The first meeting

Raye's POV 

The Montero's estate came into view as the car approached it. Old and forgotten memories swirled inside of me, bittersweet and melancholic.

I could still vividly remember the last time I had been here. Riddled with grief and anguish at being forced to marry a total stranger had made me bitter and ruthless. I had taken out my anger and bitterness at everyone in the estate and Brian hadn't been saved from it. Looking back now I was so cold and unfeeling towards him, blaming him for all my problems when he was just as much of a victim as I was. 

During the first few months of our marriage I had ignored him and acted like he didn't even exist. My stomach swirled in disgust as I remembered the way I had treated him so cold and unfeeling to the extent of even abandoning him when he needed me the most. 

And all for what - a stupid teenage fantasy that ended up killing me. Maybe it was my karma for how badly I had treated him, needless to say I wasn't going to make the same mistakes a second time. That's for sure.

The car pulled up in the driveway in front of the estate. A line of maids and servants had formed in the entrance waiting for me. 

"Welcome, my lady. We've been expecting you," Jared, the long time butler of the estate said, bowing his head respectfully.

I remember him from my previous life and how I'd treated him. He had been extremely loyal to Brian so I had made sure to give him a hard time despite always being on the receiving end of his kind words and treatment.

"Thank you and it's nice to meet you too, Jared," I said to him and his eyes widened in shock. He had definitely not been expecting me to be polite to him but things were different now, that's for sure. Some of the maids also looked surprised, their faces creased in confusion as they stared cautiously at me. 

"Your room has been prepared, my lady. Come with me and I'll show you," Jared said, gesturing towards the direction he wanted me to walk in. 

I ignored him and started in the opposite direction to Brian's room. I was done being patient. I wanted to see Brian as soon as possible and the suspense was killing me. 

"My lady, that isn't the way to your room. It's this way," Jared called out racing after me but ignored him and continued until I reached Brian's study. 

A familiar wave of nostalgia hit me as soon as I put my hands on the door knob, a process I had done so many times in the past but never thought much of. I pulled open the door and walked in excitedly. 

The first thing I saw was Brian seated in his wheelchair at the corner of the study. He still looked the same - his familiar blue eyes, his chiseled jawline and sharp eyes that could see through your soul. He was staring at me with a stoic expression on his face, unmoving and completely still, his face giving away nothing.

And that was when I did the unthinkable. Without hesitation I ran across the room towards him pulling him in a tight hug. I had missed his scent and the familiar feel of his touch but something was wrong. He remained perfectly still, the silence in the room almost deafening.

"What games are you playing now, Miss Raye?" A cold chill voice said from beside me and it took me a moment to realize it was from Brian. I pulled away from him, a spark of realization dawning on me. How could I have forgotten something so important?

In my previous life at the time I had been forced to marry Brian, he had also been forced to marry me as well so he had taken a great dislike to me. It wasn't until we had separated I had found out my step mother had lied to Brian that I was sent as a spy to spy on him by his own family.

How could I have forgotten how harsh he was when I'd first moved into the house? No wonder he was mad at me. It was only our first meeting with each other and I was already hugging him. He must think I'm a weirdo 

Brian was still staring at me icily waiting for an explanation that I couldn't give to him right now when Jared burst into the room.

"Apologies young master. I should have warned the lady you were in a bad mood before letting her come see you," he apologized, lying on my behalf and I smiled at him gratefully.

"I'll let this go but the young lady must know that if she wants to remain as my wife, she needs to be more conscious of her behavior at all times. Take her to her room right now," he grunted, without even bothering to give me a glance. 

Jared held my arms and pulled me to his side. "Understand sir. This won't happen again," he assured before pulling me towards the door.

My heart ached with pain. This wasn't how I'd planned our reunion to be. I understood his anger and his feelings but it still hurt being on the receiving end of his harsh words. At least now I know how he must have felt when I did the same to him. But it didn't matter anymore, now that I was here I would slowly make him warm up to me.

"I hope you don't take what our master said to heart. He's especially groggy today because of the news about his condition. He didn't mean what he said," Jared uttered beside me as we walked side by side to the room that had been prepared for me.

I shook my head lightly. "Of course. Why would I be?"

His head snapped up in surprise at my words. I frowned, I can only imagine the rumors my family must have spread against me for him to be so shocked at my kindness. Things were going to change and it would start now. 

We arrived in front of the familiar room where I had spent a long time feeling pity for myself, I couldn't appreciate the effort that had been done in the room to make my stay comfortable.

The room had a large queen size bed that dominated a better part of the room, decorated with flowery pink coverings. The walls were colored bright pink and the room looked like I'd walked into a fairy tale. 

Jared coughed hesitantly from behind me, trying to grab my attention. "I wasn't sure what you would like so I decorated the best I could. Of course if you don't like the decor you're free to change it however you like"

I beamed happily at him. "I absolutely love it. Thank you very much"

He finally smiled at me, a genuine one and the first of its kind. How could I have treated him so poorly in my previous life? The thought struck a nerve deep inside of me and I resolved to make things so different this time.

"I'll give you some privacy now. Let me know if you need anything else," he said politely, before walking out the door. 

Now that I was finally alone, I reevaluated the events of the day over in my mind. I had slowly come to terms that I had been reborn but a nagging thought still lingered at the back of my mind. 

A small calendar sitting on the dressing table caught my eyes and I instinctively reached for it. I flipped it to the date of my death, November 19th 2025, tapping it lightly with my finger. 

I had watched so many reborn movies but never would I have expected it would happen to me. I wasn't sure I could stop my death from happening but one thing I was sure of was that I wasn't going to repeat the same mistakes all over again. 

This time I had two goals: Use my skills to make Brian walk again and change my fate this time.