My daughter, Elise Dolton, got sick, so I rushed over to take care of her.

The moment I stepped inside, a rotten stench hit me right in the face, so I offered to help clean the place up.

Her roommates' faces dropped right away.

"What smell, Mrs. Dolton? The place is fine."

"If you think it's such a dump, then have Elise move out. Don't come in here acting like you're better than all of us. We're not putting up with that!"

Even Elise shoved me impatiently. "If you’re here to visit, then just act like it. Stop making a scene and embarrassing me, okay?”

They were all college roommates, splitting rent on a run-down unit in an old complex. When I went in, I noticed them gathered around a pot of spicy stew.

The room was thick with steam and smoke, but it still couldn't cover that awful stench.

Strangely, none of them seemed to notice it. Had something gone wrong with my sense of smell?

That night, the smell was so overwhelming that I couldn't fall asleep.

In the end, I realized the odor was coming from Elise herself.

I hurried her into the bathroom and scrubbed her down over and over, but the smell didn't fade at all. It stayed just as strong.

With no other option, I called a cleaner, planning to disinfect the entire place inside and out.

But Elise's roommates felt offended and started arguing with me.

In the chaos, someone shoved me. My temple slammed into the sharp corner of the coffee table, and I died on the spot.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment I first walked through the door. The stench rushed at me all over again...

The rotten smell hit me so hard that my stomach twisted instantly.

But why was it that none of them, including my daughter, Elise Dolton, seemed to notice anything at all?

"Mom? What are you doing here? My roommates have been taking great care of me. I'll be back to classes in a few days. You really didn't have to come."

I was still dazed when Elise walked over and took my luggage.

She said I didn't need to come, but her eyes were full of surprise and quiet happiness.

I had always been strict with her, and we were never that close. Still, I knew she had always wanted my approval, my affection.

Her roommates were warm, too. They invited me to sit down and have stew with them.

I realized that as long as I didn't mention the smell on Elise and set them off, we could get along just fine.

Remembering how the argument last time led to my death, I decided to hold back for now. I would figure out the source of the smell without causing any conflict.

The next day, I went straight to the hospital for a checkup. The results showed nothing wrong with my sense of smell. I even double-checked multiple times. Everything I could smell matched what a normal person should.

Which meant the stench was real.

I could smell it.

Elise and her roommates couldn't.

With that in mind, I bought some strong-smelling things like perfume, smoked mackerel, and blue cheese to test them.

I hid them in different corners of the apartment.

It didn't take long for me to realize Elise's odor had already filled the entire place, completely overpowering everything else. The test was pointless.

Even if their sense of smell was normal, there was no way they could pick up anything I had hidden.

Just as I was about to gather everything and put it all in one spot, Elise suddenly rushed out of her room. "Mom, what's that smell? It's awful!"

My heart leapt. "You can smell it too?"

She frowned, covering her nose. "It's so strong that I can barely breathe. How could I not smell it?"

I grabbed her hand, excited, ready to take her to the hospital to figure out where it was coming from.

She shoved me aside and walked straight to the corner, pulling a box of blue cheese out from behind the curtain. She shot me an annoyed look.

"Mom, my roommates are all really clean. Why would you hide something like this here? Are you trying to attract rats?"

Before I could respond, her roommates came back from class.

The second they stepped inside, they pinched their noses, their faces full of disgust. In less than two minutes, they found everything I had hidden.

"Mrs. Dolton, we respect you. Please show us the same respect, okay?"

"If you want to stay and take care of Elise, then don't bring stuff like this back here again."

My scalp prickled.

What the hell was going on?

They couldn't smell that overwhelming stench, but they could smell smoked mackerel that hadn't even been opened?

If our sense of smell was fine, then something was definitely wrong with the smell coming off Elise.

The whole situation felt off, and it made me worry about her health.

The next day, I went out of my way to book a full spread at a nice hotel and opened an expensive bottle of red wine. I also bought each of her roommates a carefully chosen gift.

Once they had warmed up to me, I kept my tone gentle and started speaking over dinner.

"About those smelly things I bought yesterday… I thought I saw signs of mice, so I was trying to lure them out and get rid of them. If you don't mind, while you're all in class tomorrow, could I have a cleaning service come in and do a full deep clean? I'll cover all the costs, and I'll take care of your food for the next month, too."

Before I could finish, one of Elise's roommates slammed her fork down.

"Mrs. Dolton, if you've got something to say, just say it. There's no need to do all this."

The others' expressions turned cold as well.

"Yeah, Mrs. Dolton. We know your family's well-off. You don't like this place, and you think Elise is suffering here. But no one's forcing her to stay. She can move out anytime."

"Hmph. We might not have much money, but we keep things clean. What's the point of a deep clean?"

Caught in the middle, Elise turned teary-eyed as she hurried to explain to her roommates.

"I'm not looking down on you guys. I'm not planning to move out, either."

Then she turned to me.

"Mom! If you don't like it here, then just leave. I'm not as picky as you. I like it here. I'm happy living with them."

I stood there, stunned, unable to understand why they were reacting so strongly.

I had kept my tone polite. I had even softened things with gifts beforehand. Even if I sounded a little critical, their reaction shouldn't have been this aggressive.

Besides, I used the mouse excuse. I didn't even mention the smell.

A strange unease crept through me, and I couldn't help but wonder if Elise and her roommates were hiding something on purpose.

"Elise, why are you all reacting like this just because I suggested a deep clean? Can you tell me the truth? I'm your mom. No matter what's going on, I'll understand. I'll protect you."

Back in the bedroom, I tried to talk to her properly, to be open and honest.

In my last life, the smell on Elise hadn't faded at all after she showered. That was when I called for a full cleaning.

They had gone crazy and killed me right there.

After going through this twice, I was almost certain now. There was something in this apartment they couldn't let anyone else find.

"What are you saying, Mom? Are you accusing us of doing something wrong and hiding it from you? Is that why you won't let go of this nonsense about hiring cleaners?"

Elise's eyes were already red, tears pooling as she glared at me.

"I know I didn't get into a top school and disappointed you. Is that why you've started looking down on me?

"I admit I'm not that smart, but I've been trying my best, Mom!

"If you hate me, then just go! Stop interfering with my life. My roommates might just be ordinary college students you don't think much of, but I like them. Please don't make them hate me. Don't ruin my friendships, okay?"

I hadn't expected her to react like this.

Every word she said cut deep, like a knife straight into my chest.

I had pushed her too hard before and expected too much from her. It had strained her, shaped her in ways I hadn't meant to.

But I had realized that. I had been trying to make it right. How could I not love her?

When I saw her tear-streaked face, my chest tightened, and I pulled her into my arms.

The next second, a chill ran down my spine, and I blurted out, "Elise, what happened to you?"

I noticed something I had been overlooking this whole time.

Elise kept saying her roommates treated her well, that she liked them.

But in both my last life and this one, I had never seen them actually help her. They had never even offered a single word of comfort.

That kind of cold distance didn't look anything like a close friendship.

Had they picked up on her personality flaws and started manipulating her? And was that strange smell on her part of it?

The thought made my whole body tremble. I couldn't stay calm anymore.

Elise looked at me through tear-filled eyes. "Mom, what are you trying to say?"

I shook my head. I didn't dare say it out loud. I was afraid of pushing her further when she was already so fragile.

I needed proof first.

My sense of smell was fine. That meant the odor on Elise was real.

If no one else could smell it, then there was only one possibility: they were pretending.

If Elise had been manipulated badly enough, her perception might be affected, too. She might not be able to smell it at all.

Proving it wouldn't be hard. I just needed to take her outside.

The smell was so strong, there was no way strangers wouldn't notice.

"Elise, you're feeling better, right? Let me take you out for a bit today. We can pick up some things for your roommates, too. Keep things smooth between you all," I suggested.

Early the next morning, I brought it up again.

Just like I expected, she agreed right away. She really cared about them.

I noticed that no matter where we went, the stench around Elise stayed just as heavy.

Strangely, even after we left the apartment complex, no one looked at us twice. Could they not smell it, or did they just not know it was coming from her?

A sense of panic started creeping in. I stopped a passerby. "Excuse me, do you smell anything strange?"

He gave me an odd look. "No, I don't smell anything."

How was that possible? We were standing that close. How could he not smell it?

My hands started shaking. I pulled Elise along and stopped another person, then another.

I asked ten people in a row. Every single one of them said the same thing. They smelled nothing.

Something was seriously wrong.

There was nothing wrong with my sense of smell.

"Mom, what are you doing? You're acting weird." Elise grabbed my arm, embarrassed, then turned and walked off.

I felt like I was about to break.

Where the hell was the problem coming from?