Letting Her Fall

The cold knife sank into my body, and I collapsed at my cousin Monica Newman's feet.Blood kept pouring out of me, soaking through the carpet.Even as I died, I couldn't understand it. She was the one who had begged me over and over to steal her papers from her mother so that she could get married.Yet now that her life wasn't as comfortable as she had hoped, she blamed everything on me, claiming that I had pushed her into getting married.As my body grew colder and colder, Monica's cruel curses faded along with my breath.When I opened my eyes again, every memory from my death rushed back into my mind.Monica, the person I had once treated like family but had ended up killing me, was sitting right in front of me.I had been reborn.And just like in my previous life, once Monica's mother, Lorelei Newman, found out that she had secretly been dating a guy from a modest background, she immediately set up a blind date out of anger.Monica was beautiful, and she had become a model

So, I always felt that as sisters, I should help whenever I could.But I did not expect that she would never pay me back.Aunt Lorelei looked surprised, clearly not convinced I could afford a designer brand with my salary. "I know you young people love buying labels to keep up appearances, but that's not a smart move for the long term."You'll be 26 next year. Honestly, you should find a wealthy guy just like Monica did. Then you could just ask for the things you would've needed to spend a few months' salary to buy."I didn't respond, and the atmosphere grew awkward.My other aunt, Karen Hall, quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "I think Monica and Tabitha are both great. One is married well, and the other has a good job. The only one struggling is my son. He's almost 30, but his job is average, and he still doesn't have a girlfriend…"Aunt Lorelei took the bait and immediately switched her attention to setting my cousin up.I looked at Monica, who was sitting beside us. S

This was the first time since Monica had gotten married that I ever heard Aunt Lorelei speak in such a disappointed tone.Outside the room, her furious complaints echoed down the hallway, but inside the ward, it was frighteningly quiet.I walked in and looked at Monica, who had just finished a C-section.She didn't react when she saw me. She just turned her head slightly and stared blankly at the floor.Her pale, exhausted face showed clear finger marks, and the corner of her mouth was swollen.Now, I finally understood why she had gone into labor early.Standing there, I couldn't help thinking of her husband from my last life.He hadn't been wealthy, but he had truly cared for her. He knew their finances were tight, so he had worked hard every day.Unfortunately, no matter how much he earned, he could never keep up with how quickly Monica became jealous of others.By the time Monica's baby was discharged from the hospital, almost a month had passed.No one mentioned hosting

"Tabitha, could you let me stay in your apartment for a while?" Monica asked. "We've been close since we were kids. You won't turn me down, right?"I knew this was exactly what she had come for.Did she actually think she could guilt-trip me? She could dream on.After moving back for work, I had been living with my parents in the new house I had bought.The old studio apartment was the one my parents had purchased for me after college so that I would be closer to the office.It had been empty ever since, but that didn't mean I was about to let her move in."Sorry, I rented that place out a few days ago.""What? You rented it out?"Monica looked genuinely shocked, then a bit suspicious."You're a vice president with a high salary now. Why would you care about a small amount of rent?"I lowered my head and smiled. "You're funny. Who complains about having too much money?"She kept pestering me, insisting I take the place back from the tenants so that she could live there.She

See? Only people who reflected on themselves could keep moving forward.We had to let go of the urge to save others and respect the life they choose.Ever since I had gotten a second chance at life, I had kept this lesson close to my heart.In this life, I stayed far away from the people who had once dragged me into the abyss. I simply watched from the sidelines and no longer involved myself.Every path Monica had taken was a choice she had made herself.Whatever the outcome ended up being, she had no one to blame but herself.Unfortunately, Monica still didn't understand that.I went to see her once. She had gotten even thinner than before, and her face was tired and dull.She looked surprised when she saw me."How's my mom doing?"I nodded. "She's woken up. Her health is stable."After waking up in the hospital, Aunt Lorelei hadn't thrown a fit as everyone expected.Instead, she had held Monica's picture every day as she muttered to herself, occasionally cursing under her