The Day She Chose Someone Else

On the day of the SAT exam, my girlfriend’s childhood friend, Benedict Casper, forgot his admission ticket at home. She insisted on retrieving it for him, but I begged her not to go.

In the end, Benedict missed his final chance for taking the exam and, overwhelmed by despair, he jumped to his death.

Years later, my girlfriend, Ella Simpson, and I graduated from Whitmore Institute of Technology, landed high-paying jobs, and built a picture-perfect marriage.

But on the anniversary of Benedict’s death, she stabbed me repeatedly, her voice trembling with rage, “You killed him. If I’d gotten his admission ticket, he would’ve never jumped.”

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the exams. Ella’s frantic voice rang in my ears, “I have to go back, Dominic. I need to get Benedict’s ticket!”

This time, I smiled and said, “Go ahead. Be careful on the way.”

Half an hour before the exam, I stood outside the school gates, waiting to go in.

Ella Simpson came running up, drenched in sweat from the heat.

“Hey Dominic. Benedict left his admission ticket at home. I need to go back and get it for him.”

I nodded calmly. “Go ahead. Be careful on the way.”

Panting, she added, “Wait for me at the school gate after the exam. You’re coming with me to buy Benedict a birthday gift.”

I looked her in the eyes. “No, I’m not. Ella, we’re done.”

She looked up at me, momentarily stunned.

Then her brows furrowed, and she snapped in frustration, “What are you angry about, Dom? I’m just helping Ben get his exam pass. Nothing is going on between us!”

I nodded again, my tone completely flat. “I know. I just don’t want this anymore. We’re not right for each other.”

Ella stared at me and let out a cold laugh, then she turned away with a scoff.

“Fine. Let’s end this. Just don’t come crawling back to me.”

With that, she turned and vanished into the sea of students.

I watched her back as she disappeared, and smiled quietly.

Don’t worry, Ella.

This time, I knew that I wouldn’t be the one who regretted it.

In my previous life, when Ella said she wanted to go back and get Benedict’s admission ticket, I had stopped her.

“The exam’s about to start. What if you don’t make it back in time?”

Ella had hesitated, but in the end, she listened to me and arrived on time for the exam.

I never imagined it would be Benedict’s final chance to retake the test.

He used to do well in school. But now, watching Ella and me take the exams and move toward a bright future while he couldn’t, the pressure really got to him.

In the end, overwhelmed by despair, he jumped from a building and ended his life.

......

Later, Ella and I were both accepted into the Whitmore Institute of Technology, or WIT for short.

After graduation, we took advantage of the rise of the Internet sector and secured jobs at a top tech company.

Within just a few years, we were earning over half a million dollars annually. We dated steadily and eventually got married.

I always believed that Ella and I had built something strong, that our relationship had grown from campus days to wedding vows.

Friends called us the dream couple.

I never imagined that one rainy summer evening, Ella would come home, pull a knife from her coat, and drive it straight into my chest.

She plunged the knife into me again and again, as blood gushed out with each stab.

Clutching my chest, I stared at the woman I loved in utter disbelief.

Her face twisted with rage, eyes wild with madness.

“It’s your fault! You stopped me from bringing Ben his exam pass,” she spat through clenched teeth.

“If I’d gone, he wouldn’t have missed the test and taken his own life. Give me back my love!”

Give her back Benedict Casper?

Back then, I had foolishly believed they were nothing more than childhood friends who grew up playing together.

But the truth was, Ella had always loved him.

What I thought was a well-meaning gesture had become a thorn lodged in her heart for decades.

In this life, I swore that I would make sure they stayed together.

…

Half an hour later, I sat down at my assigned seat in the exam hall, right on time.

After two and a half hours of writing furiously, I finally handed in a paper that honored the past years of hard work.

That evening, my parents took me out for a celebratory feast.

I told them I had performed well and felt confident I’d be admitted to WIT.

My mother beamed with joy. “Then you and Ella can head off to WIT together. You’ll be able to look out for each other.”

I shook my head and replied calmly, “We broke up, Mom.”

My parents froze, shocked into silence.

I chuckled softly and reassured them, “What are you worried about?

“With or without Ella, WIT is still there, waiting for me.”

My parents burst into laughter and raised their glasses. “Here’s to our son and to new beginnings!”