REBORN BEFORE THE BLACKOUT

Chapter Two Twelve Days Earlier

“Thea!”

Someone shook my shoulder hard.

I gasped and sat up, heart slamming against my ribs. For several seconds I couldn’t breathe.

June stood beside the bed, staring at me.

“You were screaming,” she said. “Are you okay?”

I grabbed her hand. Warm. Real.

I reached for my phone with shaking fingers.

September 3rd.

Twelve days.

Twelve days before the blackout. Twelve days before Adrian shut the car door in my face and drove away with Lena.

I had come back.

Tears slipped down my face not from sadness, but from something sharp and fierce.

I had another chance.

This time I was going to use it.

My phone buzzed.

Adrian’s name lit up the screen.

One missed call.

Then another.

Then a message.

Where are you? I need you to come over. It’s important.

I stared at the words.

In the other life I would have answered immediately. I would have rushed over. I would have asked what he needed.

This time my thumb hovered over the screen for only a second.

Then I blocked his number.

June was still watching me.

“Thea, you’re scaring me. Is something wrong?.”

I wiped my face and forced my breathing to slow. The tears had already stopped. What remained was something different.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

I looked at her properly. Same messy hair. Same worried eyes. Alive.

“I had a bad dream,” I said. “That’s all.”

June didn’t look convinced, but she let it go. “Adrian’s been calling since last night. He sounded weird.”

“I know.”

“Are you going to call him back?”

“No.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you ignore him?”

“Since now.”

I stood up and opened my wardrobe. Most of the clothes were still the soft, quiet things I used to wear because Adrian liked me gentle. I pulled out a plain black sweater and jeans instead.

June watched me change. “Did you two fight?”

“Not exactly.”

“Thea.”

I turned to face her. “I’m filing for divorce.”

The words came out steady. No tremor. No hesitation.

June’s mouth opened, then closed. “You’re serious.”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“I finally opened my eyes.”

She studied me for a long moment, then nodded once. “Okay. What do you need?”

That simple acceptance almost undid me. In the other life I had spent weeks crying on her shoulder every time Adrian hurt me. This time I didn’t need comfort. I needed action.

“I need the name of a good lawyer. Fast. And I need you to not tell anyone yet.”

“Done.”

While she scrolled through her phone, I sat on the edge of the bed and opened my banking app. The numbers were the same as I remembered—modest savings, joint account still half-drained from Adrian’s “business needs.”

I transferred everything from the joint account into my personal one. The confirmation pinged softly.

June looked up. “Lawyer’s name is Diana Brooks. She handled my cousin’s divorce last year. Brutal, from what I heard. Want me to text her?”

“Yes. Tell her I want papers drafted today.”

June typed quickly. “She’s asking if there’s adultery involved.”

I thought of Lena sitting in the passenger seat. Of Adrian’s face when he told me he didn’t want me there.

“Yes,” I said. “There is.”

My phone buzzed again. An unknown number.

I already knew who it was.

I answered on speaker.

“Thea?” Adrian’s voice was tight. “Why did you block me? I’ve been trying to reach you since last night.”

“I’m busy.”

A pause. He wasn’t used to that answer.

“I need you to come to the apartment. We have to talk.”

“About what?”

“About us. About some things that have been… complicated.”

I almost laughed. In the other life this was the day he started laying the groundwork to ask for space. He had already been seeing Lena for months by then.

“I’m not coming over.”

“Thea, don’t be like this. You’re overreacting to something you don’t even understand.”

“I understand perfectly.”

Another silence. Longer this time.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“None of your business.”

“Since when do you talk to me like that?”

“Since I decided I’m done.”

I could hear him breathing. The old Thea would have softened her tone by now. Would have apologized for worrying him. Would have asked if he had eaten.

I stayed quiet.

“I’m coming to June’s,” he said finally. “We need to talk face to face.”

“Don’t.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

The line went dead.

June stared at me. “He’s coming here?”

“Yes.”

“What are you going to do?”

I stood up and walked to the small mirror on the wall. The woman looking back still had the same soft face, the same quiet eyes. But something behind them had changed.

“I’m going to give him exactly what he wants,” I said. “A conversation.”

June’s phone chimed. “Diana can meet you at two o’clock. She wants a five-thousand deposit to start papers today.”

I nodded. “Send her my account details. I’ll transfer it now.”

While the money left my account, I felt strangely calm. In the other life I had cried for weeks after the divorce papers finally came. I had begged him to reconsider. I had promised to be better.

This time I was the one holding the pen.

June glanced toward the window. “That’s his car.”

I didn’t look.

I heard his footsteps on the stairs. Then a knock.

I opened the door before he could knock a second time.

Adrian stood there in the same coat I remembered, keys still in his hand. His eyes moved over my face, searching for the usual softness.

He didn’t find it.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“Then talk.”

He glanced past me at June. “Privately.”

“June stays.”

His jaw tightened, but he stepped inside. The door clicked shut behind him.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

Then he said, “You’re acting strange.”

“Am I?”

“You blocked my number. You transferred money out of the joint account without telling me. And now you’re looking at me like I’m a stranger.”

I leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “Maybe you are.”

Something flickered in his eyes, confusion, then the first spark of irritation.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but whatever it is, we can fix it. Just come home.”

“I’m not coming home.”

“Thea—”

“I want a divorce.”

The words landed between us like a dropped glass.

Adrian stared at me. For the first time since I had known him, he looked genuinely thrown.

“What did you just say?”

“I want a divorce,” I repeated. “Papers will be ready this afternoon. Sign them or don’t. I don’t care.”

He took a step closer. “You’re not serious.”

“I am.”

“Just like that? After three years?”

“You mean after three years of being a solution to your problems,” I said quietly. “Yes. Just like that.”

His face changed. The confusion was still there, but underneath it something colder started to surface.

“Who told you that?”

I smiled, small and sharp.

“You did.”