ONE

"You stupid wife!" "It wasn't me! I didn't do it!" "Argh!" Peter pushed his wife, Alexa Mortines, to the floor with no feeling at all. One of Peter's feet stepped on Alexa's thigh as the man grinned in satisfaction. "I told you, Peter! Alexa can only spend your money. She's a terrible wife, she's wasteful and completely useless in this house! Now, she's stealing mom's jewelry. What a waste!" The voice came from Susan, Peter's mother. She was a fifty-year-old woman obsessed with expensive things. Her only son, Peter, only worked in a private bank and the money Peter earned... could not fulfill Susan's ego of living in abundance. Alexa's eyes, covered by square glasses, could only look at Susan and Peter with a sad look. Her tears flowed slowly, soaking her thin cheeks with several scars on them. Alexa's soft voice filled the room again. "It really wasn't me, Peter. You should have trusted me." "Trust you?!" Peter pointed at Alexa's face, then shouted. "Should I trust a thief like you?!" Peter kicked the chair next to him and made a loud noise that made Alexa tremble. She closed her eyes, while Susan just grinned happily in her place. Alexa saw Peter and Susan leave, it seemed like they were chatting outside. Alexa used this time to get up from the floor. She looked down, looking at her two bruised knees from being pushed hard by Peter, before finally sighing and stopping herself from crying again. The twenty-five-year-old took off her dewy glasses, and one hand began to wipe her wet eyes. Alexa nodded her head, trying to convince herself. "I'm okay, I'm stronger than this. I'm... I'm fine." Bruk! A woven shopping bag was suddenly thrown at Alexa's head and made Alexa gasp. She held her head and turned around, Susan was standing there. "You need to go shopping. I didn't find any food in the kitchen!" Susan pulled out some money from her purse and threw it in Alexa's face. "Here's some money for you. Hurry up and go, and you better be back before lunchtime. You know my boys need to eat comfortably, right?" "Yes, ma'am." Alexa sat behind the wheel. She saw in the rearview mirror that Peter and Susan were chatting casually in the house. Meanwhile, Alexa had to be treated like a maid. Shopping for the whole family's lunch. The roar of the car engine filled Alexa's ears, she drove the car at a slow speed to get back home in a long time. Alexa didn't want to go home to that house! In the two years Alexa had been married, she had never once felt happy as a wife. Alexa closed her eyes and then looked at the train tracks that cut across the road in front of her. Alexa had no parents, and her husband and mother-in-law treated her like a doormat. Shouldn't Alexa just die, instead of living a miserable life? Suddenly, this crazy idea came to mind. As if she heard a whisper that she didn't know where it came from, Alexa became determined, convinced that death was the best way for her. Alexa stepped on the gas underfoot, while in the distance, the sound of warning sirens from the train was already deafening everyone's ears. The louder the siren sounded, the closer Alexa got to the train crossing, but Alexa accelerated her car even more. Everyone who noticed started screaming hysterically, and Alexa closed her eyes. "Goodbye world." ---- The noise around her distracted Alexa. She opened her eyes slowly. Alexa blinked and saw the white ceiling of the room. It was not her room, it was definitely not the living room in Peter's house. So, where was she? "Miss Moore!" Alexa, who had just wanted to look, was already surprised by the sudden appearance of a woman hugging her. Alexa even had trouble getting out of bed. "I-I'm sorry, Miss. Looks like... you've got the wrong person. I'm not Miss Moore. I'm-" The woman looked up, her eyes clad in square glasses looking at Alexa straight on. Alexa swallowed, she felt intimidated by that gaze. But, Alexa did not recognize the woman who was now still holding her body. The woman frowned, she then cursed, "Damn! I'm really in danger now!" Finally, the woman took a step back. She gave her some distance, so Alexa could wake up from her deep sleep. Her eyes scanned the surroundings. She knew it wasn't her room, nor was it Peter's. But what was even more confusing was... who was this woman looking at her with a worried gaze? Alexa raised a hand in front of her, then asked. "Um, excuse me, miss. Is-" "Miss? Since when did you call me 'Miss'?" The woman screamed hysterically, and made Alexa even more confused. She walked to and fro in confusion, she held her head like it was going to explode immediately. But seconds later, the woman pointed at Alexa and squinted. "Don't tell me you don't remember who I am?" Alexa was silent for a moment, she looked right and left. Clutching her chest, she said, "Me? I... really don't know who you are." "Argh! This is really serious! You can't forget your memory now, Ms. Moore. We have a meeting to attend. There, in that room, there's your father, there's the Star Corporation family as well, and business colleagues who would kill me if they knew... something bad like this happened to you, Miss Moore!" Alexa's eyebrows shot up. "Kill you? Why would they kill you, Miss?" "First, you can't call me 'Miss' because I'm your secretary. And second, you have to call me 'Anna' because that's my name." Alexa was surprised by the first point. How could she have a secretary, she was already being treated like a maid in her own husband's house. But Anna immediately pulled Alexa's hand and made the woman jump off the bed. "There's no more time! We need to get to the meeting room now!" "Wait, wait, but-" Alexa's words hung in the air as she passed a large mirror in the room. Alexa took Anna's hand off of her and stared in shock at the mirror. She looked at herself, but Alexa didn't see her dirty-dressed, dull-faced, big-glasses-wearing self. Instead, Alexa saw herself in someone else's body. She widened her eyes and saw a tall, slim figure with beautiful blue eyes. "Who is... she?" Seeing that, Anna sighed in frustration. "Damn. You really have amnesia." Anna moved closer to Alexa, and then said, "Ms. Moore, we need to get to the meeting room right away. Everyone is talking about your matchmaking." Alexa turned around in shock. "What? Matchmaking?!"