The Fateful Day (1)

The last thing I remember was falling while looking at the outstretched hand of Joseph towards me. His face was filled with shock. It was something I have never seen in all my years growing up with him.

I was refreshing to see him make such a face because of me, but I am also feeling regret now that my end was nearing.

"I wish I have made a different decision." I said while my body was falling. "If I were given a second chance, I would have done things differently. I would make the choise that I knew would make Joseph happy. Even though that means to give up my love for him."

In the end I knew that my unrequited love was the cause of my own pain and misery. In this life, Joseph and I never really talked it out since we got married. Our old relationship when we were still step siblings were gone. I regretted that I did not have the courage to opem up our situation due to the fear of losing him.

"If I was just a little brave, things shouldn't have been this way." I said. "It was all my fault."

I closed my eyes with the feeling of regret and waited for my demise.

My body that was falling felt heavy at first the it became light. It felt like I was floating in midair.

'Is this the feeling of dying.' I thought to myself. 'I feel… so at peace.'

I tried to open my eyes but they felt very heavy at first. I tried to get it slightly to open but there was a blinding light all around me that I tried to shield my eyes.

I saw two silhouettes from a distance walking towards me slowly. I did not feel any hostility towards them, but instead I felt at peace.

"My dear sweet girl." I heard a female voice say. "You have suffered these past few years."

Her voice felt very familiar. Her soft hands caressed my cheeks. I felt myself crying knowing in my heart who this lady was.

"M-mom…?" I said. I tried to catch a glimpse of her but the blinding light around us prevented me to completely see her. But I knew it was her.

"My lovely little girl." The male's voice said. "You should not have been here. It is not yet time."

"D-dad?" I can feel them hug me tightly. I started to bawl out load, feeling my parents once again. "Please, let me stay. I want to be with you."

"Hush now, my child." My mom said. "We will be together once again, but this isn't the time."

"You can still return… return to your present or to your past whichever you choose." My dad said. "It was a decision that the higher power granted us to give you."

"Choose wisely, my child…" My mom said. "Since you can choose only one. Go back to your current life and you can work things out, or go back into the past to change the outcome of your future."

It was a decision that I have decided since I saw Joseph pulling out and saving Dianne first. I knew that I would want to go back to that fateful day and redo my life once again.

"I want to go back to when this all started." I said.

"Are you sure?" My mom asked.

I knew there was one thing precious that I have to give up in my current life, and that is my son, Shawn.

'I am sorry, my Shawn.' I thought to myself. 'I have been selfish and held on to your dad. But in this second chance I want to choose differently.'

"Yes, I am sure." I said.

"Then we will send you back…" My dad's voice said. "… to when it all started."

"We hope that you live your life happier the second time arround." My mother said. "We will always watch you from above."

"I love you, mom, dad." I said feeling that I would not meet them again anytime soon.

I can feel them hug my body tightly and it felt very warm and assuring. It was a feeling of peace and tranquillity.

"I am sorry that I had made such a decision that had put you and Joseph into this situation." I heard another man's voice. I was a voice I was so used to when I was growing up. It was my stepfather's voice. "I know you will not remember anything about this conversation once you go back, but I have already entrusted someone to look after you since before I died. Try to engrave his name in your memory. His name is…"

I tried to listen carefully but it was like a radio static that was breaking out.

"What is it?" I asked. "What name?"

"… nt … Da…son.." My stepfather said but I couldn't catch the full name.

After that I felt my body being pulled hard. It was such hard pull that the next thing I knew my body instinctively jolted up on reflex.

I opened my eyes and I was sitting up on my bed. It felt like I was jolted awak after a bad dream. There was cold sweat on my forehead and I was panting heavily.

I looked around and saw a familiar room from my memory. It was my room that I used since I was adopted by the Hamilton's.

I felt my head so heavy. My memory was all fuzzy, and I felt all groggy.

"W-What just happened?" I asked myself. I can't seem to remember anything prior about waking up.

It was not amenesia, since I know who I am and where I am. But it was like I forgot the current events, like what happened yesterday.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Miss…" A voice behind the door called. "Are you awake? May I come in?"

I remember the voice of the maid that was nust outside the door. Her name was Jullie. She was one of the many maids in my stepfather's estate and she is the one that is specifically assigned to me.

"Yes… please come in." I replied.

"Good morning, you Miss Yvette." Jullie greeted me as she used to in the mornings. "Oh my… you look awful." She hurried to my side and placed her hand on my forehead.

"It is nothing, Jullie." I replied. "I think I just woken up from a bad dream."

"This is not just from a bad dream, miss." Jullie said. "You are burning up."

I did feel a little lethargic. She may be right and I was running a fever.

"What should we do?" Jullie seemed to be in a dilema. "The reading of your stepfathers last will is today. You cannot go there feeling like this."

"That was today?" I asked.

"Yes miss." Jullie replied. "Have you forgotten?"

"Yes… I feel I am out of sorts." I replied feeling a headache brewing. "Maybe it is because I am running a fever."

"I will let sir know about this." Jullie was about to get up but I grabbed her hand to stop her.

"No, we cannot stop the reading just because I am sick." I said. "Nothing that a hot bath and some medicine cannot fix." I said with a smile.

"But miss…" Jullie looked at ne worriedly.

"No but's Jullie…" I said. "This is something important. It is not just me and Joseph but also the board members of the Hamilton group will be in attendance."

"I understand." Jullie sighed. "I will fix you a hot bath then. While you are bathing, I will get you some medicine, miss."

"Thank you, Jullie." I gave her a thankful smile.

I proceeded in the bathroom were thin steam eas in the air. Jullie had prepared me a hot batch with fragrant bath bombs that help soothe my headache. I undressed my pajamas and slowly submerged myself in the bathtub. It felt quite refreshing and my aching body started to get soothed.

"I am a little afraid about what's going to happene later." I said to myself. "But I am more afraid of sitting there with the board members of the Hamilton Hotel group."

I was not aftaid of not getting a penny from my stepfather's wealth. Actually, I had been preparing myself of ever that happens. I have planned to start a small restaurant myself from the allowance that I have been saving up for all these years.

"But I need to gain experience first in the real culinary world before I could go and open my own restaurant." I said to myself. "I have already build some connections in the cullinary world while stepfather was still alive. If fortune smiles at me, then I will start there."

I have was contemplating while having a bath but I cannot seem to push the thought that there was something I should be remembering.

"Miss, I brought you some medicine." Jullie knocked on the bathroom door.

"Thanks.." I replied. "Please leave it at the bedside table with a glass of water."

"Yes, miss." Jullie replied.

I stood up from the bathtub and started to drape my body with the towel. I walked outside and saw the medicine on the bedside table. Jullie also had my dress for today prepared on top of the bed. It was a simple black dress that signifies mourning, but the price tag of this simple black dress was much more. It was a dress bought from DIOR. It was partnered with a J'Adior slingback pump shoes. Just these two amounts to a lot of money.

"My fashion taste should start to change if I was to start living on my own." I told myself.

I drank the medicine Jullie brought and started to get dressed.