My Roommate’s Dating Theory Killed Me, So Reborn I Let Her Go Chapter 02

My Roommate’s Dating Theory Killed Me, So Reborn I Let Her Go Chapter 02

Our landlord, Gary Potts, arrived within minutes, still holding his ring of keys. Sweat glistened on his forehead as he stepped inside.

He glanced at the suitcase beside my feet before looking at Clara, whose eyes were still red from crying.

His brows drew together.

“Vivian, you two signed a one-year fixed lease.”

“If you move out this suddenly, how am I supposed to find another tenant on such short notice? Under the joint lease, are you really expecting Clara to cover the entire rent by herself?”

I pulled up the digital lease on my phone and handed it to him.

“The lease includes an Early Termination Clause.”

“I’m willing to forfeit my security deposit.”

“And I’ll also pay an additional month’s rent as compensation for breaking the lease.”

Mr. Potts clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked around the living room before letting out a long sigh.

“You kids can be so impulsive.”

“Clara may have some immature ideas, but surely this is something the two of you can talk through. She only wanted…”

I cut him off.

“To wait for a burglar she could fall in love with?”

My voice turned cold.

“Mr. Potts, someone tried to force open the building’s security entrance last night. Management emailed every resident about it. If she keeps leaving our door unlocked, she isn’t going to find Prince Charming.”

“She’s going to find an armed intruder.”

The second Clara heard that, tears spilled down her face as if I’d deeply wronged her.

“Stop saying that! I’ve read plenty of home safety tips! If the door is only cracked open a tiny bit, criminals can’t get in!”

I actually laughed.

“So your logic is that only good people can squeeze through a partially open door, but bad people can’t?”

“Maybe stop reading romance novels before they rot your brain.”

At that moment, the apartment next door opened.

Our neighbor, Brenda Higgins, leaned into the hallway.

“What’s all the shouting about this early in the morning?” she asked with concern. “Vivian, did Clara upset you again?”

Clara immediately rushed toward her like she’d found an ally.

“Mrs. Higgins! Vivian’s moving out, and she’s calling me delusional!”

Brenda stepped inside while gently patting Clara’s back.

She turned toward me with the patient smile adults reserved for children.

“Vivian, Clara’s a little naïve, but she hasn’t done anything terrible. Her parents aren’t here, so as her roommate, couldn’t you cut her a little slack?”

I answered without hesitation.

“Mrs. Higgins, she leaves our front door unlocked every single night. If someone breaks in to rob us, assault us, or worse, who’s going to take responsibility?”

“Am I really wrong for caring about my own safety?”

Brenda hesitated.

“Well… that doesn’t necessarily mean something bad will happen. This building’s always been peaceful.”

I gave a humorless smile.

“By the time something does happen, it’ll already be too late.”

Clara cried even harder.

Huge tears splashed onto the hardwood floor.

Then she suddenly raised her phone and opened the building residents’ group chat.

Her fingers flew across the screen.

A few seconds later, my own phone began vibrating nonstop.

Dozens of new messages poured into the community chat.

Clara had uploaded a picture of me standing by the front door with my suitcase.

Beneath it she wrote:

[My roommate Vivian is moving out just because I leave the door unlocked at night. She even keeps saying criminals are going to break into our apartment!

She says I’m living in a fantasy and that people like me don’t deserve to believe in true love.

Tell me honestly. What did I do that’s so wrong?]

Replies flooded in almost instantly.

[I’ve known Clara for a while. She’s a sweetheart. She’s just addicted to romance novels.]

[Leaving the door unlocked isn’t smart, but moving out over it seems pretty heartless.]

[When people live together, they should learn to compromise.]

[Vivian’s making a huge deal out of nothing. Clara’s already crying. How can she be so cold?]

I stared at the screen as my fingertips slowly went numb.

In my previous life, these same people had looked at my butchered body lying inside this apartment.

Yet somehow…

The person they pitied wasn’t the woman who’d been murdered.

It was Clara.

All it took was a few tears for everyone to take her side.