Reborn in Time: Reclaiming My Life

Chapter 2 Knowledge is Power

Ava's POV

My breath hitched in shock. No! Not again! I just had my vision restored after three years of blindness caused by the last accident. This can’t be happening!

“Rowan said what? And he hasn’t been to visit me? Not even once? What a freaking asshole!” I hissed, remembering that’s exactly what he said last time.

“You are not wrong about that,” Mia agreed. “I don’t know how to tell you this without just saying it. Ava, your parents didn’t survive the crash. I am so sorry! But Ava, your husband is a total asshole. Rowan said it wasn’t his responsibility to make funeral arrangements for your parents. So, I arranged for them to be cremated. I have their urns at my apartment.”

She took a breath and continued. “I need to tell you though," she breathed deeply again. "He didn’t hesitate to ask about how soon their wills would be read. Nor did he hesitate to ask about the worth of their estate. He even asked the doctor if, and when, they could take you off life support. Your doctor told him, in the most professional way possible, to f**k right off! That you would regain consciousness! Rowan is nothing but a money-grubbing asshole!”

My whole body stilled. What does she mean by telling me this now? Even the details about Rowan refusing to make final arrangements. My parents have been gone for three years! I had been furious with him about his callousness. He justified it by saying he was distraught about me. Him wanting to take me off life support? I wasn’t surprised about that. Not after what I had seen in the bedroom at the Keltic Lodge.

But everything Mia said was exactly like what happened after the first accident. How weird is that? What the hell is going on?

“Mia,” I gasped, not sure if I wanted the answer to what I was about to ask. “What is the date today?”

“Today is May 22nd. You’ve been unconscious for five weeks.” The compassion in her voice was almost my undoing.

Déjà vu or what? I had been in a coma for five weeks after the last accident. But she just said today was May 22nd. My trip to Cape Breton was in mid-October. Just in time for the Fall Colors Festival. Shouldn’t that mean I had been in a coma for seven months, not five weeks?

That’s when I thought of the bright light, and my last thoughts of wanting a ‘do over’. Could it be?

“When did the accident happen? What date? What year?” I whispered.

“Have you lost your memory, Ava? How do you not know the year? The accident was on April 10th, 2022. Your parents died at the scene. I am so very sorry.” Her voice was choked with unshed tears. She gently squeezed my hand in comfort.

I didn’t respond. I didn’t let go. If what she was saying was true, then some power heard my final prayers and granted my wish. I had been reborn. Reborn to May 22, 2022. Reborn with my memories intact. Reborn to the day I woke up from the coma caused by the accident that killed my parents.

If that was true, then I have the chance to change my future. I could make this life, this reborn life count. No more would I let Rowan determine my fate. I would take control of my life, change my fate, and make Rowan and Jane pay.

I could do that, because in this timeline they would be the ones going in blind, while I had the memories and knowledge of what they were planning. In this life I would use my knowledge to be ten steps ahead of them. I would be playing chess while they were playing checkers.

I would use my knowledge to defeat my enemies. And there was no doubt in my mind that Rowan, Jane, and anyone who helped them mess with me, were indeed my enemies.

Knowledge attained too late is a tragedy. But foreknowledge is power.

As I lay in the hospital bed, Mia’s hand grasped in mine, I searched my mind for memories. They all came flooding in, every single minute of every single day of the three years of my original timeline since that accident that stole my parents, and my sight. Crystal clear memories. Memories I would use to my advantage.

Three years. Those two scumbags have played me for three long, frustrating years. Betrayed my trust. Trampled on my dignity. Stolen my work. Attempted to steal my wealth.

All while I sacrificed my dreams, to be the loving, devoted wife Rowan demanded. While I listened to Rowan when he asked me not to submit my manuscripts to my contact in the publishing industry. All while Jane pretended to be a supportive friend, telling me my work wasn’t polished enough. All the while, she screwed my husband on a daily basis and conspired with him to end my life.

It's only now that I understand why he withdrew our original divorce application. A divorce he had asked for, and I had agreed to. He had told me he had asked for it in a fit of anger, but couldn't go through once he knew I was blind.

Rowan. That piece of s**t human. He knew I had finally undergone the cornea transplant surgery, despite his ‘considered’ objections. Had tried to dissuade me from having the surgery, citing his busy work schedule. Now I knew it was just an excuse to keep me under his control.

Rowan had been furious when Mia stepped in. He had been furious when she scheduled the surgery, arranged the flights, stayed with me during my recovery. Made sure to stay with me when I got home and settled in the week after the surgery.

That was eight weeks ago in my original life and timeline. Eight weeks of Rowan being loving and supportive. Eight weeks of him encouraging me to fire up my laptop and finish the story I had been working on before my surgery. As a reward for finishing the story, Rowan insisted he take me on vacation. Booked us a whole week at the Keltic Lodge located in Ingonish, Cape Breton.