Chapter 3 The Second Chance

Venice POV.

"Wake up! Madam!" The word knocked the door of my heart. "Bienvenida a Madrid."

Tapping. Firm. Repeated.

"Senora."

"Señora, Bienvenida a Madrid."

The word continued to hit me hard.

"Ya estamos en El Centro de la ciudad, señora." (We are now in the city center, madam.)

The thick voice continues with consistent tapping.

"Ahh!"

I jolted up, breath sharp like someone who had just been pulled out of cold water.

A man came into focus. slowly and painfully. A man's face hovered on mine. Sun-kissed skin, mustache with speck of grey hair. Concerned eyes locked on mine. Probably in his Mid-forties. With a driver's badge. Spanish accent, thick like smoke.

"It's been a long journey, madam. Thank God we made it. The traffic was killing." The word hit me. As I turned to see a middle aged man.

His words hardly registered. My hand moved before my brain could stop it.

I grappled his neck with intent to choke life out of him.

"WHAT!"

Still trapped in his grip.

Kael's grip.

The one that stole my breath a moment ago. No wait... Was it a moment? Minutes? Days?

But his masculinity saved him, as he shoved my hands off him stumbling backward. Coughing.

"Madam, what is wrong? Quieres matarme? (You want to kill me?)"

His voice cracked due to his Spanish accent, thoroughly mixed with his English and I could hardly understand. Thanks to me for having a little knowledge of Spanish.

The man held his neck as he coughed persistently and steering at me like a ghost or something strange had befallen me.

I sat back, chest heaving. Fingers trembling. I looked around like I had never seen the inside of a vehicle before.

Outside, life was moving, people were walking. Others were talking. Laughing.

Some were in suits. Other casuals. Street noise honking cars. Distant screeching of the train. Parents with children at the bus stop.

'Was this real?'

'Was I dead?'

"Do you want to kill me madam? (Que he hecho para merecer esto, señora) " He asked as held his hand to his throat.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking at him and everywhere like I had seen a ghost. Or back from the land of the dead. Or did I not.

"What happened to you madam? Why these questions. We are in Madrid, city centre, for heaven sake. You..." The man replied with anxiety.

I looked around me again, steering at the busy atmosphere around me. Is there a train or boss or motorist In heaven? Are people going to work? Or is there a cab driving service?

The man looked shocked. Surprised.

I felt like tearing the door apart, as I suddenly opened the door forcefully and rushed outside the car. Attention of people was drawn to us as if we were into some stage act or you tube prank videos. The poor driver stared back at me as I turned to him.

"What is today?"

"What madam, I don't get you?" The man was still staring at me.

"What the fuck is today date!" I bellowed with annoyance as I scrambled everywhere for my phone. I patted my dress. The pocket. Nothing.

At this time, more attention from people had started to gather.

It's w...we...dne..sday, F...fi..fifteenth," he answered. His voice quivered.

"No... No..." I dangled my fingers in the air in denial. "T..This is not possible. T...This is not happening to me."

"Fifteenth of what month?" I quickly cut-in as I turned back to him.

"It's holy week ma'am and every Spanish knows how important the week is to us?"

"I asked for the month, you are giving me a holy week. Are you alright at all?"

"Sorry madam, it is april."

"WHAT!" I shouted.

"What is it madam?"

I looked lost. I wondered.

"Let me check your phone?" I asked, to be sure. It was perfect.

I stood there, silent. Phone in hand. Eyes wide. Mind racing.

Was I dead? Did I just come back to life? Did the universe give me another chance?

I wrapped my hand around my neck the way kael had wrapped his around mine. To choke me just a few moments back. He had wrapped his hefty body around me and while both of us fell to the ground.

"Fifteenth of April?"

Is this coincidence or something.

I was trying to remember what exactly happened to me on the fifteenth of april. I waited a few seconds while the driver was still looking at me in shock.

Something clicked. Oh God.

I opened my mouth in shock.

I had proposed to kael two days earlier, and had foolishly patented his name on our new perfume brand.

Hoping that since our marriage would be coming up in a month's time. We can co-own my thriving perfume brand. He would be the face of the company and I would step down to take care of the family.

Kael had been my manager roughly a year before this time and had shown a high level of transparency, trust, and maturity both in the business and our personal relationship.

Apart from being handsome, he had ticked other boxes in my head as the ideal man to partner with to launch Maison d'Eclipse, our new product to the two thriving perfume products I had started the company with.

We had approached two major investors, who own their own well acceptable brand and also very big investors in the perfume industry and with global presence in the sector, the Winklevoss and le' courtois families, for fundings.

The Winklevoss had outrightly opened up to us in the boardroom saying, 'in exchange of our capital investment and assuming financial risks. We propose a 70 percent equity stake. Given your domain expertise and brand success you will be appointed the CEO and COO to oversee day-to-day operation under supervision.'

Me and Kael had worked out of the boardroom in fury. A very selfish and nauseating statement.

Le' Courtois' had asked us to meet in Madrid in a week's time.

Two days after my proposal to Kael, Kael had broken the good news that the Winklevoss had changed their mind to negotiate for a better deal. I told him that I will mail the necessary document and deliver the samples to his door steps a day after.

We strategized. I had decided to meet the le'courtois family in Spain and he should travel to Paris to meet the Winklevoss.

He had gotten to Paris where he had called that he had few family programs to attend to and he would be giving me updates on the Winklevoss meeting.

I kept wandering. Has the universe given me another chance?A second chance? A rebirth, to correct my mistakes?