Reborn Bride, No Longer Your Victim

hoto of my fiancé with an int

ne landed, five

hing for me. My fiancé, Clayton, was now married to tha

faked a fall down the stairs, he blamed me. He locked

focating darkness

as just acting

ve woken up on my wedding day. My paren

pte

Hanso

TMZ notification blew my life, my

My maid of honor, Chloe, was in the bathroom, humming along to some pop song on the r

perf

CH MOGUL CLAYTON YOUNG' S LATE-NIGHT RENDEZVO

art s

his tall frame leaning close to a younger woman outside a dimly lit bar. His hand was on her arm. Her fac

er. Kisha Fox. An i

y breath came in short, sharp gasps. This couldn't be real. Not Clayton. Not the man I had lo

ce scrubbed clean. "Audrey? Are you ok

ak. I just hel

"Oh, Audrey... this is... this is tabloid garbag

sed intensity. I knew that look. H

I whispered, my v

ll him. Let's just talk

sing in. The beautiful white dress on the bed seemed to mock me. Betraya

home. I drove

nd a blank static. "The next international fl

e, my trembling hands. "Ma'am, the next one

take

ape me. I walked through security in a daze, the article burning behind my eyes.

t offered me a drink, her smile sympathetic. I just shook my head, unable to form words. The hum of the engines wa

Sunlight streamed through the window, harsh and unforgiving. My head

of displacement. The air smelled different. The fashion was... odd. Sleeker, more fu

instinct, a raw, primal need, was to call my pare

phone. It was

fore. A man next to me, noticing my confusion, offered me his charger w

y blood

ignored the dozens of frantic texts from Chloe a

nswered, cold and automated. "The number

wed at my throat. I tried my

s starting to shake again. I trie

they changed their numbers. Maybe they moved. A thou

ke any car I'd ever been in. I gave the driver my p

d, his eyes meeting mine in the rear

advertisements. When we arrived, my childhood home was gone.

tting out of the car.

s on my phone. He looked at the photo, then

sorry. There was an accident. A car cr

ty faded into a dull roar in my ears. My le

a half

rmuring condolences I couldn't process. My

date on the newspaper

left i

that plane f

nts were dead. They had died looking for me. The thought was a jagg

e. My parents were gone.

only one p

cts. His name was still there, a painful reminde

I disappeared on our wedding day, but I accidentally time-traveled five

ome, no family. Just a name in a phon

t even had the presence of mind to take it off. I pulled it out. The diamond caught the l

we were supposed to move into after the wedding. A beaut

try. I ha

It rang once. Twice. My hea

el

fferent. Deeper. Colder. Strippe

ked out, tears b

ause on the other

. it's

as so heavy, I thought

otionless. "After five years, you call me now

in a rush. "Something happened. I got on a plane, and... and I

n disappear on our wedding day, leave me standing at the altar, and

. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth! I'm at the air

the faint sound of music in the b

he asked, his ton

him my

he commanded

ne wen

my parents a physical ache in my chest. When his car pulled up-a sleek, i

re before. He wore a tailored suit that screamed power and wealth. But it was his eyes that were the most changed.

ms, wanting the comfort of the man I love

his face a mask of st

than a slap. I froze, my

h?" he sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "Five years of si

my whole body trembling.

should I believe you? You jilted me. You humiliated me. Y

, trying to make him understand.

didn't call, you didn't ask. You just ran. And now yo

re dead, Clayton. They died in a car crash.

a flicker of a second, I saw something in his eyes-shock, maybe even pain.

s the one who arranged the funeral. I was the one who searched for you for two years, Audrey. Two years.

injustice of it all tearing throug

dable. He looked past me, his gaze s

eminine voice cal

ce. I knew that voice. Or rat

could feel her presence behind me, a shado

is voice losing its hard edge, replaced by a

, her hand protectively on her swollen bell

woman from

ice full of a cloying, fake sympathy.

nt wife. My dead parents. My home, go

ive way again. "I have to go," I mumbled,

l, and utterly devastating in its truth. "You have no money. No ID that's valid

. I was a gh

arling, don't be so harsh. She's clearly been through a lot. Why don't

cal blow, knocking the wind out of me. T

h

lanning the layout with Clayton, laughing as we picked out paint c

my fiancé. In my house. And she w

to my broken one. He sighed, a sound of pur

ecognize. Clayton opened the passenger door for me. Without thinking, I move

e crossing his face. But before he could s

y seat. The baby get

uided Kisha into the passenger seat, his hand lingeri

uder. I was the one who was out of place. I quickly sl

e music playing wasn't my favorite indie rock band; it was some soft, generic j

reminder that I n

silence, the weight of five years pressing down on us. The car he

m, bohemian decor we had planned was gone. It had been replaced with a cold, minimalis

e stern, addressing me as if I were a potential threat. "Mr. Young has instructed that we c

ng it again, so clinically, sent a

And I was being tre

wasn't just a guest. I was an intruder. A dangerous, unstable i

himself?" I asked, my voice laced

red, taken aba

I'm sure Audrey wouldn't hurt a fly." Her eyes, however, told a

of the house. A

ouse. The door closed, and I was finally alone. The carefully construct

wn. My parents. Clayton. My baby... The thought came unbidden, a secret I had been holding close for what felt

I was empty, hollowed out. I

id had returned with a sniff of disdain.

was the return ticket from Paris. The date pr

impossib

ay

eful thud. Seven days. I had to survive for seven days. And then I

t like a prayer. It was my only

I could do t

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