Chapter 4

Rachel didn’t regain consciousness all night.

My homeroom teacher, Ms. Evans, found me and urged me to visit her at the hospital.

Everyone knew how close we were, so to avoid drawing suspicion, I followed her without a word.

At the hospital.

Rachel had internal bleeding in her brain. She was still in a coma when I arrived.

On the hospital bed, only her nose was visible, hooked up to an oxygen machine, her legs encased in plaster casts and propped high.

The doctor said she’d suffered a spinal injury and might be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

Rachel’s mom, Mrs. Dawson, sobbed uncontrollably, kneeling on the floor.

“Doctor, please! My daughter is a senior this year; her life has just begun!”

Ms. Evans also pleaded.

“Doctor, this child is Ivy League material. She has a math competition next month. You can’t give up on her!”

In my last life, after Rachel won that competition, she soared, earning a guaranteed spot at a top-tier university.

Now, hearing Ms. Evans mention the competition again, I clenched my fists.

Math was my strong suit, but to avoid competing with Rachel, I hadn’t even signed up. Though I later got into a decent state university, a top-tier one was always my dream.

Reborn, I wanted to make up for the regrets of my last life.

Just as Ms. Evans finished speaking, a woman burst into the room, charging in recklessly.

She grabbed Mrs. Dawson’s hair and yanked hard.

“It’s all your fault! If your daughter hadn’t asked my son out shopping, he wouldn’t have been hurt!”

“Flirting around at such a young age, and still trying to get my son to date her, ugh! You owe me for the medical bills!”

At the doorway, Liam stood to the side, watching the whole spectacle like a detached observer.

It wasn't until my dad, Mr. Reed, came in to break up the fight that Liam’s mom, Mrs. Miller, was finally chased out.

As Liam brushed past me, he threatened in my ear.

“Remember, Rachel was the one who asked me out last night!”

“If you say anything stupid, you know the consequences!”

With that, he didn’t even spare Rachel a glance, chasing after his mom like she was contagious.

I followed too.

But I wasn’t chasing him; I was catching up with Ms. Evans.

After all, Rachel always found me bothersome, and now she got exactly what she wanted.

Even if she spent the rest of her life partially paralyzed.

She should be happy, thinking she was hurt for the person she loved, right?