Chapter 1
Chloe Bennett said she put on too much lip balm and insisted on sharing some with my boyfriend, Ethan Caldwell.
I called her out for being a mistress who knew exactly what she was doing. She got mad, stormed off, and ended up dying in a car accident.
Ethan's eyes turned red with rage. He stabbed me in the heart and shouted, "You killed her. Go to hell!"
I traveled back through time. This time, I was taking revenge on that cheating couple and living my best life.
Ethan bowed deeply, crying in front of me. "I was wrong. I'm sorry. I really did love you."
Chloe Bennett slung an arm around Ethan Caldwell's shoulders and gave his chest a friendly smack.
"Renee, it's my first time using lip balm, and I went a little overboard. I just wanted to give some to Ethan here. Girls don't get mad over something like this, right? It's not that serious, is it?" Chloe said.
The scene was all too familiar, and the words were exactly the same as before. It snapped me awake like a bad dream.
I time traveled right back to the day Chloe Bennett forcefully kissed my boyfriend, Ethan Caldwell.
*****
Seeing me frozen in place, completely speechless, Chloe turned to Ethan. "Ethan, I'm so rough, not girly at all. Do you guys think I'm weird or something?"
Her loud, carefree tone only made Ethan's friends even more annoyed with me.
They all started chiming in, voices overlapping as they mocked me.
"Renee, can you stop being so petty?"
"Brotherhood between guys is pure, unlike you girls, always scheming and pretending to be best friends while stabbing each other in the back."
"Just get lost already. We're so done with your delicate little princess act. You'll never measure up to Chloe."
"Always caked in makeup and flirting with every guy. Chloe, with her bare face, is what a real good girl looks like."
As they said this, they shoved me aside.
I fell into a bush, a branch scratching my neck and drawing blood.
Ethan just kept his mouth shut the whole time.
Chloe, the tomboy, came over and helped me up.
"Hey, Renee, that's just how they talk. Don't take it to heart. You really are kind of delicate, you know? They always joke about my flat chest, but you don't see me making a big deal out of it," Chloe giggled.
I looked at Chloe, acting all brash and tomboyish right in front of me.
In my previous life, I fought over Chloe and Ethan again and again. I even died for them. And honestly, it wasn't worth it, not one bit.
This time, I was going to lock that cheating jerk and Chloe together for life.
It would be great to just shine on my own.
Dating was totally useless.
"No worries, doesn't bother me at all," I said, just waving it off like it was nothing.
Chloe stared at me in disbelief.
"Fine, I guess you're being reasonable. I forgive you," Ethan said, swaggering over like he was tossing scraps to a stray dog. He grabbed my chin with that patronizing touch and lowered his head, about to kiss me right there in front of everyone.
Treating me like some dog he could train in front of all his friends—Ethan was absolutely loving the ego boost.
As he leaned in, I could still see the shine of Chloe's lip balm smeared on his lips. I was absolutely disgusted.
"Ethan?" Chloe suddenly called out, stopping Ethan. "Why don't you take Renee home first? We still have to hit the hotel later."
Ethan coughed awkwardly and looked at me. "The guys and I are heading to the hotel for some ranked matches. You know you're hopeless at games—"
"Sure, I'm actually pretty tired," I said with a yawn.
No way was I going to make a scene in public like I did in my previous life. Getting home early for some beauty sleep sounded way better.
Ethan told his gang of friends to head to the hotel first, then drove me home. Suddenly, I felt something off in my body. Crap, my period just started.
I opened the glove compartment and started searching through it.
But I couldn't find any pads, just a package of underwear.
Chloe let out a little gasp. "Oh, sorry, Renee. Last time I was on my period, Ethan helped me buy some underwear and even lent me a few pads. I told him to buy some to return to you, but he must've forgotten."
Damn, Chloe really was screaming.
With just a few words, Chloe made it sound like she and Ethan were the real couple, and I was just the mistress.
Ethan opened his mouth, but thought better of it.
I grabbed my phone and wallet, got out of the car, and didn't spare him a single look.
The car slowly pulled away.
Only then did I unlock my phone and save the recording I'd just made.
After getting back to my dorm, I took a shower and noticed a few new messages on my phone.
Ethan: [It was just a few pads. Why are you giving Chloe attitude? Who are you even mad at?]
Ethan: [I've told you. Chloe and I are just friends. Stop being ridiculous, will you?]
I sneered.
For the past three years, Ethan had been trampling all over my boundaries, acting like just because he sold a few comics and got himself a fancy car, he owned the whole world.
But what he probably didn't know was that those big-shot investors were only interested in his mediocre comics because his girlfriend was me.
I was the capital itself.
My parents were the wealthiest family in Belcourt.
And three years ago, I'd already achieved financial freedom through my comic creations.
I kept my wealth carefully hidden, pretending to be just an average girl from an ordinary family.
I kept making excuses for Ethan for one thing. Three years ago, I was followed by a rapist. Ethan took a knife to the stomach trying to save me. He almost died.
I started out just feeling grateful. When he was chasing after me, he put on this act of being so caring and gentle, and I really did fall for him.
Even when he started getting more and more impatient with me, his words would always echo in my mind. "Don't be afraid. No one can hurt you."
I didn't bother replying. Right as I was about to crash for the night, my phone rang; it was Chloe calling.
"Hey, Renee, I feel kinda bad about earlier. Are you free tomorrow? I want to apologize to you," she said.
"Yeah, sure." I knew Chloe wasn't up to anything good, but I was curious what tricks she had up her sleeve.