Chapter 1

My romance-brained best friend got kicked out of her house by her husband, so I kindly took her in.

Instead of being grateful, she trashed my rented apartment to vent her anger while I was out. She accidentally set the place on fire and burned herself alive.

Afterward, the landlord sued me for everything I had.

I ended up with millions in debt. I was eventually hit and killed by a car while working myself to death to pay it off.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day she came to find me.

She asked me cautiously, "Gia, can I stay at your place for a few days?"

I pulled the car door open.

"Leo is just talking tough. He actually loves you very much. Let me drive you back."

1

Looking at the intact apartment and my younger self in the mirror, I couldn't believe I had actually been reborn. I was back on the day my best friend, Shae Zale, came to see me.

The phone rang at that moment. Looking at the name on the screen, my body felt a phantom pain.

It was the memory of being crushed by car wheels. That pain reminded me that all the tragedies of my past life began with this very phone call.

I took a deep breath and answered.

Shae's voice came from the other side. "Gia, do you have time? Let's grab some dinner together."

I let out a silent, cold sneer.

It was exactly like this in my past life.

At first, Shae just called to ask me out for a meal. I thought she just missed me, so I went to meet her.

It wasn't until we were eating that she told me she had been kicked out after a fight with her husband.

She claimed she had nowhere to go and wanted to stay with me for a while.

I felt sorry for her then and brought her back to the apartment I had just rented.

I didn't have extra blankets, so I went out that night to buy some. While I was at the store, I got a call from her.

She said her husband wanted a divorce and she didn't want to live anymore.

I tried to talk sense into her, but she wouldn't listen. She started smashing things in my apartment and set a fire, intending to end it all.

By the time I rushed back, the fire had spread. Two floors of the building were completely destroyed.

Although no one else died, the landlord and the neighbors sued me. Shae's husband even sued me, claiming I encouraged her suicide.

I was buried under millions in debt.

To help me pay it off, my parents and brother sold their car and house. Even then, it wasn't enough.

I worked five jobs a day to clear the debt. One late night, I was killed by a speeding car on the road.

I took another deep breath, trying to calm my hatred. I answered Shae in a normal voice.

"Where are we eating? Send me the address. I'll drive over right now."

"Great! I'll share my location with you immediately. Gia, I'll be waiting for you!"

Shae quickly sent me the location of a BBQ wing place.

I grabbed my car keys and walked out the door.

This time, Shae wouldn't step a single foot into my home.

When I arrived, the food Shae ordered had been on the table for a while.

Seeing me, her eyes turned red as if she had suffered a world of injustice.

"Gia, you're finally here."

I subtly dodged her attempt to grab my arm and sat in an empty seat.

I looked at the leftovers on the table. They were all expensive, greasy dishes that she loved.

She handed me the menu and asked me to order.

I pushed the menu aside. "No thanks. I already ate dinner."

She froze, clearly not expecting me to refuse. But she quickly regained her pitiful expression.

"Gia, you have to save me. My life is falling apart!"

This was also just like my previous life. After she stuffed her face, she started crying about how badly her husband treated her.

This time, the reason Leo Harper kicked her out was simply because she bought a high-end designer dinner set against his wishes.

"It was only three hundred dollars. Gia, he kicked me out over three hundred dollars. How am I supposed to live like this?"

"When we were dating, he said he'd give his life for me. I can't believe he's changed so much!"

I stayed silent.

Shae, her husband Leo, and I all grew up in the same small town.

Our families weren't wealthy, and our skills weren't particularly strong. We had been struggling for years to make it in the city.

But ever since Shae married Leo, she quit her job to be a housewife. She was healthy and had no children, yet she insisted on a luxury lifestyle.

Leo had to pay the mortgage and support her all by himself. This wasn't the first time they fought over her reckless spending.

Every time they argued, Shae would come to me crying about how Leo had changed.

I used to advise her to find a job. She would agree with her mouth, but she'd forget everything the moment she turned around.

The next time they fought and I asked about her job search, she'd just say, "Leo is only mean with his words. He still loves me."

I used to be angry at her lack of ambition, but I was soft-hearted. I couldn't help but take care of her.

She seemed to sense my weakness and used it repeatedly.

Thinking back, I was the one who gave her the chance to set that fire in my home.

It was my soft-heartedness that gave her the illusion that I would always be her safety net. She felt I would always watch over her and save her from any trouble.

That was why she felt she could smash things and start a fire without a second thought.