A Life Reclaimed

CHAPTER ONE

BRIELLA’S POV

I ran as fast as my legs could take me. I didn’t know what I was running from, I just knew that I had to run fast. I ran through the woods, panting heavily and continuously looking back. I heard footsteps but saw nothing.

I became very weary and afraid.

My legs became weak as well and I stumbled over a stone and fell to the ground facing flat.

I tried my hardest to stand up, but I had bruised my leg very badly from the impact with the stone and blood gushed out.

“Oh !”. I said in agony.

I tried to ignore the pain I was feeling and used all my might to stand up, but fell back down immediately.

“Agh!”. I wailed in pain and I could hear footsteps behind me and suddenly everything went dark.

Beep beep beep

“Doctor, will she be alright?”

“Yes, we ran more tests and she only sustained minor injuries. We just have to wait for her to wake up.”

I heard voices and the beeping of a machine. I opened my eyes a little but shut them back immediately. After a few seconds, I slowly opened them up again and my eyes got used to the light. I looked around and realized that I was in a hospital room.

Strange… What the hell was I doing here?

There were two people in the room. A woman I didn't recognize and a male doctor. They seemed to be discussing something.

“Oh dear, she's been out for quite a while. When will she wake up?”. The woman asked.

“That I'm not certain of ma'am. I'm sorry”. The doctor replied, trying to console her.

I figured that they were talking about me. I was still curious as to why I was there though.

I tried to move, but I felt this sharp pain in my back.

“Agh!”. I exclaimed and they turned to me.

“She’s awake!” the woman standing by the bed exclaimed in excitement.

The doctor came towards me and checked my pulse and heart rate.

“Her vitals are intact, she just needs some rest and good food”

“No problem Doctor, thank you”, the woman said as she shifted her gaze to me.

“You’re welcome. I’ll leave you two to talk, and I’ll come by in a few hours to check on her again. "Just alert me or any of the nurses around if you need anything,” the doctor said as he left the room.

I watched the Doctor leave and then turned to the woman standing in front of me. I had never met her before in my life.

“Are you okay Aurelia? You were asleep for quite a long time. I thought you’d enter a coma or something.”

Aurelia?

“Who’s Aurelia? "My name is Briella” I said in confusion.

“Do you have amnesia too? Oh dear lord, the impact was terrible then. But the doctor didn’t say anything about amnesia.”

What was she going on about?

Argh!

I felt a sharp pain in my head and raised my hand up to hold it. She rushed to get me water to drink.

“Here take this”

I took it from her and drank it all in one gulp.

“Aurelia, I’m so sorry that this happened. If I had known, I would’ve called another driver or something. But it’s me Layla, your manager. You really don’t remember me?”

“I'm s-sorry, but I don't know you. And I'm not Aurelia, my name is Briella. Who are you and how did I get here?”

She seemed saddened that I didn't remember her but gave me a faint smile.

“I'm your manager, Layla. And you were involved in an accident on your way to a meeting with a brand”. She started off.

Manager? Meeting with a Brand?

“And your name is Aurelia Celeste, not Briella”. She said.

I gave her a look of confusion and she heaved a heavy sigh.

“Aurelia, I'm so sorry, please remember me”

She sounded worried, but I didn’t know her, and why did she keep calling me Aurelia?

I sat up and looked around again and my eyes caught my reflection in the mirror. I… I looked different. Like a whole new person. My brunette hair had turned blonde. My hazel-brown eyes were now emerald green, and my jaw looked more defined unlike before when they were just chubby. I looked like a supermodel.

Wtf

Then. It all came back. I was dead, well Briella was. And the last thing, or rather, the last person I saw was… Ambrose.

Agh!

My head hurt so badly that I tried to remember what happened to me.

“Just take it easy dear. The doctor said you’d be alright. The agency said they’d provide a personal nurse for you that’ll take care of you and stay with you after you’re discharged. I’ll check up on you from time to time as well. Is that okay?”

I nodded in approval.

Personal nurse? Agency? Maybe I was a supermodel after all. I mean she was my manager, and I was apparently meeting with a brand when I got into the accident.

“I’ll have some food delivered to you before 4pm. You need food and rest dear.”

“Th-thank you.” I said and she smiled at me.

“I really hope you remember me later on”. She said with a faint smile and left the room.

I laid back down on the bed and closed my eyes. I was… dead but alive? Was that even possible? What even killed me?

My memory was still coming back to me in bits and pieces, so it was hard for me to remember everything about my past life.

I heaved a heavy sigh and closed my eyes to go back to sleep. Maybe this was all a dream of some sort? But, alas, it wasn't. It was my new reality. Living the life of another without even knowing how mine ended.

I was literally living the life of a novel character. So unreal.

Well, I'd make the most of it I guess. If I did turn out to be a supermodel, then I'd love life to the fullest.

But I couldn't help but have this empty feeling inside. Like something was missing. Maybe from my past life?

All I remembered was that my name was Briella, and I was married to a man named Ambrose.

Sigh.