Nikolas was a notorious bully at our high school.

In my previous life, I had gone to bars multiple times to get him to focus on his studies, but he humiliated me in front of his friends every time.

This time, I had no illusions about him.

Despite Mrs. Shepherd’s weeping and causing a scene at my house, she still couldn’t change the fact that Nikolas wouldn’t be transferring schools.

After returning to school, my grades improved steadily, thanks to already having studied the second-year curriculum. I also dedicated my spare time to the arts.

At the freshman welcome party, I shone brightly and became the new top beauty on the school’s ranking list.

While I was working hard to improve myself, Nikolas started dating Ruth Chambers, the second-ranked girl on the beauty list.

He either skipped classes or got into fights daily.

My dad went to school to talk to him several times, but when cornered, Nikolas would curse my dad out, calling him a murderer.

“I heard that the delinquent your family’s been supporting got into a fight with the son of the superintendent over Ruth Chambers. This has blown up all over the school, and it seems like his expulsion is a sure thing.”

My best friend was telling me all the outrageous things Nikolas had done when we ran into him.

I was planning to ignore him, as I usually did, but this time he blocked my path, refusing to let me pass.

He gave me a cocky smile, crushed his cigarette underfoot, and ran his hand through his hair, thinking he looked cool.

Sensing the situation, my best friend laughed awkwardly and fled.

Before she left, she even made a fake gagging gesture.

I said coldly, “Move.”

“Annie, playing hard to get doesn’t work on me,” he said. I was about to laugh when he added, “I didn’t like you in our last life, and I won’t in this one either.”

A chill ran down my spine.

Nikolas had also been reborn!

This game was about to get even more interesting.

“But if you help me clean up this mess, I wouldn’t mind being your boyfriend for a month.”

I finally understood – he wanted me to fix his problem.

In my previous life, I was always cleaning up after him whenever he messed up.

He would say, “Annie, you’re like a dog I can’t shake off.”

In the past, I had poor judgment, which led to my tragic end.

Did he really think I’d be just as foolish after living another life?

I scoffed.

“Nikolas, are you out of your mind? In my last life, I was blind to even consider marrying you. I’d rather marry a dog than ever like you in this life.

“Why didn’t you think about the consequences before you started throwing punches? And now you’re asking me to fix it? What happened to all your pride?”

Nikolas always resented my family for transferring him to that elite school, blaming us for making him live and study in a group he didn’t fit into.

But he never mentioned how many times my family had helped him over the years.

Since we were both reborn, let’s see who lives better this time around.

Seeing that I wasn’t going to help him, Nikolas turned and left.

Before he walked off, he threw one last line at me: “Don’t regret your decision today.”

What a joke – helping him would be my only real regret.

When I got to class, my best friend came running over to tell me that the school counselor wanted me in the office.

It turned out that Nikolas had told the school counselor that he mistakenly thought the guy was making fun of me for being the top-ranked beauty, which is why he lashed out.

Nikolas had hit him so hard that the boy broke three ribs.

Even worse, he had boasted that my family had plenty of money and wouldn’t care if he killed the guy.

“You know his father is the superintendent. If this isn’t handled well, none of us will come out of it unscathed. For now, you’ll need to take a break from classes while we deal with it.”

I nearly collapsed when I heard this. All the hard work and achievements I had fought for were ruined by Nikolas.

When I checked my phone, the school’s online forum was filled with mockery aimed at me.

Even my parents’ personal information had been dug up. I was the joke of the school.

When I opened the front door of our family’s house, the first thing I saw was Nikolas and his mother.

He hung his head, pretending to be remorseful, assuring my parents repeatedly that he would never make such a mistake again.

My father, already feeling guilty toward him, seemed almost excited that Nikolas was finally willing to change.

“As long as you know your fault, that’s all that matters. I’ll figure out a way to handle this for you,” my father said, his tone hiding a hint of excitement.

My mother, clearly troubled, said, “I met Mrs. Turner for lunch the other day. I’m not sure if she’ll be willing to help us out.”

I scoffed, “Nikolas doesn’t need your help. Who knows, if you help him now, he might accuse you of meddling later.”

My father snapped at me, “How could you be so ungrateful? If it weren’t for you, would Nikolas have gotten into this fight?”

I turned to look at Nikolas, and he gave me a smug smile.

I knew exactly what had happened.

Steven Turner had only teased Ruth about losing her spot as the top beauty, and Nikolas had immediately thrown a punch.

Despite the people trying to hold him back, Nikolas grabbed a chair and smashed it over Steven’s head.

As Steven lay there, bleeding, Nikolas had said, “Touch my girl again, and you’ll regret it.”

In my previous life, I had been too blind to see what kind of person Nikolas really was, thinking he was mature and responsible.

My mother spent hours trying to smooth things over with Mrs. Turner, but the woman wouldn’t budge.

She demanded that we issue a public apology and pay five million in damages for emotional distress, or she would take legal action.

As I sat there, bored and playing with my nails, Nikolas said, “Mr. and Mrs. Saunders, maybe Annie could apologize on my behalf?”

I lost my temper instantly.

“Are you even a man? You caused this mess, and now you want my family to clean it up, and you’re pushing me out there to take the blame? Why don’t you go yourself?”

My mother tugged at my sleeve, but Mrs. Shepherd burst into tears immediately.

“It’s my fault. His father died so early, but when Nikolas was in elementary school, he was the top student in his class!”

My father’s face darkened, and he shouted at me angrily, “Annie, it’s not that hard to apologize. It won’t kill you. Nikolas is a man, and he’ll need to get married one day. How could he do something so embarrassing?”

I stared at my father, hardly recognizing him.

Ever since Nikolas’s father had saved him from that fire, my father had put Nikolas first in everything.

When we were kids and Nikolas and I fell at the same time, he would always rush to check if Nikolas was hurt before asking about me.

Had he forgotten that I was his daughter? Didn’t I deserve some care and attention?

I blinked back my tears and, after a long pause, said, “Fine, I’ll apologize for him. But I have one condition.”

I walked up to Nikolas, standing on tiptoe to reach him.

Nikolas looked at me with disdain, as if saying, “Even if you beg, I’ll never like you.”

As everyone watched, holding their breath, I raised my hand and slapped him across the face.

“After this, I’m cutting all ties with Nikolas. If he gets into trouble again, don’t involve me.”

Nikolas snapped out of it and raised his hand to hit me back.

I glared at him.

Nikolas truly wasn’t a man.

I pointed to my cheek and said, “Go ahead. Hit me, and we’ll see who’s left to apologize for you.”

Furious, he lowered his hand and kicked the nearest chair.

I ignored him and headed upstairs.

When I visited Steven at the hospital, Mrs. Turner made things difficult for me in every way possible, but I endured it.

The video of my apology quickly spread on the school’s online forum.

When I got home, my parents had prepared a big meal to reward me.

I had no appetite and was about to go straight to my room when I overheard Nikolas talking in the study.

“I told you it’d be fine. Annie’s always clinging to me, so there’s no way she’d miss a chance to impress me.”

I almost barged in, but then I remembered I had said I’d cut ties with him.

So I called out loudly in the direction of the study, “Mom, why is there a dog in the study?”

My mother, not understanding, replied, “There’s no dog in there. It’s just Nikolas.”

Nikolas opened the door to say something, but I shot him a cold look and went upstairs.

Nikolas could be shameless, but if he directed that shamelessness at me, he better be prepared to face the consequences.