When Love Rewinds

I caught her fixing her smudged lipstick in the rearview mirror. Her neck now adorned with an intricate diamond necklace and two fresh hickeys.

When she saw me, she looked up with a bright smile, her diamond necklace sparkling.

"Aria! Oh, I took the passenger seat. You don't mind, do you?"

To their surprise, I walked straight past them to the back seat, sliding into the executive position.

"No need to ask for my address. It's in your navigation."

My smooth move instantly demoted them from lovers to chauffeur and servant.

Leon's face darkened as he took a deep breath.

On the way, Lucy suddenly let out a gasp.

Then, holding a used contraceptive between her fingers, she said in an unmistakably clear voice,

"OMG... Leon, the last time we... oh, this is so embarrassing."

After saying this, she collapsed against Leon's shoulder like a boneless doll.

The car came to a stop. Leon glanced back at me smugly, and seeing my disgusted expression as I opened the door to leave, he hurried after me.

He grabbed my arm and roughly pinned me against the car door.

"Enough! Aria Smith, let me tell you, throwing tantrums won't work,"

His face showed a strange hint of excitement.

"In this life, I'm destined to love her. Even if you got on your knees and begged, all I could ever give you is my body, never my heart."

A wave of nausea rose in my throat, and I gagged.

My stomach hurt.

He forced something into my palm and drove away, leaving me with:

"Consider this your engagement gift."

I opened my hand to find a tiny, pathetically small solitaire ring.

My phone buzzed.

On social media, Lucy had just posted a photo of her enormous necklace and hickeys.

The background showed a table full of her favorite dishes.

[Leon says this is a gift to congratulate me on almost finishing grad school!]

The comments rolled in:

[Where's the ring he bought with this?]

[The ring must be what he really wanted to give you!]

[Congratulations on your happy news!]

Lucy’s private message followed:

[Aria, in this life, I'm the main character!]

[And you only deserve the free gift.]

I opened my hand, letting the "free gift" ring slide into the drain.

Without a doubt, she had been reborn too.

—

The next morning, the lab was filled with the greasy smell of takeout food.

Leon saw I'd been up all night working, noticed the stomach medication on my desk, and smiled wryly.

"Stomach acting up again? I've told you not to be so high-strung."

"Here, brought you breakfast."

I looked at the containers full of spicy dishes. My stomach instantly cramped worse.

After two lifetimes, he knew perfectly well I couldn't handle any spice at all.

The spice lover was actually Lucy.

He had actually brought me the leftover dishes from her social media post last night.

Was he completely clueless, or deliberately trying to get under my skin?

"How's the research coming along?"

He tried to peek at the sterile area, but I swatted his hand away.

Of course—he was still after the drug I was developing.

In my previous life, he had volunteered for the clinical trials, successfully using it to impregnate me with his and Lucy’s child.

Looking back at the pregnancy—him bringing me tea, rubbing my back, massaging my legs.

Even if I craved tea or pastries from across town, he would dash off to get them without complaint.

His attentiveness had fooled me into thinking that impending fatherhood had finally awakened his sense of family.

I thought this was the happiness I wanted.

Even though ours was a loveless arranged marriage with rare physical intimacy, at least we appeared happy on the surface.

It wasn't until after my death that the truth came out, and I realized I was just a cruel joke.

I was merely a surrogate for him and his true love's child.

His care for me was like tending to a prized incubator.

In the end, they sacrificed the vessel for the prize, and any seeming affection vanished into thin air.

I still remember what he asked the doctor after my heart stopped, "Is the baby okay?"

In this life, I will never let him near this drug.

Only when I was hooked up to an IV at the hospital did the burning in my stomach finally subside.