Chapter Four
“SIT DOWN, PLEASE.”
The man behind the desk glanced at her resumé and then back at her. And stared.
Mm.
This was a test, she was sure of it.
He wanted to know if she had the kind of integrity that would allow her to stare right back at him.
And so she did.
Because she had nothing to hide.
And two minutes later—
The man coughed. His cheeks were also slightly flushed.
That meant...she won.
Right?
“So...Payton...Cheyney.” His voice had changed for some reason as he read her last name. “You’re married?”
“Yes, Mr. de Vindice.”
“Not divorced?”
“Uh...no. I’ve only been married for five months.”
“Five months,” he repeated.
Payton was starting to feel nervous. “My marriage won’t cause any problems, Mr. de Vindice. My husband also works full-time, and we’re both passionate about our jobs.”
“So...no kids?”
“My husband doesn’t want any, and I respect his wishes.”
No answer was forthcoming this time, but Payton didn’t let the silence get to her.
This, too, was probably a test. She had heard the other girls talking about him nonstop.
About how beautiful he was. But since she had started dating Eric, she had mastered the art of looking at men without really seeing them.
Her husband didn’t ask this of her, of course.
It was just Payton’s way of being loyal. For her, Eric was the only man—
“Do I have something on my face, Ms. Cheyney?”
Her brows furrowed. Shouldn’t it be Mrs. Cheyney? But then...who was she to correct him? Maybe ‘missus’ was just a mouthful to him. And so she simply shook her head. “No, sir.”
“Then why were you staring?”
He didn’t seem to be the insecure type to want people to flatter him all the time. Why then was he so persistent—
Oh, now she got it.
This was another test, wasn’t it?
“Because everyone was right about you, Mr. de Vindice.”
He raised a brow. “Right about what?”
“You’re very beautiful—”
Her prospective employer choked.
“But don’t worry, Mr. de Vindice. If you hire me, I can assure you wholeheartedly that I’ll consider it part of my job to prevent and protect you from being sexually objectified. I’ll make sure every writeup about you takes sufficient note of your many other sterling qualities and achievements—”
“I don’t care what strangers say about me. It’s only the opinions of people close to me that matters. You’ll have an easier time with your job when you keep that in mind.”
“DRINK, DRINK, DRINK!”
The cheering from her husband’s friends had Payton coming back to her senses, and just like that, she was back in the present, and she was once again in danger...from her own husband.
“You go, man!”
“Eric did it again!”
“Eric the Man!”
Payton’s hands started shaking. She couldn’t seem to stop it every time she heard her husband’s name. Last night, she had tried to leave the office, but her boss...
It’s fine. You can stay here. I’ll leave.
Even though it had secretly shamed her to take Niccolò up on his offer, she had accepted it.
Because Fairscale...was the only place she felt safe.
And throughout the night...she had just thought about it again and again, trying to come up with some kind of strategy, and that was how she ended up here.
The last time she was reborn, she had tried to change things, and it hadn’t worked.
So this time...
“We need more beer!”
Payton went out of the kitchen hearing this. But Rosé, just like before, had already stood up. “I can get it for you, Mr. Cheyney!”
Her husband shook his head. “No, don’t. You’re our guest.”
“But it’s Mrs. Cheyney’s birthday—”
“Oh, she doesn’t mind.” Eric looked at Payton. “Do you?”
The warning in his eyes had her quickly shaking her head. “No, not at all.”
And as she turned away, she heard her husband say, “That’s a good girl.”
Payton nearly stumbled upon hearing this.
“Sweetheart? Did you hear what I just said?”
She forced herself to turn around. “I d-did. And t-thank you.”
It was all she could do not to run.
Good girl.
She barely made it back to the kitchen before she started throwing up.
Get a grip, Payton.
As she wiped her mouth dry, it was then she noticed the heart-shaped marks on her wrist.
Rebirth marks, Payton had come to think of it, only this time...there were just two of them.
“Payton? Do you need help?”
Her husband’s tone made it clear he was close to losing his temper. That was usually enough to get her moving, but not now. Not when it was dawning on her, what those rebirth marks meant.
One only had to watch and read enough fantasy to put one and one together. Or in this case, to subtract.
When Payton was reborn the first time, she had woken up with three marks.
When she was reborn the second time, after falling to her death, it was now down to this.
Two marks left.
Two last chances to make things right.
The thought had Payton’s hands shaking even more badly as she filled the beer bucket with ice before clipping the bottle opener to the bucket handle. As she walked out of the kitchen, she couldn’t help looking at the empty table by the pool, and pain squeezed her heart.
Just like before, all of her coworkers—Leah, Nellie, and the guys—had come here earlier. But they hadn’t stayed for long. They never did. And while none of them ever talked about it...
Of course they all knew the truth, Payton included.
They came here because of her, but they always left because they couldn’t bear seeing her...mistreated.
“Finally! What took you so long?”
Like now.
Even her husband’s friends thought it was fine to treat her like a slave, and it just made her sick, thinking of how she had let this go on for years.
Thankfully, she was all but forgotten as soon as she placed the beer bucket on the table. And even though she was acting without any conscious effort to replicate her movements in her first life, she would realize a moment later that there were things she would always end up doing.
Because as she turned away, her gaze absently went where it was fated to go—
An empty chair at the head of the table.
His chair.
The first time this happened, she remembered thinking it was odd that her husband was missing. And so she had gone looking for him. But now that she knew what she would discover...
Her gaze went to where Rosé was seated.
Empty.
She found herself walking like a zombie, but she only made it as far as the foot of the stairs before she started having difficulties breathing.
Her gaze strayed to her rebirth marks.
Two marks.
Most people only had one chance to live. But she had two. That should make her feel braver. But instead, she just felt panic bubbling inside of her, and she was so, so tempted...
Oh, if only she were the type to run away.
But no.
Her whole life, she had always been the work-hard-and-don’t-give-up type.
And even though what she was about to do might mean she’d have to die again...
Payton just knew instinctively that the rebirth marks on her wrist weren’t there for her to take the easy way out.
Not everyone in the world was given the chance to be reborn, and while most people would probably quote Spiderman at this point...
The words that came to Payton’s mind were a Bible verse that her husband had cited in her own funeral.
‘Luke 12:48 Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. And my wife...she had a really beautiful life, she was given much, but she wasn’t able to handle it, but because God is love, I know He’ll understand, and He’ll forgive her. ’
The memory had her fingers tightening around the wooden cap of their stairway’s newel post until her knuckles turned white.
Did she ever know him at all?
How could he have the gall to murder her...and then quote the Bible in her own funeral?
It just made her so, so sick to—
Stop thinking about the past, Payton!
Reliving those memories were pointless. If she wanted to get to the bottom of this, there was only one thing to do, and that was to do the same things she had done the first time.
And so she went up the stairs.
And checked every room even though she already knew what she would—or rather wouldn’t—find.
Masters. Empty.
Guest room. Empty.
Study. Empty.
Payton was now at the end of the hallway, with one last room to check.
And of course, they were here.
Her music room of all places.
She opened the door, and it was just occurring to her now—this door usually made a creak whenever it moved. But now it swung open in complete silence, and after being reborn and all, she knew that meant this was just one of those things that had to happen.
A part of her was still tempted to skip over certain parts, but she somehow found the courage to turn her gaze to where she had once found them, and ah, there they were.
Rosé.
And her husband.
Kissing.
And after that...yup.
That happened, too.
Her husband lifting Rosé on top of the piano, which had the other girl laughing as she placed her hands on his shoulders.
“Oh, babe, this is so crazy. What if someone sees us?”
“I can’t help it,” Eric groaned. “You drive me insane with how hot you are.”
Yup, she thought again. Everything was according to the script, and if it sounded like she was doing commentary on the destruction of her marriage, well...that was exactly what she was doing. As a coping technique.
And...
Here it comes.
Rosé was now slowly leaning back on her elbows, and...oh.
Payton remembered it now.
This was the time she had started holding back her tears.
But now, she didn’t even feel sad.
She was just mostly numb, and—
AAAH!
Someone had suddenly covered Payton’s mouth from behind as she was yanked back into the hallway.
What in the world was happening?
Was she being abducted?
But before Payton could even start struggling, her captor had already turned her around, and—
N-Niccolò?
He kept his hand on her mouth, his golden gaze steady on her.
Are you done freaking out?
Payton didn’t know how she was able to translate that look, but she was pretty sure that was what he was asking, and so she slowly nodded.
Yes, she was done freaking out.
Her boss took his hand away...but only so he could take her hand, and...and she didn’t even have a chance to think that through, with him swiftly leading her past all of the drunk guests and straight out of the house.
His car was parked just down the road, and he opened the car door for her. “Get in.”
Payton didn’t even think of arguing, with the way he was looking at her. She had a feeling he wouldn’t even hesitate to tie her up and toss her into the trunk if she even tried saying no.
And besides...
I don’t understand what’s happening.
This part...
This wasn’t how it ended the first time, so now what?
She was supposed to have that big confrontation between her, Rosé, and her husband, but instead she was seated next to her boss, and they were driving away like Bonnie and Clyde—
“Leah told me to come get you,” he said tightly.
W-What?
“They all know, Payton.”
“A-About what?”
“My feelings for you.”
Payton didn’t even know what to say. Or what to think. Especially with how distracting those headlights were. The car behind them just kept getting closer and closer, and it finally had her twisting in her seat—
W-Wasn’t that her husband’s car?
He was driving like a madman, swerving into an empty lane then back then closer—
No no no no no!
Payton turned to her boss in panic. “M-My husband—”
The warning came too late, and everything after that seemed to happen in a blink.
Her husband’s car ramming into them from behind with so much force—
Payton couldn’t even scream as their car went sideways, and outside her window, the world went sideways, too, while up ahead of them, she saw what would surely be their cause of death—
A pretty, charming old stone bridge with a pillar right in the middle.
No, no, no, no!
Payton wasn’t sure how long she was out. But when she finally regained consciousness—
No. No. No.
The pain she felt was terrifyingly, heartbreakingly familiar, but it wasn’t that which had her crying. She had died before, and as unfair as it might sound, she had a feeling she would be reborn again. But Niccolò, though...
Why? It can’t be. Please, not like this.
Their car had folded itself around the pillar, and Niccolò...
Noooooo.
She finally remembered the way he had been so focused on making a hard turn, and it was because of this.
Her boss had made sure that once they hit the pillar, his side would take the brunt of it, and a sob clawed out of her throat when she realized how badly he was bleeding.
“Niccolò.”
It was her first time to say his name.
“I’m so, so sorry—”
Because this was her fault.
And this...
This was exactly what she had feared.
Both of them would die, but it might only be one of them...
Please.
Please.
Please.
If You’re real.
If You’re listening.
Please give my extra life to him.
But when the darkness took her away and spit her out—
She was attending another funeral.
His.
And she screamed and screamed and screamed.