Chapter 3

Marcus sneered, looking Leo up and down. "With a scrawny body like yours, you think you can play hero?"

Leo's legs were visibly shaking, but he still tried to sound brave. "You can't treat girls like this! Let her go, or I’m calling the principal!"

Marcus’s face darkened. "Say one more word, and I'll beat you to a pulp."

Leo flinched, but he glanced at the tearful Melanie next to him and puffed out his chest again. "Even if you beat me up, I won't let you hurt Melanie! If you have a problem, take it out on me!"

"Fine, you asked for it!"

With that, Marcus threw a heavy punch, and the two of them scrambled into a messy brawl.

Naturally, Leo was no match for the varsity athlete. Within seconds, he was knocked to the ground, curling into a ball and crying for mercy. But Marcus didn't stop, kicking him ruthlessly in the ribs.

And this time, from a bystander's perspective, I noticed something shocking. The look in Melanie’s eyes as she watched Marcus beat up Leo wasn't fear or disgust.

It was excitement. And admiration.

No wonder they ended up together in my previous life.

I lost interest. The show was getting boring, and I was ready to leave.

But just as I stood up, Leo suddenly shrieked, "Why are you beating me up?! Melanie actually likes Ethan Miller! If you're so tough, go fight him!"

What the hell?

I was literally just sitting here drinking my soda, and I still got thrown under the bus.

"Who the fuck is Ethan Miller?" Marcus spat. He grabbed Melanie by the waist, pulling her flush against him. "From now on, she’s my girl! Anyone who gets close to her is dead! Whether it's you, scrawny, or that Ethan kid, don't even think about touching what's mine!"

Leo’s face turned bright red, his body shaking with rage and humiliation.

Marcus spat on the ground near Leo's head, then dragged Melanie toward the alley.

As an observer, I could tell Melanie wasn't resisting at all. Her "struggles" were pure foreplay.

I really must have been blind in my past life.

Seeing this toxic couple about to hit it off, a wave of cold fury from my past life rushed to my head. While Leo’s eyes were locked on them, I quietly walked past and kicked a heavy, loose brick from the garden wall right next to Leo’s hand.

Leo was staring at their retreating backs, his face red with humiliation. Suddenly, his hand brushed against the heavy brick. Consumed by rage and desperate to prove himself, he didn't think twice. He grabbed the brick and charged forward like a madman. "I'll kill you!"

*Smack!*

The brick slammed directly into the back of Marcus’s head. The force was so strong that the brick actually cracked in half. Marcus’s head burst open, and he collapsed instantly into a pool of blood.

Melanie let out a piercing shriek.

Seeing things get out of hand, I calmly pulled out my phone and called 911.

Soon, the police and ambulance arrived. Melanie and Leo were taken in for questioning, while Marcus was rushed to the ER.

I never expected things to end like this.

In my past life, Marcus would have stopped after beating me up. But Leo, trying so hard to be a gentleman, had snapped under pressure and used deadly force.

Did my killer actually end up ruined this easily?

My feelings were complicated.

Honestly, the moment I was reborn, my only thought was revenge.

But before I could even plot anything, Marcus was already taken off the board.

A few days later, the hospital report came out. Marcus didn't die, nor was he in a coma. But he was partially paralyzed. His left side was severely damaged, leaving him with a permanent limp and slurred speech. He looked like a shell of his former self.

And because Leo’s family was poor, that one brick shattered his college dreams. He had to drop out of school and take a job at a local warehouse just to pay off Marcus’s mounting medical bills.

Meanwhile, Melanie went back to her normal life. But her attitude toward me had completely changed.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Melanie confronted me in the hallway.

Lately, she had been suspicious that my refusal to walk her out that day was a calculated move.

"I told you, it was a coincidence. What does any of this have to do with me?" I replied dryly.

"You never used to refuse me. Why did you suddenly change that day? And Leo just happened to have a brick right next to him? You knew what would happen!"

She paused, looking at me with a self-satisfied expression, as if she had cracked a criminal mastermind's code. "Ethan, you're so manipulative! You planned all of this, didn't you? A double kill to get rid of both of my suitors at once!"

"What are you even talking about? Get help," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Fine, I get it, you have to deny it," Melanie said, her cheeks suddenly turning a shade of pink. "I've thought about it... and I decide to say yes to you."

I froze for a second. "Yes to what?"

"Stop playing dumb! You proposed to me on Snapchat last week, and I said I'd think about it!" Melanie raised her chin, her tone incredibly condescending.