Chapter 1

In my previous life, my love-struck roommate got pregnant. Her abusive boyfriend forced her to drop out of college and stay home, promising a grand wedding once their son was born.

I urged her to have an abortion and get a divorce, telling her that education was more important.

Later, she told Henry it was us who pushed her to abort.

One night, she opened the door for Henry, and he killed us all, staining the dorm with blood.

Henry was arrested and imprisoned as a result.

She said, "It was those three women who ruined my happy life."

Then, I was given a second chance, waking up at the start of the new semester.

This time, I wanted this scumbag couple to stay together for the rest of their lives.

She showed the bruises on her body, accusing her boyfriend of beating her.

Before anyone could react, I grabbed her hand.

"He hits you because he cares about you. If you want him to stay with you, you have to bear it," I said.

*****

I was jolted awake by the sound of shouting.

I sat up, staring at the familiar dorm room. Wait, I was supposed to be dead.

It was all because I'd tried to convince Lucy to get rid of the baby. Her psycho boyfriend, Henry, broke into our dorm and butchered all three of us.

Blood was everywhere, staining every inch of the room.

Henry was arrested for it.

But Lucy blamed us, saying we were the ones who ended up getting her boyfriend thrown in jail and wrecking her shot at happiness.

While I was still spacing out, Lucy came in, clinging to Henry's arm.

She smiled and greeted us, "Hey, I'm Lucy."

Henry walked in, showing off his tattoos. "I'm counting on you to take care of Lucy."

As he spoke, his eyes skimmed over the group before finally settling on me.

In my previous life, I got out of bed to say hi, and he actually put his hands on me.

This time, I just drew my bunk curtain closed, blocking out all their curious stares.

Once Henry left, Lucy, who had been flashing that sweet smile just moments ago, switched gears and dove straight into her sad little life story—same script as last time.

"I was dirt poor when I was little. My parents always favored my brother over me. They sold me off. I didn't even have enough money to finish high school," she said.

By the time she finished, she was openly sobbing, tears and all.

Then she launched into another round about her boyfriend—how he manipulated her and hit her.

In my previous life, I was the first to step up and tell her to ditch him, to toughen up and stand on her own.

This time, I walked right up and grabbed Lucy's hand, wasting no time.

Only now, I looked at her like she was totally clueless.

"He hits you because he cares about you. If you want him to stay with you, you have to bear it," I said.

Lucy started to say something, but I cut in without giving her the chance.

"Seriously, where else are you gonna find a boyfriend this hot? He's been giving you money since high school, and now he's even paying for your college. So what if he slaps you around a bit?

"If you don't hold onto him, who's gonna pay your tuition? You already said your parents only care about your brother, so they're not shelling out a dime for you. Tuition here's no joke, but your boyfriend doesn't mind spending money on you. Face it, he treats you better than your own family ever did.

"So really, what other choice do you have? He's the only one you've got," I said.

Lucy lowered her head, saying nothing.

Her lips quivered, but in the end, she didn't dare say a word.

She used to love playing the victim and saying all this to us when she'd break up and get back together with Henry in my previous life.

She couldn't stand how her boyfriend bossed her around, smacking her or yelling whenever he felt like it.

But she never had the guts to stand up to him—she just couldn't afford to lose his money.

So she'd come to us over and over, pouring out her troubles, begging for someone to bail her out, always asking us to find her a way out.

We tried everything we could.

But in the end, she'd always wrap herself around Henry again, clinging to him like a helpless vine.

She'd say, "I really tried, but he's the only choice I have."

Every time we tried to talk her into leaving him, we even helped her find part-time jobs and secretly slipped her some cash on the side.

But she always ended up crawling back to Henry.

She couldn't be bothered to work hard, never wanted to make her own money, and at the end of the day, she was still hung up on that guy.

Over and over, she'd say, "I'm sorry, but I really don't have any other choice."

I still remember the day she broke down in tears, telling us she was pregnant.

She didn't want to waste her youth raising a kid; she knew Henry wasn't someone she could trust for good, and honestly, she was terrified.

We scraped together enough to cover the abortion costs for her.

We promised we'd go with her the next day.

But that night, she unlocked the door and let Henry inside.

He burst in, knife in hand, and slaughtered us in our sleep.

Blood painted the walls and soaked the floor.

Lucy curled up in the corner, sobbing, "I'm sorry. I really had no choice."

Later, when they were in court, Lucy took the stand and swore up and down that Henry was having one of his schizophrenic episodes at the time.

Thanks to the official evaluation saying he killed us while only halfway lucid, he got off with a lighter sentence.

As a ghost, my hatred for her ran deep. But somehow, part of me was glad she'd at least get a brief taste of happiness.

But I never saw it coming—the first thing Lucy did after getting Henry out of prison was go off on us. "Those damn roommates ruined my happiness.

"If it weren't for them, we would've been living together a long time ago."

That was the moment my so-called saintly heart finally shattered.

Then I realized that Lucy was a total demon, even more ruthless than Henry ever was.