Chapter 1

In my past life, I was hacked to death by my brother for stopping him from getting a gender reassignment surgery to chase his male teacher.

In this life, I smiled and handed him the surgical fees. "Don't be scared. I'll sell the house to send you to Thailand. I'll help you find your true love!"

As he excitedly contacted a back-alley clinic, I quietly sent him ten predatory loan apps.

Later, my brother lay dying on the operating table, covered in bandages. "Sis, why didn't you stop me this time?"

I wiped the pus and blood from his wound and grinned. "Because..."

"I wanted to watch you rot, bit by bit."

1.

When the kitchen knife bit into my flesh, I heard my mother crying nearby.

She wasn't crying because I was dying. She was crying because Hunter's hands were stained with blood.

"Oh, you poor child," she said, patting Hunter's back.

"Is it really worth dirtying your hands for a person like your sister?"

My father stood by the door, keeping watch to make sure no neighbors saw.

Hunter wiped his face, blood mixing with tears. His eyes were bloodshot.

"Rhiannon Lee! It's all your fault! You stopped me!"

"If you hadn't stopped me from getting the surgery, Mr. Sterling would have married me! You ruined my life! Just die! Die!"

Mr. Sterling was his high school homeroom teacher, a man in his thirties.

Hunter screamed, raising the bloody knife again.

The world went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was sitting on our old, worn-out sofa.

"Let me die! None of you understand me! What's the point of living? I want Mr. Sterling! I need him!"

The wailing brought me back to reality. I froze.

The living room was a total mess.

My mother was slumped on the floor, wailing and slapping her thighs. Tears and snot covered her face.

My father's face was ashen. His fists were clenched so tight he was shaking.

And in the center of the storm was my wonderful brother, Hunter.

He was wearing his faded school hoodie, standing on the coffee table with his back to me.

He was waving a sharp utility blade, pressing it against his thin wrist.

"Hunter! My baby! Get down! Please, I'm begging you!"

My mother wailed, trying to crawl toward him. My father grabbed her, roaring, "You animal! Get down from there! Losing your mind over a man! You've embarrassed this whole family!"

I was back.

I was back at the moment Hunter first attempted suicide to force the family to pay for his surgery in Thailand.

In my last life, I rushed forward and held him tight. I used every ounce of strength to pry the blade from his hand, ignoring the cuts on my own fingers.

I tried to talk sense into him. I told him about the risks of the surgery, that Mr. Sterling would never love him, and that he was too young to know what love was.

I talked until my throat was dry. Eventually, he seemed to listen and calmed down in my arms.

I was naive enough to think I had saved him.

But when the news of Mr. Sterling's wedding broke, Hunter turned all his resentment into a kitchen knife aimed at my neck.

He said I robbed him of his chance to be with his teacher.

Fine.

My dear brother.

In this life, I'll give you exactly what you want.