Chapter 2 : The Day Before

I sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, just staring at my hands. They looked the same. Soft. Clean. No blood under the nails from scratching him. My throat still felt tight, like someone had been pressing on it, but when I touched the skin it was smooth.

“Was it a dream?” I whispered to the empty room.

It had to be. People don’t die and wake up a year earlier. That only happens in the movies I used to watch when I couldn’t sleep.

I stood up and walked to the bathroom. Everything was exactly how I remembered it from before the wedding. The same toothbrush in the cup. The same half-used bottle of lotion on the counter. I turned on the water and splashed my face. Cold. Real.

When I came back out, my phone was buzzing on the nightstand. I picked it up. The date on the screen made my stomach drop.

One year ago. The day before my wedding.

I opened the messages. There were three from Adrian already.

Adrian: Morning, baby. Can’t wait to see you in that dress tomorrow.

Adrian: I’m stopping by the office first, then I’ll come over later.

Adrian: Love you.

Love you.

The same words he used to say while he was fucking my sister behind my back.

I typed nothing back. My fingers felt cold.

A soft knock came at the bedroom door.

“Miss Lila? Are you awake?”

I knew that voice. Rosa. My maid. She had worked for me for three years before the wedding. Kind woman. Always brought me tea without being asked.

“Come in,” I said.

Rosa opened the door carrying a tray. Tea, toast, and the little jar of honey I liked. She set it on the table by the window.

“You look pale this morning,” she said. “Did you sleep badly?”

I stared at her. In my old life, on this exact day, Rosa had brought the same tray. Same words. Same worried look on her face.

“I’m fine,” I answered. My voice came out rough.

She poured the tea and handed me the cup. “You have the final dress fitting at eleven. Then the florist will call about the flowers. Mr. Adrian said he will pick you up at seven for dinner with both families.”

Every single thing she said matched the day I had lived before. Word for word.

I almost dropped the cup.

“Rosa,” I said slowly. “What day is today?”

She blinked. “Thursday, Miss. The twenty-third. Tomorrow is the big day. Are you nervous?”

I forced a small smile. “A little.”

She nodded like she understood and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

I sat down hard on the chair. My heart was beating too fast. This was not a dream. Dreams don’t come with the exact same tea tray and the exact same words from the maid.

I was really here. One year earlier. Alive. With every memory of how I died still sitting in my head like a knife.

I picked up the phone again and opened the calendar. Tomorrow’s date was marked in red: Wedding – Adrian.

I remembered that wedding. The white dress. The big church. Maya standing next to me as my maid of honor, smiling like she didn’t have my husband’s cock in her mouth two nights before. Adrian looking at me with those soft eyes while he already owned most of my company through the papers I had signed without reading.

Nexus Technology.

My father’s company. The one I had worked so hard to keep after he died. The one Adrian had slowly taken from me piece by piece.

In this life I still owned it. Fully. No papers signed yet. No transfers. Nothing.

I stood up and walked to the window. The street outside looked the same as it did that morning a year ago. Same cars. Same sunshine.

A plan started forming in my mind, cold and clear.

If I called off the wedding now, Adrian would be angry, but he would still be free. He could still chase Maya. He could still find another way to get close to the company. My revenge would be thin. Incomplete.

But if I married him…

If I walked down that aisle tomorrow, smiled at him, said the vows, and let him think he had won again…

Then I could destroy him from the inside.

I could watch him smile at me while I took everything away. The company. The money. The sister he loved more than me. His pride. His peace.

I wanted him to feel the same helplessness I felt when his hand was around my throat and he was still moving inside me.

I wanted him to beg.

A soft laugh came out of my mouth. It sounded strange in the quiet room.

My phone buzzed again. Another message from Adrian.

Adrian: Did you get my texts? Miss me already?

I stared at the screen for a long time. Then I typed back.

Me: I miss you. See you tonight.

The reply came almost at once.

Adrian: That’s my girl. Wear something nice for dinner. I want everyone to see how lucky I am.

Lucky.

I set the phone down and went to the closet. The white wedding dress was hanging there in its plastic cover, waiting for tomorrow. Next to it were the clothes I used to wear before everything went wrong. Simple. Clean. Mine.

I pulled out a soft blue dress for the family dinner later and laid it on the bed.

Rosa knocked again and came in with more tea.

“You should eat something, Miss Lila. You have a long day.”

I sat down and took a bite of the toast. It tasted like nothing.

“Rosa,” I said. “Has Maya called this morning?”

Rosa looked a little surprised. “Your sister? Not yet. But she texted last night to say she will come early tomorrow to help you get ready.”

Of course she would. In the last life she had fixed my veil with gentle hands while the marks from Adrian’s mouth were still on her neck under her makeup.

“Tell her I can’t wait to see her,” I said.

Rosa smiled and left again.

I finished the tea and stood up. My body felt light, like it didn’t belong to the woman who had died last night. But the hatred in my chest was heavy and real.

I walked into the living room and opened my laptop. The password was the same. My work emails were there. Company reports. Meeting notes. Everything was still under my name. Chairwoman of Nexus Technology. Full control.

In my old life I had signed the first set of papers three months after the wedding. Adrian had smiled and said it was just for tax reasons. I had trusted him.

This time I would not sign a single thing.

I closed the laptop and looked at the clock. Almost ten. The dress fitting was in an hour.

I went back to the bedroom and got dressed. Simple jeans and a white blouse. I pulled my hair into a loose ponytail and put on light makeup. When I looked in the mirror I saw the same face from a year ago. Younger. Softer. Not yet broken.

But the eyes were different now.

I took my bag and keys and left the apartment. The elevator felt familiar. The lobby smelled the same. Outside, the city moved like nothing had changed.

My driver was already waiting by the car.

“Good morning, Miss Lila,” he said. “To the bridal shop?”

“Yes.”

I sat in the back seat and watched the buildings pass. Every street corner looked like a place I had already lived. The coffee shop where Adrian had proposed. The park where he had first told me he loved me. All lies.

At the bridal shop the woman who had fitted me before smiled the moment I walked in.

“Miss Lila! You’re right on time. The dress is ready for the final check.”

She led me to the private room. The white gown was waiting on the mannequin. I remembered how it felt against my skin the first time. How happy I had been.

Now the happiness was gone.

I stepped into the dress and let her zip it up. It fit perfectly, just like before.

“You look beautiful,” she said. “Mr. Adrian is a lucky man.”

I looked at myself in the long mirror. The woman in the white dress smiled back at me, but the smile did not reach her eyes.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “He is.”

She fixed a small fold at the waist and stepped back. “Everything is perfect. Tomorrow you will be the most beautiful bride in the city.”

I nodded and let her help me out of the dress. When I was in my own clothes again I thanked her and left.

Outside, the sun was higher. I checked my phone. No new messages from Adrian. He was probably at the office, or with Maya. In the old life he had been with her that afternoon. I remembered the way he had smelled like her perfume when he came to the family dinner later.

This time I would notice.

I told the driver to take me to the company building. I needed to see it. Needed to walk the halls while they still belonged to me.

The security guard at the front desk stood up when I entered.

“Miss Lila. We weren’t expecting you today.”

“I just came to pick up a few things,” I said.

He smiled and waved me through. The elevator took me to the top floor. My office looked exactly the same. Big windows. Clean desk. The photo of my father on the shelf.

I sat in the chair and ran my hands over the wood. This was still mine. Every share. Every decision. Adrian had not touched it yet.

I opened the bottom drawer and found the small notebook I used to keep for private notes. In my old life I had written wedding plans in it. Today I opened a clean page and wrote three words.

Make him pay.

Then I closed it and put it back.

When I left the building the sky had started to change. Late afternoon light. I needed to get ready for the family dinner.

Back at the apartment Rosa helped me into the blue dress. She fixed my hair and told me I looked lovely. I thanked her and waited for Adrian.

He arrived at exactly seven, just like before. He wore a dark suit and that same soft smile.

“There she is,” he said when I opened the door. He leaned in and kissed me. Gentle. Loving. The kiss of a man who had already planned my death.

I kissed him back and tasted nothing but hate.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered.

“So do you.”

He took my hand and led me to the car. On the way to the restaurant he talked about the wedding plans, the guests, how happy his parents were. I listened and nodded and smiled at the right times.

Inside my head the memories played like a movie. His hand on my throat. The words about Maya. The way he had kept moving inside me while I died.

At the restaurant both families were already there. My mother. His parents. And Maya.

Maya stood up when she saw us. She hugged me first, tight and warm.

“You look so calm,” she said. “I would be shaking if it was me tomorrow.”

I hugged her back and smelled her perfume. The same one that had been on Adrian’s skin in the old life.

“I’m ready,” I told her.

Adrian’s hand rested on my lower back. Possessive. Proud.

We sat down. Wine was poured. Toasts were made. Everyone laughed and talked about the future.

I looked across the table at Adrian. He was smiling at something his father said. The light from the candles made his face look kind.

I thought about tomorrow. The white dress. The vows. The night that would follow.

If I walked away now, the revenge would be small.

If I stayed, if I married him, I could take my time. I could smile while I ruined him piece by piece.

The choice was already made.

I raised my glass when everyone else did and drank.

Tomorrow I will become his wife again.

And this time I would make sure he regretted every second of it.