My boyfriend, Ian Whitman, failed his entrance examination while I was admitted to Stewart University.

He began to take control of me. "If I hadn't silently sacrificed for her, could she have done so well in her exams?"

Due to Ian's words, I was used by him for a long time. He gained fame and fortune with my works, and I became a free tool for him.

As my mother, Patricia Morgan, became seriously ill, I couldn't even afford to give her ten thousand dollars.

Ian, on the other hand, kicked me out of the house. "You have no value to me anymore, but you still want me to pay for your mother's treatment? Get out!"

I scraped together enough money through various online loans to buy Patricia's grave and headstone.

I returned to Ian's house after giving the last bouquet of flowers at Patricia's grave for the rest of my life.

Ian slept soundly after drinking some mulled wine.

The table was covered with wine bottles and lunch boxes, and the trash was filled with contraceptives that Ian had used up.

I felt extremely disgusted.

I spilled fuel all over the house, took a sleeping pill, threw out the lighter, and closed my eyes as I lay still on the sofa.

The smell of charring filled my nostrils, the smoke was mixed with waves of heat.

Perhaps my life had ended when I became entangled with Ian at the age of seventeen.

When I opened my eyes again, Ian, who was seventeen, was standing in front of me.

"Ellie, I love you, so let's go on a date!"

Ian was holding the flowers in both hands with a look of expectation in his eyes.

I hesitated for a short while and made the same choice as I had in my previous life. "Okay!"

My entanglement with Ian in my previous life began when I agreed to his date.

Ian took care of me in every way possible.

He would bring me lunch in the morning and give me milk between classes.

Ian would carry me to the infirmary when my stomach hurt so severely from menstruation that I couldn't stand up.

I gradually fell into such tenderness at the age of seventeen which I didn't have to give much.

Later, Ian failed his examination, but he told everyone that he was doing too much for me. "It's enough that she did well in the exam. I never asked for anything in return, even though I gave a lot in silence."

The surrounding people nodded in agreement. "Ellie, Ian gave up his future for you. You can't break up with him!"

Ian took the moral high ground, so I didn't dare to argue with him, much less go against his wishes.

As I graduated from college and wanted to go abroad for postgraduate study, Ian told everyone how he had supported me meticulously for my four years of college, and I had abandoned him for a better life.

I had to cancel my graduate school application.

I decided to stay and work at Barnett for better prospects.

Ian moved in with me overnight, saying that he wanted to take better care of me because I worked so hard.

It wasn't until Ian stole my works to publish under his own name that I couldn't help but have the most fierce argument with him ever.

Ian printed leaflets and sent them to my company.

"The bitch ruined my future, cheated me out of my money, and abandoned me!"

This matter caused a lot of uproar.

My colleagues looked at me in a different way, and our client was hesitant. The company didn't fire me but took away all my projects and gradually marginalized me.

Ian took me out of Barnett, submitted my resume for me and found me my next job.

I just felt like I had a new beginning, and I was so grateful to Ian for rescuing me from the mire.

However, I forgot that he was the one who pushed me into the abyss.

"Ellie, your colleagues at work believe everything they say and aren't sincere to you at all. You shouldn't argue with me anymore, and I'll take care of you."

Ian was so good at giving me benefits after he hurt me. I was driven to a nervous breakdown and forced to forgive him over and over again.

He took my works away and became a popular painter. He got millions of followers on the internet and received all kinds of advertising endorsements.

Under Ian's prolonged mind control, I had already regarded him as the only person I could rely on.

Ian took care of me meticulously, ordered takeout for me, and asked me to sit in front of the computer and draw until I ran out of every pencil.

He spent his days out socializing, attending brand events, negotiating partnerships, dressing to the nines.

On the contrary, I sat in the house and looked unkempt, which I had lost most of my hair over an idea.

I drew multiple advertising drawings as requested by Ian. I thought we were working together as business partners and the perfect couple.

When I watched the live streaming of the brand owner, Ian was introducing the product while flirting with the female host.

I deleted all the original scripts like crazy.

However, he slapped me in the face. "It's normal for a man to play with women outside. Ellie, you're no longer young."

I stood across from Ian, who was well-dressed, like a beggar.

Patricia called me. "Ellie, come back to see me. I don't have days to live."

She had colon cancer, and it was already in the late stage when she was diagnosed.

I checked all the money in my phone, but I couldn't scrape up ten thousand dollars, and I realized that all the money was in Ian's hands.

I begged him to lend me half a million dollars so I could draw him lots of scripts and get him more advertising endorsements.

Instead, he kicked me out of the house with my suitcase. "Ellie, I've made a name for myself, and I don't need you anymore, but you still want me to pay for your mother's treatment? Get out!"

If I were going to live again, how could I let him go so easily?

"Ellie, I brought you lunch!"

Ian took out the ham sandwich he bought downstairs from his pocket and held it in front of me like a gift.

Students coming and going in the hallway gave me envious looks.

In fact, I hated ham sandwiches the most.

However, in my previous life, I couldn't refuse Ian's kindness in public, so I just forced myself to eat it.

Now I realized it was Ian's test. How could he not know that I hate eating ham?

Ian was just trying to force me to relax my bottom line on him step by step in this way.

Maybe I could try to turn the tables and mentally control him.

No matter what I did, it couldn't end any worse than it did in my previous life.

I pretended to be surprised as I took it and took a big bite. Then, I vomited up all the sandwich without warning.

"Ugh... Why ham sandwich again?"

Saying that, I took another big bite, chewed it up, and spit it out on the floor.

"I love anything you give me, and I will eat it all!"

I pretended to enjoy the sandwich he gave me, and when I finished speaking, I was trying to put it in my mouth again.

Ian looked embarrassed and slapped the sandwich out of my hand.

I hurriedly walked over to pick it up, pretending to be aggrieved, and said, "What are you doing? You gave this to me."

Ian tightened his fist and unclenched it, adjusting his expression. "I'm sorry I didn't realize you hated ham. what do you want to eat? I'll bring it to you tomorrow."

"I'd like a beef burger from the restaurant in the north of the city. Is that okay?"

Ian's home was in the south of the city, so if he went north in the morning to get me a beef burger, he would have to get up very early.

With what I knew about Ian, he wouldn't miss a chance to control me.

"Okay. Ellie, as long as you like it, I can get up at five to go buy it for you."

"Oh, sorry!" I pretended to have just remembered and hastily apologized, "I forgot you live in the south. Isn't that too far away? Forget it, I'm not eating it."

I thought, "I want to have it, and I want to take a big bite of it! Just let Ian's control over me be stronger."

Sure enough, Ian brought me a beef burger in his lunch box the next day with dark circles under his eyes.

I broke the beef burger in half and handed it to him, pretending to be sorry for him. "Ian, you've done so much for me, so why don't you have some?"

The smell of the beef patty filled my nostrils, and it was a delicacy for those who love it.

But for those who didn't like it, it was no less than placing a bedbug in front of them that emitted a foul odor at any time.

With so many students staring at Ian, he couldn't refuse, so he just put it in his mouth and finished it in one big gulp.

Then, Ian pretended to cough and covered his mouth tightly, afraid that he would throw up on the spot.

I was so overjoyed when I won my first battle.

I thought, "Ellie suffered from nausea every morning when she ate the ham sandwich from Ian at her age of seventeen. She thought he specially bought it for her, so she was so moved that she burst into tears.

In this life, I was going to help the seventeen-year-old girl avenge the grievances she had suffered one by one."

"Ellie, let's go on a date Saturday." Ian came close to me without expectation.

To be honest, when I was seventeen, Ian looked extremely attractive.

However, as I was reborn, I had to tighten my arms to keep from punching him in the face.

We parted on bad terms on every date.

Ian didn't allow me to eat anything I loved for the sake of being nice to me.

"Ellie, you will get a stomachache if you eat too much ice cream, so you should drink warm drinks.

"Ellie, you seem to have gained weight. Eat less junk food because it's unhealthy."

As long as I argued loudly with Ian, he would blame me in public, even more so when there were classmates present.

"You're too emotional, but that's okay, I'll tolerate you. Who else could stand you?"

Ian was a gentle boyfriend to everyone, and I looked like an unreasonable and crazy bitch.

I thought, "Ellie couldn't see through Ian's tender trap at seventeen and fell into deep self-doubt after every date.

She would reflect on her own emotional problems. She desperately tried to lose weight despite her health conditions and took her living expenses to buy expensive skincare products."

I recalled the past days and had a plan in mind.

I pretended to look at Ian innocently and answered gently, "Okay."

I thought, "You should also taste the feeling of being mind-controlled."

On Saturday, Ian took me by taxi to an upscale restaurant.

Ian looked formal and decent in his casual suit, but I was just wearing a floral printed shirt and distressed jeans with board shoes.

I looked out of place in the restaurant just standing in the doorway.

Ian purposely didn't tell me where we were eating.

In my previous life, I stood in the doorway with an inferiority complex. When I was timidly brought in by Ian, I didn't even dare to raise my head.

I didn't know how to order the food or how to taste it, so I had to be passive like a puppet and accept many foods that Ian ordered that I didn't even like.

After that, I grew more and more anxious that I didn't deserve Ian.

Sure enough, Ian glanced at me from head to toe and frowned, "Ellie, can you take our date seriously?"

Instead of lowering my head like Ian wished, I glared right back. "What's wrong? Do I have to dress up when I come to eat at a place like this?"

Not waiting for his reaction, I went straight inside.

It was just a restaurant that cost two hundred dollars per person, which was only upscale for those seventeen-year-old students.

I teased, "You have average results at school, but you're good at pretending to be classy."

Ian was caught off guard.

He used to enjoy watching me be embarrassed and overwhelmed in order to feel a great sense of superiority.

As I proficiently ordered a steak, he said, "Ellie, you should order the vegetable salad, and it'll help you lose weight. Look at your thick legs."

I pressed my lips with a complicated expression and thought, "If you don't have enough money with you, you shouldn't buy me dinner. You don't have to make excuses for yourself." Then, I said, "I'll pay for this meal myself."

Ian stood up suddenly. "I didn't mean that!"

I sighed helplessly as I shook my head. "Look at you. You're thinking too much again. As a man, you can't be so cranky."

Ian blushed and stammered, "I... I..."

"I come to this place a lot, and it's not that strict about what we dress like, so you'll know it when you come here more often later."

I complained about Ian as I cut my steak, "Also, you're too skinny. It doesn't suit you in this outfit because you're not strong enough. How about working out when you're available?"

Our date still ended badly, but it was Ian who was lying in bed tossing and turning all night this time.

Ian even sent me a message at two in the morning: [Is it true that I look terrible in this suit?]

I replied to him in the morning: [It's true, and I'm sure others feel the same way, but they just won't tell you in person. I told you this because I would like you to be a better man.]

These were all things he had told me in my previous life.

As I head out the door, Patricia handed me my umbrella. "Keep on studying hard, Ellie. You're the only one for me."

I felt upset.

My dad had passed away a long time ago. Patricia could have remarried, but she was worried that my stepfather wouldn't treat me well, so she worked desperately to bring me up on her own.

In my previous life, I should have given Patricia the best life possible, but I was mentally brainwashed by Ian and fought with her constantly, even leaving my hometown in anger.

As I got the call to return home, Patricia was lying in the hospital bed, looking as thin as a lath, but I couldn't get the money to give her radiotherapy, just seeing her getting weaker day by day.

I hated Ian, and I hated myself even more for being stupid, so I finally chose a fire to end my short life.

I rushed over and hugged Patricia, holding back my tears. "Mom, you'll be fine."

Ian came to me much less frequently, seemingly realizing that I wasn't as controllable as I used to be, so he didn't dare make any more rash moves.

I enjoyed my leisure time, but I didn't realize that I would accidentally discover the truth that I had never discovered in my previous life.

I hadn't studied in over ten years. In order to maintain excellent grades, I had to study late every day.

I couldn't figure out a problem no matter what.

I got up from my dormitory and walked to the playground, but I didn't realize there were couples on secret dates this late.

"Didn't you say you just love me? Why did you date her again?"

The sound seemed to be from Christina Reed, who lived in the dormitory next to mine.

She whined with a sobbing tone, her voice full of grievance.

"She has excellent grades, and it's only when I'm with her that I can keep you safe."

I was incredibly familiar with the male voice, which was none other than that from Ian, who had been mentally controlling me for over a decade.

"I don't care if the teacher will find out, and I just want to be with you openly and honestly!"

"But I care, I care about your safety! I'm really tired of you not trusting me. I'm not going to argue with you, so break up as you wish."

Their clothes rubbed against each other, making a rustling sound, and Christina seemed to hold Ian's hand.

"I trust you. I do trust you!"

I was furious.

Ian showed me his affection, gave me gifts in public, and used me as a disguise.

On the other hand, he flirted with Christina, constantly controlling her mentally. He enjoyed his secret dating with her every night in the name of protecting her.

I suddenly remembered that Christina jumped from the school rooftop to her death during the second semester of our sophomore year of high school in my previous life.

After several investigations, the school concluded that her grades were slipping, and she was stressed out about her schoolwork.

The school had since locked the rooftop and added an additional guardrail at the rail of the hallway that was 6.6 feet high.

I clutched the corner of my shirt tightly and thought, "Ian is eighty percent responsible for her death."

I asked the teacher to move the seats for the entire class once so that I could sit beside Christina.

I had always been a top student, and I would help Christina improve, so of course the teacher wouldn't reject me.

At the end of class, Ian came back to me with lunch.

Christina glanced at him silently before quickly lowering her head, her eyes gloomy.

Ian would mentally control her at night, so I would chat to Christina like crazy during the day when I was pretending to talk to someone else.

"Boys are naturally impulsive, and they won't always be afraid of anything. He just doesn't love you that much.

"If a man really loves you, he will do anything to try to show it to the public."

Christina started getting into trouble and fighting with Ian.

I also tried everything I could to mentally control Ian while I was dating him.

"Look at your outfit. Honestly, it looks like it's made of plastic or curtain fabric.

"You're so skinny that it looks ill-fitting in a sweatshirt. People don't tell you because they're afraid you'll get mad.

"Look at you, you have an average school performance, and you don't dress elegantly. Hey, I'm saying this to you because I wish you'll look better when you walk with me!"

After that, I heard that he asked Christina about his outfit more than once in the playground at night.

"Do I really look unattractive in this? I want to hear you be honest.

"You're only saying that because you love me. When I think about it for a second, I really don't look good in a sweatshirt."

Ian was only seventeen, and he was at the age when he cared most about what other people thought.

Christina was sitting next to me, and her temper was getting increasingly irritable.

She had no hostility towards me at first, but now she was insanely jealous just looking at me and Ian.

Christina's jealousy was because she had begun to sense Ian's deception.

She began to see me as a rival and adversary in love, not just a disguise to hide for them.