Rebirth: 24 Hours To Erase My 10-Year Nightmare

The last sensation I felt was the cold hardwood floor pressing against my cheek. The final sound I heard was Silas’s voice, stripped of the love I had adored for ten years.

Then came a rhythmic knock that pulled me back to consciousness.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Cassie? Wake up, sunshine! The makeup artist is going to be here in thirty minutes!”

My eyes flew open. I shot upright, my hand clutching my chest where the intense pain had just been. But there was no pain.

My heart was beating in a steady, youthful rhythm. I looked at my hands and they were soft, free from bleach stains or the scars of countless kitchen misadventures.

I wasn’t in the villa. I was in my childhood bedroom, surrounded by the lavender scent of my mother’s favorite candles.

“Cassie? Did you have a nightmare?”

The door swung open, and Loanne stepped inside. My breath caught in my throat. She looked twenty again, dewy-eyed, wearing a floral robe, her face radiating a sisterly warmth that moments ago had been replaced by pure malice.

“Loanne…” I whispered, my voice shaking.

“Who else?” she laughed, sitting on the edge of my bed. She reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. Just moments ago, that hand had been gripping Silas’s hand while I lay dying on the floor. Now, it felt like a snake slithering over my skin. “You’re shaking! It’s just wedding jitters, Cassy. Silas is downstairs having coffee with Dad. He’s so nervous he’s already checked his tie five times.”

Silas. Dad.

Those names hit me hard. If Silas was downstairs with my father, it meant my parents were still alive.

“What... what day is it?” I asked, my mind racing. I needed confirmation.

“June 14th! Your wedding day!” Loanne exclaimed, beaming. “And don’t forget, Mom and Dad are leaving for that mountain retreat tomorrow morning to give you and Silas the house for your honeymoon. Everything is perfect.”

The mountain retreat. The “accident.”

This wasn’t a dream. I had been sent back to the very start of the end.

“I... I need a moment,” I said, forcing a smile that felt like it could crack my face. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

As soon as Loanne left, I locked the door behind her. My legs felt weak, but my mind was sharpening with alarming clarity. I glanced at the calendar.

I had less than twenty-four hours to prevent a murder and derail a life sentence masquerading as a marriage.

I walked to the window and looked down at the garden. There he was. Silas.

He sat on the patio with my father, laughing. He looked handsome, devoted, exactly like the man I had adored until my last breath.

But seeing him now didn’t ignite love; it ignited a cold, visceral nausea.

As I was lost in thought, a heavy knock at the door startled me.

“Cassie? It’s Silas.”

His voice was like honey poured over poison. “Can I come in? I know it’s bad luck to see the bride, but I needed to hear your voice. I love you so much, honey.”

Ten years of adoration screamed at me to open the door, to run into his arms and pretend the nightmare wasn’t real. But then I remembered the metal box. I recalled Loanne’s silk robe. I remembered my children’s cold stares.

I took a deep breath, smoothing my hair. My hands stopped shaking. The “Gentle Cassie” had died on that villa floor.

“I’m coming, Silas,” I called out, my voice smooth and sweet. “I love you too.”

I walked toward the door, but instead of reaching for my veil, I grabbed the letter opener on my desk, tucking it into the waistband of my robe.