Diana
"Sister, watch out!"
I clenched my jaw as pain ripped through me.
Wait, hold on.
I was alive?
That ice-cream truck had come out of nowhere and slammed straight into me. With that speed, my car should've been completely crushed. And since I was in the driver's seat, I should be… dead.
"Oh my God, Diana. I didn't see you there. Are you hurt?"
I felt myself being pulled upright and squeezed my eyes shut, letting out a slow breath.
By all logic, I shouldn't be alive. And if I somehow was, then I should at least be paralyzed from the waist down.
But what I saw after being placed on a chair wasn't the twisted remains of my car or a busy road full of shocked passersby staring at the wreckage of a fifteen-year-old two-seater.
"I'm so sorry, Diana. Please don't be mad. I was only stretching my leg when you tripped over it."
A familiar face slid into my vision. Her hand brushed my hair back as she continued apologizing, her solemn eyes almost fooling me—again.
I narrowed my eyes at her.
Why is this snake even appearing in my final moments?
My silence seemed to send the wrong message because another familiar voice chimed in behind me, sharp and sarcastic.
"Oh, Diana, don't be petty. You just fell, you didn't die."
I glanced behind me at the petite brunette who stood picking her fingers.
But I did die. So why was I here in a clothing and jewelry store I knew very well—one that was at least three hours away from the highway where I died?
"You always do this," she sucked in her teeth. "Lana makes one mistake and you sulk. She's suffered so much all these years because you took her place."
"But she already forgave you, yet when it's your turn, you can't forgive her for a single thing? The double standards."
"Kim, please," Lana said softly. "Diana has always had everything go her way. I can't be the reason she suddenly has to change—that would be unnatural. If yelling at me makes her feel better, then I'll accept it."
Hearing that fake, gentle voice for the second time made my irritation spike.
Fine.
So this was the afterlife.
Jonah Pellard divorcing me and leaving me with nothing was one thing. But the only reason I'd been on that highway was because I was finally driving to the Brooke family house to give this two-faced bitch a piece of my mind.
Maybe this wasn't some peaceful memory replaying itself. Maybe this was the universe's way of telling me this was the moment I should've ended their nonsense.
I should've stood up to them the first time Lana Brooke appeared in my life.
And if this was my final stop before being tossed into the endless abyss called death, then I'd do it now.
"You are a fucking liar!" I gritted out as I sprang to my feet and slapped Lana across the face.
Her eyelids twitched. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and her cheeks flushed red.
I smirked and stared at my palm.
Whoa.
That felt… real. Too real.
If I didn't know better, I would've thought I was still alive.
"Diana Brooke, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
I stiffened at the sudden scream and turned toward the voice.
Kim froze the moment our eyes met, taking a step back in clear fear.
"I am your brother's fiancée," she snapped. "You will not lay a finger on me!"
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, swiping my tongue over my lower lip as I fought the urge to laugh.
"Don't think I don't know you, Kim Bertrand," I said coolly. "You told everyone you were trying for a child. You even convinced your fiancé he was infertile and fed him pills when there was nothing wrong with him."
Her face drained of color.
"When he started suffering side effects, you ran away and got pregnant by another man. That's what drove him to take his own life."
I knew every detail.
Thinking of how these two women and the rest of the Brooke family had made my life unbearable filled me with the urge to rip them apart.
Lana's eyes darted wildly.
"S-someone, please get security! Restrain this woman!" she cried, ducking behind a sales associate.
Security rushed over, but I raised the card pinched between my fingers and glared at them.
"I'm the paying customer. You're taking the word of two non-paying customers over mine?"
They hesitated, but only for a second.
Then they turned around and moved toward them instead.
God, I love this.
If I knew being dead would be this satisfying, I would've died much earlier.
As Lana and Kim were dragged away, I realized I could be handling this a lot better and waved security back over.
"Bring me a drink," I said lazily, taking a seat. "And have these two bend over beside my leg. Those stools don't look comfortable."
They obeyed immediately.
I rested my foot on them, sipping my drink.
"The Brooke family will never forgive you for this," Kim hissed.
"S-sister, I'm sorry if my actions upset you," Lana pleaded. "I really was just trying to stretch my legs…"
"If I hear one more word from either of you," I said sweetly, lifting my glass, "I swear on my life, I will take yours."
Just like I thought, they went mute.
I couldn't vent my anger on Jonah Pellard.
Fine.
I couldn't destroy the Brooke family, also fine.
I'd make do with what I have.
Considering what to do next, my eyes landed on a television mounted nearby.
Seriously?
Had I suffered so much in life that even in death I was being given the chance to watch the news?
I asked for the remote and turned on the volume.
I choked on my drink hearing the reporter.
The Ice Man Case?
Why were they replaying a lawsuit from five years ago?
That was when it hit me.
I spat the drink back into the glass and yanked my foot off their backs.
"This is real… isn't it?"