Chapter 34

Alissia's Pov

“The consequences of interrupting with a past event, Alissia.” He declared.

My lips quivered like leaves in the presence of a mighty wind.

“How is that possible?” I demanded, almost screaming. “Explain to me then why I could touch the door knob.”

His gaze bore down on me like a heavy rain on a battered house. I could see a smothering coldness behind his eyes

“I don’t have an answer for that Alissia.Tampering with past event comes with different consequences for different people. Probably there is a more logical explanation for this but right now, I can’t think of any,” he answered. I’ll leave you for now.”

He dissaperd immediately, leaving me alone, stuck in the room without a body. It didn’t make sense, all of it. Why would the heavens be so kind to grant me another shot at survival yet grace it with all kinds of hurdles and problems?

“I wish you had let me die!” I screamed, facing the wall. Lonely and trapped and tired, I sat on a nearby chair awake till the hour of one.

The door opened, filling the room with a long creaking sound, one that made my ears cringe. I saw the tall towering figure of Bryan come into the room, followed by Jenna.

Immediately she came in, Bryan went up to the bed and lay down, on his face. Jenna still stood, watching her movements— observing her actions.

“You should rest Jenna, you have a long day tomorrow,” Bryan mumbled, turning his face up so that he could get a proper view of her.

“Tomorrow? What’s happening tomorrow?” She queried.

“Tomorrow, you resume work at Alissia father’s company,” he mumbled.

As Bryan's words hung in the air, Jenna's expression changed, her eyes widening like a portal to another reality. Her pupils enlarged in shock and disbelief, as if the very essence of her reality had been crumbled to pieces.

“Aren’t we supposed to go on a honeymoon or something? Besides I am just recovering from an accident. Why am I resuming work in her stead so soon?” She demaded in one breath, not stopping for once. “ For God’s sake, I didn’t know anything about running a company and this was not included in the contra…”

“The moment you signed the contract, you signed to become like her. To talk like her, to dress like her— all of it!” He growled, rising up from the bed like a mad man.

I saw her shiver on the spot where she stood. His words had gotten to her and she crumbled within, unable to stand strong again.

Tears were beginning to form around her eyes and Slowly, she bent down till her buttocks kissed the floor, her legs folded before her— her hands finding comfort wrapped around it.

“You are not Alissia, you are Jenna and there would be no honeymoon with you. Do not ever forget your place in this house,” Bryan declared, pointing a finger at her.

“You forced me to sign this yet you treat me like I am some maid you found in the slums. Do you hate me so much or maybe I’m not asking the right questions. Did you even love her at all? She asked admist the tears which were pouring out of her eyes, streaming down the slopes of her face.

Bryan's eyes flashed with anger, darkening like the clouds in a storm. His gaze burned fiercely, fixing on Jenna like it would burn her. His eyes narrowed and the skin around them tightened with tension. The air around him seemed to vibrate with fury, as if his emotions were about to explode.

“Never, ever, speak about her again!” I ordered with a serious voice.

“And why shouldn’t I?” She replied stubbornly. “I signed to be your wife for a year not a mute puppet doing your every bidding.”

Bryan couldn’t conceal the displeasure at her outburst. He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. Lying down in the bed, he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep but I knew he wasn’t. It was just a facade, a means of escaping the reality before him— a means to take his mind off her.

“Lest I forget,” he suddenly spoke. “A driver from the company will be here to pick you up by nine am. You will get up by six am on the dot to prepare for work and a meeting later today. In a file, beneath that drawer…” he said, pointing towards a mini cupboard at the right side of the bed. “… is a document containing the names of everything and everyone you need to know, make sure you memorize them.

After speaking, he turned over to sleep and before long, he was snoring away.

The time was almost two Am as at the time he slept off which meant that Jenna had only four hours before she got up to prepare for work.

“Poor girl,” I felt for her. She didn’t deserve any of this but fate had made us all cross paths in the weirdest of ways.

She sat still, on the floor where she had been, crying. I would have entered her body if it weren’t midnight. But I needed her to be strong, for us.

Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to meet up with the deadline of memorizing the names, I moved closer and reached to open the drawer but my hand passed through it like thin air.

Disappointed, I sighed but I didn’t relent. I moved closer to her and tried to speak to her.

“Jenna! Hello!” She couldn’t hear me, I knew, but we had to pull this off as soon as possible. I sat down beside her, staring at her. She had removed the mask by this time and all I saw was her face, wet with heavy eyes bulging from it.

I moved closer to her and tried to hug her but I passed through her as well. Content with just staying there, I whispered into her ears, “it’s going to be okay.”

What happened next left me speechless. She suddenly raised her head up and dried her tears with the tip of her black shirt. In a swift movement, she stood up and walked towards the drawer to bring out the supposed file.

“DION TECH,” read the name on the file. She took it from where it was and settled on a chair close to the door, studying each names and the information in it.

“That’s my girl,” I whispered, sitting with her as we both studied in silence.

“Get up you sleepy head,” I heard a voice say, accompanied by tapping sounds and opened my eyes slowly. Bryan’s face came into view and I realized we had slept off while studying the file. Jenna, stretched lazily behind me.

“It’s your first day at work, meet me down the stairs in five minutes,” he ordered, walking out of the door