The Man Who Burned Me Alive in My Past Life Was Also Reborn Novel by Fitzgerald Mitchell

Dinner was over by 6 pm, and I immediately grabbed my phone to watch the live stream on TikTok.

It was on this very day, in my past life, that Lily had joined a live stream with a relationship advice influencer, pouring her heart out about her issues with her boyfriend. I had chimed in with some comments, which led her to suspect I was having an affair with her boyfriend. I tried to explain, but she wouldn’t listen. Instead, she went straight to John to confront him.

Because I had felt bad for Lily, I had given John a few hard times in the past. To get back at me, he lied and told Lily that and said I was trying to seduce him.

Lily, blinded by her love for John, couldn’t bring herself to blame him, so she directed all her anger at me. Two days later, while I was sleeping, she took a knife and murdered me in cold blood.

This time, I wasn’t there, so I was curious to see how things would unfold.

The live stream had already started. Since it was a call-in, the viewers could only hear Lily’s voice, not see her face. She spoke nervously, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I graduated with a bachelor’s degree,” she began, “and after that, I started working at my boyfriend’s pet store, cleaning up cat poop, dog poop, and stuff like that.”

The male influencer in the video asked nonchalantly, “How much does he pay you a month?”

I scoffed inwardly. She’s lucky he doesn’t make her pay him!

As if on cue, Lily mumbled, “I don’t get paid.” Her voice was so low it was clear she felt ashamed.

The influencer, who had been leaning back in his chair, suddenly sat up straight, his eyes glued to the screen. “You work for free? Just for food?”

His face was a mixture of shock and disbelief. It was obvious he hadn’t encountered such a naive person in a long time.

“Well, for food… I guess I still need to ask my boyfriend for money,” Lily stammered, her voice trailing off.

I glanced at Lily’s profile picture. It was a kitten. Cute and cuddly, but cross it, and it’ll show its claws. I had to admit, the picture was a fitting representation of Lily’s personality.

She seemed docile and harmless on the surface, but when pushed, she could be ruthless.

Thinking about this, a cold sweat broke out on my forehead. I wiped the sweat off with the back of my hand and continued staring at the video.

“Then what’s the point of even being there?” the influencer asked, his face etched, with confusion.

“Well… well… well, I’m dating my boyfriend. And he’s really good to me. He just ordered me a pizza earlier, a $20 pizza! And he also bought me a coffee, which was really good.”

The comment section exploded with people calling her out for being impressed.

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“What did your boyfriend eat?” the influencer asked, a knowing look on his face, digging deeper bily was silent for a few seconds before whispering, “He went out for steak with his friends.”

It was clear that John was out having a good time without her, while she slaved

away at his store for free. He had bought her a pizza to appease her, and she still thought he was treating her well.

The influencer let out a dry laugh, probably encountering such a pure example of a love-struck fool for the first time. He muttered sarcastically, “Right, okay.”

“So, what else?” he prompted, encouraging her to continue.

“I want to get a job, but my boyfriend won’t let me.”

She sounded like a victim, but I knew the truth was that she enjoyed being controlled.

It was the same in my past life. She would complain to me about not getting paid at the pet store, but then she’d brag, “My boyfriend bought me flowers today! He spent $9.99! He said he doesn’t want me to work because it’s too hard, and he loves me so much!”

Back then, I thought she was delusional. Her boyfriend didn’t care about her working hard; he just didn’t want to lose his free labor. He manipulated her, and she fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

I had tried countless times to talk some sense into her, telling her to wake up and see that he was no good.

But she wouldn’t listen.

Now, reborn into this life, I finally understood. Deep down, Lily knew that her situation was messed up, but she didn’t want to admit it.

She saw the truth, but she refused to wake up.

As the saying goes, you can’t wake someone who is pretending to be asleep. This -time, I chose to let go of my savior complex and respect her choices, no matter how self-destructive they seemed.

“Is he your dad or something? Why are you being so good to him?” the influencer’s voice suddenly rose, as if trying to shake her awake.

“No,” she whispered.

“If he tells you not to go, you don’t go? Don’t you have legs? Is he keeping you on a leash like a pet, tied up outside the store?”

Yes! Tell her! I cheered silently.

The influencer’s words might have been harsh, but he was right. Nobody was forcing her to stay; she simply didn’t want to leave.

“I think I might be a little boy-crazy,” Lily mumbled.

I had to stifle a laugh. A little? you’re the definition of boy-crazy.

The influencer chuckled, probably thinking the same thing.

He rested his chin on his hand and asked, “What is it about your boyfriend that’s so attractive to you?”

The implication was clear: what did this guy have that could make Lily so obsessed with him?

The influencer was laughing, but I couldn’t find the humor in the situation.

In my past life, I had been there when he asked that question.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Lily had frozen, so I had answered for her,

“Because he’s handsome, has a great body, and has a six-pack,” I had said.

In reality, John wasn’t handsome at all. He was 5’6″, chubby, and short. Maybe love really was blind. The “handsome” and “great body” part was what Lily had told me. As for the six-pack, I had made that up.

But Lily had latched onto that joke. She had turned to me with suspicion in her eyes. “How do you know he has a six-pack?”

I had been genuinely confused. Does he actually have one?

Seeing my hesitation, she had pressed further. “Tell me, how do you know? Did you sleep with him?”

At that moment, Lily must have felt like Sherlock Holmes, her eyes burning with accusation.

I hadn’t taken it seriously. I had laughed it off, saying, “I was just kidding. I don’t know if he actually has abs.”

Lily had ended the live stream, declaring that she didn’t believe me. She had stormed out of the room to confront John.

I had naively thought that because we were such good friends, everything would be fine once she calmed down. I never imagined that when she returned two days later, it would be to end my life.

Now, reborn and watching the screen intently, I wanted to see what Lily would say without my intervention.

She thought for a few seconds and then said with a smile, “He’s handsome, has a great body, and has a six-pack.”

My heart skipped a beat. Her answer was identical to mine from my past life. There was no way it was a coincidence.

Then I remembered the glimpse I had caught of Lily standing by the window as I left the apartment. Suddenly, it all clicked.

Could Lily have been reborn too?