Chapter1

My next-door childhood sweetheart, Lachlan, was a hockey prodigy.

In our past life, he planned to forfeit his crucial scout game just to take his girlfriend, Tamsin, on a weekend getaway.

Terrified he would ruin his future, I tipped off his parents.

Forced to play, Lachlan secured his spot at Harvard and eventually founded his own sports agency.

I joined his company and stayed by his side through everything.

But two years later, when Tamsin died, Lachlan blamed me for tearing them apart. He cornered me in his private gym, completely crushing my fingers.

"Vesper, you vicious woman. This is your retribution."

To silence me, he drowned me in a frozen lake.

Opening my eyes, I realized I was back in high school, right before everything happened.

"Look at Lachlan! He is absolutely gorgeous on the ice!"

"His lips are so thin. Kissing him must be insane."

Tamsin, the school beauty, fixed her gaze on Lachlan through the glass of the ice rink.

She had intentionally worn an ultra-short skirt, just to catch his eye.

"Don't back down, Tamsin! Use your charm and lock him down!" the girls around her egged on.

"Oh, I will," Tamsin said, smiling confidently. "I’ll make him date me and give up everything for me."

Tamsin suddenly leaned close to me and asked, "Vesper, you’re his next-door neighbor. Do you think he'll date me?"

At her words, my mind violently snapped back to reality.

The suffocating phantom sensation of drowning finally faded away.

I was really back.

Just yesterday, as my deskmate, Tamsin had snooped through my notebook, discovering my secret feelings for Lachlan.

Then, she read its contents out loud in front of the whole class. Now, everyone knew I loved him.

In my past life, my face had burned bright red, and I was so deeply embarrassed I couldn't speak a single word.

Because of this, when I later tried to stop Lachlan from ruining his life for her, everyone just assumed I was a jealous loser.

This time, I merely stared at her calmly. "Honestly, you two look great together."

She kept staring at me—clearly, this wasn’t the reaction she wanted.

Lachlan and I grew up next door to each other.

My parents were hardly ever home, so we spent all our time together, and I gradually fell in love with him.

He had competed in elite ice hockey tournaments since childhood and won countless awards, hailed by everyone as an untouchable sports prodigy.

I studied relentlessly just to keep up with him.

But underneath that perfect aura, he was reckless and undisciplined. Yet, I had willingly managed his chaotic schedule.

I was the one who stayed up until three in the morning, quizzing him for his exams so he wouldn't fail.

When he dislocated his shoulder during a brutal semifinal game, I skipped my own midterms to feed him soup and help with his physical therapy.

Once, under the fluorescent lights of the rink, he looked me in the eyes and promised, "We’re going to the Ivy Leagues together, Vesper. Just you and me."

But when Tamsin appeared, he threw it all away.

She had a smoking-hot figure, a fiery temperament, and marched to the beat of her own drum.

So, the first time he laid eyes on her at a school mixer, he fell head over heels.

Years of monotonous, grueling training made him desperate to step into her world and experience a completely different kind of life.

Growing up with him, I noticed the change in him right away.

At first, he only showed up late or skipped a few practices.

But I never imagined he’d skip the massive Ivy League showcase, set to take place in two months, just to take Tamsin on a weekend getaway.

Terrified his future would be ruined, I pleaded with him, but it was useless.

In the end, I tipped off his parents. They intervened ruthlessly.

Tamsin was forced to transfer schools. From then on, she completely disappeared from our lives.

Lachlan was forced to play. He went on to a top Ivy League school and signed a massive pro contract.

He became rich beyond belief and eventually founded his own sports agency.

I went to work at his company after graduation.

For three years, I stayed by his side, quietly managing his career and cleaning up his messes behind the scenes.

When he got drunk and smashed a reporter's camera at a club, I stayed awake for forty-eight hours to negotiate the payouts and suppress the PR scandal.

I foolishly thought my unwavering devotion would make him accept me one day.

But two years later, we heard the news: Tamsin had been beaten to death by her violent husband.

Lachlan blamed me entirely for her death. He insisted that my jealousy was what had practically killed her.

He cornered me in his dimly lit private gym.

Wearing his heavy ice skates, he brutally crushed my finger bones, then blacklisted me across the entire industry.

I sued him, but his family's money bought off the medical examiner, who ruled it a "minor injury." He hired the best lawyers and walked completely free.

When I threatened to go to the press and expose his true colors, he silenced me forever.

He dragged me to the frozen lake and shoved me into the freezing water.

Looking down at me, he sneered, "Vesper, you vicious woman. Go to hell and keep my Tamsin company."

I drowned in the agonizing dark.