Chapter 1

In the previous timeline, the girl Gerald always loved died because of me. Heartbroken, he pretended to marry me, then did everything he could to ruin my family and leave us penniless.

He drove me to the edge, until I was so depressed and hopeless that I jumped off a building.

At the moment of my death, Gerald stood in front of me, cold and distant, and reached out to cover my eyes.

"Amelia, if you ever run into me and Bella in your next life, make sure you stay far away from us," he said.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back seven years ago, on the familiar school path I walked every day.

Gerald and Isabella were coming toward me from afar.

Isabella spotted me first and waved happily. "Amelia! Over here!"

Suddenly jolted out of my daze, I flung my backpack at them with all my strength, as if I'd just seen a ghost, then spun around and ran for my life.

*****

"Amelia! Class is about to start! Where are you going?" someone shouted after me.

I ignored my classmates' shouts and, all by myself, made my way through the crowd of students in their uniforms, heading the opposite direction.

The sunlit breeze washed over me, filling my chest with warmth again and again.

It felt amazing. It felt so good to be alive.

All those heavy shadows that used to seep into my thoughts and body, tormenting me day and night, had finally vanished.

I was the seventeen-year-old Amelia Dawson again. Healthy, energetic, and shining with youth.

The Dawson and Herbert families had been close for generations. Gerald Herbert was a year older than me, and he'd always spoiled me rotten since we were kids.

From the candy he gave me when I was little, to the princess dress he bought me as a teen, to the sapphire necklace for my sixteenth birthday, his care had colored a third of my life.

Plenty of girls liked him, but I was the only one he kept close.

Gerald was always like an older brother to me, but at some point, I found myself quietly falling for him.

Everything stayed that way until the freshman sports meet, when I suddenly fainted, and Isabella Rivera was the one who rushed me to the nurse's office.

From that day forward, Isabella was always there between Gerald and me.

They shared the same hobbies, both were top students, and whenever they were together, they always had endless things to talk about.

Before I knew it, I'd become their little shadow, always following them around.

In the previous timeline, rumors about Isabella suffering abuse from her stepfather spread all over the school.

Right before she jumped, her hair was wild, and she shot me a vicious glare.

She shouted, "Amelia, remember this! You're the one who killed me!"

Then, with grim determination, she leapt. No one even had time to reach out and stop her.

She didn't even give me a chance to say a word in my own defense.

When Gerald read the note she left behind, he totally lost his mind.

He clamped down on my shoulders, his bloodshot eyes blazing with a hatred that sent chills down my spine.

"Amelia! Why? Why would you do this? You were the only one who knew about this!" Gerald yelled angrily.

"I..." I stammered, my voice barely audible.

With my throat burning and my shoulders aching, I barely managed to get a few words out. "I swear, I didn't do it. It wasn't me."

But no one believed me.

With Isabella's dying words, declared in front of everyone, I was branded the killer.

Any defense I tried just fell flat when the victim called me out in front of everyone.

That was when I faced the worst bullying and isolation I'd ever known.

Everyone treated me like a murderer. Every classmate glared at me with disdain.

Gerald was the one who hated me the most.

Four years later, the Herbert family proposed a marriage between our families, and Gerald agreed.

He acted like Isabella never existed, and went back to treating me like I was his whole world.

I thought Gerald finally believed me.

He ruffled my hair just like he always did, with that same gentle look in his eyes. He said, "Amelia, let's get married."

Gerald had always been so warm and gentle in my memories, and for a moment, I thought he was back to the way he used to be.

But then, Gerald got his hands on Rivera Group's secrets. He did whatever it took to crush my family's business, kick my parents out of Kladon City, and lock me up at home.

Hatred and cold, silent abuse filled every moment of my life.

Gerald stopped pretending. The way he looked at me was icy and distant, like I was a stranger.

Gerald sneered. "Amelia, you should feel every ounce of pain Bella did. Why don't you just die? Maybe if you died, I'd finally be able to forgive you."

Just like Gerald wished for, seven years later, I threw myself off a building, in the same hopeless way Isabella did.

I stood there on the street, dazed, the school bell still echoing in my ears.

The pain of my skull shattering, the agony of my soul leaving my body, and Gerald's cold, merciless words as I died, all of it was finally fading from my mind.

Gerald's voice echoed in my memory, cold and distant. "Amelia, if you ever run into me and Bella in your next life, make sure you stay far away from us."

I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself.

From now on, I swore I'd stay far, far away from Gerald and Isabella.