With the SATs coming up, I hired a top student from a poor family to tutor me.

However, he insisted on bringing his childhood friend along to every session.

I turned him down politely, and he did not push it any further.

Still, on the day his childhood friend left my house, she was hit by a car. After that, she dropped out of school and got married.

Life went on.

He kept tutoring me. We both got into the same university, grew close, fell in love, got married, and had a child.

Everything seemed perfect.

Until one night, during a business dinner, he heard that his childhood friend was being abused by her husband.

That was when everything fell apart.

He locked me inside our home while I was heavily pregnant, then tortured me to death.

"If you hadn't gotten her hurt back then, why would she have rushed into marriage and ended up being abused?

"This is what you owe her!"

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day he brought her to my house for tutoring.

This time, I would not spend a single cent on that psycho.

"Wendy, your classmates are here."

It was my mom's voice.

I jerked my head up from my desk and instinctively pressed a hand to my lower abdomen.

No baby. No blood. No pain.

My mom was knocking on the door outside, reminding me again.

I was still wearing my high school uniform.

However, the memory of that agony still clung to my mind, refusing to fade.

I stood there, frozen, thinking for a long time before I finally understood.

I had been reborn.

In the living room, Matthias Jackson and Evelyn Lowell sat stiffly on the couch.

Just as expected, today was the day Matthias had brought Evelyn over to study with me. It was the beginning of everything that went wrong in my previous life.

On the day I was about to give birth, Matthias came home from a business dinner and started hitting me.

Amniotic fluid mixed with blood spread across the floor. The pain was so intense I nearly passed out.

After we got married, we were not as clingy as other newlyweds, but we had never even argued, let alone laid a hand on each other.

I looked at him, my eyes filled with shock and fear.

What was happening?

A dull pain throbbed through my body again. The baby…

Tears streamed down my face as I begged him to take me to the hospital. However, Matthias locked the door and stood over me, looking down like a judge passing a sentence.

"Matthias… please, help me…" I could not understand why he was doing that to me.

He stood with his back to the light, his face hidden in shadow.

"If you hadn't caused Evelyn to get hit by a car back then, how would she have ended up rushing into marriage and getting abused?

"This is what you owe her. Wendy, you should know what it feels like to be completely helpless."

He stressed the last words so heavily they felt like knives.

Blood kept flowing beneath me, and Matthias continued to curse me with bitter hatred.

The pain was unbearable. Still, through his words, I managed to piece together what had happened.

Earlier that day, at his business dinner, someone had told him that Evelyn was being abused by her husband. So, when he came home, he decided to make me suffer everything Evelyn had gone through.

Back then… Back then…

All I had done was refuse to let him bring Evelyn along when he tutored me. For that, he blamed me for her accident.

He had hated me for an entire lifetime.

If that was the case, why did he marry me? Why did he accept all my kindness as if he deserved it?

Thinking of that, I clenched my fists.

…

The moment I stepped out, Matthias jumped to his feet, eager.

"Evelyn's foundation isn't very strong. When I tutor you in the future, can I bring her along?"

Evelyn stood beside him, glancing at me cautiously. Her brows were slightly knit, as if the request embarrassed her.

Matthias gently patted her hand, signaling her to relax.

I noticed every little gesture.

Facing their hopeful looks, I shook my head lightly.

"No."

In my previous life, it was the same. I refused Matthias, and he hated me for it.

Evelyn had transferred to our school during our senior year.

Evelyn looked soft and fragile, like a pure white jasmine flower drifting down from the sky.

The first time she walked into our classroom and introduced herself, Matthias could not take his eyes off her.

Her family situation was not great either. She only had a disabled father at home. Maybe it was that unspoken bond between people who struggled, but Matthias and Evelyn quickly grew close.

Evelyn could never keep up with the lessons. She would carry test papers covered in red X's, sit beside Matthias, and ask timidly, "Matthias, may I ask you something?"

Every time, he would take the paper and patiently explain everything step by step. There was none of the impatience he showed when he tutored me.

Once, after Evelyn ranked dead last in a physics exam, she lay her head on her desk and cried. Matthias pushed her deskmate aside and sat next to her, quietly keeping her company, handing her tissues again and again without a hint of annoyance.

By evening, a neatly organized summary of basic concepts appeared on Evelyn's desk, packed with notes.

Everyone said Matthias and Evelyn looked perfect together. My presence only made things awkward.

However, that was not why I refused them.

Three days before Matthias planned to bring Evelyn to my house, I accidentally overheard a conversation in the bathroom.

"Evelyn, Matthias treats you differently. Are you two together?"

Evelyn let out a mocking laugh, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Have you seen how poor he is? Do I look like I'm done enjoying a good life? He's just a free tutor to me."

"Wow, seriously? Wendy has to pay to get him to tutor her."

"Please. With Wendy's brain, what will she learn anyway? Just wait. Sooner or later, I will take Matthias away from her completely."

Back then, I stood inside the bathroom stall, shaking with anger as I listened.

At the time, Matthias treated Evelyn with almost devout care. It was senior year, and I was afraid telling him would affect his mood, so I kept it to myself.

I only hinted there and then that he should stay away from her.

So, when he asked to bring Evelyn to my house for tutoring, I refused without hesitation.

Evelyn ran out of my house crying. At the intersection, she failed to notice the traffic light and got hit by a car. One of her legs was left permanently disabled.

Matthias, his eyes red, pointed at me and blamed me.

Behind the scenes, he wove a net so tight I had no way out.

Everything I did turned into a joke of self-sacrifice, paid for with my entire youth and even my life.

Then, I finally understood something.

I should let go of my urge to save others and respect their fate.

…

When I refused, Matthias immediately got worked up.

"Tutoring you alone is tutoring. Why can't I bring Evelyn along, too?

"This is a critical stage in our studies. Can you stop being so selfish?"

He glared at me, aggressive and pressing, making me question my judgment back then.

In high school, Matthias had excellent grades and a proud personality, but he was so poor he could barely afford food. I did not even like studying, yet I paid him a high tutoring fee and asked him to help me. I did that just to protect his pride.

After graduation, I brought him into my dad's company as an intern and even pulled strings to make him a project manager.

After we got married, I handed the entire company over to him.

Even after all that, he still wanted me dead.

So, how could I possibly make the same mistake again?

Evelyn chimed in too, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

She gently tugged at the corner of my sleeve, her lips trembling as large tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Wendy, if I can't get into college, my dad will force me to marry early.

"Please, just think of it as saving my life, okay? I will repay you for the rest of my life."

Matthias shouted, "Do you have to push Evelyn to her death before you'll stop?"

I picked up a cleaning cloth from the coffee table and gently wiped the tears off Evelyn's face. "What are you even saying? Your life is way too valuable. I could never take responsibility for something like that."

I took out my phone and, right in front of both of them, transferred 1,000 dollars to Matthias.

When I opened the Messenger app, I noticed his chat was still pinned at the top. That alone irritated me.

"This is your tutoring fee for the month. I've sent it. You don't need to come anymore.

"For the rest of your time, just focus on tutoring Evelyn. I'm out."

Evelyn could not hide her delight. She lifted her head and looked at Matthias, her eyes sparkling.

However, Matthias did not respond to her at all. He watched everything I did, his brows slowly knitting together.

He stared at me, disbelief filling his eyes.

"What did you just say? You don't want me to come anymore?"

Afraid he had not understood me, I repeated myself.

"Matthias, you don't need to tutor me anymore. Evelyn needs your help more. If she doesn't get into college, she may die."

"But I've been tutoring you for two years. Aren't you afraid that if you stop now, you won't get into college?" His voice trembled slightly.

"That's none of your concern. You can see yourself out."

In my previous life, even after letting Matthias tutor me all the way to the end, I still chose to study abroad.

My grades did not improve, and I was labeled as the one who caused Evelyn to become disabled.

Looking back, I was such a fool.

Matthias's hands trembled. His fingertips turned pale as he clenched them, grinding his teeth.

"Fine. Wendy, don't regret this."

With that, he stormed out, taking Evelyn with him.

…

After that day, Matthias became even more high-profile about studying with Evelyn. They were loud when they went over problems. Even with earplugs in, I could still hear them.

I started studying, too, though I was still figuring out the basics.

Evelyn seemed bothered by my sudden seriousness. She walked over with a textbook Matthias had just marked up and waved it in front of me.

"Wendy, you're studying now, too? Reading all by yourself? Can you even understand it?

"I have notes here that Matthias just highlighted. I can let you take a look."

She waved the book back and forth, then covered her mouth and laughed.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Matthias doesn't want to teach you anymore.

"So, I guess I can't lend this to you for now."

Her voice was sharp and grating. Quite a few classmates turned to look at me. Even Matthias, who usually stayed out of everything, glanced over.

I rested my chin on my hand and looked at her with interest. "If you have time to worry about how other people study, why not check your single-digit physics score first?"

Evelyn flushed red, embarrassed and angry.

Matthias walked over and tapped on my desk.

"Come out. Let's talk."

Before I could refuse, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the classroom. He leaned against the wall in the hallway, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"If you're willing to accept Evelyn, I can keep tutoring you."

Ever since I fired him, I had heard he had gone back to working part-time in the cafeteria. It looked like he was short on money again and had his eyes on me.

He really thought I was an easy target.

"Not interested," I said without hesitation.

Anger flared in Matthias's eyes. He grabbed my shoulders and said harshly, "Everything was fine before. I've been tutoring you for three years. Or is it because you mind that I'm close to Evelyn?

"Wendy, are you jealous? Or are you just playing hard to get?"