He Knelt For Me, I Refused

Synopsis

I died. To be precise, I died in my previous life. I was killed in a car crash carefully engineered by William Stokes and Genevieve Kimmons. When I opened my eyes again, I was twenty-two. In the bridal boutique, I stood before the mirror in a wedding gown chosen personally by William. Layers of white fabric spilled around me like a promise, beautiful, elaborate, and entirely false, just like everything I had once believed about him. "Miss Cantrell," the shop assistant said from behind me, her tone bright with envy. "Mr. Stokes has moved the wedding up to next month. He really values this ceremony." I didn't believe it. I gave a quiet, bitter laugh. In my previous life, those words had lured me straight into a marriage that became my grave. I died horribly. I said, reaching up to remove the veil, "Cancel it. I'm not marrying him." The assistant froze. "Miss Cantrell, are you joking?" I studied my reflection. I was twenty-two. I was unbroken and untouched by years of sleepless nights spent tracking a cheating husband, untouched by the collapse that followed discovery, untouched by the despair that came before death. There was still time. I said, turning away, "Inform William. The wedding is off."