"H-Honey, are you alright in there?"
Silas flinched when Ayla's voice came from behind the door, his phone nearly slipping through his fingers.
"We have several toilets in the house. you can't possibly want to use this one when I'm in it!" As was his default, he grew angry almost immediately and yelled at her.
Outside the door, Ayla thinned her lips, her eyes twitching in annoyance.
To think she used to find his anger attractive… until he began hitting her.
Nevertheless, she kept her voice neutral and spoke again.
"You kept going to the bathroom throughout the night, and now you're in here. Naturally, I'm worried. Honey, I just want to know if you're alright. If you're falling sick, I don't mind taking the day off to take care of you."
Silas gritted his teeth and glanced down at his phone.
Of course, he'd love that, but Ezra wasn't one to say no to him, so if he did this time, it mustn't be without reason.
Moreover, he couldn't risk Ayla knowing she was right about the food.
Looking around the bathroom, he sucked in a deep breath and said dismissively, "What am I, a child? I can take care of myself. You just make sure to make breakfast before leaving."
Ayla was a bit surprised to hear that, but shrugged nonetheless.
This was the perfect opportunity to plan her second chance at life.
Hence, she nodded.
"Okay, honey. But I'll be really busy at work today, so you won't be able to reach me on the phone. If anything, reach my office and they'll surely pass on any message you have."
"I'm your husband—why would you be too busy to answer my phone…" Silas was on the verge of lashing out when a sound from his anus gave way, loudly reverberating through the air.
An embarrassed silence from his end instantly followed.
Ayla couldn't help but take a step back, scrunching her nose to avoid smelling anything.
Covering her mouth, she began in a muffled voice, "Are you sure you're…"
"For goodness' sake, woman! Shut your mouth and get to work!" Red from embarrassment, Silas yelled again, interrupting her and urging her to promptly leave the house.
Ayla exhaled in relief and did as told.
With both mother and son spending their morning in their toilet, she didn't need to bid anyone farewell and hurried out after taking her bath.
Stepping outside, her eyes fell on the three cars in the compound.
Two were for Silas, while the third was for Talia.
She remembered asking if she could get a car too, when he got one for his mother last year.
He told her she didn't need one yet. That people at work were already suspicious of him, and he didn't want to come off as someone who had dipped into the company's funds if he bought her one.
When she asked if she could use one of his in the meantime, he refused, saying he didn't want people to think he bought her an expensive car.
Furthermore, he was a man of few words. Explaining that the car was his and she was just using it until he got her one wasn't good for the persona he had built.
Of course, he never bought it until his mistress killed her.
Shaking her head gently, she began strutting toward the gate.
And to think she fell for his lies so hard she genuinely believed he was in a bad position at work and stopped asking him for money to buy groceries.
Recalling how foolish she had been, she exhaled heavily and raised her hand to scratch nervously, only to slam it hard against the gate.
Instead of wincing from the pain, she tilted her head in confusion.
That… didn't happen until the fifth year of her marriage, when she'd become clumsy and started occasionally slamming into things.
What was happening? Was this a side effect of being alive when she should be dead?
The estate didn't have taxis driving through it, so she had to walk ten minutes to get to the main road.
As if on cue, a taxi stopped in front of her as soon as she arrived.
"Where to, miss?"
"Take me to the nearest bank around Gentile Studio," she responded nimbly, still trying to process what was happening.
The man nodded and did as instructed. About five minutes later, he stopped outside an automated teller machine.
She got down and approached. Inserting the card, she typed in her pin and impatiently waited for the in-between loading as she tapped through options.
Let's see.
This was two years into her marriage with Silas. By this time, she hadn't made a lot of life-changing decisions… except handing over most of her money to Talia. But she should still have some savings.
Right. Even the money she used for groceries, she squeezed out of her funds for…
Wait, what?
She froze and drew closer as a surprising sight filled her eyes.
Counting the zeros several times just to be certain she hadn't gotten it wrong, her mouth almost fell open at the sight.
What was happening? She didn't remember borrowing any money at this time. And it wasn't until a few years from now that Silas used her identity to borrow money.
And even then, it wasn't from the bank, it was from illegal loan sharks.
If things were changing this soon, then did that mean she'd be dying sooner than…
"Hi, I'm Elena Simmons. I couldn't help noticing you've been standing here for a while. Do you need help, miss?"
Ayla froze.
That voice…
All this time, she had chosen to immerse herself in what she missed in her first life, almost acting like she hadn't died. But hearing her killer's voice, her heart almost jumped out of her mouth.
But that wasn't the only frightening thing.
Silas and Elena didn't meet at this time.
They met later in the future.