Chapter 4- Rebirth

Raye's POV 

"Raye, wake up. I know you aren't sleeping. You better stop pretending right now"

A loud voice interrupted me as I slowly woke up from a deep sleep. For a second there I laid in a daze, taking in my surroundings and trying to figure out where I was. 

The last thing I remembered was blood everywhere around me. I hurriedly sat up from my bed in shock. I looked around the familiar room trying to piece back my memory together. 

I instinctively pulled up my blouse checking for scars and bruises but they were nothing. My skin glowed like I was five years younger. Okay now I was confused. What the hell was happening to me and why was I in the room I used to sleep in ten years ago?

Before I could begin to process what was happening, my step mother barged into the room, livid. She was holding onto a piece of paper and waving it around frantically as she spoke. 

"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me calling you?" She barked, glaring at me.

I blinked in confusion, lost for words. She looked years younger than the last time I had seen her. 

"What's happening? How did I get here?" I asked to no one in particular, the series of unfolding events making me doubt my sanity at this point.

My stepmother snorted, flinging the document she was holding at me. "Don't even think of pretending. Take those papers and sign it right now," she spat venomously.

The papers landed on my bed just inches away from where I sat and the first thing I noticed was the large block of letters written at the top which said marriage contract boldly. There was something oddly familiar about this whole situation almost like I'd experienced it before.

"What's going on, mom? Isn't she signing it anymore? The Montero's already stated I won't be allowed to marry Lionel if she doesn't marry Brian," a familiar annoying voice uttered in the background filled with irritation and derision.

I froze, my head turned towards the voice, all my senses heightened at the oddly familiar sensation I was feeling. 

And there she stood, my sister Angelica, the ever favorite daughter and princess of my parents. Her natural blonde was cut short in a bob framing her small face with plump lips and beautiful blue eyes, she'd always been the beautiful one. Except that her heart was filled with poison and nothing more.

She was looking at me coldly like I wasn't even worth her attention. My father was also standing beside her, the same impassive expression on his face. Suddenly I remembered the last conversation we had the night I had died. The fact that he wasn't my father made a lot of things more clear to me now. 

"No of course not, dear. How else can she repay us for everything we have done for her? It's only fitting for her to repay us this way," my stepmother said, her voice filled with condescension.

Angelica lips twisted into a sly smile. "You are right, mother. It's only right that someone like her marry the disabled one. They are both good for nothing and will look perfect together," she mocked haughtily.

 I blinked, frowning in confusion. None of this made any sense. This entire scene didn't just feel oddly familiar, it was exactly the same scene that had happened a few years ago.

This was exactly what had happened on the same day seven years ago, the year I turned twenty four. I remembered it vividly now. It was also the year I realized my family didn't give a damn about me. My family had tried to force me to marry Brian, the first son of the powerful Montero family who had unfortunately been left disabled due to a horrible accident a few years ago.

He was previously supposed to marry my sister but after the accident, Angelica had refused to marry him. She didn't want a disabled husband and had instead decided to marry the second son, Lionel, Brian's younger brother but the Montero's had refused. The Montero's had decided they would only agree to the marriage if I married the first son instead. 

At first I had fought against it but eventually I had been forced to marry him in the end. At the time I'd hated it because I was already in love with Antonio and had wanted to marry him but my family had refused and in the process I had made Brian's life a living hell. 

But why? Why was I back here again, right now reliving all these moments?

Something at the corner of the room caught my attention. It was a small calendar that had been hung next to the window. The year on the calendar left me in shock and the realization hit me then. I had been given a second chance at life, a once in a lifetime chance to change my future and this time i wasn't going to let it slip from my hands again.

"I'm not going to repeat myself again; sign this papers right now," my stepmother snapped, cutting through my reverie. 

I glanced at the documents, picking it up steadily. With a simple deliberate motion, I signed my name on the marriage contract and handed it back to her.

"Here I have signed it, happy now," I said, smirking at the stunned expression on their faces. They had expected me to put up a fight like I did in my previous life but I was going to do things differently this time. I wasn't going to let anyone, not even God take back this opportunity I was given.

"Hey you there. Take me to my husband's house. I can't wait to see him again," I said to a servant passing by my room. 

He stood in shock, glancing at my parents but when they didn't object he quickly bowed and nodded in response.

I stood up from my bed and turned my attention back to my family. "As you can see I'm going to meet my husband and I want to doll up for him. Can you all leave already?" I said to them harshly and their faces dropped in shock.

They were not used to seeing the timid and always respectful daughter acting so rudely to them.

My stepmother was the first to snap out of it. "How dare you talk to me like that? Are you acting out already just because you are marrying into the Montero family? Don't even think about it? No matter who you marry you'll always be the worthless trash of the family"

I scoffed at her words, my smirk dropping, replaced by a cold ruthless sneer as I locked eyes with each one of them. "Be patient. This worthless trash right here will make sure you pay for every single pain you have caused to me in my life," I said, my voice low and venomous. "This is just the beginning. Be prepared" 

The venom in my word made Angelica and my stepmother's face darkened but I didn't stay to revel in my small victory. I turned on my heels and walked out of the room without a backward glance.

As I walked out of the house, the thought of seeing Brian again excited me greatly. This time I had to make sure things would be different. Now that I knew what would happen to me, this was my chance not to repeat the same mistakes again. Both for Brian and also for my sake.