Chapter 3

Layla had a carefree, adventurous streak and was always looking for something exciting to do. She often went clubbing with Tracy and the others.

I was the type who put my studies first. As such, Layla and I kept getting into more and more conflicts. But since we'd grown up together, that history alone kept our relationship going.

In my previous life, the adrenaline wore off, and I passed out from exhaustion right after rescuing Layla. Since I had blacked out, I had no idea what happened afterward.

So this time, I conserved my strength and stayed on my feet until the rescue was over.

I saw with my own eyes that, besides the four girls from Layla's dorm, six male students from the same department were also rescued.

And Tracy's clothes were actually found in the room where those male students had been trapped.

I was the only one who noticed, so I quickly pulled out my phone and recorded it as evidence. Even so, I didn't breathe a word about it. I took Layla with me and drove her to the hospital.

Layla was still shaken up at this point and answered almost every question I asked.

I first checked that she was okay, then casually steered the conversation toward their séance.

"Were you guys still messing around with the spirit board when the building collapsed? You weren't all together, though. You were split up into three different areas."

As if the horror of the building collapsing had suddenly come rushing back to her, Layla trembled and clung tightly to me. "Using the spirit board was so scary. We didn't dare keep going. By the time I texted you, we'd already switched to playing a different game."

I nodded. "Oh yeah? What game?"

Layla was about to answer when she seemed to have remembered something.

Her whole body went stiff. She then shoved me away hard and bolted into the street to flag down a taxi, like she was trying to escape.

I chased after her and asked, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head frantically. "I've got stuff to deal with, so I won't be going to the hospital. Mark, just go. Don't follow me!"

I clenched my hand behind my back into a tight fist.

She was scared. But of what? Of the game she was too afraid to talk about? Was this the reason she would eventually side with Tracy, frame me, and destroy my family?

I fought to keep my emotions under control as I reached out to hug her. "Layla, whatever it is, you can tell me. I'll help you."

She pushed me away again and blurted out a rushed, "No, it's fine," before jumping into the taxi. I stood there watching it tear off down the road.

I checked my phone. It was 2:00 am. At this time in my previous life, I was still unconscious. By the time I woke up, I was already facing accusations of sexual assault.

Since Tracy had no idea I'd recorded everything, she would definitely try to frame me again.

By the time I went to my morning class the next day, the news of the dorm building collapsing had already blown up online.

The rumble of excavators could be heard coming from the direction of the rubble. It seemed like the school was already scrambling to get ahead of the situation and contain the fallout.

Hardly anyone in the classroom was paying attention to the lecture. Everyone was talking about what had happened the night before.

My roommate, Benjamin Stout, who was sitting next to me, wasn't in the mood to study either. He nudged me. "Mark, there's no way I can sit through this lecture. Let me borrow that recorder you usually use to record lectures."

I casually turned him down. "I forgot to bring it today."

Right then, Layla and Tracy barged in with a whole crowd behind them.

Layla planted herself front and center and, in front of everyone, threw the accusation at me. "Mark Burnett, Tracy is my roommate! How could you take advantage of a lady when she was helpless and do something as disgusting as sexually assaulting her?"