He dumped me, then immediately fell for a poor, “innocent” girl who was even better at acting like an angel than I was. In my past life, to prove him wrong, I decided to rebel. I started hanging out with a bad crowd, got mixed up with some dangerous street thugs, and when I was cornered with nowhere to run, I begged him to save me. He completely ignored me. He covered his new girlfriend's eyes with his hand and whispered softly: "Don't look, it might scare you." He abandoned me in that pitch-black alleyway, where I was brutally tortured to death. When I opened my eyes, I had traveled back in time—to the exact day he rejected me. 01 It was time to cut the birthday cake. Our friends were cheering, egging me on to confess my feelings. I gathered every ounce of courage I had and said: "Lucas, my birthday wish... is you." The hand Lucas was using to hold his cigarette trembled slightly. The corner of his mouth curled up. He gave a wicked, lazy smirk: "Sorry. You're way too 'good girl' for me." "You're just not my type." In my past life, that single sentence drove me completely insane. Thinking about the horrific, agonizing way I died... A freezing chill shot down my spine. In that moment, I genuinely wanted to grab the cake knife and murder him. "Summer, are you okay?" "Lucas, what the hell is wrong with you?! Can't you just say something nice to make the birthday girl happy?!" Lucas maintained that arrogant, lazy posture he always had. He blew a ring of smoke. And drawled lazily: "Sorry. Lying just isn't my style." His careless, raspy voice used to sound so attractive to me. But hearing it now, I only felt pure, visceral disgust. In front of everyone, my expression turned ice-cold. I looked at the cake and made a new birthday wish. "Lucas, my wish is that in this life, and every life after, you and I never cross paths again." I blew out the candles. My friends tried to stop me, but they couldn't. The smirk on Lucas's face instantly froze. "Summer, are you serious right now?" "I'll give you one more chance. Make a new wish, and I'll pretend I didn't hear what you just said." No need. I completely ignored him. I picked up the knife to cut the cake. Lucas lunged forward and grabbed the blade of the knife with his bare right hand. "Summer, I am talking to you." The sharp blade sliced into his fingers. Blood started dripping onto the table. Someone screamed: "Blood! Lucas, you're bleeding!" I knew exactly what this was. He was having another one of his "episodes." Lucas suffered from severe psychological issues. In my past life, I was the only person who could calm him down when he spiraled. Well. To be more accurate. Before the poor, innocent scholarship girl showed up... I was the only one. Because of that, I always delusionally believed I was special to him. Until the day I overheard him comforting her, using that same lazy, raspy tone. "She's completely different from you." "At best, she was just a temporary placebo. But you... you are my only cure." "If I lose you, I will literally die." I let go of the knife handle and stepped back. "If you like it that much, keep it." I turned around to leave. Lucas threw the knife aside and grabbed my arm. His bloody fingers stained the sleeve of my pristine white button-down shirt. "Summer, who exactly are you throwing this tantrum for?" The sight of the blood triggered a violent wave of panic. I couldn't control it. The horrific, agonizing memories of my past life flooded my brain. The world started spinning, my vision went black, and unable to bear the psychological weight, I fainted. When I woke up, Lucas was sitting by my bed. "You're awake?" "You were the one who threw a tantrum, but I had to carry you all the way home. So, Summer, how are you planning to make this up to me?" Lucas was a classic bad boy. He loved saying ambiguous, flirtatious things like this. Things that always planted pathetic, delusional hopes in my heart. But I was no longer the stupid girl I used to be. I knew the truth perfectly well. When Lucas is actually in love, he can't utter a single smooth, flirtatious line. When he confessed to her, his voice was literally shaking with nerves. I let out a heavy sigh and looked at him. "I'm exhausted." "Lucas. After today, let's stop seeing each other." 02 The next day, I walked to school alone. Lucas didn't wait for me at our usual spot. I knew exactly what he was doing. This was his version of a "punishment." He was waiting for me to apologize to him. But I completely ignored his existence for the entire day. That afternoon, I was napping at my desk when my lab partner shook me awake. "Summer! Wake up! Lucas is in a massive fistfight on the basketball court!" I was still half-asleep. But she practically dragged me all the way to the courts. "Hurry up! Lucas is going absolutely psycho! You're the only one who can stop him!" No. She was wrong. I didn't need to go anywhere near him. Because his leading lady had already made her grand entrance. I guessed perfectly. By the time we pushed through the crowd, the fight was already over. Lucas was sitting on the sidelines, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily. And sitting right beside him... was a girl. She had her hair tied in a simple, low ponytail. Her face was pale and delicate. She was holding his hand, her voice trembling with the faintest hint of a sob. She whispered softly: "Lucas, you're hurt." Lucas violently hated when strangers touched him. He instinctively went to yank his hand away. But the exact second his eyes locked onto me standing in the crowd, he froze. His eyes darkened, and he deliberately let Chloe—the scholarship girl—keep holding his hand. The senior he had just beaten to a bloody pulp was being helped up by a few of his friends, preparing to leave. "Wait." Lucas called out, stopping them in their tracks. He pointed to Chloe sitting next to him. "Apologize." The senior's face was bruised and swollen beyond recognition. A student nearby tried to intervene: "Lucas, come on. Let him go to the nurse first." Lucas refused. His voice dropped to a terrifying, lethal pitch, repeating himself: "I said... apologize to her." Chloe grabbed Lucas's arm tightly and shook her head pitifully. "It's fine, Lucas. Really, I'm okay." The senior, despite being beaten half to death, was forced to bow deeply and apologize. Someone in the crowd whispered, asking why the fight started. My lab partner answered: "That guy called Chloe a 'broke charity case,' and Lucas overheard him." "He deserved it! That's what he gets for running his mouth!" "Lucas is so hot! Literally stepping up to defend her honor!" "Are we literally watching a Wattpad romance happen in real life?!" But I was the only one who knew the truth. In my past life, Lucas relentlessly bullied and terrorized that senior until he was forced to transfer to a different school. The day before he left, he pulled me aside. He warned me to be very, very careful around Chloe. He refused to say anything else. He was probably too terrified of Lucas to speak the truth. The senior needed to go to the hospital, but the ambulance was going to take a while to arrive. I walked over and tossed him my keys. "Take my car. Drive yourself to the ER." The senior froze in shock. "Thank you... but I couldn't..." Lucas stormed over and grabbed me hard by the arm. "Summer, are you purposely trying to piss me off?!" I glanced past him, looking at Chloe, whose eyes were still perfectly red and teary. "Focus on your own drama." "If you walk away right now, don't ever come looking for me again," he threatened. I didn't even look back. I helped the other students support the senior and walked away. CRASH! The crowd behind me gasped. It was the sound of Lucas punching the metal pole of the basketball hoop full force. Tsk. Have fun breaking your knuckles. 03 Lucas and I didn't interact at all for the next few weeks. I heard that because of Chloe, he completely stopped getting into fights. He even claimed he was turning his life around and started actually studying. Lucas's friends tried to get him to go to the PC cafe to play games. Chloe whispered softly to him: "You haven't finished your SAT vocabulary flashcards yet." Lucas let out a heavy, dramatic sigh and slumped back into his chair. "My 'mom' is too strict. I can't go." I had to listen to my lab partner narrate these cheesy, romantic little anecdotes every single day. But whenever I walked close, they would immediately stop whispering and turn away. "I feel so bad for her." "I know, right? She chased Lucas for years, and then some poor scholarship girl just swooped in and stole him." Did I look pitiful? I certainly didn't think so. My college application process was already finalized. As soon as I passed my final AP exams, I was moving to New York to attend Columbia University. I was going to major in Journalism—my absolute dream. My bright, beautiful, and completely new life was about to begin. One afternoon, as I was walking home, Lucas's mother stopped me on the sidewalk. "Summer, Lucas forgot his medication again. Could you please take it to him for me, honey?" I really, really wanted to say no. But when I saw the dark, purple bruises peeking out from under the cuffs of his mother's blouse... I sighed heavily. "Okay." I texted Lucas: "Where are you?" It took him a long time to reply. He finally sent me a location pin. A local billiards hall. In my past life, I had spent way too much time in that exact spot. When I arrived, I navigated the dark, basement staircase perfectly. The suffocating smell of cheap cigarette smoke instantly made me nauseous. I spotted Lucas immediately. He was standing at the center table, actively hustling a game of pool. There was a massive stack of hundred-dollar bills sitting on the edge of the table. I walked straight up to him and tossed the pill bottle onto the green felt. "Your mom asked me to bring this to you." Seeing me, Lucas furrowed his brow. "Who told you to come here?" I didn't even bother answering him. I dropped the pills and turned to leave. But one of his friends blocked my path. "Yo, Lucas. Is this the girlfriend?" Lucas let out a cold sneer, accepting a lit cigarette from the guy and tucking it behind his ear. "Do you honestly think that's possible?" Right at that moment, Chloe walked into the billiards hall, wearing her school backpack. The second she walked in, she started violently coughing from the smoke. Lucas immediately stood up and moved to block her from the haze. "Put out all the cigarettes right now." The guy with the yellow teeth who had just blocked me grinned widely. "Ah. So this is the real sister-in-law." Chloe's face flushed beet red. "Lucas, stop them from saying that! The teachers said we aren't allowed to..." "I know." Lucas playfully tapped the tip of her nose. "Be a good girl, call me 'Daddy,' and I'll let you go home." Chloe let out a tiny gasp, pointing at the cigarette tucked behind his ear. "Lucas! Didn't you promise me you were going to quit smoking?!" I felt Lucas's gaze land directly on me. I suddenly remembered... I had also demanded he quit smoking once. Because I've had severe asthma since childhood, and cigarette smoke triggers my attacks. Back then, he didn't even bother to give me a fake promise. He deliberately blew a ring of smoke directly into my face and smirked: "Can't do it." A cold, mocking smile curled the corners of my lips. I tried to maneuver around the crowd to leave. But I was grabbed again. "Don't leave yet, baby!" "Lucas, hurry up! It's a two-on-two match. Since my girlfriend is playing for my team... who are you gonna use for yours?" 04 I didn't hesitate. I just kept walking. But Chloe reached out and grabbed my sleeve. "I... I don't know how to play pool." I frowned, looking at her. "What does that have to do with me?" "I..." After my sharp response, Chloe's eyes instantly welled up with tears. Lucas rushed over, pulling her behind his back protectively, glaring at me. "Can't you speak to her like a normal human being?!" "You're a psychopath." I tried to walk away, but he blocked my path again. My patience completely snapped. I decided to push his buttons. "What's the matter, Lucas? Playing hard to get? Are you desperately trying to make me your girlfriend?" "Keep dreaming." "Then get the fuck out of my way." I walked out. This time, no one tried to stop me. Behind me, I heard Chloe panic. "What do we do, Lucas? I really don't know how to play." Lucas replied, his voice dripping with patience and affection. "Don't worry, idiot. As long as I'm here, we won't lose." I literally could not care less who won a stupid game of pool. But that night, during dinner... My mom wouldn't stop sighing. "I saw Sarah (Lucas's mom) again today. She was covered in bruises... Richard went way too far this time..." "Oh, by the way, Summer. I haven't seen Lucas come over for dinner in days. Did you two get into a fight?" "No." "That's good. You should invite him over more often..." I looked up, cutting my mom off mid-sentence. "I cut him off. We aren't friends anymore." "What? Why?!" I took a bite of my perfectly cooked sea bass. "No reason. I just despise people who are legally blind." My mom asked cautiously, "Did Lucas get a girlfriend?" I picked up a piece of fish and placed it into my mom's bowl. "Yep. The 'I'd die for you' trope just walked straight out of a novel into real life. It's incredibly sweet." They were busy acting out their little teen romance drama, and for some reason, they absolutely insisted on casting me as the bitter, jealous villainess. Fine. The next morning, as soon as I walked into the classroom, I heard Chloe crying. "What am I going to do, Lucas? The envelope was in my backpack this morning... how could it just disappear?!" My lab partner whispered to me: "Chloe lost the class funds she was in charge of collecting. Everyone's helping her look for it right now." I casually threw out a logical suggestion: "Why don't you just check the security cameras?" But my comment made Chloe violently defensive. She marched right up to my desk and said: "Summer, I know I grew up poor, but I am absolutely not desperate enough to steal the class funds!" I never even said she stole it. Why was she panicking? Lucas walked over, his voice cold and commanding. "Apologize to her." I completely ignored him. I placed my backpack on my desk and sat down. He grabbed my backpack and hurled it across the room. Then, he violently flipped my entire desk over. Lucas was having another episode. "Apologize to her. Are you deaf?" The entire classroom went dead silent. No one dared to breathe. And absolutely no one dared to step in and stop him. I bent down, trying to pick my desk back up. Suddenly, a hand clamped brutally around my throat. His eyes were bloodshot. "I. Said. Apologize." I couldn't breathe. Tears stung my eyes. The pressure around my neck instantly began to form a dark, angry red bruise. Chloe finally stepped in, grabbing his arm. "Lucas! Lucas, stop!" But he refused to listen to anyone. He just kept glaring at me with those terrifying, bloodshot eyes. I have no idea who he was projecting onto me in that moment. It took three male teachers sprinting into the classroom to finally pry him off me. Chloe rushed forward and threw her arms around a thrashing, frantic Lucas. "It's okay! It's okay, Lucas! I don't care what anyone else thinks! As long as you believe me, that's all that matters!" He buried his face into the crook of her neck, but his eyes... his eyes stayed locked directly on me. The teachers escorted me to the nurse's office. His dark, erratic gaze followed my back until I completely disappeared from sight.
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