Chapter 1

My father ran off with debts hanging over his head.

To survive, I gave up my studies to work and earn money, all while taking care of my depressed mother.

Eventually, life improved.

Then my father came back, shamelessly demanding that I support him in his old age.

Even my mother, tears in her eyes, spoke with righteous authority. "He is your father!

"If you don't take care of him, who will? If it weren't for you insisting on paying for my treatment, I could have reunited with him and rebuilt my life years ago.

"You've delayed our lives as a couple for so long. You owe us labor, loyalty, and repayment!"

I was so furious I fainted from anger.

When I opened my eyes, I was back on the very day my father ran away.

*****

It was New Year's Eve.

Debt collectors had our house surrounded, yelling threats and insults at us through the door.

Some of them were already trying to break in, kicking the door and trying to force the lock open. Mom was scared out of her mind, clutching me in the corner, shaking like a leaf.

She said, "Helena, what are we going to do? Your dad's gone. You can't just leave me, okay? You're all I have left."

Staring at the scene in front of me, everything felt eerily familiar—like déjà vu hitting me hard.

Suddenly, I realized that I'd traveled through time, sent back to this exact moment.

In my previous life, it was just the same. Dad vanished with his debts, leaving Mom and me to face these aggressive debt collectors alone.

Back then, with rage boiling inside me, even though I was just a kid, I stood between Mom and danger, refusing to back down.

After I called the cops and had them chase off those debt collectors, I had no choice but to quit school and start working. I sold off everything worth a dime, scraped and struggled for five long years, just to finally pay off all the debt.

As for Mom, she was so traumatized by it all that she totally broke down mentally.

For years, I had to look after her every single day, no rest for me at all.

The stress and burden almost broke me.

Still, I kept pushing through on my own, doing whatever it took to get her proper treatment.

What really blew my mind was, all the hard work and devotion I gave her couldn't even hold a candle to that loser who ditched his family.

All the genuine love and care I gave her, she saw it as torture, something she hated, just a roadblock keeping her from reuniting with that jerk.

Now that I had got a do-over.

This time, I'd never get involved in her life again. Not ever.

"Mom, are they going to kill me?" My voice trembled.

"I-I-I..." Mom stammered.

My face went deathly pale, her whole body shaking uncontrollably. Before she knew it, her eyes rolled back and everything went dark as she fainted on the spot.

Faced with all this chaos, Mom just completely lost her nerve.

She stood there, paralyzed, totally clueless about what to do.

It was no wonder, really.

She had always been the timid, indecisive type. Whenever something goes wrong, she just relies on others to sort things out for her.

In my last life, I knew her inside out.

That was why I always stepped up without a second thought, taking it upon myself to protect her and make sure she was okay.

But now, things were different. I had finally wised up.

Even if she was fragile, she was still an adult. It was not my job as a kid to step in and save her from her own mess.

*****

Once I blacked out, Mom was totally lost.

With no one to take charge, she just shrank into the corner, not even thinking to call the police. In the end, it was a neighbor who finally couldn't take it anymore and stepped in to help.

At the police station, the cops laid out a whole plan, opening a case, slapping a spending ban on Dad, and forcing him to come back and take responsibility.

But Mom cried out, "Sir, you can't do this.

"Seriously, you can't treat him like this... My husband just lost his way for a moment, okay? He's the one holding this family together, I need him to survive!

"I won't let you go after him! If it comes down to it, we'll pay back the money ourselves. Oh, and I've got a daughter. She's almost grown up. Once she gets married, we can use her dowry to settle the debt..."

The moment those words left her mouth, the whole place fell into a dead silence.

Every single person in the room was just staring at her, shocked and speechless, including me, as I stepped into the doorway myself.

Come to think of it, this was the first time I'd ever heard Mom lay her true feelings bare, so raw and unfiltered.

In my last life, I was always the one stepping up.

She never had to worry about anything, never once had to make a decision by herself.

I had no idea.

In her eyes, her own daughter ranked so low that she'd throw me under the bus in a heartbeat if it meant getting that scumbag who ditched us back.

Luckily, we live in a society where the law actually matters.

The moment Mom started talking like that, the cops didn't hesitate. They shut her down hard and laid down the law.

After I got home, I started packing up my things, ready to move into the dorms at school.

I was a senior this year, and my grades had always been excellent. I scored a scholarship every year, and with all the money I'd saved up, I could easily support myself through the rest of high school.

In my last life, I understood how things worked.