You think I was bested by four crooks?

Mira felt a small light lighting her path in the darkness. She wondered if she was being guided on the way to hell for her deeds. She stepped in the path lighted by the small light. She was ready… she deserved it….

Her life flashed past as she followed the small light engulfed in the darkness around her… Everything made sense to her. The seal that the wicked couple was talking about was not her father’s seal of authority as the ‘Head of Trade and Book of hereditary rights’ but the seal that belonged to the Zumerong estate. The Zumerong was one of the oldest and most prestigious families in the old world, but due to a political unrest, the family had to leave the city under the cover of the night some 15 years ago and no one had heard about them ever since.

The Zumerong seal was given to her father by his best friend who was the heir apparent to the estate for safe keeping until they returned. He didn’t want the seal to fall in the wrong hands if they met with trouble on their way. He had repeatedly told his best friend only to hand over the seal to the person who comes with the secret token which was a small glass bottle with a dried lily flower.

He also requested not to tell anyone what the secret token was until he passed away and then too, to only divulge this information to the keeper of the seal. Mira had heard this secret in passing while was serving at the table where Jason was getting her father drunk and enquiring about the seal. At that time, she was too ignorant and trusting of Jason and didn’t think too much of the line of questioning. He had told her that he was trying to establish a good relationship with her father by talking to him about what he cared about most, so that he wouldn’t object to them any further.

Mira’s lips curled up in disdain and self- ridicule as she passed through this memory ‘How stupid and blind was she? She really deserved to be tricked!’

As she walked the path of her life, she saw the treacherous couple tricking her with more of their lies, making her a puppet in their hands, talking her into stealing the quotes of contracts they were competing on from her husband, leading her by the nose to scam her husband into signing the extremely disadvantageous Lapstone bridge on behalf of the Slegh estate and crucifying him for the fall of the bridge that was built with low quality building materials. She watched her ex-husband bearing all responsibility exonerating her of any wrongdoing before king and country. She watched him being kicked out of his job and being jailed for 5 five years for harsh imprisonment. The imprisonment was revoked by the king after the Slegh’s notified in writing that they would pardon him. Why would the Slegh’s pardon him… no one knew!

She watched how she happily divorced him and ran into the arms of Jason. She watched in horror as he scammed her with a fake wedding certificate. Till now she didn’t know that the marriage she worked so hard for was just a fallacy…. She closed her eyes in pain… she didn’t have the strength to watch.

All the small and big details of her life flashed past her mind. She truly regretted her foolishness, but she was a woman who loved with every ounce of her being. She was ready to pay any price for her love…. the sad truth was her loyalties and affections were misplaced. She had wronged one too many good people. If there was a chance, she would pay her ex-husband and her family everything she owed them…. But sadly, everyone including herself had met with an untimely end…. She could only hope to make up for her stupidity in her next life.

Her family wasn’t famously rich or prestigious. Just an ordinary family with a slightly raised social status owing to her father’s position in court. But they had been smeared with dirt and lost miserably… all because of her misplaced love!

Painful as it was, Mira slowly opened her eyes as she gathered the strength to meet her maker. She was ready for judgement, ready for retribution; However, the path gradually started to brighten…. The darkness around her dissipated. She could hear a pained voice calling out to her to wake up. She knew this voice…. A voice she never thought she would have the fortune to hear again.

Jackson stared at the woman who was his wife and didn’t love him; the woman who demeaned and despised him at every possible chance she got; the woman who didn’t spare any effort to get away from him…. get divorced. The sad part was despite knowing everything he fell in love with this heartless woman.

Their marriage in the beginning was a debt he owed her stepmother. Slowly, he didn’t even know when, but his cold heart started melting… why? He didn’t know… maybe it was his belief in the constitution of marriage… maybe it was his admiration towards her steadfast loyalty even though he was not the recipient…. maybe it was her charm… She wasn’t a breathtaking beauty, but she had a charm; a charm that grew like a vine… till it covered all of your heart and soul.

Jackson stopped talking and turned his face away as he saw the eyelids flutter. He knew she was about to wake up. No matter how desperate he was… he would save this little bit of face for himself.

Mira opened her eyes to see Jackson who was waiting by her bedside. She could not believe herself …. Was this afterlife? Was he still waiting for her? But… something didn’t seem to add up. Why did this look like a healer’s room? Did someone save her? But then, why was Jackson here? She had seen the men bury him … a possibility rushed to her head…. Something she had read from Ursula’s stash of books a long time ago…. Was she reborn? Did she travel back in time? Was she given a second chance?

Jackson watched the myriad of emotions that flashed past her eyes without interrupting. He was waiting for her to calm down even though he didn’t know the reason behind her emotions. Mira’s mind was reeling rapidly through her previous life incidents to place herself into this timeline. That’s right, she was brought to a healer’s room for trying to kill herself in an attempt to force him to agree to null the marriage 3 months after their marriage and she had almost succeeded. If she was right, then he would tell her now that he was in agreement to make the marriage null and all the parchments that she had given him were signed and at the bedside table. These parchments were required to be given to the mayor to evict each other of responsibility of the other; She waited patiently as she stared back at him. She didn’t know if her theory was right… so she decided to wait.

Sure enough, after 10 minutes of staring at each other, Jackson sighed!

“You don’t have to do this ever again. I am okay to null this marriage since living with me is worse than death for you.” Jackson spoke each word gritting his teeth.

“The parchments you bought the other day, I have signed them, and it is here.” Jackson spoke against his will and pointed to the bedside table. He stood up to leave as there was no point in him being here anymore. He had done what needed to be done.

“Don’t….” Mira stretched her hand hurriedly and caught his hand stopping him.

Jackson turned around and raised his eyebrows skeptically.

“I …. I…I…” Mira bit her lips “I don’t want to null the marriage anymore.”

Jackson’s face looked like he had been electrified… but the next minute his lips curled up in ridicule as he heard the rest of her words-

“But only if you don’t want to null the marriage as well once you hear what I have to say.” Mira spoke softly as she remembered the reason behind Jason’s fury. He hated her to death once he came to know of her cheating on him. If he, whom she loved so dearly could hate so much after hearing that she cheated, what about Jackson whom she knew for only 3 months?

She wanted a second chance but on fair grounds. She could make amends, protecting him from the dark like he did in their past life. This was why she made the decision even though she knew that the worst case was he would tell everyone, and she would treated as monster, caged and torn apart in the royal physician’s room or worse yet classed as witch and burnt alive… but it was a risk she wanted to take. One that would guarantee her a chance to love…. a risk that was well worth it according to her books!

“Is there something you were going to say?” Jackson perked his eyebrows as he saw the myriad of emotions flashing.

“Can you lock the door?”

Jackson shrugged; the ridicule on his face not reducing even by a smidgen, but he still closed and locked the door.

“I am terrified of what will happen if you decide against me after you hear what I am about to tell you.” Mira took a deep breath gathering every ounce of will power that she could muster “not just your decision but also …. Hah!!” Mira sighed as she sat up leaning against the headboard.

“You must think that I just woke up…right?” Mira looked like she was about to hang herself.

“I have been here since we bought you to the healer.” Jackson pursed his lips.

“I know…” Mira nodded despondently “This might sound crazy but there is no nice way, so I am just going to say it.”

“I have been here and done this.” Mira paused “I have walked this journey once and made a terrible mistake. I have cheated you and misused your position in charge of the Slegh estate. We got divorced and you were disgraced and thrown out of the estate. I finally married or thought I got married to Jason. I was then tricked, tortured, violated by their henchmen and killed by them. Well not exactly killed by them…” Mira bit her lips as she corrected herself “I killed myself so that they couldn’t get their way.”

“In this future of yours” Jackson couldn’t help himself laughing in ridicule but still continued once he managed to hold his laughter “What happened to me after I was kicked out?”

Mira lowered her head regretfully and spoke in a low voice “You got killed trying to save to me from four hired crooks just before they violated me.”

“Ha…ha….ha….ha…” Jackson laughed “You think I was bested by four crooks?”

“Yes…. because you were drugged by Lotta.” Mira spoke in a muffled voice; she didn’t raise her head.

“Lotta???” Jackson frowned. He didn’t even know who that was.

“She is one of the maids at Slegh. She likes you and had also moved close to your place once you were kicked out. I am not sure of the details.”

“She likes me??” Jackson’s smile became wider “How come I don’t know her?”

“She is the one who brings you tea and snacks.” Mira spoke in a sour tone.

Jackson pursed his lips which were curling upwards. For some reason he felt the sourness in her tone sounded like music to his ears.h

“Alright. Let’s say that I believe your hocus pocus.” Jackson kept his eyes on her eyes “What is it that you want to ask me?”

“Do you …. I mean…. Do you still want to be married to me?” Mira lowered her eyes. She didn’t have the courage to keep looking into his. ‘What if she saw disgust in them?’

“Why did you ask this?” Jackson raised her chin forcing her to look into his eyes.

“I…. I… want to know what your choice will be knowing what I know. I don’t want to take advantage….” Mira blinked innocently. She didn’t have any schemes. Her eyes were clear.

“You should know the answer… if what you said is true.” Jackson stared intently into her eyes.

“Jason and I have been in love ever since we were ten years old. He started hating me after Alina, my best friend told him about an affair with someone that didn’t happen.” Mira lowered her eyes suppressing the pain and hatred in her heart.

“You… you don’t know me much now…. If you want to leave knowing what I really did… then….” Mira raised her head to stare back into his eyes “knowing that I came back after I was tricked…. I will respect that.”

Jackson sighed; He couldn’t see the scheming in her eyes, they were clear as day.

“You said that Jason hated you due to a lie…. why don’t you go back and clear it for him? Wouldn’t you get your happily ever after?” He asked against his will.

“I didn’t do anything to let him down….” Mira didn’t look away this time “He should have known better than to convict me without asking me. You on the other hand, I did cheat and had every reason to hate me….” Mira sighed and shook her head.