Chapter 3

3

The two of them continued their toxic dance of love and pain.

Soon, we reached a pivotal moment from my previous life.

In a dark alleyway, Skylar smashed a glass bottle over Caleb’s head.

This time, I was just a passerby, watching with genuine curiosity.

Without my intervention, I wanted to see if Caleb would actually die.

But in the next second, Caleb snapped.

He grabbed Skylar by the shoulders and pinned her against the brick wall.

He kissed her aggressively, his mouth crashing against hers.

She fought at first, kicking and punching his chest.

But slowly, her strength faded, and they were soon lost in a desperate, heated embrace.

It turned out that without me, the story took a very different turn.

They officially started dating.

Caleb started following Skylar everywhere, skipping class and hitting dive bars.

He wasted his potential, drinking and smoking until the early hours of the morning.

He completely forgot that he was once the top of the class and the faculty's favorite.

The seat next to me remained empty most of the time.

When I heard the gossip, I simply turned the page of my textbook.

In my last life, I viewed Caleb as my North Star.

I had even changed my dreams to match his, aiming for the same prestigious music academy.

This time, without his influence, I went back to my original path.

I studied hard for the traditional academic route to a top-tier university.

It meant relearning everything and overcoming massive hurdles.

But I wasn't afraid of hard work.

One day, I heard Skylar sitting behind me, laughing about Caleb with her friends.

“He’s such a spineless idiot. He doesn't even make a sound when I hit him.”

“I only picked him because he looked so cold and smart. Breaking a good boy is fun.”

Her two followers exchanged looks, clearly skeptical.

“He looks so arrogant though. Does he really just let you play with him?”

In my past life, I tried so hard to protect him.

I never realized that with his grades, the school or his parents would have crushed Skylar if he had just spoken up.

But he never said a word because he was a willing participant in her sick game.

Skylar leaned in with a smirk, looking like she owned the world.

“Don't believe me? I’ll prove it. He doesn't dare go against me.”

“I’m going to tell him he’s banned from taking the music academy entrance exam.”

I knew exactly what that exam meant for Caleb.

In my previous life, his performance there launched his entire career.

It was the foundation of his fame and the wealth he eventually used to destroy me.

As I was thinking, Skylar leaned toward my ear with a mocking smile.

“I remember you said you wouldn't meddle in other people's business, right?”

I took off my headphones and gave her a polite smile.

“I didn't hear a word you said.”

In this life, Skylar was perfectly safe.

I was just curious to see how their little tragedy would end this time.