Unexpected Encounters

  I had told myself I would not go. I had torn the invitation and declared myself done with Richard Hale. Yet when the night arrived curiosity proved stronger than pride so I broke my own rule, slipped into a simple dark blue dress, and went to the charity gala anyways. 

I stayed far from the main crowd hiding near the quiet garden because watching from a distance felt safer than walking straight into the trap I already knew too well.

The night air was cool and the soft music drifting from the hall made everything look expensive and clean. I took one deep breath and tried to steady myself then the sounds reached me. Moans, heavy breathing, the unmistakable rhythm of bodies moving together. I froze behind a row of tall plants.

In a hidden corner a man had a woman pressed against the wall with her dress shoved up around her waist while he thrust into her hard and fast. She moaned without shame and demanded more. He laughed and asked if her husband ever fucked her like this. She gasped that he was too gentle and she needed to be ruined.

They finished loudly, fixed their clothes, and walked away laughing as if they had just shared a private joke instead of a public performance.

I stared after them feeling irritation and disgust rise together. “People really have no shame,” I muttered. “At least when Richard and Claire did it they waited until I was almost dead. These two could not even wait for a locked door. Tsk.” I hissed. The joke did nothing to ease the memory that slammed into me. The hospital sofa, Claire’s laughter, Richard’s groan, their wet sounds while I lay dying a few feet away, my stomach twisted as I turned to leave but I walked straight into a bright smile instead. 

“Lisa? Is that you?”

Claire swept toward me in a red dress that looked like it had been chosen to outshine everyone else. She pulled me into a tight hug before I could step back.

“I cannot believe you came! You look so pretty. I was looking for you everywhere.”

I forced a polite smile. “I decided at the last minute.”

She linked her arm through mine as if we were still the best of friends and steered me toward the main hall. “Good choice. There are so many important people tonight.”

Before I could escape another voice cut in.

“Well well. Look who finally showed up.”

Isabella Voss appeared in a silver gown that caught every light. Her smile was pure sugar over poison. “Lisa, darling, That dress is…brave, very simple for an event like this.”

Claire laughed lightly. “Do not be mean, Isabella. Lisa is just being herself.”

“Of course,” Isabella replied. “So modest. So innocent.” she chuckled.

I stayed quiet and watched them the way one watches two snakes decide who gets the first bite because their words no longer hurt, they only confirmed what I already knew.

Then Richard Hale walked toward us.

He looked exactly as I remembered handsome in a black suit with that warm gentle expression that had once made me stupid. His eyes locked on mine as if the rest of the room had disappeared.

“You must be Lisa,” he said softly. “I was hoping I would see you tonight. You look beautiful.”

Something traitorous fluttered in my chest. In the first life this was the exact moment I began to fall. The smile, the voice, the careful softness. I knew better now yet my pulse still reacted like an idiot.

Claire beamed. “You two should talk. I will leave you alone.”

Isabella gave one last sharp look and followed her. Richard and I stood together while the music played around us.

“I know we do not know each other yet,” he said quietly, “but I feel like I have seen you in my dreams. Would you like to dance?”

His hand extended toward me in the same line, the same practiced sincerity.

I took a small step back. “Maybe next time.” I expected him to accept the refusal with graceful disappointment the way he had in the first life. Instead a slow determined smile curved his lips.

“I will be right back.”

He disappeared into the crowd. Minutes later the quiet garden transformed into a private stage. A string quartet appeared and began to play. Servers carried helium balloons in deep blue and silver that matched my dress while another brought a small three-tiered cake decorated with fresh flowers and gold leaf. A final server held a bouquet of white roses so perfect they looked unreal.

Guests turned to stare as whispers spread like fire. Richard stopped in front of me with his eyes never leaving mine. “You said maybe next time. I did not want to wait. The moment I saw you something told me I could not let you slip away. One dance, Lisa. That is all I am asking.”

Butterflies erupted in my stomach, traitorous and unwelcome. My cheeks heated against my will. This was different from the first life because back then his pursuit had been slower and more careful. This grand public gesture felt impulsive, almost sincere and that sincerity was more dangerous than any calculated move.

This is how he’s going to trap you, I reminded myself. This is how the poison begins with roses and music and a look that pretends it has never hurt anyone.

Yet my pulse refused to calm, my fingers itched to take the hand he offered. The scent of the roses reached me sweet and heavy while the quartet played a melody that seemed designed to pull at every weak place I still had.

I swallowed hard, caught between hatred, fear and an attraction I despised.

What cruel game was fate playing now?

Richard took one more step closer, his gaze intense and unwavering. “Please?”

The entire garden seemed to hold its breath waiting for my answer while I stood there knowing that every version of “yes” had once led me to a hospital bed and every version of “no” still left me wanting to know what would happen if I said it.