The alarm clock rang again, this time louder than the first time. Leilani Seymour frowned, murmuring some words as she stretched her hand to switch off the alarm clock. she paused for a while before shooting her eyes open, surveying the familiar room from her memories.
"Where am I?"
"No, why am I here?" She asked, correcting her initial question. Her mind flashed back to the accident scene, which in turn brought shock and goosebumps all over her body.
"Am I dead?" She asked, her eyes still scanning every corner of the room. She froze as her eyes found a picture hanging above the gigantic couples bed.
"Why is this here?" Leilani asked, staring deeply at her family portrait. She was particularly focused on her twins' smiles, which cause a tear to drop from her eyes as she remembered the last day she set her eyes on her kids.
It was a bright Monday morning. The Russell family just finished having breakfast, which she had prepared, and all of a sudden, Vincent refused to take the twins to school that morning just as he usually does every other day. Leilani had no choice but to take the twins to school herself since the matriarch of the family, Mrs Madeleine Russell, didn't do anything to help her convince her overall proud and instinctive son. But unfortunately for them, they were met with a ghastly accident which claimed the lives of her twins and kept her in a coma for three months.
Leilani remembers vividly that she had smashed the family portrait when she regained consciousness and realized that her twins didn't survive. The rest of the year was a complete mess for her.
Leilani sniffed, wiping the tears in her eyes. This was no time to cry. She needed to figure out where she was and what was going on with her.
The room looked exactly like her room, just that it made some minor, strange yet familiar changes which shouldn't be and she just didn't understand what she was doing there. 'Is this how heaven is meant to look like?' Leilani thought. 'Taking you back to the most memorable time of your life,' she thought. Again, her eyes scanned the room for the umpteenth time.
"My heaven looks nice and comfortable, just what I thought I had." Leilani said, and her lips curved in a smile. If there was a time Leilani was happy, it would definitely be the time her kids were alive and healthy. When she thought she was the only woman, her husband smiled at not knowing that he had gifted her the family portrait on their fifth year wedding anniversary to gain her trust even more and to ensure that his little dirty games isn't exposed.
Leilani paused as her eyes found her ringing phone on the table. She was momentarily stunned, visibly not expecting to see a phone in her heaven talkmore of the phone ringing.
She stood still looking at the phone ring without making any effort to reach for it. After a while, the phone stopped ringing, and almost immediately, it started ringing again. This time, it was as if a force swept her off her feet, and the next moment, she was holding unto her phone, staring deeply at the caller ID.
'Sugar' Leilani froze at the spot, still staring deeply at the word which was too heavy for her mouth to utter.
'Diane Timmer, did she follow me to the afterlife as well?' Leilani couldn't help but ponder.
"Why aren't you answering that?" Leilani turned sharply, hearing the very last voice she ever thought she would hear.
"Vi...cent," Leilani stuttered, goggling at him. Her left hand, which was holding unto her phone, lost balance, and her phone fell down, scattering on the floor.
"What are you doing?" Vincent asked, coming closer to her, but Leilani took a couple of steps back while screaming the words, "Don't come close to me," which in turn scared Vincent to the bones. He stood at a spot staring at her while wondering what had happened to his wife.
Her voice so loud that it attracted the attention of everyone in the Russell family villa, and they came running upstairs with the thought that something terrible must have happened but on getting to the room, they were shocked to see Vincent and Leilani standing far from eachother and Leilani phone scattered on the floor. Aside from the scattered phone, the room was neatly arranged, and there was no trace of violence or fighting.
"What's going on here?" Mrs Madeleine Russell asked, looking at Leilani as if telling her that the question was specifically meant for her.
Leilani glanced at her for a while before shifting her gaze to look at the rest of the family. They all looked strange to her, the way they dressed, their hair, everything about them was strange. Something was definitely not right, and Leilani could feel it, just that she couldn't place what it was.
"Answer me!" Mrs Madeleine Russell yelled, not sparing Leilani any empathy. Right from the very day, Leilani was married into the Russell family, Mrs Madeleine Russell has always hated her as she found her unworthy for her favorite son.
Leilani opened her mouth to talk, but no sound came out. Her entire body was trembling. It didn't take long for her leg to grow weak, which made her lose her balance and feel down.
"Mum, don't be harsh on my wife," Vincent cautioned his mother before walking towards Leilani to help her up, but immediately he touched her, Leilani pushed him so hard away from her and quickly ran out of the room ignoring everyother person in the room.
"Leilani!" Leilani heard Mrs Madeleine Russell scream her name after her, but she didn't reduce her step nor look back.
Running downstairs, Leilani was stunned by what she saw. She had thought that living the room would get rid of the so many thoughts in her head and also clear her curiosity, but it only made it worse.
"Grandfather?" Leilani called. Again, tears clustered in her eyes as she stared at the gray-haired man sitting on the wheelchair who in turn flashed her a heartwarming smile.
If there was anyone who genuinely loved and welcomed her into the Russell family, it would be her father-in-law, Mr George Russell.
"Grandfather!" Leilani called again, this time allowing the tears to flow freely from her eyes as she ran towards him to hug him.
Unlike his wife, Madeleine, who found Leilani unworthy for her son, George loved Leilani and has treated her like one just as he does to his other daughter-in-law.
"I missed you," Leilani said, making Mr. George frowns his brow before letting out a small laugh.
"What do you mean, Leilani? This old man hasn't been too far from his family," Mr George said with a deep smile plastered on his face.
"Besides, yesterday was your anniversary, and we spent the whole time together as family," he added, smiling even harder.
"Yesterday?" A frown appeared on Leilani's face. "How come?" She asked, not sure she understood what Mr George just said.
"Why are you acting so weird, Leilani? Yesterday was your anniversary, and you don't even remember it," Linda asked sarcastically.
Leilani turned towards the direction of the voice and saw everyone standing there. They all had a mixed expression on their faces, which hinted that they must have heard her conversation with Mr George.
"Yesterday was my anniversary... five years wedding anniversary?" Leilani asked again. She wanted to confirm if she was hearing the right words or if her head was playing tricks on her.
Stephanie scoffed, sparing her a stiff look. "Are you looking for attention right now? Haven't you had enough attention yesterday?" Her tone was harsh, and the question sounded more like a mockery than a question
Leilani glanced at them one after the other, placing the puzzle piece together. It was gradually making sense to her, her room, the house, the family portrait, her phone type, Mrs. Madeleine young looks, everyone else young looks, and Mr George as well. Everything was just as it was years ago, when she celebrated her fifth year wedding anniversary.
"Don't you really remember?" Vincent asked, studying her stunned facial expression. Moments ago, when he walked into the room, he noticed that he had stared at him as if he was a ghost, but he just waved it aside as nothing but seeing her act this way got him very worried.
"I know there was a lot to drink last night, but you didn't look drunk to me. You were in your right senses when I gave you the portrait as a wedding gift, and you even hanged it above our bed before we slept off, so why are you acting as if you have amnesia?" Vincent asked, getting frustrated.
Leilani glanced at him. Yes, he had gifted her the hand drawn family portrait as their wedding gift, and everything else happened as he said. She remembers vividly every single thing that happened, and everything happening in front of her looks so real. It can't possibly be a dream.
Everything finally made sense. She came back. She really did come back, and Mr George also came back, even though she didn't know how it happened. All she knew was that, she's back. The diety heard her prayers and gave her a second chance at life.
"Does that mean...?" Leilani paused, hearing the most soft voice on earth calling unto her.
"Mum," she turned towards the direction of the voice and saw her little prince and princess smiling at her.
'Of course, they came back as well.' She smiled, spreading her arms and allowing them to run into it.
Everyone stood there staring at her as she hugged her twins' kids passionately before breaking out of the hug.
"Wow, are we watching a soap opera? What's with the emotions?" Linda scoffed. Leilani glanced at her, unhurt with her sassy and rude behavior. Perhaps if it was in her first life, she would be, but not anymore. She knows better now, and she knows how corny everyone could be.
Leilani stared at each of them one after the other and let out a deep breath before she said. " I'm sorry, I must have had too much to drink last night at the anniversary party, and the side effects just came in this morning, I will go take some rest now," Leilani bowed respectively. Her lips curved in an evil smile. 'Isn't the deity wonderful? Everyone is here even though I don't know how she did it, but I must thank her and also compliment her effort. Thanks, and I promise you, this life, I would make sure they get a bitter taste of their medicine, just sit on your throne and watch me punish them all, I promise you, I won't spare any of them, not even a single soul that has hurt me shall go unpunished, just wait and see"
A satisfactory smile spread across Leilani's almond shaped lips as she glanced at the reflection of herself from the standing mirror. She looked young and very healthy, of course she should be, she had met Vincent when she was eighteen, a year later they got married."Which would I prefer, when I was 39, useless, hurt, betrayed and on the verge of death or now that I am 24, healthy, strong and with every knowledge of the future, something I need to take full control of my life," She paused to stare at her ringing phone.'Sugar..... speaking of déjà vu' Diane Timmer, her suppose best friend, sugar, soul mate, and better half. She meant everything to her even more than what her own husband Vincent Russell meant to her, but yet, she betrayed and stabbed her in the back as if she meant nothing to her.Leilani shrugged, smiling even harder. "I prefer the later. It's more sophisticated and even more interesting," She grabbed her phone and scrolled to the contact list, and just like when s
Diane grabbed the spoon, forcing a smile. She didn't want anyone, most especially Leilani or Mrs Madeleine, to know she was upset about what had just happened. She was used to being the jovial and sweat one, the one loved and dotted on by Mrs Madeleine, and she can't just bear to be in the position of the pathetic and rejected one, that was Leilani's spot and it suited her perfectly well.Diane was good at pretenses. She was able to pull off the forced fake smile for quite some time as she served the stew for herself and Vincent but just as she was about covering the stew, Mrs Madeleine asked her to serve her as well since she was already doing it. Diane almost lost her cool with her, but she kicked right back in, smiling and nodding her head."Sure, mother," Diane smiled, reaching for the stew again, but just as she was about to serve Mrs. Madeleine, a portion accidentally poured on her right thumb, burning her. Diane groaned in pain, dropping the spoon forcefully and allowing it to
"The burn was a second-degree burn, so it didn't cause much damage," Dr Tessa explained, looking from Vincent to Diane, who was behaving like a two years old baby."But she keeps complaining of pain," Vincent said. "Don't worry, your wife has a very fragile skin, I already administered pain killer to her, so she would be fine," the doctor said, amused by the two lovebirds. The way they had bashed into the hospital Emergency Room screaming that there was an emergency, altering every doctor, only for them to realize that it was just a minor burn."You must dot on your wife, Sir, to bring her to the hospital just because of this small injury. A home first aid box would have solved the problem," the doctor added verbally admiring them.Diane smiled, she knew how much Vincent loved her but she didn't think others would be able to see it as well, if only they had met sooner, she would have been the one with the title of 'Mrs Russell'"Oh my gosh, did we m
Leilani scanned the entire room, looking for the perfect spot to place the suckyi flower. She had promised Mr George that she would take proper care of the flower even though the flower had the rare ability of thriving in all conditions. She still felt the need to be careful with it.Leilani frowned. The room was big, but there was no place suitable for the flower. Vincent had installed a small book shelf in the room, which occupied most of the space, plus her large dressing table, which took its own space. She would have dropped it close to their large bed, but Vincent wasn't a fan of flowers. He had a strange allergy for flowers, which he made sure Leilani was aware of just in case she kept questioning the reason why he had never gifted her any flowers since they met and got married."Why don't we go find you a new spot," Leilani said, leaving the room. She made her way to her kids' room. It was very spacious, and she wouldn't have to worry about Vincent liking it or
Leilani walked into the Novena University Teaching Hospital in the company of Jason, holding firmly a bouquet of rose flowers and a fruit basket even though she didn't see the need for all those things. It was a small burn, so Diane had no reason to be at the hospital or even stay that long, but Leilani knew she had to pretend to take all those things along with her to the hospital. If there was anything she noticed about Diane and Mrs. Madeleine, it would be that those two were really close, and it won't be no shocker if Diane opened her big mouth to narrate how the hospital visitation went to Mrs Madeleine."Hi, Good evening, I'm here to see Mrs Diane Timmer," Leilani smiled at the receptionist. "Okay," she said. She glanced at her computer, and after a few seconds, she got Diane's room number. "She is at the vip ward, room 3. Here is your visitation ID card," the young girl said, handing her over a vip hospital visitation ID card."Thank you," Leilani said before ma
"Was Richard here?" Leilani asked, surprised. Her eyes fixed on her Diane, who just smiled awkwardly, thinking of a convincing lie that won't expose herLeilani was sure Richard went for a business trip. The guy is a totally freak obsessed with his updating his live location whenever he traveled out, and currently, his live location was South Africa. Besides, Diane mentioned something about Richard having a bad day at work and had to travel fitca for a quick business trip, which is why they didn't attend her wedding anniversary."Erm, no, Richard traveled," Diane said, stunning Dr Tessa. "Traveled, but he was just here moments ago. You both were cuddling and being all lovey dovey," Dr Tessa frowned, looking from her to Leilani.Leilani scoffed. She didn't need to be told whom Diane was being all lovey dovey with. It was her husband."Sugar you know Vincent is such a protective type, he was so scared that I got hurt so he was taking extra care of me, every
"Make sure you don't go about disgracing the Russell family or even Diane Timmer, unlike you who doesn't know how much effort it takes to build up a reputation. Some of us do actually do, and some went as far as contributing their effort to build the reputation," Mrs Madeleine said, breaking the dead silence in the dining table.Leilani glanced at her, knowing fully well that the speech was for her. Vincent had left for his emergency business trip to China and won't return till after one week which leaves her in charge of dropping off the kids at school against Mrs Madeleine wish, whom didn't want her to be the one present and the Teachers, Parents and Pupil first meeting."Leilani isn't a fool. She can handle the twins very well," Mr George said. Aside from him, no other person actually has the balls to talk to Mrs Madeleine, not even her sons, daughter, or daughter-in-law. They all worshipped her like a goddess scared to get into her bad books.Mrs Madeleine s
Leilani walked into the kindergarten meeting room, disrupting the meeting, which started about thirty minutes ago and dragging all attention to herself.She smiled, looking at the eyes of the patents, especially the mothers who seemed to be stunned by her breathtaking beauty and aura. Leilani would have easily walked in through the back door, but she decided to enter through the front door, which was directly close to the stage where everyone had their attention. She had gone through a lot at Dérévé and spent a lot for no one to notice her or her outfit.Leilani smiled even harder, bowing gradually to the young lady who was addressing the parents before she entered."Sorry, I'm late, I had an emergency to attend to," Leilani said, finally approaching her. She didn't bother to go into details with the emergency she had since she already guessed the lady would obviously think it's a work emergency."Welcome, Mrs....?" Dean Jane as