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?

The soft glow of candlelight cast a warm haze over the dining room, but the chill from Felix’s gaze told me I wasn't going crazy or high on something.

“I’ve been too cold to you recently, haven’t I?” Felix’s voice was smooth, and controlled, as he leaned back in his chair. “Priscilla suggested we all have dinner, so I had the chefs prepare all your favorites.”

I felt a scoff crawl up my throat as I raked my hair back. He almost had me for a second. If only I could pretend he meant it, that there was any sincerity in those words. But one glance at Priscilla told me enough. She had the same smug, and glittering eyes as when she gloated on their success while I was dying in that wrecked car. There was more to this dinner than Felix let on. I leaned back, letting my silence answer, and waited to see what he’d try next.

The servers entered in a tidy line as they served the grand feasts Felix claimed were my favorites. I felt my blood boil as I stared at every platter they placed before me.

It was all shellfish. Shrimp, lobster, crab, scallops—all mixed in decadent sauces and delicate garnishes. My jaw tightened. The very thing I was allergic to filled each plate.

“So, this is your idea of making up?” I asked, a disbelieving laugh bubbling up despite myself.

Felix didn’t even blink. “Yes,” he said with a shrug. “Don't you love lobsters?”

He sounded so offhanded and casual, that I questioned what I even saw in him. This man, my husband, had lived with me all this time and still didn’t know a single thing about me. I stared at him, enraged and pitying myself.

“I’m allergic to crustaceans, Felix. Were you trying to kill me tonight?”

I swept my hand across the table, sending plates and food crashing to the floor in a beautiful, chaotic mess. The sound was more satisfying than I expected.

Felix slammed his knife down on the table. “Enough, Giana! Stop lying and acting like a spoiled child. It’s pathetic.”

His words stung, but they also fueled something dangerous within me. I grabbed a knife off the table, letting the cold handle ground me as I rose and slowly walked over to him. “Oh, so now I’m the liar? If you wanted me dead, Felix, at least have the spine to stab me directly through the chest or put a bullet in my head. Don’t hide behind cowardly dinner invitations.”

Before he could react, I drove the knife through his precious lobster, stabbing it straight through the porcelain. Priscilla gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, while Felix just sat there, stunned.

“You’re such a—” I paused, giving him one of my own twisted smiles, “dick, Felix. Whether you love me or not, I’m still your wife.” And with that, I straightened up, took one last look at his shocked face, and strode out of the dining hall with every ounce of dignity I could muster.

The temporary high drained away the moment I left the room, and reality hit like a slow-burning ache. This wasn’t new; it was just another twisted chapter in a long, painful story. I’d known our marriage was empty from the start, but some naive part of me had hoped otherwise, and wanted it to mean something. I guess an idiot would always be an idiot.

I took a shaky breath and headed back to my room. I was still confused about the overlapping fragments of memories in my head, but one thing was for sure, both were real. How did I know? Well, it's because Felix arranged this dinner.

In that nightmare of a life, Felix should have taken Priscilla to a party on some acquaintance’s cruise, and my brother was there. I had no idea what provoked the fight but Vico ended up shot dead. I heard about it on the news, and it was horrifying that I didn't want to believe it but when Felix came home wrapped in bandages, Vico's death came down on me like a missile. Because of this, our father cut me off from the family, and I was banned from attending his funeral.

But tonight had changed. Felix hadn't gone to that party to stage this farce of a dinner. Vico would be safe, as far as I knew, and that thought gave me one less thing to feel guilty toward my family.

Whatever it was that gave me this second chance, I’d make sure it wouldn’t go to waste.

I locked my room and barricaded it with the couch again, then reached for a hidden panel in my closet. A small compartment popped up with the burner phone I hid seven years ago. I ran to the bathroom and after turning on the shower to drown out the sound, I dialed the only number saved on the phone.

The line clicked and I gripped the phone tight as I spoke. “Hey, it’s me. I know it’s been a long time since we talked, but I really need your help.”

There was a long silence on the other end but I steeled my nerves and didn’t let the tension get to me.

“Can you hook me up with the best divorce lawyer you know? And... I need a way to get into a secure computer.”