Return of the Villainous Wife

"When my father asked me to leave after the accident, I didn't want to go. I didn't want to break my promise..."

"That wasn't an accident. If you had listened to instructions, what happened wouldn't have happened. My brother wouldn't have become a vegetable!"

Ramsey clenched his fists, doing his best to hold in his anger.

After maliciously killing his precious wife, Bianca Armond disappeared. It took him three years to find her. He thought she would be scared and beg for forgiveness. He planned to refuse her pleas and give her a gruesome, slow death. But Bianca wasn't even shocked when he walked into her bedroom. It was as if she was waiting for him. And to add insult to injury, she was bent on recounting the events of their younger days, reminding him of how stupid he was to have fallen for her and how it had cost him his brother.

With things not going his way, Ramsey's mood got darker. He looked around the darkroom. He needed to find a way to stop her from talking.

"Yes. You are right. I should have listened." Bianca said with a derisive chuckle. "If I had listened, Chloe would have died and everything that happened after wouldn't have happened."

Hearing the name of his precious wife, Ramsey growled.

"You killed her! You killed my kids! You deserve to die."

He stepped forward and grabbed her by the throat. Bianca made no effort to resist.

This close, with the help of the soft moonlight spilling into the room through the opened window, she could clearly see his gaunt face, slightly wrinkled with age.

When did he become so old?

He was just two years older than her. He was exactly 30 years old but looked like someone in their mid-forties. What could have stressed him this much? Was it the hate? She could see it in his dark eyes.

He had always hated her and never tried to hide it. But the murderous hate in his eyes was nothing she had ever seen before.

It was a perfect reflection of her previous self. The woman she was before she made her peace with the world. If she wasn't expecting it, fear would have crippled her senses by now.

Looking into her eyes, Ramsey saw no fear. Though her eyes were bulging and tearing up, she was as docile as a lamb, willing to die in his hands.

The scene of his late wife, slowly dying while he helplessly watched, flashed across his mind.

No. She must feel pain and fear. She doesn't deserve a quick death. I have to let her beg for her life!

Disgruntled, He released his grip and violently pushed her, crashing her back into the sofa behind her.

"Cough, cough, cough."

Her whooping disrupted the quiet night.

Ignoring her, Ramsey brought out a small torchlight. He turned it on and found the light switch. He switched on the bedroom light, then closed all the windows. He needed to see her face clearly. He needed to be able to remember the moment when the light died in her eyes. If not, her death would mean nothing.

Bianca remained on the sofa, coughing and feeling drained. Her breathing was whizzy and her face had turned red.

Getting choked and thrown by Ramsey wasn't new to her. Shouldn't her throat have toughened up by now?

What does it matter? After today, he will never be able to do it again. Let him have his fun. Let him have it. Just wait it out.

"I didn't kill her. I simply righted my mistakes." She defiantly continued as he moved around the room, looking for tools he could use.

"If I had listened, Chloe would have died. She was fated to die young, but I stopped it. Changed her destiny. I fell into the water because I wanted to save her. Your brother fell into a coma because he saved me after I saved her. So, yes. It was all my fault."

Bianca started laughing. Thinking about how naive and good-natured she was back then. She couldn't help it. No one told her that doing good gets punished.

"Lies! Stop calling her name, you bitch!"

Ramsey turned to her and kicked her back. Bianca fell off the sofa with a grunt. She choked on her laughter and started coughing all over again.

Hearing it, he felt a jolt of joy in his heart. Yes. He needed to see her in pain, but he couldn't find anything that could restrain her in this room.

Fuck it. I will just stuff her mouth and kick her to death.

Ramsey grabbed Bianca's hair and dragged her across the room until getting to her wardrobe. He then brought out some flimsy blouses. He folded them into a rumpled bundle and forced it into her mouth. After that, he wrapped a long shirt across her mouth and knotted it to the back of her head.

He placed her between his legs and the wardrobe. Resting his two palms on the cupboard, he started kicking her.

With her mouth stuffed, heavy kicks started landing on her chest and stomach. With each kick, pain surged and spread through her body.

Bianca couldn't make a single noise. All her groans were stuck in her throat.

Ramsey first focused on her stomach, and just when she thought she would faint from the kicks, he changed to her ribs. She knew the moment one of her ribs broke. The pain was sharp and intense, making her feel lightheaded for a few seconds. After the second rib broke, she started feeling choked. Like she was drowning.

He then switched to her head. He was wearing track boots used for mountaineering. Each kick was like a sledgehammer was hacking at her brain, jumbling it up. She tried to crawl away from him, but he kicked her back and forth like a ping-pong ball, making sure she was confined between his legs and the wardrobe.

For a long time, she dreamed of this day. What she expected was a bullet in the head. Why did he have to beat her up like this? Why not just kill her and be done with it? This pain was too much.

But she understood his rage. She could relate to it. If she also had the chance, she would have loved to kick Chloe to death. Chloe died too fast. She didn't suffer at all.

If there was anything Bianca regretted, it was irreversibly loving Ramsey and giving Chloe a quick death. If there was anything she would change, it was the day she met Ramsey. She wished that day never happened. And the day she saved Chloe. She wished she didn't.

Regret is a wasteful emotion. Been there, done that. She should just bear this pain. Though blinding and sharp, it wasn't as painful as what her heart had borne. At the end of it is peace...and maybe a new life.

As Bianca's vision started blurring, she ignored the pain, urging her body to shut down faster.

If I get another chance at life, I do not want to have anything to do with these two. Ramsey and Chloe, in my next life, may we not cross paths...

Just as she was about to get swallowed by the dark fog approaching her, a sharp pain snapped her back to her senses. That was when she heard the receding sound of a high-handed slap.

Opening her eyes, she found Ramsey glaring down at her. His eyes were blood-spotted and fierce.

Why did he stop? Just kick me to death already!

"Pah!"

"Not so fast bitch!"

Ramsey slapped her again.

"Are you awake? Can you hear me?" He sniggered fiercely.

His kicks left her body patterned like the soles of his boots. The bruises were in patches of red and purple colors.

With a few kicks, he rendered her eyes black and swollen. Her hair was disheveled like it had gone through a spin, and the corner of her left eye wouldn't stop twitching.

Checking out his work, Ramsey was very satisfied. This new look was good on her.

Noticing that the cloth tucked in her mouth was gradually turning red from the inside out, he listened to her groggy breathing and smile. He undid the knot holding the gag and removed the cloth.

Thick blood gushed out of her mouth, almost splashing him.

Relieved, Bianca coughed out the blood that was trying to drown her. She greedily inhaled the fresh air, but it backfired as sharp pain like the pricking of several needles pierced her lungs, making her tremble.

"Why did you stop?" She asked with a croaky voice.

Frowning, Ramsey gave her a deep look. She still isn't going to beg? When did Bianca become so strong-willed?

It didn't matter though. Seeing her look this miserable made him feel a lot better.

"I want the keys to your safe deposit box. Give it to me and I will give you a quick death."

"Hehehe."

Bianca laughed, then got engulfed in a fit of raggy coughs. Each drawn whoop was followed by a spurt of blood. Her chest was soaked and her chin looked like she had taken a bite out of a freshly killed cow.

"You don't have to worry. When I am gone, you will inherit everything, including that box."

Ramsey's heart trembled at her words.

It wasn't that he didn't believe her. He just couldn't believe that after everything they had done to each other, she still was as obsessed as before. Even leaving what remained of her possessions to him. His anger surged and he smacked her over the face.

Bianca fell sideways and he started screaming in her face.

"Shut up, shut up! I don't want your things. I don't want your love. I don't want your heart. How many times do I have to tell you that, you this possessed bitch?"

"I agree." Bianca croaked, sounding grungy and wheezing at the same time. Blood was sipping from her mouth, nostrils, and ears. It was slowly pooling around her, but she did not attempt to stand up because she had no strength left.

She felt like she was at the edge of a cliff and all she had to do was jump for everything to come to an end. But before she left, there were things she needed to say. It was just that, she wasn't sure her strength was sufficient.

"I must be possessed to love a man like you."

Her shaky hoarse voice got a little louder. She was using every ounce of strength to speak.

"After you killed our child, I should have hated you, but I didn't know how to. I still loved you. Heheh, that was when I knew I was cursed."

"That was not my child, you bitch!"

He slapped her again, stood up, and started kicking her in the guts.

This bitch got pregnant while married to him and tried to make him raise a bastard. Till now, she still refused to tell the truth. How could a person be this crazy and delusional?

From the moment Ramsey started kicking her head, it didn't stop buzzing. And after two vicious slaps, a sound like the clanging of metals was added to it. With each clang came a wave of pain that slowly spread through her head like a beam of light. The heat and pain her head was emitting made the pain from getting kicked ignorable.

Bianca felt herself slipping down the cliff, but she wasn't ready. She reached out and grabbed at a protruding ledge.

It was Ramsey's leg. She held on to it so tightly that he was shocked that she still had that much strength in her after how broken she was.

"Let go, you bitch!" He stomped her hands with the second leg, but she didn't release him.

"Those kids, they were not yours. My child was your only child."

Ramsey was about to stomp her again, but he paused at those words.

He was just going to stomp her until she released his leg so he could continue to ask her about the safe deposit box, but her words instantly enraged him. He changed the trajectory of his legs, and with every bit of his strength, Ramsey stomped on her head.

"Crack!"

Time stood still.

Her hold on his leg loosened, and her body went limp. An eerie silence descended on the room.

"Ding, ding, ding..."

The grandfather's clock in the sitting room started ringing, announcing the arrival of another hour.

Ramsey finally blinked.

He did it. He killed her. He had his revenge.

Using his leg to turn her over, he found her now dull gaze staring at nothing. Blood was still coming out of her mouth and the spot where he had stomped her head just now was a little dented.

Comparing the condition she was in to the beautiful, bright, always smiling girl who ruined his life, he felt he had gotten what he wanted the most. He made her suffer just like she deserved.

He should be happy.

But why did his heart feel heavier than before? He felt like he had lost something.

She is finally dead. That's all that matters. He mused.

Shaking the gloomy feeling off, Ramsey quickly went through the house, but couldn't find anything of value. Not that he wanted her things, but he really needed some documents she stole after she left him three years ago. If he could get them back, a lot of his present problems would be solved.

When he didn't find anything, he went round the house, closing all the windows. After that, he turned on the gas stoves and dragged her body into the kitchen. He found a candle and lit it.

Outside the house, he kept walking until he was a safe distance away and shrouded in darkness. He then stopped and waited.

"Boom boom, boom!"

A few minutes later, a series of explosions came from the house. The windows blasted out and flames quickly spread out, engulfing the once beautiful and quaint cottage house hidden within the mountain ranges of Karakoram.

Satisfied, Ramsey blended into the night.

"It's finally over."

Just a few yards from where Ramsey was standing, a bald monk heaved and slowly started descending a small hill...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have switched on the 'fasten your seatbelt' signs and instructed the flight attendants to sit. If you are not secured, do it now. We may be entering an area of turbulence in a few minutes. I need everyone to be seated and secured." The pilot's calm and steady voice announced.

The passengers instantly grew anxious and started following instructions coming out of the speakers while the attendants all hurried out of the cabins.

A slim girl with lush, long, black, shiny, shoulder-length hair was oblivious to the commotion around her as she was deeply asleep with a pink eye mask covering her face.

Suddenly, the plane started shaking and alarms started blaring, instantly waking her up.

Confused, she sat up and looked around to find others looking worried and holding on to their armrests tenaciously.

Realizing that they were in turbulence, Bianca closed her eyes and started meditating...

This is not right! What am I doing on a plane?

Like an opened dam, memories of her past life came crashing into her brain. Everything that happened from age four until the moment she was bashed to death rolled out like torrents of water, almost crushing her head.

Her eyes snapped open in shock and she jumped out of her seat. Luckily, she was secured and was snagged back into the chair with a loud snap.

Frantic, she felt herself all over, but there was no wound or blood...

"I did it! I did it! I got my second chance!"

Despite how rowdy and loud she was, Bianca's shock went unnoticed due to the intense turbulence that was violently shaking the plane.

"No, it can't be. How am I still an adult? Shouldn't I be a newborn baby?"

Confused, Bianca checked herself out. She was a 5 '8 girl with smooth, peachy skin.

Wait!

She touched her hair. It was long, full and wavy.

After retreating to the mountains, she cut her hair, and by the time Ramsey showed up to kill her, it had formed a bulb that she was constantly trimming.

Running her fingers through it, Bianca couldn't believe how much she missed it.

Then her dress.

She was wearing a free-flowing, Flora, dungaree dress with a deep V-neckline.

This!

Bianca remembered the dress, but it took her some time to remember when she wore it on a plane. And when she did, she gasped even harder.

This flight was her return journey to the country after staying abroad for six years. She came back to marry Ramsey when she was twenty-one years old.

Her mood immediately sank.

Why this period? Why not when she was 15? Why not the day she saved Chloe? That would have been perfect...

When Bianca learned about reincarnation, she was told that she will have to face karma for all she did in her previous life. To alleviate the effects of that karma, she dedicated her last years to doing good here and there. Didn't the monks also say that she wouldn't remember what happened in her past life?

Those liars!

At least they didn't lie about a second life. Just that she didn't reincarnate. She went back in time. They got it all mixed up for sure.

But Bianca would have preferred to reincarnate without her memories. Death was supposed to bring an end to that suffering. How is she supposed to stop suffering when she can still remember?

Bianca's mind was clouded with melancholy for some minutes, but then a new light came into her eyes. Since the heavens deemed it fit for her to return to the past, they are certainly giving her a chance to correct her mistakes. She remembered the words she wanted to say to Ramsey but never got the chance to say...

In our next life, let's not meet again.

Yes.

That will be her strategy. To never meet Ramsey again. To avoid him and Chloe at all cost. To live a good life, do charity, and protect her family.

Since I am now twenty-one and returning home, what happened during this period? What did I do that needs to change...?

Bianca relaxed into her seat, closed her eyes, and delved into her memories of the past. Of everyone on the plane, she was the only one who didn't seem to realize that a violent turbulence was raging.

Two hours later, the plane touched the ground and she disembarked. Having shipped all her things ahead of time, she arrived with just a small carry-on and a handbag.

With white earphones plugged in, a pair of brown shades with a dark frame, dark, wavy hair, flowing down her shoulders, and bouncy with each confident step, Bianca Armond walked the familiar grounds of City A's international airport again.

Heads turned, and strangers whispered in awe.

"So beautiful."

"Must be a model. Just look at her steps."

"That can't be her hair, right? It's so full and bouncy."

"It must cost a fortune!"

"What are you looking at? Hold my hand and let's go. We are running late!" A woman with two kids smacked her husband behind the head.

Getting to the arrival terminal, Bianca spotted them immediately. Her body stiffened and she gasped.

Ramsey and Chloe. One was her obsession, and the other was her nemesis.

Despite her resolve, seeing them was like getting smashed in the guts. A sharp pain flashed across her chest and she flexed her right hand around the handle of her carry-on, clenching and releasing it.

It was just so surreal. Just a few hours ago, a haggard-looking Ramsey was standing over her body, kicking her like a maniac. But now, he was standing in front of her, looking so young and handsome. His presence filled the space and for a moment, he was all she could see...

"Bianca!" A squeaky voice chirped, and the illusion broke. Blinking, her eyes landed on Chloe.

This bitch!

Why didn't she stay dead?

An irrational surge of rage engulfed her from the inside. Bianca took a deep breath and bit down on her lower lip until it bled.

I killed her before, I can do it again...

No, no, no. Times have changed. This is a rerun. We are changing the script. Nobody is killing anybody. All I have to do is break up with him and avoid them. Yes, that's what I am doing.

I am avoiding them in this life.