Chapter 1 The Rebirth: Breaking off the engagement.

Kara's POV.

The shrill ringing sound of my bedside alarm clock rang, making me spring up with a jolt.

I immediately sat up with a face mask on.

What's going on??

How am I here??

I'm sure my heart stopped beating in the ICU. Was it a dream?

“Sister Kar, you're finally awake”

Serena, my stepsister, walked in with a smile.

“ Serena, what year are we?”

She looked at me as if I had just asked the most bizarre question she's ever heard.

“What do you mean, Kara? It's 2024.”

Her smile stretched into a thin line, with fake concern dripping from her voice.

“What's wrong? Hope you're not changing your mind? What happened? Did pauper boy(Aiden) do something?”

Her nickname for Aiden was ‘pauper boy '.

“ I forgot what the year was for a second, that's why I was asking.”

Serena let out a breath of relief she didn't know she was holding.

“Oh, it's the 25th of January,2024. How could you forget the date of your own bridal appointment? Sister, you really are something else.”

“Serena, I thought you were going out. What are you doing?”

My Stepmom, Georgina’s voice rang out from the parlor.

“I should go with you to try out the dresses and take photos, but I'm so swamped with work. Send me photos, okay? Byee”

Not like she'd have really come with me out of the goodness of her heart anyways.

It's 2024.

Exactly a year before everything.

Hot tears streamed down my face before I could stop them.

Does this mean I'm back in the past?

I hurriedly grabbed the calendar beside my bed and my phone from the tiny cupboard that functions as my bedside table, cupboard and calendar holder.

A text came in from Aiden.

“Hasten up Kar, I've been waiting for a while now.”

The date popped up on the messaging app.

It's really 2024.

It's exactly 25/1/24.

How could this happen? It feels like I had a very vivid dream, but I remembered every detail like I lived through it.

While I'm trying to figure out exactly what happened and how it happened, something faint on my wrist caught my attention.

It's a timer that looks engraved into my skin, and it's counting down exactly a year.

It was so faint that I could barely see it.

What's happening?

What's the deal with this, and why is it counting downwards? Anyways, I'll deal with that later. I already woke up late, can't keep Aiden waiting for much longer.

I got dressed, applied my minimal makeup and walked downstairs to meet my fiancé, Aiden.

“What took you so long?” Aiden asked as I walked slowly and gracefully down the stairs.

He was already losing patience.

No. Scratch that.

His patience was never for me.

“I overslept. Let's go”

Silence.

The rest of the ride was so quiet you could hear a pin if it dropped.

Neither of us said a single word till we got to the bridal boutique.

The receptionist greeted us warmly and confirmed my appointment, then she called two of the girls to show me the dresses and assist me in trying them on.

The girls look familiar.

Everything does.

Aiden’s been on his phone throughout. He didn't even look up once so he didn't notice I was out of it.

“Sir, do you like this look on your bride?”

“Sure, let's just go with whatever.” he responded without taking his eyes off his phone.

My eyes reddened as I could hear my heart breaking a little bit more.

He's been smiling at his phone all day long.

“Let's try another one.”

“Alright ma'am, do you want to try the fitted gown or the ball gown?With your beautiful curves and milk like skin, I think the fitted mermaid bridal gown would be beautiful.

You could pair it with sapphire blue tear drop earrings and necklace, it'd be a sight to die for.” An enthusiastic smile formed on the girl's face.

“Here's your bouquet.” The second girl chirped as her colleague excitedly called out my options.

Everything was the same.

I heard these exact words in this bridal shower last year.

“ma’am you're a very beautiful bride, please turn around and face forward for the groom to see”

That's right, they were helping me turn around before the thorn on the rose pricked my wrist and injured me.

“Miss, are you all right? There's blood, we should've been more careful. Hurry, bring a first aid kit, we're really sorry miss”

“ Don't worry about it, it's fine.”

So it wasn't a dream then.

“You have really beautiful shoulders and a pretty neckline, you could easily pull off a lower neckline dress. Too bad your mother-in-law prefers a modest type wedding dress.

I suddenly remembered my stepmother's words when she heartlessly unplugged the life support machine keeping me alive and stable in the ICU.

“Kara, in your next life…don't be so good.”

My eyes hardened as everything finally made sense.

“I should listen to my mother right?”

“Of course, what the elders say matters a lot. Oh you're so pretty.”

“Right.”

The curtain pulled back and Aiden was seated waiting for the unveiling.

“Your bride is so pretty, right?” Aiden finally looked up from whatever he was busy with.

“It's nice, should we get this one?” he absentmindedly asked me, eager to get back to what he was doing on his phone.

“Among the people who came to try out wedding dresses here, how many actually got married?” I asked with a hint of amusement in my voice.

“Oh they're so many,we can't keep count”

“How many broke off their engagement?” I take my eyes off the bouquet and locked eyes with Aiden.

“None that we know of, but why the question ma'am?” they seem confused.

They should be. I mean, it's not exactly a question that's expected from a soon-to-be couple.

I muttered under my breath.

“Then I'll be the first, make sure to remember this one.”

I took two long strides towards Aiden and dropped my bouquet beside him, picked the scissors from the table and tore the gown from the thighs down.

“ Kara, what're you doing?!”

“Miss?!”

“Now it's prettier. I like it better this way,” I said with a grin on my face and mischief in my eyes.

I picked up the bouquet and scattered the petals on Aiden's hair, leaving him dumbfounded and the two attendants in shock.

“This is my breakup gift to you, Aiden. Now you look more like a bride than me.”

I started laughing like I'd gone crazy, clutching my stomach as my laughter grew louder–wild and maniacal. I barely noticed how the room had gone silent.

Wide eyes like saucers. Mouth agape. They all stared at me like I'd lost my mind. Except I'd actually lost it.

I turned around and strolled towards the exit.

“STOP.”

Aiden called out to me as I was walking out of the boutique.

Looks like he finally realized that this was really happening and he wasn't imagining things.

“ Why're you suddenly acting like this? If I did something to upset you, let's talk about it.”

“I can't do that; I don't have that much time to waste.”

“What? Why?”

“I can't waste another moment from now on.”

“So-o, w-where are you going now?”

“To notify people that we've called off the wedding, of course. I'm going to my family.And to the one you truly love,hope she'll be excited.”

The color drained from his face and he looked as pale as a ghost.