Reborn to Destroy the Lie That Ruined Me

1: 1

A poor girl in my class got pregnant out of wedlock, then knelt in front of me and begged to borrow three thousand dollars for an abortion.

"Professor, if I start showing, the school will expel me."

"I come from nothing. School is my only way out. Please, save me."

In my last life, I couldn't bear to watch her future get destroyed. I not only transferred her three thousand dollars on the spot, I also pulled strings to get a hospital to cover it up for her.

And how did she repay me? She took a screenshot of my transfer and spent the whole night building a sixty-six-page slideshow, spreading the lie that I had coerced her into sleeping with me and gotten her pregnant.

The whole internet cursed me as a disgrace to the profession, a monster in a suit.

A mob of self-righteous strangers dragged my daughter into an alley and violated her until she died.

My wife broke down and jumped to her death.

And Dora, riding her perfect victim story, sailed into a graduate spot and turned into a millionaire influencer, raking it in.

The day the officers took me away, she looked at the wreck of me and smiled, cold and indifferent.

"Professor, this world was never built to reward good hearts, was it?"

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day she knelt begging me. I dialed the academic affairs office right away.

"I'm reporting a currently enrolled student for being pregnant out of wedlock and for misconduct."

"Per school policy, I recommend immediate expulsion."

1

Dora Fox went rigid in an instant.

There was no way she'd imagined that I, the soft-hearted pushover who always gave in, would just pick up the phone and turn her in.

The next second she lunged at me like she'd lost her mind, clawing for my phone.

Right then, the voice of the Dean Whitaker came through the earpiece.

"Professor Joyce, is the report you just submitted, that the student Dora Fox is pregnant out of wedlock, accurate?"

"Dean, I have audio and video of the entire thing."

The voice on the other end went sharp at once.

"Good. I'll verify it immediately and hand Dora Fox an expulsion under the rules."

The second the call ended, Dora broke completely, glaring at me with red-rimmed eyes.

"Mr. Joyce, all I wanted was to borrow three thousand dollars. If you didn't want to lend it, fine, but why report me?"

"Do you know I have three younger brothers at home? If I get expelled, my parents will sell me off to some old man for a bride price. School is my only way out."

"I was just young and I got tricked! You could have helped me! Why are you doing this to me?"

Her out-of-control screaming carried straight through the office door, and a few colleagues who'd been teaching next door pushed it open at the sound.

"Professor Joyce, her family situation is that bad, and getting an education isn't easy for her. Isn't it a little heartless to do this?"

"Right, it's only three thousand dollars. It's not like you can't spare it."

Seeing people take her side, Dora cried even harder.

In my last life, this exact pitiful act was what fooled me.

A moment of weakness, and I paid the three thousand for her abortion out of my own pocket, then ran around pulling strings at the hospital.

And how did she repay me?

An all-night, sixty-six-page slideshow, using my transfer record to spread the lie that I'd forced her to get pregnant.

Overnight my name was destroyed, the whole internet calling me a disgrace to the profession.

My daughter was cornered by a mob waving the banner of justice, dragged into an alley, and abused until she died.

My wife couldn't take the blow and jumped from a building.

A good home, all of it destroyed because of one kind act of mine.

And she, riding her victim story, sailed into a graduate spot and became a millionaire influencer, raking it in.

I had nothing left. I laid down every scrap of dignity and knelt in front of her, begging her to tell the truth and clear my name.

She looked down at me from above.

"Professor, a good heart doesn't have to be rewarded in this world, does it?"

I turned to face my colleagues, my expression flat.

"Fine, don't be heartless. You two put up the money for her abortion and cover up her violation for her."

The colleague froze for a beat, then gave an awkward laugh.

"She was begging you, not me. Why would I help her?"

Exactly. Why would you?

I turned back to Dora, her face streaming with tears.

"Being young isn't an excuse for breaking the rules. You broke school policy, so why should I be the one to clean it up for you?"

"I'm a teacher, here to teach and to answer questions. I'm not your nanny. I'm under no obligation to fix your mess."

"You own the mistakes you make."

With that, I turned and walked out of the office without looking back.

By the time I got home, my wife was setting the last dish on the table.

"Why are you back so late?"

"Dad, there's a math problem I can't quite get. Can you help me with it in a bit?"

The quiet, ordinary warmth in front of me made my chest ache.

I fought hard to hold back the tears.

In my last life, playing the saint was what left me with a broken family, my wife and child gone.

This life, no one is getting near my family.

We'd barely finished a peaceful dinner when my phone suddenly rang. It was the Dean.

His voice on the other end was pitched very low.

"Professor Joyce, come to the academic affairs office right now."

"Dora Fox has filed a formal complaint against you, claiming you used your position to coerce her into sleeping with you and got her pregnant."