“Felix, please, answer the phone! Why aren’t you picking up?” I screamed, busting my throat raw.

Never would I have imagined my quick trip to the hospital would end with me in a high-speed chase down the highway. If I’d known today would turn out like this, I could’ve postponed my appointment, but it seemed like this was going to happen whether I was prepared or not.

My car was rigged. The brakes weren’t working, leaving me speeding down the road with no way to stop, desperately hoping to gain enough distance from the cars tailing me to shake them off and not crash myself. But everything was only going from bad to worse. One of the cars caught up and rammed into me from behind, and I slammed forward, banging my head against the wheel. My grip tightened as I sped up, managing to put a few yards between us. But then a masked man leaned out of their sunroof, firing bullets in my direction—one skimmed past my ear.

“Damn you, Felix!” I shouted, tears spilling over. “Would it kill you to care about me, just once?”

I pulled a gun from the glove compartment and fired back in fury. At this point, nothing was certain. I might make it through, or I might die trying—but I wasn’t going down without a fight.

I managed to knock the shooter down, but another one appeared, wielding a sniper. As luck would have it, I was out of ammunition. I cursed everyone I could think of as I swerved out of his scope, desperately hoping for a miracle. Funny, considering I wasn’t usually one to believe in miracles, but with nothing else to rely on—no one to call for help, and a cold-hearted husband who ignored my calls—I clung to that last shred of hope.

Deep down, I knew I wasn’t getting out of this. I just didn’t want to admit it. After years of trying, I was finally pregnant with our first child. But it seemed like the ones in charge of miracles had other plans.

Out of nowhere, a black car sped toward me from the opposite lane, smashing into my vehicle. I instantly lost control, and the car spun wildly before slamming into the guardrail. The airbags didn’t deploy, and my head hit the wheel hard, leaving me dazed. The entire hood was crushed, trapping me inside the smoking wreck.

Honestly, dying in a car crash felt like the lamest way for me to go. Before I married Felix, I’d never had to look over my shoulder, never feared for my safety, because I’d had a family who would’ve crossed the ends of the earth to protect me. But I’d been a fool and traded them for what I thought was love.

My family had spoiled me, and I’d gotten cocky, convinced I could handle anything on my own. Now, here I was. Since I gave my heart to Felix, my life had become one big mess. He’d deceived me with his sweetness and attentiveness in the early years of our marriage. Then, as suddenly as flipping a switch, he’d turned cold and distant. I thought a child might bring us back together, but after years of trying, it seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream.

Finding out I was pregnant had given me hope, it made me feel like that dream wasn’t impossible after all. But was this really how it would end? I couldn’t accept that.

“Help…” I choked out, blood trickling from my mouth.

I almost gave up when no one came. Then, I heard muffled footsteps approaching amid distant voices chattering. It was kind of a relief since the car seemed ready to explode. My baby was only a few weeks old; they still had a whole life ahead of them. We couldn’t die here. I just hoped it wasn’t one of those goons coming to finish the job.

But the second I recognized a familiar voice, fury rose from the depths of my soul.

“Hey, babe! Yeah, we’re almost done here.” Her grating voice rang louder in my head as she got closer.

“She was painstakingly troublesome, you know. Don’t worry, it’s been dealt with.”

Even though my vision was blurred by the haze, every fiber in me knew who it was—Priscilla Garcia, Felix’s lover.

“What’s that? Aw, you care so much about me! I’m fine. I just stopped by to have a look. Anyway, it was cinematic. You should’ve seen it.” She giggled, then fell silent.

Priscilla leaned over, and her smug face came into view.

“Oops. Looks like she’s still alive. Want to say something to her?” A wicked grin stretched across her lips as she held her phone next to my ear. What I heard next shattered my heart.

“Who cares? Get rid of the filth and come back. It’s time to cut down the old oak.” Felix’s voice was colder than a blizzard.

Priscilla ended the call with a smirk. “You heard him. He used a fool like you for years. Now he’s dumped you after wringing your family dry.” She laughed. “Tough luck, Giana.”

Seeing me gasping for air while being unable to rip her face off tore me apart inside. She sauntered away, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.

“Get back here, you pig!” I tried to yell, but only a whimper came out.

A loud rumble brought my attention back to the car. Any minute now, it could be consumed by flames. Summoning whatever strength I had left, I tried to wriggle my legs free, but they wouldn’t budge.

Calling for help wasn’t doing any good either. I guess this was it for me.

“I’m so pathetic!” I cried out.

I should’ve listened to Vico and Father and never chased after that scumbag Felix. I lost my family because of him, and now he’s killing me and the only one I have left.

“I’m sorry, baby. It looks like your mom won’t be bringing you into the world.” My chest tightened as I choked on my sobs. “Your father is a monster! I wish I could’ve punched him just once! I swear, if I turn into a ghost, I’ll haunt him to death!”

I hugged my belly close and shut my eyes, resigning to my fate. My biggest regret was holding myself back just to earn his love, but he’d never had any for me. If there’s any mercy, I swear I’d make him regret everything he did to me.

The car exploded with a bang, and this time, the world went white. Flames scorched my skin, searing into my bones. The pain was unbearable.

Suddenly, a scream pulled me out of the torment, and I found myself staggering back to the kitchen counter.

“Miss Giana, what were you thinking, sticking yourself to a burning pot? Is your arm alright?” The maid was shaking me, snapping me back to my senses, but I felt too dazed to process what had happened.

“Oh, God! Stop rubbing your burns!”

I couldn’t help it. I could still feel the flames licking my skin. Technically, I should be dead by now, so what am I doing in the mansion’s kitchen?

As I wrestled with confusion, his usual condescending voice stoked my rage. “So, was this your new plan to get my attention? Didn’t I tell you to quit it while I’m still being nice? It’s unsightly.”

All the agony from everything I’d endured rose to the surface, and without thinking, I slapped him hard.

“What the heck, Giana?” Felix shouted, a murderous glare in his eyes.

“Don’t you 'ever' call me unsightly!” I screamed in his face, and he looked utterly shocked.

Why wouldn’t he be? For the entire seven years of our marriage, I never once took charge in our relationship. Even when I was forced to do things against the values I grew up with, I stepped back and submitted as his wife. But all this time, he was only playing me for a fool. I’ll kill him!

“You’re getting out of line, Giana!” Felix approached me aggressively and tried to grab my arm, but I slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch me!” I yelled. “I’ve had it with you, Felix. If you think I’m still going to endure your bullshit, think again,” I said menacingly, word for word, and walked off, shoving past him.

“Move!”

Seeing Felix’s murderous glare cleared my head a little from all the angst. I still didn’t understand what was going on, and while I’d love to settle the scores between us right then and there, an easy death was too cheap to pay for everything he owed me.

I ran up to my room and quickly looked for my phone. I needed to figure out this strange phenomenon. The car chase and crash felt too real and vivid to shrug off as a daydream. Besides, I wasn’t the type to be careless in the kitchen, and I’d never imagine an entire conversation with a gynecologist in my head.

I found my phone in the dresser, and I almost dropped it when I unlocked the screen. The date was two weeks before I went out for my check-up!

“What in the world—have I gone insane? There’s no way I was only imagining things!” I muttered, panicking.

I remembered taking a lot of selfies and posting food pictures online before I died, so I scrolled through my socials but found nothing as if I hadn’t done any of it.

“This can’t be…”

While trying to sort out my thoughts, I heard Felix yelling my name as he approached my room. It seemed that what I did to him earlier had finally sunk in, and he’d come to pick a fight. I didn’t want to deal with him right now, so I barred the door with the couch and let him bang on it for who knows how long. I was too busy solving this impossible puzzle to care about him. By the time I gave up on it, night had fallen, and a maid was gently knocking on my door.

“Miss Giana, Mr. Anderson wants you to have dinner with him in the dining hall,” she said.

At first, I turned it down, but the maid begged me to go because Felix threatened to sell her teenage brother to organ traffickers if she didn’t get me to show up. Although seeing his face at dinner would make me want to puke, I begrudgingly went down to the dining hall.

When I arrived, Priscilla’s disgustingly sweet voice flowed out as I opened the door, immediately flipping a switch inside my head.

I kicked the door in and sat heavily on the other end of the long table, facing Felix and his mistress. Both of them looked surprised, and it felt great seeing the stupid look on their faces, especially Priscilla. Well, I couldn’t pretend not to know why. On the few rare occasions I’d eaten in this hall, I usually sat quietly a couple of chairs away beside him while he and his lover got cozy. Now, I sat across from him as if I was challenging his power.

“So, you came,” he said flatly, but his grim expression betrayed him.

I scoffed. “You didn’t exactly give me a choice, did you?” I replied, dripping with sarcasm.

Priscilla looked like she wanted to curse me out, but I shut her down before she could even open her mouth.

“So, what’s with the sudden dinner? Don’t tell me you finally got tired of playing house with your bitch,” I spat vindictively.

“That’s enough, Giana. I invited you tonight because I wanted to make it up to you.”

His words threw me for a loop. He never apologized, no matter how much pain he caused me. And Felix suddenly talking gently made me second-guess my whole dying and rewinding time situation.

Was I just having a bad trip?