Bride In Flames

Chapter: 2

Chapter two:

I stared at the photograph in Monica's hand.

The woman in it was beautiful.

Elegant.

Perfectly dressed.

She stood beside Jayson at what looked like a family event, one hand resting on his shoulder.

I knew her.

Olivia Jackson.

Jayson's mother.

My stomach tightened.

"Olivia?" I whispered.

Monica nodded.

"His mother."

I looked at her sharply.

"Why would Jayson's mother want me dead?” "That is what you need to find out."

I pushed the blanket away and tried to stand.

Pain shot through my legs.

I fell back onto the bed.

Monica caught my shoulder.

"Don't."

"I need to see Jayson."

"You can't."

"He's my husband!"

My voice cracked.

"He was taken from me. I don't even know if he's alive."

Monica's expression softened.

"He survived."

I froze.

"What?"

"Jayson survived the fire."

A breath escaped my lips.

"He's alive?"

"Yes."

Tears filled my eyes.

"Then take me to him."

Monica shook her head.

"Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because the world thinks you are dead.” I stared at her.

"I don't care what the world thinks."

"You should."

She walked to the window and looked outside.

The mansion was surrounded by tall trees, iron gates and armed security guards.

"This isn't a normal house," I said.

"No."

"Who are you?"

Monica turned around.

"You asked me that before. "

"I know."

"But you still don't understand."

She came closer and sat beside me.

"I have money. Power. Connections. Things you will need if you want to survive."

"Why would you help me?"

She didn't answer immediately.

Instead, she looked at my wedding ring.

"You loved him."

It wasn't a question.

I looked down at my ring.

"I still do."

My voice came out weak.

"I don't care about money. I don't care about revenge. I just want my husband."

Monica sighed." That is exactly why you are in danger."

"Why?"

"Because love makes people easy to control."

She reached for my hand.

"Olivia knows that."

I pulled my hand away.

"What happened after the fire?"

Monica's eyes darkened.

"You were found several miles from the building."

"By whom?"

"One of my men."

"Why were your men there?"

She hesitated.

"I had been watching that building."

"Why?"

"Because I had been watching Olivia."

My heart began pounding.

"What does Olivia have to do with you?"

Monica looked away.

"That is a question you will understand later."

I didn't like her answer.

"Tell me everything."

"I will."

"When?"

"When you are strong enough to hear it."

I stared at her.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"Almost three weeks."

My mouth fell open.

"Three weeks?"

"Your burns were severe."

I slowly touched my face.

The skin around my cheek felt tight.

"What happened to me?"

Monica didn't answer.

I walked toward a large mirror near the corner.

She tried to stop me.

"Elena"

But I had already seen myself.

I stopped breathing.

The woman staring back at me looked like a stranger.

Part of my face was covered with healing scars.

My hair was uneven.

My skin looked pale and damaged.

I touched my cheek.

"No..."

My knees weakened.

I held onto the table.

"No."

Tears rolled down my face.

"This isn't me."

Monica stood behind me.

"Your face can be repaired."

I shook my head.

"I don't want a new face."

"You may not have a choice."

I turned toward her.

"I want my old life."

Monica looked at me sadly.

"Your old life ended the night you walked into that building."

Those words hurt more than the burns.

I looked at my wedding ring.

Jayson had placed it on my finger only hours before the fire.

I remembered his smile.

His voice.

His arms around me.

Now nobody can take you away from me.

I covered my mouth as a sob escaped.

"What if he thinks I abandoned him?"

"He doesn't."

I looked at Monica.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know what he has been doing since the fire."

My heart raced.

"What has he been doing?"

"He has been searching."

Hope returned to my chest.

"Then why can't I go to him?"

"Because whoever attacked you wants you dead."

"Let them try.” Monica's eyes narrowed.

"You almost died once."

"I won't hide forever."

"No."

She walked toward me.

"You won't hide forever."

She placed a folder on the table.

"But first, you will disappear."

I stared at her.

"What?"

"Your name, Elena, must disappear."

"No."

"You need a new identity."

"I won't become someone else."

Monica opened the folder.

Inside were several documents.

A passport.

A driver's license.

Bank documents.

A photograph.

I picked up the photograph.

It showed a beautiful woman with long dark hair and sharp eyes.

"Who is she?"

"You."

I looked at Monica.

"What?"

"Your new identity."

She pushed the documents toward me.

"Emily Anderson."

I stared at the name.

It didn't feel like mine.

"Why Emily?"

"Because Elena is dead."

My fingers tightened around the photograph.

"And Emily?"

"Emily is alive."

I looked back at my reflection.

For the first time, I understood what Monica meant.

Elena had died that night.

If I wanted to survive, I needed to become someone stronger.

Someone Olivia could never recognize.

Someone who could stand in front of her without fear.

I wiped my tears.

"How long?"

"For what?"

"How long until I can return?"

Monica's eyes met mine.

"When you are ready."

"I'll be ready."

"You don't know what you're saying."

"I do."

I looked at the photograph again.

"I want everything Olivia has."

Monica smiled faintly.

"Then you will need more than anger."

"What else?"

"Power."

Five months later, I sat in a private clinic while a surgeon studied my face.

Monica stood beside me.

"The procedure will change your appearance significantly," the surgeon explained.

I looked at myself one last time.

The scars were still there.

The memories were still there.

The pain was still there.

But the weak girl who had entered that burning building was gone." Do it."

The procedure took hours.

When I woke up, my face was wrapped in bandages.

I couldn't see the result.

Months passed.

I trained.

I studied business.

I learned how to defend myself.

Monica introduced me to powerful people who could open doors I had never dreamed of entering.

She taught me how to negotiate.

How to read people.

How to hide my emotions.

How to smile while planning an attack.

And every night, before I slept, I remembered Jayson.

I wondered if he still wore his wedding ring.

I wondered if he still loved me.

I wondered if he had moved on.

I never allowed myself to ask the hardest question.

What if he had forgotten me?

Five years later, I stood in front of a mirror.

I adjusted the diamond earrings hanging from my ears.

My dark hair fell perfectly over my shoulders.

My face was different.

Beautiful.

Unrecognizable.

I smiled.

Not the nervous smile Elena used to have.

This one belonged to Emily.

A powerful woman who had built a fortune from nothing.

Monica entered the room.

She stopped when she saw me." Are you ready?"

I picked up my black handbag.

"Yes."

She studied my face.

"Remember why you're going back."

I looked into the mirror.

"Olivia."

"And?"

"Zarah."

"And?"

I clenched my fingers.

"Everyone who helped destroy my life."

Monica nodded.

"Good."

I walked toward the door.

But before I could leave, she called my name.

"Emily."

I stopped.

"Don't let revenge make you forget who you are."

I turned around.

"I know who I am."

I touched the ring I had kept hidden for five years.

"I am Elena."

My eyes hardened.

"But they will know me as Emily."