Chapter 1

Caleb Sterling was a musical prodigy.

His voice, touched by an angel, won him countless awards by the age of sixteen.

When he was being bullied by the school’s notorious queen bee, Skylar Rossi, I was the one who stood up for him.

I took the slaps, the beatings, and even ended up with three broken ribs.

Despite the pain, I kept him shielded behind me.

After I called the police, Skylar was hauled away.

She was expelled and eventually sent to prison.

Years later, after she was released, she was humiliated and beaten to death on the streets.

Caleb eventually became a global superstar, adored by millions.

To “repay” me for saving him back then, his entertainment company signed me for a massive sum.

But during my first corporate dinner, he drugged me and handed me over to a room full of powerful predators.

I was tortured until my last breath.

Before I died, I saw Caleb’s cold, expressionless face.

“You felt it, didn’t you? The same despair Skylar felt before she died?” he whispered.

It turned out everything he did was for revenge.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Caleb was being bullied.

1

“Stepping on a golden boy like this feels surprisingly good.”

Skylar ground the heel of her leather boot into the boy’s palm.

His pale, clean skin instantly turned a bruised red.

This boy was my deskmate, Caleb Sterling.

I snapped back to reality from the moment of my death, gasping for air like a fish out of water.

“Hey, do you like him or something?”

Skylar suddenly looked up at me with a malicious smirk.

She looked like a poisonous poppy―beautiful but deadly.

I froze.

In my past life, this was exactly how it happened.

She had bullied Caleb and then tossed this question at me to toy with us.

Back then, I was shy because she had guessed my feelings, but I was also furious at what she was doing to him.

I had pushed her away and stood firmly in front of Caleb.

That same day after school, we were cornered in a dark alley.

Caleb was hit over the head with a beer bottle, blood covering his handsome face.

I fought like hell to protect him, getting slapped and beaten until my ribs snapped.

I ignored Caleb’s pleas and called the cops, which got Skylar arrested.

At the time, I was so busy tending to his wounds that I didn’t notice the venom in his eyes.

He and Skylar shared a twisted, toxic bond, but his hatred for me was bone-deep.

He held that grudge for ten long years.

He held it until he finally orchestrated my brutal death.

Thinking back to that agonizing night, my entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.

But now, I had returned to the moment before I made the mistake of saving him.

I looked up and met Skylar’s indifferent gaze, then glanced down at Caleb’s cold, calculating eyes.

“No, I barely know him,” I said.

I turned around, ready to leave this mess behind.

Skylar let out a provocative laugh behind my back.

“Good. A good girl like you should focus on her SATs and stay out of trouble.”

“Otherwise, you’re the one who’s going to get hurt,” she added.

She then looked down and giggled, “Isn't that right, Caleb?”

In my previous life, she had given me the same warning.

I hadn't understood then that she was marking her territory; I thought she was just threatening us both.

Skylar was a loud, extreme character.

While everyone else was drowning in textbooks and innocent crushes, she was burning through life.

She skipped class, drank, smoked, and dated whoever she wanted.

She loved the feeling of having people under her thumb.

She was the ultimate “bad girl” from every high school drama.

Yet, her rebellious streak was exactly what attracted the straight-A students.

Students just like Caleb.

It turned out they were already entangled even back then.