Chapter 48
“How could you go out and party right before the college entrance exam? I knew something must’ve happened!” Dad’s voice trembled. “I ran out looking for you, but I never imagined you’d be locked inside the school!“}
“Was it Ethan? I won’t let him get away with this!“}
After two lifetimes, seeing my father alive and well in front of me again broke me. I threw myself into his arms and burst into tears.
Dad was startled, unsure how to comfort me. “It’s okay now. Don’t be scared. Tell Dad what happened.“}
“I’m fine,” I whispered, wiping away tears and forcing myself to stay calm.
It would be far too easy to expose Ethan and ruin their celebration.}
But that wouldn’t be enough.”
I wanted them to regret it for the rest of their lives.}
When Mom arrived and saw my bruises and scrapes, her expression changed instantly.
But I simply said, “I’m fine, Mom. I don’t want to stay here anymore. I want to go abroad to study–and settle down with you.“}
In my past life, I gave up an offer from a prestigious foreign university, all for Ethan’s stupid promise: “Let’s go to college together.“>
And what did I get in return? Humiliation, betrayal, and heartbreak.}
This time, I wasn’t about to bet on him keeping my admission ticket.
I gave up the college entrance exam.
When we got home, I collapsed into bed and drifted in and out of sleep, haunted by the memories of my previous life.
When I woke again, my pillow was soaked with tears.
I took a deep breath, slid a SIM card into my old phone, and powered it on.
My feed was flooded with posts–classmates, Ethan, and Sophie all sharing their night.}
In one photo, Sophie leaned against Ethan’s chest, face flushed, eyes twinkling with a coy smile. He looked gentle, indulgent.} But my eyes were drawn to the empty fruit wine cans stacked behind them.}
They’d drunk that much? Forget exam performance–some might not even wake up in the morning.”
Someone even uploaded a video.
“Give me a kiss!” a voice shouted, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
Ethan wrapped his arms around Sophie, kissing her deeply like he couldn’t get enough of her.
I felt nothing but disgust and quickly shut the video off.”
Then, I saw a new notification–Sophie had posted a story, set to visible only to me.”
The moment I opened it, I was greeted by a series of breathy, suggestive gasps.}
My stomach turned.”
Even without looking closely, I knew the man entangled with her was Ethan.
Sophie’s voice came next, mocking and breathless:
“Emma, Ethan said he loves me and that he’s going to marry me when we get into college. Why would someone like you even try to compete with me?”
Then she posted a photo.
Shreds of paper–my admission ticket, torn into pieces.
“I told him to choose,” she continued. “He ripped your ticket up without hesitation. Said it was the perfect excuse to dump you and avoid going to the same college.“}
“I can’t wait to see your face tomorrow. Enjoy your extra year in school. Happy senior year in advance~“}
Even though I’d expected it–half expected it–it still hit like a punch to the gut. My chest tightened.}
Three years of relentless studying… reduced to a pile of trash on the floor.
Just then, I heard the phone ring in the living room.
I stepped out to see Dad answering with a stunned expression. His voice rose with urgency. “What? A student? A senior high schooler? Alcohol poisoning? Okay, I’ll head there now.” His face had gone pale, and his forehead was glistening with sweat.
When he looked up and saw me, he must’ve thought I was worried about my classmates.}
He tried to reassure me: “Don’t worry–it might not be someone from your class. I’ll go check. And even if it is, I’ll make sure they recover in time. They won’t miss the exam tomorrow.“>
I looked at his concerned face and remembered how, in my past life, I had the same worry.
That night, I even dragged Dad to wait near the school bus stop–just in case any classmates were too hungover to show up, and he could help them recover quickly.”
