Chapter 3

3

After two lives, how was he still so naive? Our parents didn't love us. They loved their own vanity.

In my past life, I had collapsed and ended up in the hospital from overworking on my research. My parents didn't visit me once. Instead, they demanded I come home immediately because relatives were visiting, and they wanted to show me off. Everything has a cost.

If you want their love, you have to provide the fame that fuels their ego. Lately, my dad had been breathing down my neck. He was terrified I was getting involved with the wrong crowd. It turned out Rafael had told them Maddie Monroe was chasing me. He even suggested I was trying to become a boy toy for a rich family.

"Silas, don't you dare embarrass this family!" "If you ruin your future over some girl, don't bother coming back home!" He roared so loudly my ears hurt.

I grabbed my bag and walked past him without a word. He was probably going through an early midlife crisis. The moment I got to school, Maddie blocked me. She dragged me toward the secluded woods behind the bleachers.

She looked furious. "Silas, your brother told me everything. Are you just playing with me?" Rafael had dated her in the past life. He knew exactly how to manipulate her impulsive nature.

"How can you be like him? Why don't you trust me?" I looked down, my expression full of sudden, quiet sorrow. "I didn't say I didn't trust you! I just wanted to ask you directly!"

"Say something! Silas?" I stayed silent. She started pacing around me, getting more frustrated by the second.

Meanwhile, Rafael was leading Juno Vance and several other students toward our location. He had even tipped off my parents.

Juno frowned, confused. "Why are we going to the woods to practice vocabulary?" Rafael glanced at her. "Because it's quiet!" Juno looked at the crowd of students behind them and pursed her lips.

When Rafael saw my parents in the distance, he sped up. He took one quick look into the trees and started shouting, "Silas! How could you do something so shameful?" My parents came running, out of breath. My dad already had his hand raised to hit me.

But when they reached us, they froze. "Mr. Monroe?" my dad stammered.

The scene wasn't what Rafael had expected at all. Instead of a secret hookup, Harrison Monroe, Maddie's older cousin and a respected teacher's assistant, was there quizzing us on vocab. The atmosphere became incredibly awkward.

Harrison spoke up first. "Silas asked me yesterday if I could help him with some difficult terms. I'm only free in the morning, and I was already out for a walk, so we did it here." "Is there a reason you're all here?"

Everyone looked at each other, then shifted their gaze to Rafael. Juno was smart. She immediately saw through Rafael's petty scheme. Her face darkened. "Finals are coming up. Our time is valuable. Rafael, we don't have time for your childish games!"

Rafael tried to grab her sleeve, but she glared him down. In our last life, Juno hadn't pursued me out of love. She wanted my research results to elevate her family's business empire.

"I... I didn't mean it. I must have misheard. Everyone knows Maddie is obsessed with Silas, and Silas seemed to like it..." My dad's face turned purple. He was clearly imagining me as a gold-digger.

Before he could explode, Maddie snapped, "Rafael, stop acting! Didn't you tell me to come find Silas here today?" "Oh, I get it. You set this up! You're a total snake." "Silas and I are just friends studying. You're the one whose mind is in the gutter!"

Rafael turned pale as the other students started whispering. He turned and ran away. My dad gave me a hateful look before chasing after him. In the end, Harrison had to apologize to my mom for Maddie's blunt language.

After that day, Rafael became famous at school―but for all the wrong reasons.