Chapter 1

I have severe asthma and a life-threatening allergy to animal dander.

But on the first day of the semester, my roommate brought thirty stray dogs into our dorm.

When I tried to get them out, she burst into tears, blocking the door.

"How can you be so selfish, Chloe? They have nowhere else to go! Are you seriously going to throw them out into the cold?"

I begged her to take them to a local shelter.

But in my past life, that single request turned the entire campus against me.

They labeled me as cold-blooded, claiming I couldn't even tolerate a few helpless puppies.

Eventually, the extreme buildup of dog dander triggered a severe asthma attack. My airway swelled shut, and I suffocated to death right on our dorm floor.

Becca didn't feel a shred of guilt. Instead, she went live on TikTok, crying to her followers that my "lack of patience" had stressed the poor dogs out, indirectly blaming me for my own death.

She gained millions of sympathetic followers. Those rabid fans went as far as scattering my ashes in the trash and relentlessly cyberbullying my parents online, which eventually led to their fatal car accident.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on move-in day.

Becca was standing in our room, holding a filthy, shivering stray dog, her eyes red as she looked at me.

"He's so helpless, Chloe. Can we please keep him? Please?"

I smiled, nodding gently. "Sure."

But why did she end up regretting it?