Ibu Meninggal, Suami Sibuk dengan Mantan

Eada snapped her eyes open, her chest rising as she struggled to understand where she was.

The familiar canopy above her bed came into focus, followed by the embroidered curtains, the dark wooden furniture and the faint fragrance of sandalwood that always lingered in her mother's house. 

She remained still for several moments, staring at the room as memories rushed through her mind so violently that she pressed a hand against her chest.

She knew this room and more importantly, she knew this day.

It was the day she and her elder sister, Iman, had been summoned by their mother to choose their husbands during the clan merger. 

The union between their clan and the Bacola clan was supposed to strengthen their influence, while the marriages would determine where the two sisters would spend the rest of their lives.

In her previous life, Eada had chosen Lexus Damico, the heir to the Damico clan and the man who controlled the southern territory, while Iman had chosen Don Daemon Bacola.

At the time, Eada had believed she had made the better choice.

How wrong she had been.

Her fingers tightened around the bedsheet as the memories returned.

She remembered how Iman had been stabbed by Delilah, Daemon's mistress, and left to die without so much as a second thought from the man who was supposed to be her husband. 

She remembered receiving the frantic summons and rushing to Iman's residence, only to find her sister lying helplessly on the floor, blood staining her clothes.

She remembered confronting Daemon, demanding to know what he had done to her sister.

She remembered the knife in his hand.

She remembered the moment it entered her body.

Even after everything that had happened to her, that moment remained impossible to forget because it was the first time her strange ability had ever failed her.

Eada had spent her entire life believing herself untouchable. 

Whatever another person attempted to do to her would somehow be reflected back upon them. 

A curse, an attack, an attempt to poison or harm her would always return to its source, leaving her enemies to suffer the consequences of their own actions.

Yet Daemon had stabbed her, and the knife had pierced her flesh.

She had been so shocked that she had almost forgotten the pain.

Daemon was the only person who could kill her.

And he had.

After stabbing her, he had set the house ablaze, leaving both sisters to die together.

But before the flames consumed them, Iman had told Eada everything.

She had told her about the humiliation she had endured, the cruelty she had suffered at Daemon's hands and the way Delilah had tormented her while Daemon stood by and allowed it to happen. 

Every secret Iman had kept buried beneath her marriage had finally come spilling out in those final moments.

Eada remembered holding her sister's hand while the smoke filled the room.

She remembered promising herself that if she ever had another chance, she would save Iman.

And somehow, that chance had come.

Eada slowly pushed herself out of bed and walked toward the mirror, staring at the young woman reflected in it. 

Her face was untouched, her body free of the injuries that had eventually taken her life, and the woman staring back at her looked exactly as she had before everything went wrong.

She was alive.

She had returned to the very beginning.

A faint smile touched her lips when another memory surfaced, this one belonging to Lexus.

Unlike Daemon, Lexus had never mistreated her.

In fact, he had been a good husband.

He had respected her decisions, protected her when she needed him and never forced her to become someone she was not. 

Even when their marriage had been arranged through the clan alliance, Lexus had treated her with patience and genuine affection. 

There had been countless moments when Eada had wondered whether she could eventually learn to love him, because he had given her every reason to.

If she remembered correctly, Lexus had even tried to warn her about Daemon after noticing the way the Bacola clan treated Iman.

She had ignored him.

Now, with the knowledge of her previous life sitting heavily in her mind, Eada understood something she had failed to see before.

Lexus had been the perfect husband for Iman.

Iman deserved a man who would protect her, respect her and give her the peace she had never received from Daemon. 

If Eada chose Lexus again, she would be taking away the one person who might have been able to give her sister the life she deserved.

Perhaps that was the real reason she had been brought back.

Not to reclaim her old life but to change Iman’s.

A soft knock sounded against the door before it opened, and Eada's heart immediately tightened.

Iman stepped into the room.

She was alive.

There was no blood on her clothes, no wound across her body and no trace of the suffering Eada remembered. 

She was standing there just as she had been on this day in their first life, completely unaware, or perhaps not, of the fate that was waiting for her.

"Eada, Mother is waiting for us," Iman said.

Eada stared at her sister for a moment longer than she should have.

Something about Iman's expression unsettled her.

Then a memory returned with startling clarity.

In her final moments, when Eada had been dying beside her, Iman had quietly pinched her arm and begged her to choose Lexus. She had warned Eada that Daemon would kill her if she chose him.

At the time, Eada had assumed her sister was simply trying to save her.

But now she understood the strange certainty in Iman's warning.

If Eada had truly been reborn, then there was a possibility that Iman had been given the same second chance.

Perhaps her sister remembered everything too.

Perhaps Iman had already decided that Eada needed to stay away from Daemon.

Eada's gaze softened as she watched her sister.

If Iman remembered their previous life, then she would probably try everything in her power to stop Eada from choosing Daemon.

Unfortunately, there was nothing she could say that would make Eada change her mind.

She had already made her decision.

The two sisters entered the grand hall together, where their mother sat surrounded by members of both clans. 

Lexus Damico stood among the representatives from the southern territory, composed and dignified as always, while Daemon Bacola stood several feet away, his expression carrying the same arrogance Eada remembered so well.

The sight of him made the memories of her death come rushing back.

Eada's hands curled beneath her sleeves, but she kept her expression calm.

Her mother looked between the two sisters before addressing Eada.

“It is time for you to make a choice." Her mother's voice was loud and clear making the entire hall fell silent. 

Eada glanced toward Lexus.

For one brief moment, she remembered the husband she had once had.

She remembered the way he had waited patiently whenever she needed him, the way he had defended her without making her feel helpless and the quiet kindness he had shown her even when she had not known how to appreciate it.

He had been good to her. Her gaze shifted to Iman.

Her sister was watching her anxiously, almost pleading with her without saying a word.

Eada knew exactly what Iman wanted. She wanted her to choose Lexus.

Lexus belonged to Iman and Daemon belonged to her.

Eada lifted her chin and faced her mother.

"I have made my decision."

Her mother's eyes settled on her expectantly.

"Who do you choose?"

The answer that followed left the entire hall in stunned silence.

"I choose Don Daemon Bacola."

Iman's face was drained of colour.

Several people immediately began whispering among themselves, while even the members of the Bacola clan exchanged surprised looks.

Her mother stared at her as though she had just announced something incomprehensible.

"Eada, are you certain?"

"I have never been more certain of anything."

Iman stepped forward, her voice trembling as she tried to keep herself composed.

"Eada, please reconsider. You don't know what you're doing."

A strange sadness passed through Eada as she looked at her sister.

Of course Iman was afraid.

She had already lived through what Daemon was capable of.

If Iman truly remembered their previous life, then she was probably terrified that Eada was walking willingly toward the same fate.

But Eada knew something her sister did not. She was not walking toward her death.

She was walking toward the man who had killed her. And this time, she knew exactly what waited for her.

Eada turned back to her mother. "Prepare for the wedding."

Her mother frowned. "When?"

"In three days."

The hall erupted into murmurs.

Three days.

Eada could feel everyone's eyes on her, but none of it mattered.

She had spent her previous life making choices based on trust, love and the belief that people would eventually show her the same kindness she showed them.

That woman had died.

The woman standing here now remembered every betrayal, every wound and every secret that had been revealed before the flames consumed her.

She would save Iman.

She would take Lexus away from the fate that had been waiting for her sister.

And as for Daemon Bacola, Eada had no intention of becoming his obedient wife.

She had chosen him because he had once been the only man capable of killing her.

Now she wanted to find out whether he would still be capable of doing it a second time.