My best friend came to me in tears, asking what she should do if her boyfriend was cheating.

I sided with her wholeheartedly, analyzing the situation, and finally advising her to break up. “Leave him, no hesitation. Why hold onto a scumbag?”

But she misunderstood, thinking I couldn’t stand to see her happy, that I liked her boyfriend and wanted to break them up so I could have him for myself.

Later, when she had another argument with her boyfriend, she came crying to my place again. In a moment of frustration, I told her, “If things are this bad, just break up. You deserve so much better.”

She wasn’t happy about that. Somehow, she got hold of a lighter and set my place on fire. Then she vanished without a trace.

I spent the rest of my life working to pay off the massive debt.

The next time I woke up, I had been reborn to the moment when she asked me what to do about her boyfriend cheating.

This time, I simply replied, “He just made a mistake that any man could make. A reformed rake makes the best husband – you should forgive him.”

---

I once had a good life.

My family was poor, but they managed to send me to college. I worked hard and was proud to receive a job offer from a big company right after graduation. I was just two weeks away from starting my new job.

Then, out of the blue, my best friend – who had stopped talking to me after our last fight – came crying to me again, as if nothing had happened before. She complained that her boyfriend was neglecting her, didn’t remember her birthday, and was overly friendly with other girls.

Thinking of our decade-long friendship, I took her side and advised her, “If things are this bad, don’t keep putting yourself through it. Just break up – you deserve so much better.”

Suddenly, she went hysterical, shouting that I wasn’t looking out for her, that I was jealous, that I didn’t want her to be happy because I was single and didn’t have anyone.

She trashed my place, and before I knew it, she had pulled out a lighter from who knows where and started setting things on fire.

I had recently been inspired by a video on crafting cat trees and had bought a lot of wood, which was now piled up in the room.

I had already started working on it, so wood shavings were scattered everywhere.

The shavings caught the sparks quickly, and in no time, the whole room was filled with smoke.

“Leia, are you out of your mind? Stop it right now!”

“No way! You trashed my boyfriend – not once, but twice. I’m done with you.” Leia ranted, not stopping her actions.

I was beyond furious. “You’re the one who complained about your boyfriend! How would I know if you didn’t tell me? Stop this, or I’m calling the police!”

“Go ahead, call them if you dare.”

“You...” I was too angry to speak. I took out my phone immediately and dialed 911. “Hello, I need to report an emergency. My best friend set my house on fire. The address is in Riverside District…”

When Leia saw that I had really called the police, she panicked. She threw the lighter on the ground and fled, leaving me to deal with the mess she had made.

The fire spread quickly, and I had no choice but to escape to the hallway, shouting, “Fire! Run! There’s a fire!”

Soon, the firefighters and police arrived.

Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the damage to the house was irreversible.

The house was rented, and not long after the incident, the landlord arrived.

The landlord didn’t care about anything else, just holding me responsible for the damage since the house was rented under my name.

Leia had vanished, not answering her phone, blocking me on social media, and there was no sign of her at her place.

But the trouble didn’t stop there.

The big company that had offered me the job found out about the incident during my background check and immediately canceled my job offer. I tried applying to other companies, but I kept getting rejected.

The massive debt weighed me down for the rest of my life, forcing me to work any job I could find to pay it off.

Years of hard labor pushed my body to the limit. In the end, just as I finally paid off the debt, my body gave out. The drive that had kept me going drained away, and soon after, I fell ill and died.

As I lay on my deathbed, only one thought occupied my mind: if I could do it all over again, I’d ensure those two were stuck with each other for good, so they wouldn’t have the chance to ruin anyone else’s life.

Maybe the universe heard my plea and took pity on me, giving me a chance to live again.

When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was Leia’s young face – exactly as I remembered it from all those sleepless nights haunted by dreams of the past.

Looking around at the familiar decorations in the room, I was both shocked and thrilled. I had really been reborn.

But since Leia was still there, I had to suppress my excitement and listen to her complaints just like before.

“You know, I’ve been so good to him, bringing him breakfast every day, buying him clothes and even those AJ sneakers he wears all the time. But why did he have to cheat on me? Skye, what should I do?”

Thinking about what happened in my previous life, I remembered how her influential father quickly pulled some strings after the fire, making sure she faced no consequences, leaving me to bear the brunt of it alone. And then she disappeared in my life, never crossing paths with me again.

I could no longer keep up the pretense of a comforting smile. Coldly, I said to her, “He just made a mistake that any man could make. A reformed rake makes the best husband – you should forgive him.”

“Skye, are you even my friend? How can you take his side? I’m so disappointed in you. I’m done with you!” Leia stormed out, slamming the door behind her, her face flushed with anger.

Her departure filled me with glee. She was finally gone – maybe we could be done with each other for good.

But deep down, I knew that was unlikely.

Leia came from a wealthy family, an only child who had been spoiled rotten. She had a domineering personality that made it difficult for anyone to get along with her, and I was her only friend since childhood.

The reason we became friends wasn’t just because I was patient and tolerant; it was also because, growing up poor, I often wore old, unfashionable clothes, which made my classmates avoid me. Leia, on the other hand, was willing to befriend me.

Back then, Leia was as delicate and pretty as a doll, and her willingness to be my friend made me feel incredibly fortunate.

Even when classmates called me Leia’s shadow or tagalong, I didn’t mind. She was the only one who wanted to be my friend, my angel.

But now, she was nothing more than a demon, a ticking time bomb. I couldn’t wait to distance myself from her.

There was about a month left before the fire would occur, according to my previous life’s memories. After this argument, Leia wouldn’t come looking for me for about a month, so I needed to take advantage of this time to change my fate.

If I remember correctly, in two weeks, I should receive an email confirming that I passed the interview at the company I had dreamed of working for since I started university.

For my classmates and me, landing an offer from this company was considered the best graduation gift, something to be truly proud of.

Only about 20% of graduates from our school managed to secure such an offer each year.

In my previous life, I was so close to achieving my dream, only to have it all ruined at the last minute.

This time, I was determined to change that.

My lease was signed until the end of the year, so I had more than five months left. The rent was paid quarterly, and I had already paid for this quarter. If I broke the lease now, the landlord wouldn’t refund my money.

I just graduated, and my parents struggled to put me through college. I couldn’t ask them for help again.

Ugh, no money, and I’m stuck in a lease I can’t break – this is rough.

[Hey Skye, there’s a short-term project that Professor Graham is hiring for. It’s two weeks long, pays about 3,000 bucks, and it’s a full-time, on-site gig. Interested?] A text popped up from Kylie.

Full-time on-site work? Perfect.

If I was not at home for two weeks, Leia wouldn’t be able to find me, and I could wait to start my new job – and I’d get paid too. This is amazing!

“Count me in, Kylie. How do I sign up?”

“Perfect, we can go together. We’ve both worked with Dr. Graham on projects before, so just shoot him a message. We’ll probably need to be at the downtown site by tomorrow.”

“Got it. I’ll start preparing. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

A smile crept onto my face. Things were finally taking a different turn from my previous life.

In my last life, this opportunity with Professor Graham never came up.

Even though I wouldn’t be at home during this time, I still needed to protect myself in case Leia lost it and set my place on fire.

I just looked up the relevant laws – if a fire is caused by a third party, they’re responsible for the damages.

So, during this period, I needed to make sure there was proof I wasn’t at home.