Chapter 3

I couldn't hold myself together anymore. I cried until I struggled to breathe, scaring both Mom and Dad to death.

I developed a high fever that night. They were the ones who woke me up in the middle of the night. Not only was I burning up, but I was also mumbling incoherently through my tears. They had no choice but to send me to the hospital.

"The university application form…" I mumbled when my thoughts became lucid for a brief moment. "I want to go to Avalium University…"

Mom comforted me with a heartbroken expression. "You've already filled in the form. Your father will personally drop by the school and submit it on your behalf tomorrow."

I reminded them over and over again that Dad had to personally hand the form over to my homeroom teacher. My racing heart only began to calm down after they assured me that they would do as I said.

Dad carried me on his back as he descended the stairs. We didn't expect to run into Jared at that moment.

"Noelle has gone missing. Did she come here to look for you?" he asked.

Dad kicked Jared aside and spat, "Out of my way!"

Jared chased after us and grabbed the car door. "I'm the one who wronged you, Lily. You can pin all of the blame on me. You know better than anyone else that Noelle struggles with depression. She can't handle any stress.

"I'm begging you. Please don't give her a hard time if she looks for you. Don't let her leave by herself either. I'm scared that she'll do something drastic."

Jared's voice was thick with tears, and his eyes were full of pleading.

In my past life, he had called Noelle pretentious. Coincidentally, she had overheard him, causing her to run off with bloodshot eyes.

I got into a huge fight with Jared because of that incident. I even suggested that we break up because of our differing opinions.

Noelle was the one who talked me out of it, telling me that she didn't take Jared's words to heart. In the end, my anger was only appeased after I ordered him to write a thousand-word apology letter.

However, it turned out that I had been the fool all along.

…

The next day, I heard a few people whispering among themselves when I went to the restroom. Apparently, a female high school student had tried to take her own life by slitting her wrists, but the doctors managed to save her life.

"I heard that she got knocked up. Her results are pretty good. She could have gotten into a good university. Why didn't she take better care of herself?"

My heart plummeted into my gut.

I whirled around and was about to head back to my room when Jared suddenly appeared behind me. He rushed up to me and grabbed my wrist.

"You used to be so kindhearted, Lilian. What happened to you?" he demanded. "Didn't you say that you thought of Noelle like she was your own sister? How could you be so cruel and force her to her death?

"Don't you understand that you're toying with someone's life? Will you still be able to sleep at night if Noelle actually dies?"

There was a cruel glint in his eyes. He looked as if he wanted to kill someone.

Noelle had called and sent hundreds of messages to me before she tried to take her own life. In fact, the last call had gone through and lasted two minutes according to the call log.

However, I had left my phone in Jared's apartment.

Jared scoffed after he heard my explanation, making it clear that he didn't believe me. The repulsion in his eyes intensified when he looked at me and sneered, "What are you trying to say? Are you suggesting that Noelle orchestrated everything to frame you?

"What about those slanderous posts of her that you uploaded on your social media account and the school forum? Are you trying to say that she ruined her own reputation just to drag your name through the mud?"

I was nearly overwhelmed with the urge to laugh at how absurd the entire situation was.

Jared dragged me toward the exit of the hospital, saying, "Apologize to Noelle right now and tell her that you'll forgive her. This is your only chance to atone for your sins."

I swatted his hand away and retorted, "That's impossible. I didn't do anything wrong. The only mistake I made was being too blind to see the two of you for who you really were."

Coincidentally, Mom returned from the store right at that moment.

"What do you think you're doing, Jared?" she roared. "You've got some nerve. How dare you show your face here and harass my daughter?"

Jared shot an indignant look at me before turning around and leaving.

Mom pulled me into a hug and wiped my tears. "It's okay. Don't be upset. Everyone's bound to meet a jerk or two when they're young."

I nodded and said, "I'm not upset, Mom. They're not worth it."

…

Two days later, I returned home after I was discharged from the hospital.

I had just sat down when I received a call from my homeroom teacher. She told me that someone had reported me for cheating during the college entrance exams, accusing me of peeking at and copying Noelle's answers.

The person who reported me was none other than the male student who had tampered with my university application form during my past life, Clive Haycraft.