My middle school best friend, Mia Anderson, whom I hadn't spoken to in years, suddenly reached out to me to sell her car in a hurry.

My husband, Oliver McDowell, encouraged me, and seeing her situation, I felt pity and decided to help her out by buying the car.

But it turned out the car wasn't even hers. She treated me like a car thief and ran me over with it.

Meanwhile, she took my money and vanished into thin air.

This time, I had a chance to start over, and I decided to keep my foolish kindness to myself.

To my surprise, I discovered she and Oliver had a secret relationship.

——

"I heard from Oliver that you're looking to buy a car," she said.

"Look at my car. It hasn't been long since I bought it. It's well maintained and looks new."

"I don't want to ask you for too much. I'll give you a 60% discount at the market price. What do you think?"

"You are my best friend in junior high school."

"I can't just stand by and do nothing."

"Besides, you'll need to spend at least 25,000 if you want to buy a new car. This one is perfect for you."

"Didn't you just buy a house and have extra money? My car is just right for you."

Mia looked at me expectantly.

Oliver was swayed by her words and turned to persuade me.

"Mia's words make sense."

"We just bought a house, and we don't have much left over. Instead of getting a regular new car, why not invest in a good brand that will be more comfortable to drive?"

"Honey, what do you think?"

Before I could respond, Mia pointed to a red emergency button on the car and explained.

"If you take the child to buy groceries or do something else, the child will be in the car when you leave. As long as the child presses this button, someone will inform you."

"This is a benefit exclusive to brand cars. Regular ones don't have this feature."

"If you don't believe me, let me show you."

As soon as Mia pressed the red button, the car beeped.

I felt like I was being pulled back from the darkness.

As I opened my eyes, I realized I had returned to the moment when Mia came to sell me the car.

We haven't contacted each other for a long time.

She suddenly came to sell me a car.

She claimed she had suffered severe investment losses and owed millions.

Her creditors were closing in.

And she had nowhere else to turn but to me, her long-lost friend, hoping for a rescue.

In my last life, out of kindness for our past friendship, I had softened and, without asking too many questions about the car's origins, agreed to buy it.

But while I was picking up my child from school, a big, burly man suddenly stopped me, claiming the car was his.

He showed me the car registration and his ID.

He said Mia had borrowed his car and never returned it.

He was in a hurry to get it back and had tracked me down using the car's location.

I checked the VIN and the original license plate number, and they matched.

I called Mia to ask her what was going on.

But her phone was off, and she didn't reply to my messages.

The big man was anxious and didn't wait for me to figure things out; he came to take the car by force.

He yanked me and my child out of the car and threw us onto the ground.

I instinctively shielded my child, explaining that I had no idea the car belonged to him when I bought it.

It was Mia who concealed the real situation of the car from me.

But he wouldn't listen to a word I said. He insisted that I was in cahoots with Mia and that we were both thieves who had stolen his car.

He revved the engine and charged at us, ready to take revenge for his stolen vehicle.

Since fate had given me a second chance, I wouldn't be the soft-hearted fool this time.

She just pressed it, and within three seconds, someone responded.

"Hello, this is Customer Service Center. Is there an emergency situation you need assistance with?"

"It's nothing. I accidentally pressed it."

Mia replied as if it were routine.

Then she said to me.

"You see, in case of an accident, even if you don't have time to call the police, someone will respond promptly and help you report it."

Oliver eagerly chimed in.

"Darling, buy it. The money we save can be used for a trip to Oakland."

Having experienced the previous life, I remained unmoved and refused, saying.

"I've signed up for a summer camp for Alex. I don't have that much money on hand for the time being."

At a critical moment, Oliver didn't understand my clear refusal.

"When did that happen? Why didn't I know."

Mia clicked her tongue and reprimanded me.

"Samantha, this is your problem. Enrolling Alex in a summer camp is a big deal. Why didn't you discuss it with Oliver?"

"Here's what we'll do. Give me however much money you have now. Write me an IOU for the rest, and you can pay me back whenever you have the money."

"We're good friends. I trust you."

I kept signaling to Oliver to refuse her.

But Oliver, like a fool, ignored my hints and fetched paper and a pen from my bag.

"Mia has gone to these lengths. It wouldn't be right to not buy it now," he said.

Mia urged me.

"Hurry up and write it. I'm waiting to repay this money."

"We're old classmates; you wouldn't want me to resort to borrowing from loan sharks, would you?"

Oliver forcefully handed me the pen, showing even more urgency than Mia.

"Honey, what are you still hesitating for."

"Mia is our old classmate. She came to us in a time of need. She didn't ask to borrow money from us, nor did she ask us to do anything. Just help her buy a car, that's all."

"It's perfect for us, too, as we need a car. Isn't this a win-win situation?!"

Both of them turned to look at me anxiously from the driver and passenger seats.

I suddenly realized that when it came to buying Mia's car, Oliver was more enthusiastic than he was about playing the game.

Normally, when he finished work, Oliver would just sit on the couch and play games. He wouldn't even help if our child fell down.

I had to take care of everything at home.

I dealt with everything from buying and decorating the house to running errands.

I was the one who drove the car at home.

Oliver only rode a small electric scooter, claiming it was faster than a car in traffic and didn't require stopping at red lights.

In the previous life, when Mia said she was being harassed by creditors, I had softened up and bought the car without hesitation.

And she introduced a car that had the same automatic alarm function as a mobile phone. I bought the car without hesitation.

Now, I was as tough as iron, unmoved as a mountain.

I had never doubted the actions of Oliver.

I stared at Oliver and said, "I'll think about it again."

Sure enough, Oliver was more anxious than Mia.

"She's already driven the car home. We can't let her drive the car back!"

"We're old classmates. If you do this, how can we contact each other in the future?"

I was puzzled. Apart from being middle school classmates and not having been in touch for a long time, where did this future interaction come from?

Mia interrupted my thoughts.

"Samantha, do you really want me to drive the car back?"

"I came to you because I trust you. If you don't want it, I'll sell it to someone else, so as not to waste time here."

Oliver quickly added, "Did you hear that? Mia isn't unable to find someone to help. She's the one who believes in you, her old friend, and came to you first."

In my previous life, when I didn't know anything, of course, I would have been persuaded by their perfect cooperation.

At that moment, my mother-in-law Emma called, saying my father-in-law Justin had fallen and broken his leg, and they needed 4,000 for the surgery.

In my previous life, I gave all my money to Mia.

As a result, we didn't have any extra money.

I urgently borrowed 1,000 from a friend and sent it over.

Since I was in charge of the money at home, Emma thought I was stingy.

And unwilling to spend money on Justin's treatment.

She was daring Oliver to divorce me.

And even made this matter public.

Oliver was caught in the middle and pressured me to make a decision.

I compromised and started giving my in-laws 800 dollars per month as pocket money. Only when I brought my in-laws to live with us did the gossip in the neighborhood stop

And their hearts were at ease.

But from then on, there was constant chaos at home.

This time, when they called, without a second thought, I transferred 4,000 dollars to their account.

Looking at the transfer information on my phone, Oliver looked at me angrily.

"Why didn't you discuss it with me before you transferred the money?"

"My dad broke his bones. He has a pension. What's the big deal with you?"

"Do you still want to buy the car?"

This was different from what he said in the past.

He used to say that his dad had toiled for him all his life and couldn't just not help out with money, without mentioning the pension.

I suggested he borrow money from friends, but he said everyone was struggling, so he felt embarrassed to ask.

When I tried to borrow money, I was scolded by my in-laws for being a wicked woman.

Now, in this life, I actively sent money to them, but in his eyes, it seemed like I was in the wrong.

Seeing that he was in such a hurry to buy Mia's car.

I had a strange feeling.

I said to Mia.

"How about this? I'll push your car to a familiar car dealer. Since I'm the first party, I won't give you a low price."

Mia's expression changed drastically.

"Samantha, how could you become like this? What about our friendship?"

"I saved your life back then, how could you treat me like this?!"

"Honey, Mia saved your life back then. If others know that you repay her like this, how can I face them?"

Back then, it was Mia who dragged me into the mountains to pick mushrooms. She got bitten by a snake, and insisted that I suck out the venom like they do on TV.

In the end, I got poisoned and couldn't walk.

When we came back, Mia spread the story of how she carried me down the mountain, omitting the cause and effect, and only saying that I was stubborn and got bitten by a snake despite her advice.

She didn't leave me behind and carried me back step by step.

Everyone praised her as a kind and good girl, using me as a negative example to educate their own children.

This incident became an indelible shadow for me.

I told Oliver about it right away, and at that time he firmly stood by my side. He went to Mia's house to demand an explanation, and was even hit on the head by Mia's mother with a stick.

Later, he mentioned this incident many times, hating Mia as much as I did.

Why did he forget the original story when I refused to buy Mia's car?

I felt strange, but I didn't lose my temper on the spot.

"It's almost five o'clock, I'll go pick up Alex. With this heavy traffic, the electric scooter is the most suitable, don't you think so, dear?"

If he truly understood my intention, he should have heard my clear refusal.

And tactfully rejected the offer.

But Oliver stared at me fiercely, looking as if he could eat me alive.

"You're not allowed to go anywhere if you don't buy this car today!"

He was determined to get me to buy a car and push me into the trap.

A huge shock wave surged in my heart.

Did he really want me to die? Did he know that this car didn't belong to Mia at all?

I opened the car door to get out, and Oliver turned to scold Mia.

"What kind of shabby car is this? The door can't be locked."

Mia cowered and didn't say a word.

Their roles seemed to have reversed.

It was as if Oliver was the one selling the car, and if I didn't buy it, he would lock the doors to prevent me from leaving.

But he didn't know that Mia's car had an anti-theft feature, so as long as someone was inside, the doors would never lock.

Oliver rushed out of the car and pressed me against it, my face pressed tightly against the window.

But I was quicker, and I pressed the one-touch alarm function on my phone.