May You Be Safe... And Out of My Life

However, it was impossible for me to make it far with a very drunk Thomas lagging behind me. We were caught and apprehended immediately by the gang of men.

I picked up a brick from the ground and tried to hit them, but they punched me first in the face and pushed me to the ground.

Meanwhile, Thomas seemed to have finally woken up from his drunken stupor. He shook and shivered in fright and quickly fled.

I was held down on the ground, their knees digging painfully into my back. I could also feel sharp glass shards stabbing into my back, and it hurt so much that I could only grit my teeth in agony.

"I've really called the police on you! They'll be here in a few minutes! You can still run if you leave now!"

However, that only earned me two more slaps to my face. I was so dizzy from their hits that my ears began to ring. I heard them calling me a meddling nuisance, and they even threatened to teach me a good lesson.

Then, I heard the wailing of the police siren in the distance.

"Damn it!"

The men cursed aloud and quickly dispersed.

I lay on the cold, hard ground, gasping loudly as I tried to catch my breath.

At least, this was a good thing to have happened. Nothing terrible had happened to Thomas. I probably wouldn't end up being hated and accused of being his murderer anymore.

I had only just managed to stand up when someone suddenly shoved me hard against the wall. My back hit the brick wall, and the glass shards dug deeper into my skin, hurting me so much that my vision went black.

"Marcus Shaffer! I've already agreed to marry you! Why must you still do this to yourself and even drag Thomas into the mud this time too?"

Carol was holding a shivering Thomas in her arms, and she glared daggers at me with her icy, cold glare.

I was shocked. I didn't understand what she meant. "What did you just say?"

"That's enough!" she screamed at me. "Are your self-harming acts not good enough for yourself now? How dare you hire gangsters to beat you up and even drag Thomas into this mess?

"That's it. I'm never going to believe a single word you say anymore!"

Thomas' eyes were reddened as he wept. "Carol, I'm scared… Those people were so frightening… I really don't know where Marc found them to give me such a scare like that…"

Carol's voice softened immediately. She turned to him and began comforting him in her arms. "Don't be afraid. I'll send you to the hospital now."

I finally understood everything that was going on.

Thomas had pinned all the blame on me, and Carol believed every word he said.

She helped Thomas into a cab and left without ever sparing me another glance.

I laughed bitterly. My back was practically cut open, and I was losing blood fast. I didn't have the strength to explain myself. I didn't even have the strength to ask for help anymore.

Just before I closed my eyes, I thought I caught sight of a few passers-by looking at me in shock.

When I opened my eyes again, I realized that I was now lying in a hospital bed.

A police officer entered my ward, introduced himself as Officer Joe Carrington, and handed me an investigation report.

"Luckily, you made the police report in time, Mr. Shaffer. According to the information we have on hand, these men are all part of a syndicate that primarily preys on young men and women at bars, abducts them, and then forces them into filming lewd videos for blackmail."

Joe paused for a bit. "If it weren't for you, your brother would probably have been the next victim."

I nodded silently.

I knew about all this beforehand. This was the exact way Thomas' life was ruined in my past life.

Back then, Thomas had been humiliated by nearly all of them. The men had then taken photos of his nude, ruined self and posted them on the internet.

The night before Carol and I got married, Thomas had thrown himself off a 21-storey building to his death.

He left behind an incriminating letter written in red ink. I could still remember every word.

"It was all Marcus' fault! If he hadn't stolen my spot from me, I would never have gone to the bar that night! I would never have ended up like this! Marcus had everything; he even had Carol, but he still vowed to steal everything from me!

"I hate him! He was the one who killed me!"

This letter was the very reason Carol also hated me with all of her heart for the next ten years.

Even Mom and Dad stopped answering my calls.

But this time, everything was going to change.

She had protected me from a truck accident in my past life.

This time, I protected the person she loved the most from disaster.

We didn't owe anyone any favors anymore.

I fell into a deep sleep right after that. Yet, when I opened my eyes again, I saw Carol sitting next to my bed, looking rather awkward, with a deep frown on her face.