Avoid Her Like the Plague

After school, Eliza made it a point to get onto Carl Jamison's bicycle in full view of me. Ignoring her antics, I got on my bicycle and rode slowly behind them, keeping a distance between us.Eliza and I were childhood sweethearts. My family, the Harpers, and Eliza's family, the Stewarts, both came from the countryside and moved into the city for a better life. At the time, our families maintained a good relationship. They decided to let Eliza and me get engaged to each other, even though we were still children.However, as we got older, the relationship between our two families slowly changed. It had been 13 years since our families became neighbors in the city. I could sense that the Stewarts didn't like me.They continued to treat me fairly courteously. However, they had long since begun taking Eliza to various social events and introducing her to the sons of powerful and influential families. Among the ones they met, they were most pleased with Carl.In my previous life, I ha

After school, Carl dropped by to give Eliza a ride home, but a teacher had summoned her to the faculty office, and she hadn't returned yet.Carl noticed me and purposely got in my way, saying, "I heard that instead of being a househusband, you've decided to attend college with Lizzie."Standing still, I asked him, "Did you want something?"Carl snorted. "You should know your place if you know what's good for you. Your family hasn't done as well as hers. You guys moved to a rather remote area recently, didn't you? Isn't it better for you to just focus on taking care of Lizzie?"I couldn't quite understand why he was saying this."She's frail and requires a lot of care. I can't be spending time doing that, which means we won't be able to hang out and have fun if you're not around to attend to all her needs," Carl continued. "I have it all figured out. Once she and I get married, I'll allow you to accompany her and continue to look after her. How about it?"He was grinning tauntin

I had seen the way Eliza acted when she truly loved someone. In my previous life, she loved Carl so very dearly. Even when he simply made an offhand remark about how good a limited-edition tie clip looked, she would remember it and find a way to get it for him.Yet, when it came to my birthday, she would forget about it, even though I specifically told her on that day itself which restaurant I'd booked for a celebration. Even after that, she would simply brush me off with a curt apology.Instead of answering Eliza's questions, I said, "Be it in terms of looks or social standing, Carl makes a good match for you. He can even be of help to your family's business in the future, so what more do you want?"Eliza looked even more hurt and indignant. "But I don't like him! I wanted to try and accept marrying him just for our families' mutual gain, but I realize now that I can't do it. You're the one I like. Why aren't you jealous at all? How are you able to remain so calm?"It was because

The journey to Westridge was pretty grueling. Never would I have expected Eliza to be among the group of volunteers. I couldn't believe that a wealthy heiress like her would be willing to do volunteer work at a remote village.All of the volunteers stayed at the same dorm in the village. Carl was the one who helped Eliza with her things, moving the suitcases one by one. He froze in shock when he saw me."Matthew? You're here?"Upon hearing what he said, Eliza immediately stuck her head out the window. "Matthew?"Once she confirmed it was me, she dashed out of the vehicle and ran toward me. I quickly took a step back, saying, "Please have some sense of propriety, Ms. Stewart."Eliza's eyes turned red when her attempt to hug me failed."It's been four whole years! I couldn't find you at all… You have no idea how much I missed you."I looked behind her before commenting, "Your fiance's right here with us."Carl's eyes flickered with awkwardness, while Eliza's expression hardened i

I was rendered speechless when I heard that Eliza and Carl had already gotten married. Nevertheless, I expected as much."Why did you still want to kill me, then?" I asked.Carl became even more agitated."Because you showed up again! Why did you come here to volunteer as a teacher? Eliza was on the verge of accepting me, but everything got ruined because of you! I hate you!" he roared."I don't understand. How am I not better than you? How am I any worse off when it comes to my looks or my family background? Why is it that you're the one she wants?"I listened as Carl kept screaming and venting his frustrations. Finally, when he was panting from exhaustion, I replied curtly, "It's because you made her your entire world and lost your own identity."No one would cherish those who didn't live for themselves.…The next day, Carl was taken into police custody. He was going to prison for his crime. Due to this incident, his college revoked his academic credentials, and he was even