When my best friend, Dulcie Quinn, and I went to Westhaven on vacation, my boyfriend, Shane Lewis, got me a lower berth in a soft-sleeper.

Before I boarded, he pointed at the dark circles under his eyes.

“I spent three days trying to snag you a lower berth so you’d be comfortable on the trip.

“So no matter what, don’t give it up to anyone else. Not even Dulcie.”

He looked so serious that I nodded and told him I understood.

Sure enough, as soon as we boarded, Dulcie, who had the berth above mine, asked if we could switch.

Remembering what Shane had told me, I shook my head and said no. I explained it to her too.

I never expected something to go wrong that very night. When she climbed down to use the bathroom, she missed the handrail and fell.

Clutching her stomach, she screamed, “My baby! My baby’s gone!”

I did not even have time to ask when she had gotten pregnant. I rushed her off the train and took her to the nearest hospital.

Late that night, Dulcie’s husband, Wallace Lambert, arrived at the hospital with Shane. By then, she had already undergone a D&C. The moment she saw me, she pointed at me and started cursing me out.

“Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed for that baby?”

Shane blamed me too. “I thought you were just joking when you said you were jealous of Dulcie. I never imagined you’d be cruel enough to do something like this!”

I didn’t even get the chance to say a word before Wallace slammed me against the wall and strangled me to death.

After I died, Dulcie ended up with Shane.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to three minutes before boarding the train.

Dulcie Quinn bumped my shoulder. “Why are you just standing there?

“Come on. It’s time to board.”

I looked up at the familiar train number and the familiar scene, and a chill swept through my body.

In that instant, I knew.

I had been reborn.

I turned to Dulcie, and my gaze instinctively dropped to her stomach.

If you didn’t look closely, you would never notice the slight curve of her belly.

She was smiling at me like nothing was wrong, her arm linked through mine.

“Come on, Haley,” she said sweetly. “It’s our turn.”

I forced a stiff smile. “Okay.”

As soon as we boarded, Dulcie’s phone rang. She shot me a guilty look, then made an excuse about needing to use the bathroom.

I nodded. “Okay.”

Then I started looking over my berth.

I remembered that the upper berth across from mine belonged to a difficult older woman.

In my previous life, Dulcie had gotten into a fight with her husband, Wallace Lambert, and wanted to get away for a few days to clear her head.

I had immediately taken time off work and decided to go with her so she wouldn’t be alone.

When my boyfriend, Shane Lewis, found out, he offered to help us get the tickets.

I still had an unfinished contract at work, so I left it to him.

What I hadn’t expected was that right before boarding, he would suddenly grab my arm and say, in a dead-serious tone,

“I spent three days trying to get you this lower berth.

“Do you know how much effort that took?”

When I just stared at him in confusion, he pointed at the dark circles under his eyes.

“Haley, I’m serious. I got this ticket for you, for your health.

“If you switch with anyone else, I’m going to be mad.”

At the time, I laughed and tried to reassure him. “I won’t. Besides, who would randomly want to switch berths with me?”

But I never expected that the moment the train started moving, Dulcie would ask.

“Haley, I’m not comfortable in the upper berth. Want to switch?”

Her voice was pitched just right, loud enough for all four people in our compartment to hear.

I felt a little awkward, but remembering Shane’s warning before boarding, I still turned her down softly.

Dulcie pouted. “Fine. You really do everything he says.”

I waved it off and decided to get some sleep.

To make time for this trip with Dulcie, I had worked overtime for an entire week.

I was exhausted and badly sleep-deprived. I desperately needed the rest.

But I never expected the accident.

I was jolted awake by Dulcie’s scream.

When I opened my eyes, she was sitting on the floor, pale as a sheet, clutching her stomach in pain.

“My baby! My baby!”

I was still trying to process what she meant when I suddenly saw the blood spreading beneath her.

I froze in terror. Thankfully, the train was almost at the station by then.

The train staff quickly helped us contact a hospital and call an ambulance.

The moment we got off the train, we were rushed straight to the hospital.

On the way there, no matter how many times I asked, Dulcie refused to say a word.

Late that night, Shane and Wallace arrived at the hospital together.

“Babe, are you okay? What about the baby?”

To my complete shock, Dulcie lifted a hand and pointed straight at me.

“Haley Walker, if you had switched berths with me, none of this would’ve happened!

“Honey, our baby died because of her!”

Just as I was about to explain, Shane spoke up too.

He looked at me with undisguised disgust. “Haley, I honestly never thought you were this kind of person.

“You told me more than once that you were jealous of Dulcie’s life.

“I thought you were just venting. I never imagined you could be this cruel.”

Wallace was beside himself with rage. He lunged at me and wrapped his hand around my throat.

“Do you have any idea how hard it was for us to get pregnant?

“You bitch. My baby is dead, so you can die too!”

He strangled me to death with his bare hands. After that, he was sent to prison.

Only after I died did I find out that Shane and Dulcie had been sleeping together all along.

With me dead and Wallace out of the picture, the two of them shamelessly moved in together.

The sharp pain in my hand snapped me fully awake.

I immediately walked over to the older woman across from me.

She was standing in the aisle, making things difficult for the train attendant.

“We paid the same price, so why do I get the upper berth?

“You people are bullying an old woman!

“I’m going to file a complaint!”

I walked over and gently tapped her on the shoulder. “Ma’am, I have a lower berth.

“You can take mine.”

As I spoke, I pointed to my berth.

She had still looked annoyed a second ago, but the moment she realized what I meant, her face lit up.

“Oh my, you’re such a kind girl!

“See? There are still good people in this world.

“Well then, I won’t say no.”

As if she were afraid I might change my mind, she quickly moved her luggage onto my berth.

The train attendant looked at me gratefully. “Thank you.”

I smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

Then I turned to the older woman. “I feel like we really hit it off. Why don’t we exchange contact info?”

“Sure, sweetheart. I like you too.”

After we exchanged numbers, I turned around and moved my things to the upper berth across from Dulcie.

I had just finished settling in when Dulcie came back, looking pleased with herself.

But the second she saw me across from her, the smile froze on her face.

“Haley? Weren’t we supposed to be in the upper and lower berths together?

“Why are you over there?”

I tilted my chin toward the older woman. “Oh, I saw she was having a hard time, so I switched with her.”

Though I didn’t see it, the look Dulcie shot me was full of resentment.

She stepped in front of the older woman’s berth. “Haley, everyone has their own assigned berth.

“How can you just switch whenever you feel like it?”

The moment those words left her mouth, the older woman got mad.

She gave Dulcie a shove. “Hey, what kind of attitude is that?

“She already agreed to switch with me. What are you making such a fuss for?

“This is between the two of us. What does it have to do with you?”

Then she gave Dulcie a disdainful once-over and clicked her tongue.

“Honestly, the difference between people is unbelievable.

“Some women aren’t pretty, and their hearts are just as ugly.”

Dulcie’s face turned bright red. “What did you say?”

But the older woman ignored her, turned over, and lay down on the berth.

I kept a straight face, but inside, I was thrilled.

After a long pause, Dulcie looked at me pitifully. “Haley, can we switch berths?”

I raised a brow. I was already in an upper berth, and she still hadn’t given up on trying to set me up.

This time, I refused her outright.

“They’re both upper berths. It would be a pain to switch back and forth.

“Let’s just leave it. I’m going to sleep. I’ve been working overtime at the office these past few days, and I’m exhausted.”

With that, I quickly turned over to face the wall.

Even though Dulcie was clearly upset that she had failed to get me to switch, she couldn’t keep pushing it.

She sat on the little bench in the hallway for a while, then finally climbed into bed in a huff.

Because of what happened in my last life, I stayed on edge the entire time.

Sure enough, just before we reached the next stop, something happened to Dulcie.

She collapsed onto the floor and started crying out in pain, making it sound far worse than it seemed at first.

The train attendants all rushed over, but she kept calling my name.

“Haley! Haley! Help me! My baby!”

I stayed up on my berth and raised my voice. “Dulcie, since when were you pregnant?

“How did I not know?”

The older woman who had switched berths with me let out a cold snort. “If she knew she was pregnant, why was she climbing up and down like that?

“Well, now look what happened.”

Even though Dulcie had tried to set me up, the pain she was in now was clearly real.

She cried out at the top of her lungs, “Haley, hurry up and get down here!

“It hurts! It hurts so bad!”

The moment she said that, blood started seeping through her pants.

A lot of people backed away as soon as they saw it. The train attendants looked panicked too, shouting into their radios for help.

Only when the moment felt right did I slowly climb down from my berth.

“Dulcie, how are you miscarrying?

“When did you get pregnant? How did I not know?”

By then, she was drenched in sweat from the pain and could not say a word.

This time, without my help, Dulcie passed out cold.

Five minutes later, the train pulled into the station, and nurses and a doctor came aboard and carried her off.

Before I got off the train, I stopped the older woman.

“Ma’am, I need a favor.”

She looked at me in confusion. “What kind of favor?

“Just tell me. I’ll help if I can.”

I scratched my head awkwardly. “It’s like this.

“My friend just had a miscarriage, and you saw what happened.

“I honestly had no idea she was pregnant.”

She still looked puzzled. “And?”

I rubbed my hands together. “I want to ask you to come to the hospital with me and be my witness.”

“A witness?”

“To prove her miscarriage had nothing to do with me.”

The older woman gave an awkward laugh. “Come on, that can’t be necessary. You’re her friend. You didn’t even know she was pregnant.

“They can’t pin this on you.”

I gave a bitter smile and shook my head.

“Ma’am, if you come with me, I’ll give you four hundred dollars afterward.

“Would that be okay?”

The second she heard there was money involved, her eyes lit up.

She grabbed her luggage and got ready to get off the train with me.

“It’s not about the money. I just want to help clear your name.”

I quietly let out a breath, and my whole body finally relaxed a little.

We got off the train together and followed the ambulance to the hospital.

On the way there, I notified Wallace.

By the time the procedure was over, Dulcie was already awake.

Her lips were pale, and the look in her eyes made it seem like she wanted to kill me right then and there.

“Dulcie, how are you feeling?

“Are you okay?

“When did you get pregnant? How did I not know?”

But Dulcie had no intention of responding to me. She waved her hand impatiently.

“Can you leave?”

The older woman happened to see that and spat toward the hospital room.

“Sweetheart, don’t waste your time on someone like that.

“And this is supposed to be your friend?”

I kept up my weak, pitiful act, my eyes brimming with tears.

“She just lost her baby. I understand.”