003

SCARLETT

Adrian stared at me. "Your marriage contract."

I laughed once. It came out weak and confused. "What marriage contract?"

He slowly lowered his hand. "Scarlett."

I shook my head. "What marriage contract?"

"The contract."

"Adrian, I don't understand what you're talking about."

His eyes narrowed. "The Moretti marriage agreement?"

My stomach dropped as I stared at him.

Why would the Morettis be bringing me another contract?

Was this because of Valentina?

Was this some kind of punishment?

Did Matteo want something from my family?

Was he trying to destroy me?

Adrian suddenly laughed. "Oh, come on."

I stared at him. What's making him laugh?

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet."

"What?"

"You're getting married in a week."

I blinked. "What?"

He pointed at me. "You heard me."

I shook my head. "No."

Adrian sighed. "Scarlett, please don't start."

"No." My voice came out louder.

He frowned.

I pointed toward myself. "I'm already married."

Silence.

Adrian stared at me. Then he burst into laughter.

His laughter slowly faded when he realized I was serious.

"Okay," he said carefully. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm married."

"To whom?"

I stared at him. My lips parted.

The answer should have been obvious. But suddenly, I wasn't sure anymore. "Matteo?"

Adrian stared at me. Then his eyebrows slowly rose. "Matteo Moretti?"

"Yes!"

"You're not married to Matteo."

My heart started racing again. "Yes, I am."

"No, you're not. Not yet."

"Adrian!"

"Scarlett!"

I stared at him. He stared back.

Something was terribly wrong.

"I am married to Matteo." I tried to convince myself. My breathing became uneven.

Did I wake up in another universe? How is it that I wake up the morning before I sign my marriage contract?

Adrian rubbed his forehead. "Are you playing with me?"

"I'm not playing!"

"If you don't want to get married anymore, you can tell me."

I shook my head. "I don't understand."

"You can confide in me."

"I don't understand!" My voice cracked.

Adrian finally stopped looking irritated. He looked worried.

I turned away from him. "What date is it?"

He paused. "What?"

"What date is it?"

"Scarlett..."

"What date is it?"

He hesitated. "August thirty-first."

I froze. My body went cold. "What year?"

Adrian stared at me. "2026."

The bottle slipped from my hands and hit the floor, the water spilled across the carpet.

"No."

Adrian stepped toward me. "Scarlett."

"No." I shook my head repeatedly.

"That's not possible."

"Hey."

"No, that's not true."

I began backing away.

My heart was pounding so hard it hurt. That couldn't be right.

It couldn't.

I remembered everything.

My marriage.

My life with Matteo.

Valentina.

The arguments.

The night she died.

My death.

I remembered dying.

No. This was impossible. It couldn't all be a dream.

I ran toward my closet.

"Scarlett!"

I ignored Adrian.

I grabbed the first robe I could find and pulled it around myself.

"What are you doing?"

"Where's my phone?"

"Your phone is right there."

I looked toward the bed. Then back at him. "Give it to me."

Adrian stared at me. "Scarlett, calm down."

"Give me my phone!" My voice cracked through the room.

He immediately reached for it. "Here."

I grabbed it from him with shaking hands.

The lock screen came on.

My stomach dropped.

The date was there.

August 31, 2026.

I stared at it.

My hands began shaking harder. "No."

Adrian took a step toward me. "Scarlett, what is going on?"

I grabbed the bottle from the floor.

"What?"

"I need air."

"Scarlett."

"I need to go outside."

"You can't go outside looking like this."

"I don't care."

"You're supposed to meet the Morettis."

The name made my entire body stiffen. My mind immediately returned to Matteo.

His face.

His hands.

The knife.

My throat.

I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe.

Was Matteo downstairs?

Had he come to kill me again?

Was this some kind of nightmare inside another nightmare?

I moved toward the closet.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk."

"A walk?"

"Yes."

"You can't leave."

I turned toward him. "Watch me."

I grabbed my keys and a baseball cap and shoved it over my hair before walking toward the door.

"Scarlett!"

I ignored him.

I needed to get out.

I needed to think.

I needed to figure out what the hell was happening.

Maybe I was dreaming.

Maybe I had lost my mind.

Maybe I had somehow gone back in time.

The thought was ridiculous.

Impossible.

But so was waking up alive after remembering your own murder.

I rushed out of my bedroom and headed downstairs.

My mind was spinning.

I barely noticed the ringing of my phone until it became louder.

I stopped.

My heart dropped when I looked at the screen.

Matt♥️

The phone slipped from my hand and it hit the floor.

I stumbled backward. "No." My body began shaking again.

"No, no, no."

I bent down slowly.

My fingers trembled as I picked up the phone.

The name remained on the screen.

I stared at it.

My heart was beating so violently I could hear it.

The last Matteo I remembered had been kneeling over me with blood on his hands.

He had murdered me.

My thumb moved over the screen.

Instead of answering, I turned the phone off completely.

The screen went black.

I shoved it into my pocket and hurried down the remaining stairs.

I needed my car.

That was all I could think about.

Get out.

Leave.

Think later.

But the moment I reached the living room, my entire body stopped.

Matteo Moretti was sitting on one of the sofas.

A glass of scotch rested in his hand.

His phone was pressed against his ear.

He looked completely relaxed.

Like he hadn't murdered anyone.

Like Valentina wasn't dead.

Like I wasn't supposed to be dead.

I couldn't move.

Matteo looked up and our eyes met.

He immediately stood.

The glass remained in his hand as confusion crossed his face. "Scarlett?"

Tears filled my eyes and my lips began trembling.

He was different. But still Matteo.

The sight of him standing there sent a wave of terror through me so strong that I stepped backward.

"No."

His expression changed. "Scarlett?"

"I'm sorry."

The words slipped out.

Matteo frowned. "What?"

"I'm sorry." I shook my head rapidly. "I didn't mean to."

His face went completely confused. "Scarlett, what are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry." Tears began falling. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Scarlett."

I stepped back again. "Don't."

His eyebrows pulled together. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I couldn't breathe. So I ran.

I heard Matteo call my name behind me, but I didn't stop.

I ran out of the mansion and toward my car.

My hands shook so badly that I nearly dropped my keys twice before managing to unlock the door.

"Scarlett!" I heard Matteo's voice again.

I got inside.

I slammed the door shut. My fingers fumbled with the ignition.

Come on.

Come on.

The engine started.

I immediately reversed.

Someone shouted.

I didn't look back.

I drove out of the compound.

My tears blurred my vision almost immediately.

I wiped them away with the back of my hand.

What was happening?

What year was this really?

Why wasn't I dead?

Why wasn't Matteo the man I remembered?

Was Valentina alive?

Was she pregnant?

Was I?

The questions crashed into each other inside my head.

I drove faster.

The mansion disappeared behind me.

But the memory didn't.

I could still see Matteo.

Still hear him.

‘How could you do this to me?’

I pressed harder on the accelerator.

My breathing became uneven.

I couldn't think.

I couldn't stop crying.

"Focus," I whispered to myself.

My hands gripped the steering wheel.

"Focus."

But my vision was blurred.

Tears kept coming.

I wiped my eyes again.

For one brief second, I looked down.

When I looked back up, there was a car directly in front of me.

My eyes widened.

"Shit!"

I slammed on the brakes.

The sound of tires screeching against the road filled the air.

But there wasn't enough time.

The impact came violently.

My body slammed forward.

The sound of metal crashing against metal exploded around me.

Then everything went black.