"I think Queenie has a thing for you, Timothy. Are you already dating her?" one of Timothy's friends asked.

Timothy sneered, his voice dripping with contempt as he replied, "How could I possibly be interested in Queenie, especially with her scrappy, dirt-poor appearance? I'm only using her to get through my schoolwork."

"You're something else, Timothy! Zachary actually has to pay for Queenie to tutor him!"

"Zachary's not going anywhere in life anyway, especially with that brain of his. You guys should just wait and see. I'll have Queenie all to myself sooner or later."

I felt a chill run down my spine as I sat in one of the cubicles in the restroom. His remarks stood in stark contrast to the character he portrayed to our classmates.

I chose not to tell Queenie the truth to protect her emotional state, fearing it would ruin her focus during such a crucial final year of high school.

I tried to warn her indirectly to keep away from him, and when she finally asked if Timothy could join us for the tutoring session, I gave her a firm refusal.

Timothy walked away disappointed, only to be struck by a car. That moment marked the beginning of his life falling apart.

In the end, Queenie cried and blamed me.

In my previous life, I didn't realize she was guilt-tripping me, which led me to become entirely submissive to her. I eventually realized my sacrifices were futile, as she didn't want my devotion but rather my demise.

In this life, I finally learned my lesson. I figured I would just let the two of them have each other and be done with it. I saw no point in saying anything else to them.

Queenie grew unusually agitated when I refused her suggestion. She glared at me and started guilt-tripping me just like she used to.

"Why can't you let Timothy join in on the tutoring session? You shouldn't behave so selfishly during this crucial time for our studies, Zachary."

Queenie's grades were excellent in high school, but she was also quite haughty. She was also so broke that she frequently couldn't even afford three meals a day.

I wasn't particularly interested in studying, but I still paid for her tutoring and had her tutor me, doing it merely to protect her pride.

I even arranged for her to intern at Dad's company after she graduated and secretly helped her secure the role of project manager. I then handed over full control of the company's operations to her once we were married.

I had done so much for her, yet Queenie still bore resentment toward me over Timothy. I had been granted a second chance in life now, so I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

Timothy joined in at that moment, his indifferent eyes turning bloodshot as he gently tugged at Queenie's sleeve. He looked quite miserable, with tears brimming in his eyes but never quite dropping.

I secretly marveled at his performance, finding it hard to believe that a guy could pull off that kind of "innocent act" so effectively.

Timothy suddenly said, "I'll end up working in a factory if I don't make it into college, so please just think of it as saving my life. I swear I'll do everything I can to pay you back for your favor later, Zachary."

Queenie roared, "Do you really have to push Timothy into a corner before you're satisfied, Zachary?"

I picked up a tissue from the coffee table and handed it to Timothy, who was on the verge of tears. "You can't be serious, Timothy. I wouldn't dream of taking responsibility for something as important as your future."

I immediately took out my phone and transferred 150 dollars to Queenie right then and there, all while finding it quite ironic how she was still pinned at the top of my messaging app. I felt utterly disgusted by it.

"I've sent you the tutoring fees for this month, Queenie, so you don't have to come here anymore. You should just focus on helping Timothy from now on. I won't interfere with any of it from today onward."

I noticed that a hint of delight flickered across Timothy's face as he looked at Queenie expectantly. She didn't react to him in the slightest, simply staring at me with a furrowed brow.

Queenie fixed her gaze on me in disbelief. "What do you mean by that? Does this mean you're actually firing me, Zachary?"

I repeated myself just to make sure Queenie understood the situation. "You don't have to come over to my place to tutor me anymore. You should help Timothy instead. Otherwise, his future will be ruined if he doesn't make it into college, Queenie."

"I've been tutoring you for two years already, so aren't you afraid that stopping so suddenly will affect your chances of getting into college?" Queenie asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"You don't need to worry about that, so please see yourselves out," I said as I politely held the door open for the pair.

In my previous life, Queenie tutored me right up until the exams, but my grades barely improved. I ended up going abroad to study anyway, yet I was still held responsible for Timothy's tragic circumstances.

I couldn't help but realize what an absolute fool I was in my past life.

Queenie's hands trembled, her knuckles paling from clenching them too hard. She then said through gritted teeth, "You'd better not regret this, Zachary!"

With that, she left with Timothy.

She made a point of studying with Timothy more openly from then on. Their discussions were loud enough that my earplugs couldn't keep the sound out.

I also made a study plan and decided to begin reviewing from the fundamentals.

Timothy looked very upset about the effort I was putting into my studies. He came up to me with a textbook that contained Queenie's recent annotations and said derisively, "You're actually taking your studies seriously now, Zachary.

"Do you even understand what you're studying by doing it on your own, though? You see, I have Queenie's notes here if you need any help."

He slightly shook the notebook in his hand, a sneer tugging at the corner of his lips. "How forgetful of me. Queenie isn't tutoring you anymore, so I guess I can't share these valuable notes with you."

He spoke sharply, making sure the surrounding classmates could hear him. Queenie, who usually kept herself out of such matters, even looked toward us.

Resting my chin with my hand, I retorted, "You should first worry about your own appalling physics marks instead of being so concerned about someone else's education. I mean, don't you feel ashamed of that single-digit score of yours?"

Timothy turned red with rage, but he had no comeback for what I said.

Queenie suddenly knocked on my desk and asked, "Can we step outside to talk, Zachary?"