CHAPTER TWO.

PRESENT DAY.

The gentle knock on the door made the lady on the bed open her eyes slowly and for a moment, she was trying to decipher where she was. 

Opening her eyes widely, she immediately shot out of her as her eyes opened wide as saucers, where the hell was she?

“Young madam” the maid who just entered the room bowed gently and a slight frown appeared on her forehead.

“Young madam?” She muttered under her breath, since when did she  become a young madam? What was actually happening? How did she even get here? A lot was going on in her head as she looked around the room.

The last thing she remembered was that rainy night and then all of a sudden, she was here in a big soft bed being called a madam?

“Rebecca?” The maid called again, “what exactly are you thinking about ma’am? I have been talking to you but you seem lost”

“Rebecca?” She spoke up for the first time, “who is rebecca?”

The maid in front of her had a confused look hovering over her face, was this  the madam’s pretense mechanism not to attend the ceremony tonight? Rebecca has always been a mischievous child and now she is getting worse.

“Are you trying to pretend not to know who you are now, young madam? Your father will not let you off the hook if you don’t attend. By the way, you should come down for breakfast, everyone is waiting”

After talking, she bowed and walked out of the room while the lady seated on the bed had never been more confused in her life.

A lot was going on in her head as she pushed her body out of the bed before walking towards the large mirror on the wall.

The lady in front of her was different from the lady she knew. The one in front of the mirror looked much more pretty than she remembered herself, her beauty was out of this world making her more perplexed than ever. 

Who the heck was this rebecca and how was she here? 

She remembered what happened that night like it was yesterday but after that night. What happened? How did she appear here? How was she here? How did all this happen?

Her thoughts were interrupted when her door pushed open again and this time, a more sophisticated woman sauntered into the room with a soft smile on her face. She was equally as pretty and Rebecca nodded, she knew exactly who she got her beauty from.

“Hey darling, why aren’t you down for breakfast yet?” The lady’s voice was equally as soft, she looked adorable, “your father is going on a business trip this morning and you need to see him before he leaves, you have to attend the party in his stead tonight”

“Dad?”

“Yes” the woman gently caressed her cheeks, “and did you forget you have an early morning meeting, you should get ready and come down okay?”

“Sure…” she didn’t know what to call the lady in front of her, the last time she called someone her mother, she was mocked for it.

“Okay baby, I made your favorite”

After talking, the woman made her way out of the room while she slumped on the vanity chair. 

None of this made sense to her, was she dreaming? What exactly was going on?

Rebecca tousled her already disheveled hair in confusion, none of this was making sense even in the least.

“No, there must be a misunderstanding somewhere” she mumbled to herself, “I must have had so much to drink last night. I should be fine right?”

But nothing was fine, the more she thought about it, the  more it did not make sense.

Magically she was in a weird house called Rebecca and everyone loved her? What was going on? Where did everyone go?

“Rebecca!!!”

“Coming” she retorted and rushed towards the bathroom, how was this going to make sense?

******

The frown on her face deepened when she walked into the dining room to meet everyone, the supposed father and her mother. Why were they the only ones? What exactly was going on?

“I thought you were not going to come down for breakfast, honey” the old man said to her, “I almost left”

“Come, sit down and have your breakfast. You should get ready for work after this”

Like she was being controlled, she gently lowered herself on the available chair and turned her attention to both of her “supposed parent” 

These were not the people she knew as parents right? Did she lose her memory?

“What is today’s date?” She inquired and the two of them raised their brows at her.

“Why are you asking about the date, honey?” Her mum asked, “today is 26th of June”

“Date?”

“What are you trying to play at, Rebecca?” Now her father didn’t sound friendly anymore, “now you don’t know what year we are in?”

“I was just asking, okay? Is it bad?”

“2023, my dear”

The moment her mother’s words filtered into her ears, Rebecca immediately dropped her cutlery in fear. 2023? How was this even possible? The last time she remembered was August, 2018. How was she even here? Where did five years of her life go and who were these people?

“Look dear” the man began to speak again, “you should go to the party on my behalf, I have to go for a business meeting and I won’t be available. Make sure to give the speech on my behalf, I will let Mr Hernandez know”

The name struck a chord in her mind, Mr Hernandez. She knew a family who had that name and the thought of it annoyed her.

“Okay” that was the most appropriate response she could give right?

“I have to run now” 

The man stood up and gave his wife and daughter a kiss.

“Take care of yourself honey”

After exchanging a few words, he walked out of the room while her mother fixated her attention back on her.

“What is going on with you, honey?” The lady inquired, 

“you are acting out of the ordinary today”

“You also noticed?” Rebecca’s eyes lit up.

“Is something going on with you? You know you can tell me anything right?”

“I just don’t understand what is going on, I feel weird” 

“Maybe you should cancel your meeting, I think you need some rest”

“I will be in my room”

After she was done, Rebecca made her way back upstairs and slumped on the bed.

A magazine on the bedside table caught her attention and she picked it up, the headline was what piqued her curiosity.

“Rebecca Sanchez, the youngest CEO in america” and there her picture was, looking as radiant as the sun. The Rebecca she was seeing on the papers could pass for an international model, she looked spectacular and elegant, she was indeed fit for the award of the youngest CEO in America.

“Rebecca Sanchez, what connection do we have exactly?” She muttered under her breath.

Immediately the mobile on the bedside table began to ring and the moment she saw the caller ID, her countenance changed. 

The name “Melisa” struck a chord in her, the Melisa she used to know was a devil’s pawn.

Heaving a sigh, she picked up the phone and pressed it against her ears.

“Hello” filtered into her ears from the other end and Rebecca froze, she knew this voice. How was it even possible? Nothing was even making sense.

“Hey Becca” Melisa said from the other end again, “how about we meet for coffee before the party?”

For a while, Rebecca was silent. She wasn’t quite sure about the relationship she had with Melisa but one thing was clear, she had to get to the bottom of what was happening.

“Sure, text me the address and I will be there”

“Cool”

After ending the call, she picked up the magazine again and skimmed through it.

 Apparently this Rebecca Sanchez was one of a kind, her family was much more than she could even imagine. While at that, Rebecca was a self made woman. At the age of twenty five, she already had plenty of businesses under her name.

The phone beeped with a message and she saw the address, funny how the phone didn’t even have a password. It felt like whatever was happening today was already predestined and meeting with Melisa? Somewhere deep in her mind, she was already praying to the universe not to let her suspicions get real. How did Melissa get into her life quickly when she has  not even had the opportunity to understand what exactly was happening?

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her head, she walked towards the wardrobe and picked a dress. 

Meeting with Melissa now was going to help her solve part of this puzzle, she needed to get to the bottom of whatever was happening.

*****

Dressed in a pair of white flay pants and a crisp black button up shirt to match, Rebecca paired it with a pair of white heels and a black Prada bag to match. While Rebecca was a fashion icon, the person living in her body now was a fashion designer and it was not hard to create this look.

Giving herself one last glance at the mirror, she sauntered out of the room and made her way downstairs.

Her “supposed” mother was busy watching the  morning stock market news and the moment she heard Melissa’s heels clicking on the floor, she turned her head towards her daughter and her lips curled into a gentle smile.

“I thought we agreed that you will take some rest?”

“I have to meet up with Melisa, mu…” her voice trailed off, she didn’t want to call another woman her mother. She didn’t want to deceive anyone at all, especially after what 

She passed through five years ago.

“Okay. Ask the chauffeur to drive you okay?”

“Sure ma”

After that, she ventured out of the house and into the black maybach. In no time, it accelerated out of the house towards MINTZ cafe.

The drive lasted for about twenty minutes and when it finally came to a halt in front of the cafe, Rebecca gently alighted and before she could take a step forward, a sea of reporters ran up to her.

“Miss Rebecca, how does it feel to receive the award for America’s youngest CEO again for the third time?” One of them asked.

“What is the secret of your ever growing empire?” Another inquired.

“Tell us miss Becca, will you really be signing an agreement with Hernandez group of companies?”

This last question piqued her curiosity and she turned her attention to the reporter. She badly wanted to ask him what he meant but she knew she couldn’t. At least not yet until she understood what exactly was going on.

“Why don’t you wait for the official announcement from the company?”

Flashing them a smile, she briskly walked towards the entrance. 

Being in front of the camera, she was not fazed. Up until five years ago, she was a regular with cameras and reporters, she was from a rich family by the way.

The moment she ventured into the cafe, she stopped right on her tracks when she spotted Melisa seated and waving at her.

Memories of the past became fresh in her memory and a lump appeared in her throat, was the universe trying to mock her again? 

Rebecca felt her insides churning and she felt like turning back and leaving.

How dare Melisa even try to show her face to her? How dare this murderer?

Five years ago, she was betrayed and humiliated by this devil and her husband, five years ago she was poisoned and killed by this devil and her husband, five years ago her life ended but even today, Melisa was the first person she was seeing. Even today when she woke up in a body she didn’t even know, her enemy was the first person she saw.

Rebecca scoffed, the universe must  really suck.

Clenching her fist together, she forced a smile on her face before making her way towards the table. If she was in front of an enemy, she might as well find out exactly what was happening.

“Hey girlfriend” a huge grin appeared on Melisa’s face as Rebecca walked to the table, “I am glad you could make it”

“I mean, you asked” Becca shrugged, “why did you want to meet by the way?” Pretending not to know Melisa for these few seconds was the worst thing she has ever done in her life because the anger in her has reached its peak. She badly wanted to grab her by the hair and feed her the same poison from five years ago. The poison that claimed her life and that of her unborn baby, the thought of it made Rebecca gag. It was taking all of her willpower to sit in front of an enemy and pretend not to know, this must be the joke of the century.

Sitting in front of Melissa, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about her child, the one they both killed. It would have been four  years by now if it was still alive.

Rebecca could feel a sting of tear in her eyes but she clenched her teeth to stop herself, she could not let Melisa know anything yet. Not when she was still struggling with understanding what was happening.

“So tell me, why did you call?” She asked again, “I am not feeling too well and I need to take some rest”

“Of course Becca” the grin on Melissa’s face increased, “your mum told me and that is why I called you out. You have been working too much lately, you need some break”

Rebecca’s forehead creased into a slight frown. Just how close were the two of them for Melissa to even have her mother’s phone number?

“The designer will have your clothes sent to the house later, it sure looks very pretty”

Her statement and her smile made Rebbeca cringe, she hated her guts.

“Just how close are we?” The words slipped out of her mouth before she could even stop herself and the frown on Melisa’s face did not go unnoticed by her.

“What do you mean, Becca?”

“I mean, I am surprised that we are so close, right?” She gave an awkward laugh.

“Need I remind you about how we became friends five years ago?” Melisa was sure proud of herself while the lady in front of her was burning with anger. Not only did Melisa kill her supposed best friend but she made another friend almost immediately? Where the heck was loyalty? The more Becca thought about it, the more angry she got.

“That night five years ago, a car had mistakenly hit you and we took you to the hospital, don’t you remember?”

“We?” Becca looked skeptical and Melisa rolled her eyes before throwing her hands helplessly in the air.

“Have you been smoking again?” She inquired with raised brows.

“I didn’t wake up on the right side of my bed, melisa. Everything has been so hazy and I can’t….” The words hung in her throat when a familiar someone walked up to them and her eyes almost fell out of their socket. Harden, her murderer of a husband.