Layla woke up with a jerk.
At that exact second, she thought she was falling but she was smack in the middle of her narrow bed, palms sweaty and in no danger of doing so.
She sat up with a hand pressed against her chest as if doing that could calm the heart that was racing hard against her ribs while she wondered why there was the faint smell of smoke in the air.
She lifted her nose, intent on following the smell to find out where it had originated from, but all traces of smoke vanished, leaving the damp smell of her basement bedroom.
Layla frowned, trying to remember what she had dreamt of. She did not know why but it felt so important that she remember but the harder she tried to remember the more it felt like it was slipping out of her grasp.
Number seven.
Where had that come from?
A sharp knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Miss," The maid at the door called out, "Mr and Mrs Sinclair have requested your presence upstairs."
"I'll be up shortly." Layla called out.
Her voice sounded steady but she felt anything but.
She stood up reluctantly and threw a glance at the bedside clock.
07:07
Hit by a scorching blast of heat, that came not from the room but from a memory. She fell on her knees and grabbed her head while a voice echoed in it.
"Number seven is your number."
Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat.
She remembered everything.
This was her seventh life.
*
The family room smelled of fresh cut flowers and Cara's cloying perfume.
Her father, Edward Sinclair stood by the fireplace his 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 Layla saw first.
When Celine saw Layla, her face lit up with a welcoming, open smile that made Layla's heart constrict with disgust.
Layla felt her knees buckle as she remembered that smile, the same one on Celine's face while everything around Layla had gone up in flames.
If Layla had not come armed with knowledge of her previous lives, she would have never seen Celine for her true self. All this time, Celine had pretended to be nothing but sweet ever since Layla had come into the Sinclair household six months ago.
She had been helpful, showing her around town, taking her shopping and going for dinners.
And Layla, desperate to feel the warmth of a family having been raised solely by her grandmother had foolishly taken Celine's behaviour at face value.
"Thank you for gracing us with your presence at last." Edward Sinclair voice was sour, impatient. "Your sister and mother have been waiting here for you."
"Come on dad," Celine said, her voice sickly sweet. "You know Layla came from the countryside, she has no knowledge about how the elite behave."
Once again, sweet in the face of everyone's disdain.
Layla marveled at how Celine could be so two faced.
Edward 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 received from the Barone family and the Thornes." He explained.
Layla's pulse surged.
The Barone family.
A name that filled every hearer with fear.
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.
"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.
Layla stared transfixed at the two letters laying on the silver tray.
She suspected strongly, that this was the cross roads, the decision that kept landing her at death's door.
Edward 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 Layla who had lived it already but the version with Cara protesting was new.
Celine had picked that red envelope everytime.
Edward 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.
While Noah was the heir of a wealthy family, his family's wealth was a drop of sea in the mighty ocean that was the Barone family wealth.
Her mother had planned this for ages and had agreed that money was better than love.
So, why?
But Celine knew that her mother would never steer her wrong so she smiled and turned to her father.
"Mother knows best father." She sad, "After all, if Layla gets picked by the Barones, the blessings from her marriage will come to us too."
Edward grunted and pushed the tray towards Layla.
"You had better not disappoint us." He glared at her.. "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."
Layla looked on in disbelief at the happenings in front of her.
Something was amiss, something had changed.
Cara's reaction sparked a suspicion inside her and she narrowed her eyes.
She had not gotten a chance to make a move yet things were already changing.
First of all, Cara Sinclair detested her. She had made the clear the very moment Layla had stepped into the Sinclair mansion.
So, it felt odd to see her pushing her 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?
Layla thought.
In all the previous lives, Celine had ended up dead. Usually after marrying Anton Barone or just before.
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." Edwards snorted.
"Father." Celine whined. "She is just too excited to express, my sister must have never believed that her life could change like this."
While on the surface she looked pleasant, even happy for Layla, underneath she was steaming.
She could not bear the thought of Layla securing a marriage with such a prestigious person but she consoled herself with the thought that with Layla did not stand a chance to get into the Barone family.
"I will leave to get ready then." Layla stood up clutching the envelope.
"I will have the maids come help you to prepare." Cara's saccharine smile made Layla's belly twist in an unexplainable emotion.
*
The bath did very little to soothe Layla's unsettled thoughts.
Infact, now she felt more agitated.
Having this foresight meant that she had a chance to correct what had gone wrong before, she only feared what Cara knew because that would make her very dangerous.
When she came out, wrapped in her bathrobe she saw a red dress draped on the chair.
The same exact shade as the envelope resting on her nightstand.
A memory of Celine in that same dress slammed hard against her ribs like a sledgehammer.
"Cara wants me dead." She whispered.
She stared at the red, the danger it represented and knew with a certainty that Cara had been reborn.