Rewind, I'm No Longer Your Experiment

When Mike bit the dust, he left his entire fortune to his damn soulmate. That's how I discovered he had an eighteen-year-old kid. And me? I wound up with cancer because he'd been using me as his personal lab rat, testing his experimental drugs on me for eighteen years. Too broke for treatment, I ended up dying alone in the gutter.

Then I blinked—and just like that, I was back. Back to the moment he first agreed to marry me. His cold voice crackled through the phone.

"Look, Stacy, I already told my parents I'd marry you. The wedding's in three days. Happy now?"

The memories of cancer-riddled agony, dying face-down on the pavement—they hit me like a freight train. I choked out, "Forget it, Mike. Don't marry me. Let's just call off the engagement."

A beat of silence, then a dry laugh. "Seriously, Stacy? Playing hard to get is getting old. Everyone knows your life's ambition was to marry me."

"I mean it this time—" I started, but he cut me off, irritation sharp in his tone.

"Yeah, whatever. Just sell your parents' old house already and wire me the cash. I need to fund this new drug I'm developing."

I opened my mouth to reply, but the line was already dead.

Eighteen years of heartache crashed over me all at once. I clutched my chest, struggling to breathe.

I used to think Mike and I were the real deal. Turns out, he was only in it for my family's money—cash he could funnel into his twisted experiments.

Mike thought I was holding the money over his head to force a wedding ring on my finger. So even in death, he didn't leave me a single cent.

But if I got a second shot at life? Hell no, I wasn't making the same mistake twice.

I drove straight to the Harrisons' and told his parents I wanted to break off the engagement.

His mom, who practically raised me, looked heartbroken. "Stacy, did that knucklehead Mike do something? I'll straighten him out for you."

I shook my head. "Mike's got someone else in his heart. I'm not marrying him just to throw my life away. You can give him the news as a surprise."

Seeing I wasn't bluffing, she didn't push it. She took my hand, her voice soft. "Then you'll always be like a daughter to me. Stay with us—I'll take care of you."

"No, it's okay. I've got my own plans."

Right after, I applied to join my professor's drug research institute. With the memories from my past life and some financial backing, I was damn sure I could outshine Mike.

After saying my goodbyes, just as I was heading out, my phone buzzed. A text from Mike:

Lakeside Grill, booth 303.

That was our usual group hangout.

Scrolling through our old messages, it was always me sending paragraphs while he'd reply with one-word answers if I was lucky.

Knowing I was about to walk away from this life for good, I didn't refuse. Figured I'd say my farewells to my so-called "friends."