Chapter 0004

With no reason to live, I sat on the bed, waiting for death to find me. I’d lost my husband. I’d lost my son. So what was the point?

The sound of the door opening drew my attention.

“Look who we have here,” Emily said in a mocking tone. “Our sweet new mother. Congratulations on your safe delivery. I'm so happy for you.” She paused and then gasped. “Oh, sorry about that. Slip of the tongue. I meant to say that I'm sorry about your loss. Dante told me what happened. A baby boy, huh? That’s too bad.” She laughed. “What were you thinking, Ollie? That you could win Dante's heart? Pfft. If only you had known your place, this wouldn't have happened.”

Not knowing what to say, I bit my trembling bottom lip.

“You wanted him so badly, so desperately. Look at you now. Well,” she said, flippantly, and I could just picture her tossing her hair over her shoulder, “your loss, my gain.”

I tried to hold back because I didn't want to cry in front of her, but as always, I was the pathetic one.

“What happened to your voice, Ollie? You can't talk?” She laughed again. “Oh, sorry. You must still be in shock.”

It felt like she had plunged a dagger deep into my heart.

“You should've been wise enough,” she said. “Now, you’re at the losing end. Dante already has our unborn child inside me, so why would he grieve over the thing you lost?”

The bombshell pierced me to my core. My heart froze and my jaw dropped.

“I'm glad you’re finally out of the way,” she said with excitement. “I can have a happy life with my man now.”

I shouldn’t have felt so betrayed. This was bound to happen. Yet, the pain in my heart remained profound. I rubbed my hand against my stomach gently.

“I hope you don't hate Dante. You shouldn't blame him. You love him though, right? So you won't do that to him, will you?”

I chuckled, then heard the sound of the door opening and the presence of another person.

“The doctors said you need to rest, Ms.” I assumed the feminine voice belonged to one of the nurses in the hospital. “He asked me to give you some lorazepam to help you sleep.”

I welcomed her words, hoping the drugs would put me to sleep and that I’d never wake. If I had to wake, I hoped it would be in the other world where I would have my sight back, get to see my deceased parents and my beloved son, and have them keep me company forever.

A few moments after the nurse administered the medicine, my eyes became heavy.

“I'm doing you a favor, Olivia,” Emily said. “You’ll never wake again, and if by chance you do, it'll be in the pit of hell where you belong.”

Oddly, the realization that she planned to kill me didn’t upset me. But then, death was what I wanted.

So this was really it then. It was over, and I would no longer have to live my miserable life. I’d never been happier, yet a part of me was filled with pain and regret. I should've done better.

Silently, I made a vow to Dante; if I were given another chance, I wouldn’t spare you. You and your family would pay for everything. No, not just you. Generation upon generation of your decedents would pay.

Only a couple of seconds passe before everything went blank, and I felt my soul leave my body.

###

“Olivia! Olivia! Can you fucking wake up, please?”

My eyes snapped open as cold water splashed over me in a gush. Wait. I blinked, then rubbed my eyes, then blinked some more. It was real. I could see! And I was in a familiar room, with my best friend, Claire, staring down at me, looking exasperated with the now-empty bowl in her hand. “Goodness! You sleep like the dead.”

I scanned the room, trying to unscramble my brain and figure out what was happening.

“Must I wake you with a bowl of water every day? Our room is in a mess now, thanks to you. You better clean it up before you leave.” Claire threw me a deadly glare before she sauntered out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

“What’s happening?” I whispered to myself as I touched my eyes and blinked a few times. I was supposed to be dead. I was supposed to be blind, so what is this?

Slowly, I tilted my head to the wall where a calendar hung, and my jaw dropped when I saw May 8, 2020. I remembered this day. It was the day everything went wrong, the day Dante played the pity card on me. The day I made the decision that ruined my life forever.

I had been given another chance! Tears brimmed in my eyes. “Thank you so much... Thank you so much.” I didn’t know who I was thanking, but I was the most grateful person on earth.

My phone beeped, and I rushed to the bedside table and picked it up. A text from Dante popped onto the screen.

“Don't forget our date. I’ll pick you up in a few minutes.” I remembered the text. Everything was really happening all over again. But this time, it was up to me to make use of this golden opportunity I’d been given. I wouldn’t be that naïve, stupid girl again. It was time for a payback.