Chapter 1

In my previous life, while I was trapped in a burning building, struggling to breathe, Nathan Carter was in Harbor City, celebrating with fireworks alongside the girl he loved.

Countless calls for help went unanswered.

All night long, while firefighters found my charred body in the ruins, Nathan was busy posting pictures of the fireworks lighting up the sky on social media.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in high school, right at the moment when we were being assigned to different classes.

With unwavering resolve, I decided to move to the International Division.

The boy who'd always ignored me suddenly looked flustered, blocking my path at the stairwell.

"Emily, why won't you even look at me these days?" he asked, his voice tinged with anxiety.

*****

Emily Wynn wasn't hanging around Nathan anymore.

Everyone at Central High was talking about it lately.

"Hey, did you hear? The ultimate simp didn't even show up for Nathan's big game this afternoon," a kid whispered.

"And there's more, I saw they aren't even walking to school together anymore," another chimed in.

"Word is, Emily's pissed because the new transfer student confessed to Nathan," someone said.

Someone else chimed in, "How long do you think she'll last this time? Three days? A week?"

Just then, I showed up at the classroom door.

And coincidentally, Sophia King, the new transfer student, was there too.

All eyes in the class instantly turned to us.

Honestly, I couldn't blame them for gossiping. The last time Sophia and I showed up together, I was so pissed I nearly slapped her.

Nathan jumped in and stopped me.

This time, Nathan was quick as ever. He caught sight of Sophia and me together from down the hall, dashed over, and pulled Sophia behind him, putting himself between us.

He looked at me, all tense. "Emily, I'm warning you. Don't mess around."

This was the first time I'd run into Nathan since I was reborn.

He was so defensive, like he was terrified I'd hurt his precious sweetheart.

How much did she mean to him?

So much that, in my previous life, I, his wife, burned alive in a raging fire, yet it still mattered less to him than watching fireworks with his beloved.

Nathan frowned when I didn't say anything.

"What are you plotting now?" he asked.

See? Even when I was just standing there, saying nothing, in Nathan's eyes, I was always the villain, bad and toxic to the core.

And Sophia? She was pure as snow, the very picture of innocence.

I smirked. "Nothing. I just wanted to wish you two a happy life together."

Nathan's face went cold. "What nonsense are you spouting now? Sophia and I..."

I cut him off. "I don't care what's going on between you two."

With the whole class watching, I made a promise. "You can't stand me, right, Nathan? Fine. I won't bother you anymore. We're done."

With that, I walked straight into the classroom and took my seat, and didn't bother to look back.

I ignored Nathan behind me, his face full of awkward discomfort.

"Wow, what got into you today? You're on fire!" As soon as I sat down, my neighbor in class, Chloe Grant, leaned over with a bag of chips, her face full of admiration.

I knew better than anyone why she was looking at me like I was some kind of legend.

Because right now, she was, just like I was back then, a total simp.

She was crushing hard on Lucas Quinn, Nathan's best buddy.

Normally, neither of us could bear to speak a harsh word to them, let alone cut off all contact entirely.

Cutting Nathan out of my life was like losing a part of myself, like dying inside.

But now? I'd already been through death once.

I'd witnessed Nathan's indifference.

I'd seen how passionate he was about Sophia.

It made me, his real wife, look like the villainess trying to come between them.

So I told Chloe, "Just fell out of love, I guess. Honestly, chasing after Nathan all the time was just lame."

I glanced at the calendar.

Turns out, the end-of-year placement exams were coming up.

That was my chance to transfer to the International Division, which was a bunch of buildings away from Central High's main campus.

This time, I'd give Nathan the freedom he's been dying for.