LAYLA
I woke up with a jerk and that feeling you get in the middle of a deep sleep where it feels like you are falling.
But I was smack in the middle of my narrow bed , palms sweaty and in no danger of falling off.
I sat up with a hand pressed against my chest as if doing that could calm the heart that was slamming hard against my ribs and confused about why there was the faint smell of smoke in the air and where I was.
I lifted my nose and tried to follow the smell to find out where it had originated from, but all traces of smoke vanished, leaving only the damp smell of my basement room. Then I remembered where I was.
Ah yes! I'm in the city with my father and his other family.
Two months of living here and I still did not feel like I belonged.
I frowned, racking through my brain over what I had dreamt of. I did not know why but it felt so important that I remember but the harder I tried, the more it felt like it was slipping out of my grasp.
Number seven.
Where had that come from? And why did it feel so important?
A sharp knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
"Miss," The maid at the door called out, "Mr and Mrs Sinclair have requested your presence upstairs."
"I'll be up shortly." I called out.
My voice might have sounded steady but I felt anything but.
There was still that weight on my chest that told me that something was amiss.
I got off the bed and threw a glance at the bedside clock.
07:07
"Number seven is your number."
I staggered and hit the wall as a flood of memories hit me.
I remember everything.
This is my seventh life.
*
The family room smelled of fresh cut flowers and Cara's cloying perfume.
My father, Edward Sinclair stood by the fireplace, cigar in hand, while Cara sat on the sofa, her legs elegantly crossed at the ankles.
Celine was seated directly opposite the entrance and that's who I saw first.
When Celine saw me, her face lit up with a welcoming, open smile that made my heart constrict with disgust.
I felt the sharp burn of betrayal and even though she had not yet caused my death, I knew she would do it if I gave her the chance.
If I had not return armed with knowledge of my previous lives, I would have never seen Celine for her true self.
All this time, Celine had pretended to be nothing but sweet ever since I had come into the Sinclair household two months ago.
She had been helpful, showing me around the city, taking me shopping and going for dinners.
And I, depserate to feel the warmth of a family having been raised solely by my grandmother had foolishly taken Celine's behaviour at face value.
"Thank you for gracing us with your presense at last." My father's voice was sour, impatient. "Your sister and mother have been here for ten minutes now."
"Come on dad," Celine said, her voice sickly sweet. "You know Lalya came from the countryside, she is not used to our customs."
Once again, sweet in the face of everyone's disdain.
I marveled at how Celine could be so two faced, no wonder i had been fooled.
Father simply grunted and reached for a silver tray on the side board. Two envelopes rested side by side, one navy blue, the other blood red.
"These are the proposals we have recieved from the Barone family and the Thorne Family." He explained.
My pulse surged.
Things were happening exactly like before.
"Thankfully, we have two girls so we don't have to reject any of these proposals." He continued, his eyes gleaming from the imagined prestige that would come from these two wealthy families.
I stared transfixed at the two letters laying on the silver tray.
I wondered if this was the cross roads, the decision that had kept landing me at death's door.
Father looked at Celine with a proud smile, no doubt sure that her marriage would secure a place in the upper echelons of society for him and his wife.
"The Barone family is the most prominent and powerful mafia family in Westerhove," Edward stated with finality." "Celine is better suited for such a marriage."
"No!"
Everyone froze, including I who had lived it already but this version with Cara protesting was new.
Father frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked in puzzlement.
"What i mean to say is." Cara's voice was steady after her outburst, her composure snapped back in place. "Celine and Noah have been friends for so long and our families know each other. I believe their match will be more suitable."
With those words, she hurriedly picked up the blue envelope and pushed it into Celine's hands.
Celine blinked in confusion then she smoothed the worry off her face.
"Mother knows best father." Celine turned to father, "After all, if Layla gets picked by the Barones, the blessings from her marriage will come to us too."
Father grunted and pushed the tray towards me.
"You had better not disappoint us." He glared. "Prestigious families are going to send their daughters, you better come back with a proposal."
"Don't worry about that." Cara said with false warmth "I will ensure that she is presented in such a way that the Sinclair family will stand out."
I was too shocked to even acknowledge then and kept looking at the red envelope on the tray.
Something was wrong, something had changed.
Cara's reaction sparked a suspicion inside me and I narrowed my eyes.
The Barone family.
A name that filled every hearer with dread.
Everyone in Westerhove knew who they were.
They were not just wealthy, they were untouchable.
Ruthless rulers of the underground, it was said that crossing them was a death sentence.
It was also Cara's wish to have Celine marry into the family. So why would she suddenly change her mind and push me toward the Barone family?
Unless she knew something that I did not know.
It felt odd to see her pushing me towards the wealthier suitor. Cara would never offer help if there was nothing in it for her, so what did Cara stand to gain this time?"
Could Cara be like me? What motive does she have?
Afterall, if I can be reborn, is it so unbelievable that someone else too could be reborn too in this timeline?
I remembered that in three of my lives, Celine had been killed by the Barone family.
Did Cara know this? Could it be why she did not want Celine to accept their proposal?
Was that what Cara was trying to prevent? Or was it just a coincidence.
"Look at her, she is too ungrateful to even grasp the magnitude of fortune she has been blessed with." Father snorted.
"Father." Celine whined. "She is probably just too excited to express, my sister must have never believed that her life could change like this."
Father did not look pleased and Cara looked smug.
"I will leave to get ready then." I stood up clutching the envelope.
"I will have the maids come help you to prepare." Cara's sacharine smile made my belly twist with anxiety.
Whatever her plan was, I would have to outsmart her. My survival depended on that.
*
The bath did very little to soothe my unsettled thoughts.
Infact, now I felt more agitated.
Having this foresight meant that I had a chance to correct what had gone wrong before, I only worried about what Cara knew because that would make her very dangerous.
When I came out, wrapped in my bathrobe I saw a red dress draped on the chair.
The same exact shade as the envelope resting on My nightstand.
Knowledge slammed hard against me like a sledgehammer.
"Cara wants me dead." I whispered.
I stared at the red, the danger it reresented and knew with a certainty that Cara had been reborn just like me.