Rebirth: Defeating My Betrayal Best Friend

My best friend, Rosie Lloyd, was a marriage counselor. She cheated on her husband and begged me to cover for her.

She kept swearing it was just a drunken mistake, and now, unable to handle the guilt, she was threatening suicide. Feeling sorry for her, I agreed to explain things to her husband, Carlos Carlson.

But the very next moment, she flipped the script and accused me of drugging her.

Carlos believed her without question. He even showed up at my door with a posse, ready to make me pay.

He barked, "You're nothing but a backstabbing witch. I'm going to make sure everyone knows who you really are."

I tried to explain that Rosie had asked me to help her, but she was quick to deny everything.

She said, "Ella, I trusted you like a sister. And now you're trying to destroy me? You're slandering me.

"If I did anything like you're claiming, just show me some proof, and I swear I'll end my life to make it right."

Of course, there was no proof. And Carlos got angrier. Even my boyfriend called me disgusting.

In the middle of all this chaos, I got shoved off the balcony. And when they found my body, they said I'd killed myself out of guilt for all the wrong I'd done.

Then I was reborn on the day Rosie first came to me for help.

She grabbed my hand and pleaded, "Ella, you have to save me, please."

...

"Ella, I just went to the bar because I was feeling down, and I had too much to drink. When I woke up, I was lying next to a guy," Rosie sobbed, sitting on my couch.

She looked devastated.

She continued, "I didn't come home all night, and Carlos' been calling me nonstop, asking where I was. My life is over.

"What should I do? My parents will kill me if they find out. I can't live with this shame. Maybe, I should just jump off a bridge. That would solve everything, right?"

In my last life, those words had sent me into a panic. I'd begged her not to do anything reckless, terrified she might harm herself.

But now, I knew better. I took a deep breath, processing the fact that I'd been reborn.

As I sat there, silent, Rosie put on her best show, crying even harder.

She said, "Ella, do you think I deserve to die? Is that why you're so quiet? I must be a horrible person, right?

"You were always the kindest person in our class, always willing to help anyone. That's why I came to you. I didn't know who else to turn to."

Then she glanced at the balcony.

She continued, "You live on the 20th floor, right? If I jumped from here, that would be the end, wouldn't it?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I casually checked my phone, making sure of the date.

Then, gently but firmly, I pried her hand off mine.

She stared at me in shock. I turned to look out the window.

I said, "If you jumped from here, your bones would shatter the moment you hit the ground.

"Your body would spread out like a sack of meat.

"Your face and your features would be mashed together with your organs.

"But if you weren't lucky, you might hit a tree branch or power line on the way down. You'd get to feel what real pain is."

I turned back to look at her.

Rosie was dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open.

It took her a moment to find her voice.

She asked, "Ella, what are you saying? That's creepy."

I smiled coldly.

"Creepy?" I thought back to how happy she'd been when she saw my dead body in my last life.