The Girl Who Walked Back from the Lake

PROLOGUE

In my last life, it all started when my nephew, Kian, spied on me through the crack in the bathroom door.

When I caught him, I tried to teach him right from wrong.

But my sister-in-law, Deanna, twisted it into a tearful tale for my parents.

Without question, they slapped me hard across the face and forced me to my knees to apologize.

Spoiled by that indulgence, Kian grew up to become a rapist.

And to protect him, my family locked me in a metal freezer chest and drowned me in a lake.

They planned to use my body to help him escape justice.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back.

Back on that very same day.



01

I gasped, my eyes flying open.

A wet, slimy trail of snot hit my cheek.

My six-year-old nephew, Kian, pointed at me, his body shaking with laughter.

"Hahaha, gross! Aunt Iris is a big snot monster! Nanny-nanny boo-boo!"

My mother emerged from her bedroom, her eyes sharp as broken glass, locking onto me.

I was frozen in place, the ghost of my past life still clinging to my skin.

"What are you just standing there for?" she snapped, her voice grating like rusted metal.

"Get in the kitchen and start dinner!"

"Do you want my precious grandson to starve?"

I lowered my head quickly, hiding the wild, triumphant grin spreading across my face.

"Yes, Mom."

I scurried into the kitchen and shut the door.

I leaned against it as silent tears of pure, unadulterated joy streamed down my cheeks.

I was back.

Thank God, I was back.

There was still time to change everything.



02

The memory of my past life on this day was burned into my soul.

When I had caught Kian peeping, I had yelled, fumbling to pull up my pants.

I had tried to reason with him, thinking it was just childish curiosity.

He had listened with a sneer.

"So what? You're so boring, Aunt Iris."

That s when Deanna had walked by and shoved me back.

"What do you think you're doing to my son?"

I had tried to explain.

"Deanna, Kian was watching me in the bathroom "

She cut me off with a cold laugh.

"Oh, is that all? Don't be so dramatic."

Kian peeked out from behind her legs, sticking his tongue out.

"Yeah! I watch Mommy change her clothes all the time, and she thinks it's funny!"

Deanna s face had flushed as she clamped a hand over his mouth.

Even then, the stupid, hopeful part of me had tried to warn her.

"Deanna, he s still young. You need to guide him properly..."

She didn't listen.

Instead, she ran crying to my parents with a twisted story.

"She said Kian is going to be a failure! She said I m just some trash!"

My parents, just home from grocery shopping, swallowed every word.

My father stormed into my room and slapped me, hard, twice.

"Get on your knees and apologize to your sister-in-law!"

He had dragged me out by my hair and thrown me at her feet.

I remember seeing the flicker of triumph in her eyes.

I clenched my jaw and refused to speak.

That made it worse.

My father unbuckled his leather belt.

He beat me until I tasted blood, until I finally broke and knelt, begging for forgiveness.

I had tried to save them from the abyss.

This time, I would give them a running start.



03

My plan was already in motion.

While dinner was simmering, I poured Deanna a large glass of the expensive "detox cleanse" green juice she'd bought and forgotten about.

I presented it to her with a warm smile.

"Deanna, you look tired. I thought you could use this. It's incredibly nourishing."

Her eyes lit up.

Under my eager gaze, she drank the entire thing down.

I went back to the kitchen and watched the clock.

Right on schedule.

Deanna clutched her stomach and made a dash for the bathroom.

Kian, seeing his opportunity, crept down the hall and pressed his eye to the crack in the door.

This was my cue.

I called my parents downstairs for dinner.

They reached the landing just in time to see their grandson, crouched down, completely engrossed.

I stood beside Kian, cracking sunflower seeds loudly.

"You know," I said, my voice projecting clearly, "Kian has such a curious mind."

"So fascinated by the female anatomy at such a young age."

"He's going to be a great biologist someday, don't you think?"



04

A shriek echoed from the bathroom.

My parents finally snapped out of their stupor and yanked Kian away from the door.

My mother turned on me, her face contorted with fury.

"Are you blind, Iris?! Why didn't you stop him?"

I feigned surprise.

So, they knew it was wrong.

Then why, in my last life, did they beat me for pointing it out?

The hypocrisy was suffocating.

Deanna burst out of the bathroom, her face blotchy.

She saw my parents and her expression crumpled into tears.

"Mom, Dad... Kian was peeping at me. And Iris... she just stood there. She encouraged him!"

My mother rushed to comfort her.

My father advanced on me, pointing a finger in my face.

"Get on your knees and apologize to your sister-in-law. Now. Or I'll skin you alive."

Just then, my brother Frank walked in from work.

He took one look at his crying wife and his face darkened.

"What the hell is going on now?"

Deanna sobbed out her twisted version of the story.

Frank s glare fell on me.

"Iris! He's a kid! What's your excuse?"

"Apologize to my wife right now, or you'll answer to me!"

Suddenly, I was the enemy.

And the real perpetrator was hiding behind their legs, smirking.

I just shrugged.

I straightened up, walked over to Kian, and placed my hands gently on his small shoulders.



05

I looked at the furious, expectant faces of my family.

"I really don't see what all the fuss is about," I said, my voice calm and reasonable.

"Kian is just a little boy. He's curious."

"He was probably just trying to play a little joke on his mom."

"Are you all really going to stifle his natural creativity over something so small?"

Kian, sensing an ally, nodded vigorously.

He puffed out his little chest, a newfound confidence in his eyes.

The adults looked stunned.

I let my gaze sweep over them, finally landing back on Deanna.

"Besides," I added, my voice laced with innocence, "Kian told me he's always watching you change your clothes, Deanna."

"He said when you notice, you just smile at him "

"Shut your mouth!" Deanna shrieked, lunging at me.

"What lies are you telling?"

But the damage was done.

Kian, feeling betrayed, jumped forward and pointed an accusing finger at his mother.

"She's not lying!"

"I watch you get dressed all the time, and you do like it!"

"So what if I watched you pee? You're a big faker!"

Deanna stared at him in disbelief, then grabbed him and started smacking his bottom.

"How could you say that about your mother?"

Kian was only six, but he was strong.

He thrashed and kicked, shoving her so hard she stumbled and fell to the floor.

"You're a bad mommy! I hate you!"

Deanna scrambled up, her eyes wild.

She snatched the broom from the corner.

"You little monster! I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"

My parents, horrified, rushed to form a human shield around their precious grandson.

Seeing he had backup, Kian became even more defiant.

"Nyah nyah, you can't get me!"

Deanna, in a fit of rage, shoved my mother aside.

She raised the broom, ready to bring it down on Kian s backside.

But before it could land, Frank lunged forward.

He ripped the broom from her hand and, with his other hand, slapped her across the face.

The sound was like a gunshot in the small hallway.

"You bitch!" he roared.

"You can't even raise a child right, and now you dare to hit my son?"

"Who the hell gave you that right?!"

While they were all screaming at each other, I slipped back into my room, grabbed my school backpack, and walked out the front door.



06

I went straight back to my dorm that night and didn't look back.

I threw myself into my studies with a ferocity I d never had before.

But I did more than just study.

I used my knowledge of the future to start making money.

It started small, but it grew quickly.

Weeks later, my mother started calling.

One call after another, a relentless, buzzing assault on my phone.

I finally answered, bracing for the usual torrent of abuse.

Instead, her voice was syrupy sweet.

"Irie, sweetie? It s Mom."

"Come home for dinner after your classes today. I m making all your favorites."

I said nothing.

She continued, undeterred.

"You have to come home today, Irie. Okay?"

"Because if you don't, I'll just have to come find you at school."

The threat was unmistakable.

After she hung up, I pulled up the calendar.

I looked at the date, and a cold dread washed over me.

Of course.

It was that day.

My seventeenth birthday.

Looks like I had no choice.

I had to go back one more time and see what kind of poison they were serving me this year.

First, search for and download the Novellia app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "164105" to read the entire book.