Page 9 of Rewind

“Sure.”

When she was finally alone in her office, Amina released the breath she’d been holding. That man had no business being so damn fine. But was she playing a dangerous game getting involved with her boss. And what about Mark? Technically they were still together.

But if this morning was any indication, everything was going to play out the same way as it did in her previous life. There was no way she could stay with a man who not only repeatedly cheated on her, but disrespected and beat her.

She’d have to figure out a way to get Mark out of her life because now that she had a second chance to do things over, Amina planned to live her life to the fullest. Especially, if that meant getting closer to Dr. Han.

Chapter

Four

Amina spent the remainder of the day going through the motions of her job, making calls, filing insurance claims and coordinating the doctors’ schedules. It surprised her how easily everything had come back to her since there was a lapse of three years since she’d worked here. But she remembered everything so easily, even her sign in passwords. It was almost as if she had never stopped working here.

Not only had she circled back to this same day three years ago, everything was playing out exactly as it did before, with the exception of the conscious changes she’d made. She wondered if there would be consequences for doing things differently this time around. For instance, how would Mark react to her not only hanging up on him this morning, but ignoring his calls throughout the day?

Each time her cellphone rang she’d tense up from nerves whenever his name would appear on her screen. Before, she would never had dared to ignore his call. She’d made the mistake of having the ringer off while she was at work because her boss at the call center had told her that she wasn’t allowed to take personal calls while she was on the clock. As a result, she missedMark’s call. When she’d arrived home that day, she was met with a fist to the face.

She shuddered just remembering that.

Occasionally, she’d pinch herself to make sure this wasn’t a dream. By the end of the day, she was able to convince herself that this was indeed real and she wasn’t in some dreamland. She saw Dr. Han throughout the day and each time she managed to avoid eye contact, scared that the others in the office would pick up on the fact that they’d be meeting outside of the office. And worse yet, she worried that he’d change his mind.

The second she pulled into her driveway her heart beat a tattoo within her chest and her breath caught in her throat. She gripped the steering wheel tightly until her knuckles lost their color.

Leaning against his red BMW was Mark.

Remembering the last time she’d seen him, fear seized her body, paralyzing her. Her hands shook and she broke out into a cold sweat. The urge to put her car in reverse and drive off, took over.

Mark sauntered over to her car and tapped the driver’s side window casually. “Hey, what are you just sitting in there for?”

Amina flinched.

The terror of how she’d felt as his fists had pounded into her face and body wouldn’t release its hold on her and then one of her favorite songs came on the radio. One she hadn’t heard in ages because Mark constantly criticized her taste in music. The motivational words of the melody washed over her like a soothing balm and she was reminded that this was her second chance.

Though she was fully aware of Mark’s capability to become violent, he didn’t let the mask completely slip until after they were married and she’d added his name to the deed of her house.

“Come on, get yourself together girl,” she said under her breath. Amina inhaled and exhaled deeply before turning off her car.

Pasting a smile on her face, she pushed the car door open pushing aggressively, despite Mark hovering over it.

“Oof!” he grunted when the door connected with his body. “Hey, watch it!”

A small sense of satisfaction welled in her chest. Good. She hoped it hurt.

She slowly got out of the car, closed the door and walked past him without seeing if he was okay. She hadn’t hit him that hard.

Dramatic asshole.

Amina didn’t bother to see if he’d followed her inside because knowing him, he wouldn’t be far behind.

She kicked her shoes off immediately and slipped into her house slippers as soon as she crossed the threshold. Seeing her house decorated as it had been five years ago served as a reminder to her that she was in her do-over era, and she didn’t have to listen to Mark anymore.

But she wasn’t a fool. Amina still needed to tread lightly with him. He had a temper she’d never forget. And it could erupt as soon as he realized that she wouldn’t comply with his whims.

“What the hell, Amina? You hit me with your car door and didn’t bother apologizing.” Mark slammed the door behind him as he stormed inside her house.

“You were the one who rushed me. You should have moved out of the way.”

He grabbed Amina’s shoulder and spun her to face him. His brows were knit together and a deep scowl lined his face. “What the hell has gotten into you? You are definitely on one today. You hung up on me earlier when I called to invite you to lunch. And now that I’m at your house, you don’t seem happy to see me and you hit me with your car door. You’re usually more welcoming.”

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