jolted awake, cold sweat instantly soaking my back.

As my vision focused, a delicate yet sickening face filled my view.

"Alice, what are you spacing out for? Drink up, the 'desensitization game' is about to begin tonight."

Chloe smiled brightly, swirling a crimson cocktail in her hand, holding it to my lips.

I stared at the drink, my fingertips trembling uncontrollably.

Not from fear, but from the bone-deep hatred screaming in my veins.

I was reborn.

Back to my junior year of college, at this so-called "androphobia desensitization party" Chloe had organized for me.

In my previous life, it was at this very party that I drank this glass of wine, laced with a potent hallucinogen and sleeping pills.

Afterward, she locked me in a dark utility closet at the end of the hallway, claiming it was a "game segment."

Waiting for me there wasn't some game NPC, but a perverted male fan who had paid a hefty sum for my "first fright experience."

That man covered my mouth, tore at my clothes, and the blade of his folding knife grazed my cheek.

And Chloe, my "best friend," the female empowerment blogger with a million followers, was hiding behind a discreet camera in the ventilation duct, excitedly watching the donations and traffic skyrocketing on her livestream backend.

Later, my boyfriend, Ethan, kicked open the door and, red-eyed, beat that man to an inch of his life.

But Chloe cut out the footage of the man with the knife, cut out my pleas, and only released clips of Ethan's beastly violence.

The title: *When Your Girlfriend Is in Staged Danger, Is Your Boyfriend a Protector or a Violent Maniac?*

Ethan was jailed, his future ruined.

I was slut-shamed by the entire internet and eventually leapt from the twenty-eighth floor.

"Alice? What's wrong? You look so pale, are you scared?" Chloe's voice snapped me out of my memories.

She leaned closer, her eyes glittering with undisguised excitement and greed, like she was looking at a trending product about to hit the shelves.

"Don't be scared, I'm here. It's more impactful if it's real, right?"

*More impactful if it's real.*

There it was again, that utterly disgusting line.

I took a deep breath, suppressing the churning in my stomach, and a chilling smile touched my lips.

"Alright," I said, taking the glass. My fingertips traced the cold glass. "But this drink's color is too vibrant; I don't really like it."

I picked up another glass of sparkling water from the table. "I'll drink this."

Chloe's face subtly shifted, a flicker of panic in her eyes. She reached out to grab my glass. "Oh, no, that one's mine! This one is my special 'Water of Courage' just for you."

Just as she leaned in to lunge for it, I flicked my wrist, my finger subtly nudging the powder hidden under my fingernail into her glass.

It was a spare pill I'd slipped out of her bag when she'd turned away moments ago.

"Since you specially prepared it, how can I be so rude as to enjoy it alone?" I smoothly crisscrossed the two glasses in the air, swapping them with lightning speed.

"Cheers." I handed the swapped cocktail back to her and tilted my head back, downing the drink that had originally been hers.

Chloe paused, seemingly not catching my move. She looked at the drink in her hand suspiciously, then at me as I swallowed, finally letting down her guard.

"Cheers, to your... rebirth tonight." She smiled meaningfully, tilting her head back and drinking the glass, now double-spiked, clean.

I watched her throat bob, my eyes icy.

Yes, rebirth.

But tonight, the one going to hell is you.