I caught my best friend Chloe’s fiancé cheating. I couldn’t let Chloe marry a man like that. I helped her confront him and demand a ten-million-dollar settlement. Overnight, Chloe became a wealthy woman. But the fiancé, Damien? He just moved on and threw an even more lavish wedding for someone else. As Chloe watched the live stream of the ceremony, her face twisted with envy. Then she picked up a fruit knife and pointed it at me, hysterical. “This is your fault, Ava! If you hadn’t made me leave him, I’d be the one at that wedding!” Before I could explain, she slit my throat. I died on the spot. When I opened my eyes, I was back to the day I caught Damien cheating. This time, I swore I wouldn’t say a word. Let Chloe believe she can tame a playboy. But she has no idea that Damien’s other lover isn’t a woman…it’s a man! “Ava, what did you just say about Damien Hayes?” My best friend Chloe blinked, looking up from the wedding dresses, her eyes bright with excitement. Hearing that question again, the one that had pushed me into an abyss, I sharply drew a breath. That’s when I knew: I’d been reborn. I was standing there, having just caught Damien cheating, ready to expose him. In my last life, I’d seen Damien at a hotel, caught in an intimately ambiguous moment with a man. It all made sense. I’d screamed at him, called him a beast for using Chloe. Afraid Chloe couldn’t handle the full truth, I only told her Damien was cheating before their wedding, that he was no good, and marrying him would be a disaster! Chloe had cried until her eyes were raw, confronting him. But Damien dismissed her. “Chloe, don’t make a scene. It was a minor mistake. We’re getting married tomorrow. You know I love you.” Chloe sobbed, broken, unable to speak. She always said her love had to be perfect, a pure meeting of souls with no flaws. The truth about Damien would have destroyed her. So I helped her demand a huge settlement for her wasted time. Damien signed the check with a sigh. “Chloe, even without you, tomorrow’s wedding would still go on.” Chloe became an instant millionaire. And the next day, Damien married someone else in lavish, highly-publicized ceremony. Chloe watched the live stream, her face contorted with bitter jealousy. I quickly turned off the live stream, trying to comfort her. “Chloe, don’t watch it. He’s not the man you thought he was. He was never worth your heart.” But she grabbed a fruit knife and pointed it at me, hysterical. “Ava, it’s all your fault! Damien said he’d love me forever; he just made a mistake, one that all men make when they’re confused. How dare you make me call off the engagement!” “If it weren’t for you, that grand wedding would be mine!” “You just don’t understand me! I don’t want tons of money; I want tons of love!” Before I could explain, she slit my throat with that knife, and I died on the spot. “Ava, what are you thinking about?” Chloe’s face suddenly leaned in close, and I instinctively recoiled. Last life, I poured my heart out, planning everything for her, yet she mercilessly raised a blade against me. This life, I absolutely refuse to get involved in their messed-up love and hate. I touched my suddenly cold neck, forcing down my anger. “Oh, nothing. Just thinking how much Damien must love you, preparing so many priceless wedding dresses.” Chloe hugged her flushed face, swaying her body. “Ava, tomorrow I’m marrying Damien! It feels like a dream. To meet such a wonderful man, such genuine love, I’m truly so happy!” I sneered internally. Your happy days are just beginning, alright.
Her missed grand wedding finally gave her a moment in the spotlight in my previous life. All the shopping mall screens across the city broadcast the wedding live. The entire internet envied her, this Cinderella who’d soared from rags to riches. Only I knew, this magnificent wedding was just the start of her tragedy. One month later, I was buried in my books at the library when my phone started blowing up with messages from Chloe. I ignored them all, silencing my phone and shoving it into my bag. She barged right into the library, dressed to the nines, but her anger was undeniable. She marched to my table and slammed her phone down. “Ava, why aren’t you answering my calls?!” I kept my grip on my pen, slowly raising my head. “It’s a critical time for my exams; I wasn’t paying attention to my phone.” Chloe suddenly sniffled dramatically, plopping down beside me and digging her nails into my arm. “Ava, Damien’s been ignoring me lately. When I get upset, he just throws money at me.” “What do I want all that money for? I want his love!” “And what’s worse, yesterday his collar smelled like some strange perfume!” “It must be some blind hussy trying to get to him! You have to come with me to his company to catch her! We’ll teach her a lesson!” “I really don’t have time. Maybe you should find someone else.” “Ava! You’re not going to help me? Are you even my best friend anymore?!” She snatched my book and threw it into the trash can. My eyes widened as I yanked my arm away. “What are you doing?” She just shrugged. “Who cares about some book? Grad school won’t make you rich.” Of course not. She hadn’t studied since meeting Damien. She’d forgotten all our late nights, the bond we built over shared stress. Before I could answer, she was pulling me out of the library. We waited for half an hour before Damien emerged from his company, accompanied by a man in a suit. It was Julian Miller, his lover from my last life. As they walked side by side, the man’s hand casually rested on Damien’s shoulder. Damien didn’t pull away; instead, he smiled. Chloe was about to charge forward. I instinctively reached out to stop her, but then pulled my hand back. I was actually curious to see her reaction when she saw how intimate they were. Unfortunately, Damien was sharp-eyed. He spotted us before Julian could make a more intimate move. He walked over to us, naturally put his arm around Chloe’s waist, and spoke softly. “Chloe, what are you two doing here? This is Mr. Miller, my business partner. We just finished a project and were about to grab a bite.” He turned to Julian and smiled. “This is my wife, Chloe, and her best friend, Ava.” Julian’s lips curved into a smile, full of unspoken meaning. “Ms. Hayes, you’ve arrived at just the right time.” As Julian removed his hand from Damien’s shoulder, I clearly saw a matching pinky ring on his ring finger – identical to Damien’s. But Chloe, utterly drunk on Damien’s renewed affection, missed it completely. Instead, she tugged my arm, whispering excitedly. “See? Damien was busy with work. That perfume is Mr. Miller’s. I was just being paranoid.” “And you! You didn’t even try to talk me down. You almost made me ruin a good thing!” I wanted to shake her. God, I wanted to slap some sense into her.
I took a deep breath, forcing down the anger bubbling inside me. “Well, since everything’s fine, I’ll head back to school.” Chloe waved me off, a smile instantly lighting up her face. “Go on, go on. Don’t want to interrupt my quality time with Damien.” No sooner had I settled back into my seat at the library than my phone vibrated. It was a SnapChat from Chloe. It was a picture of a royal blue satin scarf embroidered with gold flowers. “Ava, look! This is the latest limited edition scarf Damien just gave me! He said he specially had someone bring it back from abroad. He really loves me so much!” It was followed by three starry-eyed emojis. “But it’s so strange. This scarf has a… a kind of stinky smell? Is that what luxury smells like?” That scarf wasn’t some latest limited edition at all; it was a runway piece from a luxury brand two years ago. My favorite celebrity wore the exact same one at an event the year before last, and I’d even looked up the details then. But I didn’t expose her. I just replied with a casual, “Looks nice. Glad you like it.” Let them deal with their own twisted love and hate. All I wanted was to quietly prepare for my exams and hoped she wouldn’t bother me again. Clearly, her brain wasn’t equipped to handle emotional problems independently. A week before my exams, she showed up again, sobbing hysterically, her face swollen and bruised. “I only lost one of Damien’s pinky rings, and he hit me! He said it was from his true love, and he wouldn’t let me come home until I found it!” I instinctively moved away, avoiding her touch, my gaze fixed on her red, swollen, and bruised face. To hit her that hard… Damien’s temper and possessiveness were finally showing through. I felt no sympathy, in fact, I almost wanted to laugh. Last life, she killed me for Damien. This life, experiencing his domestic violence felt like a twisted form of karma. Seeing my lack of reaction, Chloe cried, pressing me. “I’m practically dying of grief, how can you, my best friend, have no reaction at all?” I put down my pen, leaned back in my chair, and said, light as a feather. “Oh, he must *really* love you then, if that’s how he shows affection.” Chloe froze, staring at me with disbelief. “Look at my face! Do you think this is love? This is domestic violence! He hit me so hard!” Oh, so she wasn’t completely brain-dead yet; she knew this was domestic violence. I raised an eyebrow, playing along. “Well, if you can’t stand it, you can call the police, or just divorce him. Then you wouldn’t have to look for some stupid ring.” But Chloe reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, immediately retorting. “I can’t divorce him! Damien, he… he was just impulsive. The ring must have some very important sentimental value to him, that’s why he got angry!” “I forgive him. As long as I find the ring, he’ll definitely love me like before!” I couldn’t help but sneer. What kind of decent person, once married, still wears a ring from their “true love”? Chloe clutched my arm, her voice pleading. “Ava, please help me! I really don’t know what to do!” I frowned, frustrated. “You don’t even know where you threw it, how am I supposed to help you find it?” “I don’t care! If you don’t help me, I’ll bother you every single day and prevent you from taking your exams!” I forcefully pulled my hand away, my eyes hardening. “Chloe, don’t push it! You know how important this exam is to me!” Chloe curled her lips, looking at me with a menacing grin. “Then help me find the ring!” In that moment, seeing her twisted expression, I finally understood. Avoiding her was pointless. She would never let me be. Last life, I helped her, and she killed me. This life, if I didn’t, she’d ruin me. I came from nothing. This graduate program was my one shot at a future. I couldn’t let her take that from me. But I knew she would. So fine. If she insisted, I’d let her find the truth herself. The truth she could never see coming.
I softened my tone, asking sincerely. “I can help you look for the ring, but first, you need to tell me when and where you last saw it.” Seeing me relent, Chloe’s voice immediately became agitated. “Last night, Damien was meeting a client at the hotel. He got drunk, and I went to pick him up.” “Midway, he went to the restroom and handed me his ring, phone, and stuff. I just put them on the dining table. When we left, I only remembered to grab his phone.” “Later, I asked all the hotel staff, and they all said they didn’t see it!” “Who was the client he was meeting?” “It was Mr. Miller, Julian Miller.” Chloe’s voice paused, then she quickly added, “But it definitely wasn’t him! He’s Damien’s business partner; why would he steal a ring?” I sneered internally, but on the surface, I pretended to analyze seriously. “Since you were at the hotel, let’s go check the security footage first, to see if anyone else entered the private room when he went to the restroom.” “Also, Damien said the ring was from his ‘true love.’ Has he met anyone special recently?” Chloe thought for a moment, her tone uncertain. “These past few days, besides seeing me, he’s only been with Mr. Miller. But they’re just talking business!” I was silent for a moment before saying. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to that hotel and check the surveillance videos. If we can’t find it, we’ll have to resort to searching the trash dump.” The next morning, Chloe and I arrived at the surveillance room. The footage showed that as Chloe was helping Damien to the restroom, Julian casually picked up the ring. He compared it repeatedly with the ring on his own ring finger, a smile playing on his lips, then finally slipped the ring into his pocket. Chloe watched the monitor, her face turning pale in waves. “He… he has an identical ring?” “No, it can’t be what I’m thinking. They’re partners, even if they have matching rings, it’s nothing, right?” I ignored her, continuing to stare at the monitor. A few minutes later, Chloe returned, helping Damien, and Julian smiled as he watched them leave. Strangely, Julian didn’t leave the private room. It wasn’t until an hour later that he answered a call, toying with the ring. “The ring’s gone? Damien, that was our promise ring. Tell me, how should I punish your little wife?” “What do I say? I’m afraid you won’t want to.” “Then punish her by making her find the ring. If she doesn’t, she’s not allowed to come home!” I don’t know what the other person said, but Julian’s smile grew wider. “Good. For the next week, I’ll be staying at your place, keeping you company.” Hearing this, Chloe looked like she’d been struck by lightning, instantly turning to stone. A few seconds later, she erupted. She grabbed the monitor, shaking it, her knuckles white and eyes wide, staring at Julian’s face. “True love’? A promise ring? This is fake!” “No! This is fake! You’re all lying! Damien loves me! He said we were going to the Maldives!” The security guard, alarmed by the outburst, rushed over. “Ma’am, please calm down. Don’t damage the equipment!” Chloe turned on him, her voice a piercing shriek, her face wet with tears and snot. “Chloe turned on him, her voice a piercing shriek, her face wet with tears and snot!” After crying and screaming for ten minutes, she went silent. The despair in her eyes vanished, replaced by a savage, insane ferocity. She screamed as she stormed out. “I’ll make them pay!”
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