Part 3Reborn, I Told My Daughter to Say No to Her Poor Roommate

Sure enough, one month later, a long anonymous post appeared on the campus forum.

The title leaped off the screen:

I WAS PSYCHOLOGICALLY BULLIED BY THE TOP STUDENT IN MY DORM FOR THIRTY-TWO DAYS.

Chloe did not name Nina directly. She did not need to.

She mentioned the Math Olympiad dorm, the leading candidate for Westbridge’s master’s program, and “the woman who has ranked first in the department for years.”

She said that because her family was poor, Nina had despised her from the day she moved in.

She said Nina wrote down her every move in a notebook.

She said Nina had knocked over her glass, then refused to apologize and summoned the residence director just to humiliate her.

She said that when she borrowed two hundred dollars, Nina forced her to accept a degrading payment note.

Worst of all, she claimed, were Nina’s final words to her:

“If you cause trouble, I’ll make sure you don’t survive your final year at this university.”

Nina had never said those words.

The people behind their screens did not care.

The comments multiplied by the second.

So good grades give her the right to bully people?

Her graduate recommendation has to be revoked.

Students from struggling families already have it hard enough without being exploited by people like her.

Expel her.

Trevor posted to his social media account almost immediately.

As cohort representative, I am ashamed. I noticed that something was wrong a long time ago, but I kept telling myself I should preserve peace between classmates. Now I understand that silence makes us accomplices.

With that one post, he placed himself on the moral high ground and pushed Nina beneath the blade.

The next day, several notes appeared on Nina’s desk.

BULLY. GET OUT OF THE GRADUATE RECOMMENDATION RACE.

When she sent me a photograph, part of her hand was visible at the edge of the frame. Her fingers were shaking badly.

I stared at the note as an old wound tore open inside my chest.

It had begun the same way in my first life.

First came the notes. Then the snickering in the hallways.

Eventually, someone threw water over Nina’s sweater and said, “You love controlling people so much. Why don’t you control that?”

The last time Nina had tried to return to campus, my mother went with her.

Several parents surrounded them at the gate.

“Your granddaughter drove that girl to the edge, and you still have the nerve to come here?”

“You old hag! You raised a monster!”

They shoved phone cameras into my mother’s face.

She shielded Nina with her body and kept repeating, “My Nina would never do something like that.”

No one listened.

That same day, my mother’s blood pressure spiked and she was hospitalized.

I would not allow that scene to happen again.

I replied to Nina.

Put the notes in an evidence bag. Photograph them. Give them to Ms. Vance. Do not confront anyone yourself.

Less than half an hour later, Ms. Vance called.

Her voice was taut with anxiety.

“Ms. Frost, please come to the university. The mathematics department is holding a formal meeting about the allegations.”

The corridor outside the conference room was packed when I arrived.

The students lowered their voices the moment they saw me.

“That’s Nina’s mother.”

“She’s probably here to use her money to clear her daughter’s name.”

“Chloe was sobbing. She couldn’t have made all of it up.”

Outside the door, several students were comforting Trevor.

He kept his head lowered, his expression grave.

“This isn’t personal,” he said. “I just don’t want Chloe to be hurt anymore.”

He played the righteous cohort representative perfectly.

I opened the door.

Nina sat alone in the corner, her face nearly translucent.

Chloe was wrapped in a jacket, her eyes swollen from crying.

Her mother sat beside her, wiping away tears.

Mr. Bennett occupied the head of the table, his expression grim.

The moment I sat down, he spoke.

“Ms. Frost, the public response is already affecting the mathematics department’s graduate recommendation process. As a precaution, the department is considering suspending Nina’s recommendation to Westbridge until the investigation is complete.”

Nina jerked up her head.

For one terrible instant, I saw her as she had been in my first life, condemned to death by the word suspended.

Chloe began to sob.

“Ms. Frost, I truly never meant to hurt Nina.

“I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

Trevor stood.

“Mr. Bennett, I’m willing to testify. Chloe has been emotionally distressed for weeks. I personally heard her say she was afraid to go back to the dorm.”

Every gaze in the room pressed down on Nina.

Her lips went white.

I crossed the room, took her icy hand, and looked at Mr. Bennett.

“If this is a hearing, then we will conduct it like one.”

He frowned.

“Ms. Frost, don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be.”

I smiled.

“Who posted my daughter on the campus forum, Mr. Bennett?

“Who demanded that her graduate recommendation be revoked?

“And now you’re telling me not to make things complicated?”

The room fell quiet.

Ms. Vance tried to intervene.

“Everyone needs to calm down.”

Chloe sniffled. “All I want is an apology.”

I looked at her.

“For what?”

Her tears fell faster.

“You think I’m lying, don’t you?”

At once, several student representatives looked at her with sympathy.

Trevor chose his moment perfectly.

“Ms. Frost, Chloe has already suffered enough. We all understand that as Nina’s mother, you want to defend her. But please don’t victimize the victim all over again.”

In my first life, those words had silenced me.

If I defended Nina, I was covering for her. If I asked for evidence, I was heartless.

This time, I would not step into his trap.

I took out my phone and dialed.

“Hello. I’d like to report a crime.”