Kate Horton tries to comfort a depressed patient with suicidal tendencies to make herself look good. However, all she does is aggravate the patient so much that he jumps off the building.

Kate cries and says, "I only wanted him to know how much his mother loved him…"

To help her get away with it, my boyfriend and professor conspire to make me her scapegoat. I'm cyberbullied, fired, and betrayed by everyone I know. In the end, the patient's family even push me off the balcony.

When I open my eyes again, I'm back to the day when Kate tries to save the patient. I'm going to stop her—she's the one who deserves to die, not innocent others!

To maintain her persona as a beautiful saint, my senior, Kate Horton, tried to comfort a suicidal patient who stood at the edge of a building.

"Your mother is waiting for you," she had said. With just one sentence, she made the patient jump off the building to his death.

Terrified, Kate buried herself in my boyfriend's arms, sobbing, "I'm sorry! I just thought of his poor mother, and…"

The patient had been showing signs of improvement, but because of her, he died.

My mentor, Luke Spencer, and my boyfriend, Brandon Payne, only focused on comforting her.

"It's not your fault. You're too soft-hearted and kind. He's been tormented by his family for years. You just helped him find his peace," they said.

I was furious. "He was showing signs of improvement! Just because you didn't attempt to understand the patient's condition and spoke recklessly, you pushed him to suicide!"

Kate was ashamed. Unable to defend herself, she staged a dramatic act of self-harm.

Luke and Brandon felt sorry for her and pushed me into the public eye to take the blame.

Luke even falsified the medical reports, saying that I had mistreated the patient and caused his sudden breakdown.

Brandon leaked my personal information online, leading the patient's family and angered Internet justice warriors to corner me on the hospital's rooftop.

During the altercation, one of the patient's family members accidentally pushed me off the roof, and I fell to my death.

After dying, I returned to the day when Kate insisted on comforting the suicidal patient.

…

"Oh, my god! I'm so scared!" Kate screamed as the patient, who had calmed down for a while, suddenly roared in anger, waving his arms around.

She panicked and ran away from the patient, hiding behind Brandon, sobbing, "I… I just mentioned his mother…"

The patient heard her. Upon hearing the word "mother", he quieted, as if he had lost all will to live. He rushed toward the edge of the rooftop.

I snapped back to my senses suddenly. Instinctively, I lunged forward. Just as the patient's feet were about to clear the edge, I managed to grab onto his ankle with one hand. Most of my body was hanging off the edge as I grabbed the railing with my other hand.

Gravity threatened to pull me down. My hand scraped against the rough material of the railing, drawing blood.

The patient kept struggling, clearly disturbed. I tried to smile reassuringly at him. "It's okay. No one can dictate your life now."

The patient quieted down, stunned. Taking the chance, I put all my weight on the hand that was holding on to the railing. My arms were in so much pain that they were numb. Finally, I dragged him back to the rooftop.

Everyone at the scene gasped. It took them a while before they got over the shock and rushed over to secure the dazed patient.

Even Kate had stopped crying.

I wiped the blood off my hands and strode toward her.

With my blood-stained hand, I slapped her hard across the face.

I poured all of my anger and hatred for killing me in my last life into the slap. The force sent her staggering backward, nearly falling to the ground.

Her meticulously styled hair was disheveled. The blood-stained slap mark on her face began swelling.

Stunned, she looked at me in disbelief, her eyes wide.

"You brainless idiot! How could you try to comfort a patient without first understanding their case? He's suicidal. You can't mention his parents in front of him! You almost killed him with your reckless words!"

Kate trembled. She wiped her tears and whimpered, "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry. I just felt sorry for his mother. She must love him so much."

Ever since she joined our department under Luke's mentorship, I'd noticed her patterns.

Under the guise of compassion, she would flaunt what people thought was kindness everywhere, often at the expense of others. When something went wrong, she would act like an innocent victim, garnering everyone's sympathy.

"Amanda, you're going a little too far…"

"Shut up!" I glared at Brandon. In my past life, he had played a significant role in my death, too.

Now, he was so eager to jump in and defend her.

"I am the deputy head of the psychology department," I berated him. "You're not even part of our department. Why are you interfering? I managed to save the patient today, almost dying in the process. If she does this again and causes another death, are you going to take responsibility for her?"

"Amanda." Luke had approached us at some point. He looked displeased. "Kate's new. She doesn't have much experience…"

"Oh, shut up!" I interrupted impatiently. "Are you going to take responsibility for her mistakes?"

Luke was my mentor. He had mentored me throughout my academic career, all the way up to my doctorate degree. I'd always respected him. This was the first time I had retorted so bluntly.

He was taken aback for a moment before anger took over. "Amanda Seville, how dare you speak to me that way? How disrespectful!"

"Disrespectful?" I scoffed. "Do you think your authority is more important than a patient's life, Dr. Spencer?

"Kate Horton has a PhD in psychology as well. She doesn't even know the basics of dealing with mentally unstable patients. What was the point of her education?"

Kate's head was lowered as she sobbed hysterically.

Luke tried to defend her, but I stopped him. "You're her mentor, Dr. Spencer. You share the blame for such a grave mistake! If the patient had died today, our entire department would be in hot water!"

I raised my bloodied palm. "If you dare to stop me from punishing Kate, don't blame me for being brutal!"

I stood tall in all the glory of righteousness, staring down everyone at the scene.

My other colleagues did not dare to intervene.

"Kate Horton, go back and copy the entire chapter on calming patients by hand ten times. I want you to recite all of it tomorrow at the office. You still remember the chapter from our undergraduate textbooks, right? Useless shit."

I turned to leave but paused. "The patient is now under my care. For the next six months, you're not allowed to see any patients alone!"

"Stop right there!" Luke snapped, his voice regaining its usual authoritative tone. "The patient has been under Kate's care for two months. You have no right to take over. You're stealing her hard work!"

I raised my eyebrows, sneering as I turned to point at Kate, who was still crying in Brandon's arms. "Two months, and she still doesn't know what triggers her patient? She almost killed him. You call that hard work?"

"I didn't—I said I was sorry," Kate sobbed.

"Sorry? What's the use of that? Is your apology powerful enough to rouse a dead man? You can't even remember the basics of your profession. How can you hope to care for a patient?" I snapped.

Turning to Luke, I added, "Sir, have you lost your mind, too, or do you not care about your reputation anymore? Is this the kind of careless attitude you show toward your patients?"

Luke was so angry that he was left speechless. His face turned a ruddy shade from suppressed anger.

Brandon glanced down at Kate, who was still crying. "Amanda, you're being too harsh. Kate made a mistake, but there's no need to be so cruel."

I laughed, my gaze flitting between him and Kate with amusement. "I just risked my life to save a patient, Brandon. While I was hanging halfway off the roof, 17 floors above ground, what have you been doing as my boyfriend?

"I know exactly what you're thinking. I've just been keeping quiet to save you from embarrassment."

I jabbed a finger at Kate. "If you don't take your punishment seriously and keep stirring up trouble, then you should leave this hospital immediately!"

…

I had just returned to my office from the rooftop when a nurse, Mary Fletcher, ran in without even knocking. I hadn't even had the chance to care for my wounds on my hands.

Mary looked panicked. Sweat coated her forehead from the exertion of running. "Dr. Seville, the dean is back!"

I frowned. A bad feeling welled up in me. "I thought he was invited to be a consultant in another city today."

Looking upset, Mary hesitated for a moment before blurting out, "Brandon called him. He told him about what happened today and had a car pick him up from the train station. The dean is Kate's uncle, so I don't think he will let this slide."

I scoffed. "I just asked her to copy a chapter out of our textbook by hand. Did she really need to call in backups? How pathetic."

Brandon was clearly telling me that he chose Kate over me. Truly a match made in heaven—a fake saint and a lapdog. I would have to wish them a long and happy life together later.

Mary tried to push me toward the hospital's back entrance. "You should leave, Dr. Seville. The dean can be difficult to deal with when he's angry."

I shook my head, turning down her suggestion.

"Amanda Seville! I've only been gone for half a day, and you've already caused such a mess?" the dean, Cameron Preston, roared at me as soon as I stepped into his office.

I folded my arms and stared at the people in the office, unfazed.

Mr. Preston looked livid. Brandon looked annoyed, and Luke was supporting a crying Kate.

"This was Kate's first time handling the patient. It's normal for her to make some minor mistakes. You should've helped her instead of punishing her!

"You just got promoted to deputy director, and you're already throwing your weight around? You're too arrogant to be in this position! How could you make Kate recite the entire handbook in the office in front of everyone? Are you trying to make her out as a joke?"

I had been expecting Mr. Preston to show favoritism, but I hadn't expected it to be so blatant. "So, you already know that people think of her as a joke?"

Brandon couldn't take it anymore. He cut me off before I could continue, "Even though this is Kate's first time trying to reassure the patient, he's been under her care all this time. She was just too nervous and felt sorry for his mother, so she misspoke.

"This was an accident. Dr. Seville used this to target Kate!"

Before I could say anything, Luke added, "Kate was wrong. I can't deny that. As her mentor, I'll make sure to review her knowledge of patient care.

"But Amanda tried to take Kate's patient away from her, making all her efforts for the past two months meaningless. That's just too much!"

Hearing this, Mr. Preston's expression darkened. He turned to glare at me.

He had specially assigned the patient to Kate because of the unique nature of his case. Kate would benefit greatly from it, as he would be an excellent resource for experimental evaluations and a subject for future research papers.

Hastily, I tried to explain myself, "I didn't take her patient. She was only responsible for his medication and routine checkups. I was the one who did the actual treatments…"

"That's enough!" Mr. Preston cut me off sharply. He stepped forward and ripped my ID from my neck. "Both Brandon and Dr. Spencer have made their case clear against you. What else do you have to say for yourself?

"I watched Kate grow up. I know how kind and earnest she is in everything she does! Not only have you stolen her credit, but you even tried to slander and humiliate her!

"Amanda Seville, for abusing your authority, you are henceforth removed from your position as the deputy head of the psychology department and temporarily suspended from duty!"

My vision darkened. A sharp pain twisted in my chest.

The broken strap of my work ID left a burning mark on the back of my neck.

I knew that Mr. Preston would favor his niece and dismiss my punishment for her, but I hadn't expected him to be so unreasonable. I had always respected and trusted him, but now, he refused to even hear my side of the story.

Not only did he label me as someone who would steal someone else's credit, but he also stripped me of the position I had worked so hard to earn!

"Mr. Preston, how could you—" I wanted to stop him from leaving, but Brandon grabbed my wrist suddenly.

I glared after Mr. Preston with red eyes.

No, it shouldn't end like this. I hadn't done anything wrong!

Brandon tightened his grip on my wrist, his searing touch burning through me like flames. "Mr. Preston was right, Amanda. He was the one who promoted you to deputy head, and you repay him by targeting Kate? Isn't that directly opposing him?"

I didn't care what Brandon thought. After my last life, I had already given up on him.

But Mr. Preston was different.

Since the day I joined the hospital after earning my doctorate, he had personally guided me through every case I handled. He understood every patient. I considered him my role model.

But now, he was willing to compromise the lives of his patients to protect a relative.

Right in front of me, he handed the suicidal patient's file back to Kate. "He's your patient again now. Treat him with care. Don't let anyone take credit for your hard work."

I forcefully yanked my wrist out of Brandon's grip and tried to snatch the file out of Mr. Preston's hands. "I don't agree with this! Kate doesn't know the patient at all. I was the one treating him for the past two months!

"Besides, she just triggered the patient so much that he tried to kill himself. Letting her handle this case would only worsen his condition!

"I saved this patient from the brink of death. I did nothing wrong!"

Mr. Preston looked at me thunderously. "So what if you saved him? Is that your excuse for stealing Kate's hard work? You're jealous that Kate is outshining you, aren't you? If you refuse to accept your suspension, then just resign! We don't need a doctor with such a twisted personality!"

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth.

Just as I was about to argue further, footsteps sounded at the door.

A man in a white doctor's coat walked in. "Why are you in such a hurry to drive her away, Mr. Preston? Are you feeling guilty?"