Chapter 3

The news of me publicly dumping Chloe spread like wildfire across the entire campus.

I became the campus jerk in everyone's eyes---ungrateful, cold, and ruthless.

Everywhere I went, I felt eyes on my back, heard hushed whispers.

"That's him, the one who dumped Chloe, his perfect girlfriend."

"I heard he'd wanted to break up for a while, just waited for today to totally humiliate her."

I couldn't have cared less.

These rumors and whispers felt like a gentle breeze compared to the 'treatments' and torment I endured in that psychiatric hospital in my past life.

Ryan had been clinging to me like glue these past two days, trying to tirelessly convince me to get back with Chloe.

His words constantly hinted at how much pain Chloe was in, how she was drowning in tears.

"Alex, Chloe hasn't eaten or drunk anything in two days. She's completely wasted away. Can you really be so heartless?"

He hooked his arm over my shoulder, saying with feigned sincerity, "You two were everyone's favorite couple, the benchmark for love. Don't give up because of a misunderstanding."

I brushed his arm off, looking at his shifty eyes, finding him utterly ridiculous.

"If you're so concerned about her, why don't you go comfort her yourself?" I said flatly.

Ryan's face stiffened for a second, then he forced a smile again.

"I'm doing this for your own good! You're my best friend, I can't just stand by and watch you make a mistake!"

"Really?"

I laughed. "Well, I guess I should really thank you for your friendship, then."

I ignored him, walking directly toward the school garden.

Under the arbor, a figure stood out.

Her skin was a morbid, almost translucent white, her eyes as black as ink. A tear-drop mole beneath her eye gave her an unnerving charm.

She wasn't admiring the flowers; she was just lazily leaning on a swing, the silence around her broken only by the wind.

This was Serena, from a powerful family, but with a volatile, unpredictable personality---a true control freak.

In my past life, I'd heard stories about her: a guy she dated for a short time eventually had a mental breakdown and dropped out of school.

I took a deep breath, walked down the winding path, and stopped in front of Serena.

She seemed to sense someone approaching, and lazily lifted her eyelids, her inky black eyes landing on me with an appraising gaze, laced with a flicker of dangerous curiosity.

"Something wrong?"

I met her eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Chloe and I broke up. Now, I accept your offer to be your boyfriend."

Her words hung in the air. Serena froze.

She slowly rose from the swing, a playful, almost childlike smile curving her lips.

"When I pursued you before, didn't you say Chloe was the only one in your heart?"

"What, now you're finally willing to break up?"

Serena's words made me briefly remember the warm times I'd spent with Chloe in my past life.

Back then, we were deeply in love, but that was before Ryan stole her affection.

I forced my voice to remain steady. "Not interested? Fine, then."

I started to turn away, but she suddenly chuckled softly.

"Oh, I'm interested."

With that, a kiss landed on my lips.