If going back to being nineteen were a gift, then Alex would be the greatest fortune of her life.
The tap in the restroom was running. Water splashed onto her face again and again, the cold sensation seeping into her bones. Hallie gasped for breath but couldn't calm the fearful chills in her heart.
If her memory served her correct, the face she saw in the mirror should have been from when she had turned nineteen which had also been her engagement day.
Her fiancé , Aiden, was the youngest son of the Reid family in New York, he is also the next head of the Reid family, and her childhood friend.
What was originally a marriage everyone envied,had become the greatest misfortune of her life. She had been burned to death at home, all alone.
Touching the youthful face in the mirror, a small smile escaped from the corner of Hallie's mouth.
Fortunately, everything was not too late.
In this life, she would never want to have anything to do with Aiden again. She would not be hopelessly foolish, nor would she love him to the extent of being taken for a fool. She had been indifferent and neglectful towards her parents, leading to their untimely death. She had trusted Aiden blindly, allowing him to be with other women, and in the end, he had killed her himself for another woman.
It was her fault, her stupidity was like that of a dog.
"Hallie, are you done yet?" asked Mrs. Reid, Aiden's mother, from outside the restroom.
"I'll be out in a second, Auntie. You go ahead, I'll be right there." Shaking off the water from her hand, Hallie stood upright. Her eyes had already calmed down, as deep as an unfathomable cold pond.
"Okay, I'll go ahead. Be quick, okay?" The footsteps outside the door faded.
The girl in the mirror had her hair tied in a bun, her pretty face full of life. This was no longer the dead Hallie. She took a deep breath and stood up straight. Turning around, she walked out of the restroom towards the engagement banquet room.
Since heaven chose to bring her back to this time, it surely wanted her to destroy the so-called engagement, this painfully torturous arrangement.
The engagement banquet was being held in the Westgate Hall on the third floor. Hallie practically stormed her way into the room.
Mrs. Brooks caught sight of her daughter at first glance. She couldn't help but feel something was off , although she couldn't articulate what exactly was different.
"My darling, come here!" Mrs. Brooks let out a gentle smile, stepping forward to grasp Hallie's hand.
Seeing her mother, Hallie felt a sting in her eyes along with an unanticipated dampness. She quickly took hold of her mother’s hand, saying, "Mom! I have missed you so much." She had no idea how her parents from her previous life had died, but when Aiden had set her alight, she suddenly felt that her parents' death must have been tied to him.
"Oh my dear, you’re still so clingy even when you’re all grown up!" Mrs. Brooks chuckled lovingly, raising her hand to tidy her daughter's hair.
"No matter how old they are, aren't they still kids in our eyes?” Mrs.Reid smiled until her eyes formed thin slits, gesturing them to take a seat.
Hallie said nothing, seating herself while holding onto her mother’s hand tightly, a sense of security she hadn’t experienced in fifteen years engulfed her heart. Scanning the hall, she immediately spotted Aiden sitting next to his parents, she felt an upsurge of hatred. What had she ever done to him? That he had gone as far as hiding a lighter under her pillow just to burn her alive! She never complained about the mess in the Reid family, she had given him a position in the company, always listened to him, and gave him ample space. What had she done wrong for him to bear such grudges? Even if she had taken the place of his mistress, it wasn't her fault! He had willingly married her, but ended up blaming her for taking over her position. What kind of twisted logic was that?