CHAPTER 2

Nyla gasped so hard she choked on air.

Her body jerked upward like someone had shocked her with electricity. Her hands flew to her chest, frantically searching for the pain, for the broken ribs, for the blood. There was nothing. Just smooth skin under her silk nightgown and a heartbeat that was strong and steady and very much alive.

What the hell?

She twisted around, eyes wild, taking in her surroundings. This was not a hospital. The walls were cream colored with expensive artwork hanging in gold frames. A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling, the kind that cost more than most people's cars. Soft morning light filtered through floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city skyline.

This was her bedroom. The master suite in the penthouse she shared with Eric.

But that was impossible. She had just died. She remembered it with brutal clarity. The flatline. The doctors stopping their attempts to save her. Eric's voice on the phone saying those two words. It is done.

Nyla pressed her palms against her face. Her skin was warm. She could feel her pulse throbbing in her temples. She was breathing. She was alive.

Had it all been a nightmare? Some horrible, twisted dream brought on by stress or bad food or something her mind had invented?

But no. It felt too real. Too vivid. She could still feel the cold hospital bed beneath her back, still hear the machines screaming, still see Lisa's triumphant smile as the life drained out of her body.

Nyla grabbed her phone from the nightstand with shaking hands. The screen lit up and she stared at the date displayed there.

June 15th.

Her blood turned to ice.

June 15th. Exactly one year before the accident. One year before Eric and Lisa murdered her on that dark road and let her bleed out in a hospital while they stood there watching like it was entertainment.

She checked the date again. Then again. Her fingers were trembling so badly she almost dropped the phone. But the numbers did not change. June 15th stared back at her, impossible and undeniable.

"This cannot be real," she whispered.

But her body knew the truth even if her mind was still struggling to accept it. She was back. Somehow, impossibly, she had traveled back in time. Or been reborn. Or given a second chance by whatever force governed life and death. The how did not matter. What mattered was that she was here, alive, with a whole year of knowledge about what Eric and Lisa were planning.

A whole year to stop them.

The bedroom door opened and Nyla nearly jumped out of her skin. A woman in a gray uniform stepped inside carrying a breakfast tray. Margaret, the housekeeper who had worked for them since they moved into this penthouse three years ago.

"Oh, you are awake!" Margaret's face broke into a warm smile. "I was just bringing up your breakfast. Mr. Harper said not to disturb you this morning since you had been feeling tired lately."

Nyla's throat was too tight to speak. She just stared at Margaret like she was seeing a ghost. In her previous timeline, Margaret had quit six months from now after Eric accused her of stealing and refused to pay her final wages. Nyla had believed him then. She had let Margaret leave without even saying goodbye. Another person she had failed because she was too stupid and too trusting to see what was right in front of her face.

"Are you feeling alright, Mrs. Harper?" Margaret set the tray down on the bedside table and peered at Nyla with concern. "You look very pale."

"I am fine." Nyla's voice came out hoarse. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Where is Eric?"

"Oh, he left quite early this morning. Said he had meetings all day and then that charity banquet tonight at the Grandview Hotel. You know how busy he always is."

The Grandview Hotel.

The words hit Nyla like a physical blow. She knew that banquet. She remembered it now with perfect, painful clarity. In her previous life, Eric had told her the event would be boring and she should stay home and rest. He said he would just make a quick appearance and come home early. She had believed him. She had spent that evening watching television in her pajamas, completely oblivious to the fact that her husband was at that banquet with Lisa on his arm, introducing her to all his business associates as his close friend and future business partner.

That was the night it started. The public affair that everyone knew about except Nyla. The night Eric and Lisa stopped hiding and started building their relationship right out in the open while Nyla sat at home like an idiot, trusting her husband and her best friend.

Not this time.

"Did he say what time he was leaving for the banquet?" Nyla asked. Her voice was steadier now. Colder.

Margaret thought for a moment. "I believe he said seven o'clock. The event starts at eight, but he wanted to arrive early to network." She paused. "He mentioned that Miss Lisa would be meeting him there as well. Something about her helping him with some business connections."

Of course. Lisa was already part of the plan. Already worming her way into Eric's professional life, positioning herself as indispensable. In the original timeline, Nyla had been happy that her husband and best friend got along so well. She had thought it was sweet that they could work together. She had actually encouraged it.

God, she had been such a fool.

"Mrs. Harper?" Margaret was looking at her with worry now. "Are you sure you are feeling well? Should I call the doctor?"

"No." Nyla swung her legs out of bed. Her body felt strong. Healthy. Full of energy in a way it had not been for months before the accident. Because in the original timeline, she had been slowly deteriorating. She had been tired all the time, getting frequent headaches, feeling weak and dizzy. She had thought it was stress. Now she wondered if Eric had been poisoning her. Slowly. Carefully. Getting her body weakened so that when the final blow came, she would not have the strength to fight back.

"I am perfectly fine," Nyla said. She looked at Margaret directly. "Actually, I want to attend the banquet tonight."

Margaret blinked in surprise. "Really? But you usually hate those events. You always say they are too loud and crowded."

"I changed my mind." Nyla stood up and walked to her closet. Her mind was already working, already planning. "I want to support my husband. I should be there with him."

She pulled open the closet doors and started sorting through the rows of dresses. Most of them were in soft, muted colors. Pastels and neutrals that Eric had told her looked elegant and sophisticated. Colors that made her blend into the background and never draw attention. Colors that made her forgettable.

Nyla pushed past all of those and reached for a dress she had bought months ago on impulse and never worn. Eric had seen it hanging in the closet and told her it was too flashy, too attention-seeking, not appropriate for the wife of a serious businessman. She had believed him and shoved it to the back, embarrassed by her own poor judgment.

The dress was red. Deep, blood red. The kind of red that demanded to be noticed.

Perfect.

"Prepare a car for me," Nyla said without turning around. "I will need to leave by seven thirty."

"But Mrs. Harper, Mr. Harper already left. He took Miss Lisa with him."

The words hung in the air between them.

Nyla's hands tightened on the red dress. Her reflection stared back at her from the full length mirror. For just a moment, she saw herself as she had been in that hospital. Broken. Dying. Betrayed by the two people she loved most.

Then the image shifted and she saw herself as she was now. Alive. Young. Strong. Armed with knowledge of the future and burning with rage that would not be satisfied until Eric and Lisa paid for every single thing they had done to her.

In her original timeline, Eric went to that banquet with Lisa and betrayed her that very night.