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Chapter 13
Chapter 13
That evening, Theo walked Riley back to her dormitory.
“Be careful on your way in. Check yourself for any injuries, and if anything still hurts tomorrow, I can take you to the doctor,” he said, remembering how she’d kept mentioning her legs hurting, suspecting she might have knocked them during the fall.
“Okay, I will. You should get going now. Bye!” Riley smiled and waved goodbye to him. But when she turned and saw Nathaniel, her face immediately fell.
She coldly walked past him toward the dorm entrance, but he grabbed her arm.
He accidentally caught her where she’d been hurt during the fight.
Unable to hold back, Riley cried out in pain: “Ow! Be gentle!”
Hearing her voice, Theo immediately ran back. Seeing Nathaniel holding onto Riley, he stepped between them with a grim expression, positioning himself protectively in front of her.
When Nathaniel tried to step forward, Theo slightly raised his arm to block him and said in a stern voice: “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you see the huge bruise on her arm?”
Nathaniel was about to argue back when Riley interrupted: “It’s okay, Theo. You can go now. I need to talk to him.”
Only then did Theo nod, making sure she was alright before saying, “Alright, I’m leaving. Call me anytime if you need anything.”
He left only after Riley agreed.
Nathaniel waited until Theo was out of sight before asking, “Who was that?”
Riley gave him a sidelong glance, her voice dripping with sarcasm: “The person who just saved me from your precious
Victoria. Didn’t you see?”
Nathaniel was stung by her words and immediately backed down.
After a moment of silence, with Riley not speaking–she had nothing to say to him–Nathaniel finally said, “I’m sorry, Riley. It’s all my fault…”
Riley raised her hand to stop him. “No, what happened today wasn’t your fault. It was Victoria’s problem.”
As Nathaniel was about to speak, Riley changed course: “But your mistake is that you knew Victoria’s personality, yet you repeatedly rejected her while still giving her hope, which made her blame everything on me…”
“No, Riley, I didn’t…”
“Don’t say you didn’t. You did.” Riley gave a cold laugh. Living this life for a second time had given her clarity about many things.
Every time Nathaniel rejected Victoria, he would say things like, “I only love Riley,” or “You can’t compare to Riley.”
12:46
I Died, He Cried, Now We’re Stuck in This Toxic Rebirth Loop
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Chapter 13
That’s why Victoria hated her with such madness. That’s why Victoria believed that without Riley, Nathaniel would be hers.
But love isn’t about comparison.
You can say “I don’t love you,” but you shouldn’t say, “I love Riley more than I love you.”
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