Chapter 2

[Luna, please! You have to believe me!]

[Remember when we were little and a garden snake bit you right on the butt, and I stupidly tried to suck the venom out like in the movies?]

[Remember three years ago when I drowned saving you from that rip current? I love you more than anyone in this world! Why would I ever lie to you?]

At that moment, fists banged excitedly against the door.

My hand froze right before turning the knob.

A suffocating dilemma tore through my chest.

After everything that happened in my last life, I couldn't help but suspect that this voice wasn't Lily at all, but some sick monster playing games with my mind.

A monster that got my fiancé and my mother killed.

Yet, the snake bite story was an intimate secret shared only between Lily and me. No one else on Earth knew.

We grew up together, closer than sisters, bonded by life and death.

Why would she ever want to hurt me?

Could she really be telling the truth?

Were the deaths of Lucas and Mom in my past life just horrible accidents?

Bang—

The door flew open, cutting off my thoughts.

Seeing Lucas rush toward me, tears welled up in my eyes, instantly washing away all my doubts.

Tucked inside the bridal bouquet in his hands was a diamond-and-sapphire necklace worth well over a million dollars.

I had fallen in love with its design on a luxury magazine months ago, but because of the price tag, I only stared at it.

I never once asked him for it.

Yet Lucas noticed. He tracked it down and bought it secretly, saving it as a surprise for our wedding day!

How could love like this ever be fake?

I shoved Lily’s warnings to the back of my mind and threw my arms around him in tears.

We walked through the ceremony smoothly and headed toward the waiting bridal car outside.

[I’m losing my mind here!]

[Luna, you are so blindly in love it's disgusting! You're hopeless!]

[You don't believe me, do you?]

[Just watch! Lucas is going to force you into the rear right seat, and that truck will crush you and our baby to pieces!]

No matter what Lily screamed in my head, I kept silent.

Still, as we approached the limousine, a prick of caution made me turn to Lucas:

"The sun is pretty harsh on the right side. Let's switch—I'll sit on the left."

The second the words left my mouth, Lucas froze.

Then, his grip tightened on my shoulder as he firmly guided me toward the right door. "It’s fine, Luna. The tint is heavy, you won’t feel the sun."

"Besides, my grandma always said it's an old wedding superstition—the bride has to sit on the right for luck. On our big day, let's just stick to tradition, okay?"

Instantly, Lily started screaming triumphantly:

[Open your eyes, girl! You know him better than I do! Lucas has never believed in superstitions! He’s making up a cheap excuse because he has blood on his hands!]

A wave of unease churned in my stomach.

Yet, on second thought, didn't that just prove how much he cared?

A man who was always purely practical was suddenly honoring silly superstitions just for the sake of our future.

I took a deep breath, calmed my racing pulse, and pushed the fear down.

The ride was smooth and uneventful.

As the reception venue came into view, I finally let out a sigh of relief and turned my gaze from the window toward Lucas.

That was when I caught him rapidly sliding his phone into his pocket, visibly shielding the screen from me.

In that split second, a profile picture on his notifications burned itself into my eyes—one that was painfully familiar!