On Halloween Break, My Best Friend Told Me to Come Home and Get Married

I was vacationing at the beach over Halloween break when my best friend suddenly called. “Emma, the groom’s been waiting for you for two hours. The guests are all threatening to leave. Where are you?” I checked my phone. October 31. My wedding was still three days away. I kept rubbing in my sunscreen and laughed. “Save the Halloween pranks for someone else. This one isn’t funny.” The camera swung around. On the screen, my boyfriend angrily ripped off his boutonniere and threw it on the floor. My parents were at the entrance, trying to calm the guests. “Why would I joke about something as important as your wedding?” “Just get over here!” The call ended. With no time to think, I grabbed a cab and rushed to the venue. But the display in the cab clearly said October 31. Furious and frantic, I vowed to make my best friend explain what was going on. A welcome sign with a picture of my boyfriend and me stood outside the hotel. I was about to rush inside when a vase fell from an upper floor and struck me in the head, killing me instantly. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the beach that same day… The ocean breeze carried a faint, briny smell. My eyes flew open. I gasped for breath, an icy chill running through my entire body. In my previous life, a flowerpot had shattered against my skull. Pain had exploded through me. My body had gone numb, and blood had spread across the ground. Even in the last second before I lost consciousness, I couldn’t understand why my wedding had been moved up three days. I had spent six months planning it. I’d handled every detail, right down to writing the date on each invitation myself. Before I could sort through my thoughts, my phone’s shrill ringtone dragged me back to reality. My lock screen displayed the countdown to my wedding: [Three days until the wedding.] My best friend, Lily Parker, kept calling. I pushed down my anger and answered. Her frantic voice came through the phone. “Emma, it’s your wedding day! The guests have been waiting for two hours, and Ryan’s losing his mind. Where the hell are you?” I stopped a woman walking past and grabbed her arm. “What’s today’s date?” She looked at me as if I were an idiot. “October thirty-first,” she said, then walked away without looking back. I faced the camera again, my brows drawn together. “Lily, you heard her. My wedding is on the third. Stop joking around. This isn’t funny.” Anger spread across her face, and her neck flushed red. “Emma, I can usually put up with your jokes, but dragging some stranger into your little act is going too far.” “Ryan’s mother is about to have a heart attack because of you, and you’re still playing these childish games?” Someone beside Lily snatched her phone. My boyfriend, Ryan Mitchell, looked furious. When he saw me sunbathing at the beach in my swimsuit, he practically screamed. “Emma, do you even want to get married? How can you be on vacation at the beach on a day like this?” “Get your ass over here within an hour and explain yourself to my parents!” Behind him was the wedding setup I had spent three months choosing. But the terror of my death in my previous life swept over me. I didn’t dare act rashly. I clenched my fists until the sting in my palms forced me to focus. Taking a long breath, I kept my expression calm. “Ryan, I spent six months planning this wedding. We set the date for November third. Why did you bring everyone here today to humiliate me?” His expression changed abruptly, and he turned the camera toward my parents. They stood by the entrance, pleading with the guests and apologizing over and over. “We’re so sorry. We’ve been calling her. The bride will be here any minute. Please, just be patient.” Ryan’s furious voice blared from the phone. “You still think we’re joking?” “You clearly never wanted this wedding in the first place. Fine. Let’s call the whole thing off!” The call disconnected. The afternoon sun blazed down on the beach. It was nearly eighty-six degrees, but I was drenched in cold sweat. Ryan had always been even-tempered and serious. He wouldn’t drag this many people into some ridiculous prank. And Lily was even less likely to. She got annoyed at the smallest jokes I made. Why would she stage something this elaborate? Could I really have remembered the date wrong? My hands and feet were freezing. I looked around helplessly. Then I thought of calling my grandmother, who lived out in the country. She had raised me. She’d promised she wouldn’t miss my wedding for anything.“Emma, sweetheart. What made you call? Remember to pick me up the day after tomorrow so I can come to your wedding.” Grandma put on her reading glasses and smiled warmly at me through the screen. Seeing how relaxed she was, I finally let out a long breath. I tried to sound casual. “Grandma, what’s today’s date?” She smoothed back a few wisps of gray hair and smiled. “It’s the thirty-first. Your wedding’s on the third. Why? That eager to get married?” Grandma loved me more than anyone. She would never lie to me about my wedding. The thought finally eased the tension in my body. But then another question struck me. Why had my boyfriend and best friend gone to such lengths to deceive me? Was humiliating me really their only goal? Anger surged through my head. My hands and feet began to shake. Noticing my silence, Grandma spoke gently. “Get plenty of rest these next few days, sweetheart. You need to be the most beautiful bride.” I bit my lip hard, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her there might not be a wedding. Just then, Grandma exclaimed that her soup was boiling over and hurriedly ended the call. Carrying my sandals, I slowly headed toward the boardwalk. A large screen by the beach flashed a colorful message: “HAPPY HALLOWEEN!” I stared at it for a long time, then pulled up a photo of the invitation. November 3. There was no mistake. My screen lit up again. Ryan was calling. I answered immediately. Before I could speak, his shouting rang in my ears. “Emma! My mother had a heart attack because of you! She’s in the hospital! If anything happens to her, you’ll pay with your life!” “Where the hell are you?” I ignored his rage and demanded answers. “Stop taking your anger out on me. If she’s sick, get her treated. You’re the ones who let this little performance get out of hand. Don’t blame me.” “The wedding is still three days away. What are you trying so hard to pull?” Ryan’s face turned scarlet. A vein throbbed at his temple. “Have you lost your mind, Emma? We’re not children anymore. Take some responsibility.” “If you didn’t want to marry me, we could have sat down and talked. But you dragged your grandmother here and left her waiting while you ran off to enjoy yourself at the beach. How can you be so heartless?” My chest tightened. “My grandmother? What are you talking about?” Ryan pulled Grandma into view. Tears covered her wrinkled face. My head buzzed at the sight of her. I grabbed the railing beside the sidewalk to keep from falling. Grandma wiped her tears with her sleeve and choked out the words. “Emma, you’ve always been such a good, sensible girl. Why would you joke about something this important?” “Ryan’s mother is in the hospital because of you!” “Come here right now and apologize to everyone.” Ryan took the phone back and shouted. “If you have any conscience at all, get over here!” A second later, he sent me the hotel’s location. The same place where I had died in my previous life. My heart, which had finally settled, began pounding uncontrollably again. I had just spoken to Grandma. She’d been making soup at home in the country. How could she possibly have reached a hotel in the city in a matter of minutes? Desperate to confirm what was happening, I called her again. By then, tears were already streaming down my face. When Grandma saw me, her brows knitted with worry. “Oh, sweetheart, what’s wrong? Has Ryan been treating you badly?” Even her concern couldn’t warm the chill inside me. Behind her was unmistakably her country kitchen. I wiped away my tears and pulled myself together so she wouldn’t worry. “Nothing, Grandma. I just miss you.” I hung up and sent Ryan a screen recording of the call, hoping he would stop this nonsense. “My grandmother is at home having chicken soup. I don’t know where you found that woman.” The whole ordeal had drained every ounce of my strength. I wandered around like a ghost. Then my phone chimed several times. Messages from Ryan. “Emma, you’re unbelievable. Now you’re using an AI video to fool me?” “Your grandmother is right here at the hotel. She’s been waiting for you all morning!”Ryan sent me a video. Grandma was pacing by the entrance, looking anxiously outside every few seconds. At the slightest sound, she hurried toward the door, tripped over a chair, and fell hard. My heart clenched. Grandma had always said her only wish was to see me married and happy. She’d started sewing my wedding quilt six months ago. She had even knitted a few baby sweaters. Whatever method Ryan had used to get her to that hotel, I had to go there and demand an explanation. I took out my phone and searched for today’s date. Official accounts across several platforms were wishing everyone a happy Halloween. Those posts couldn’t all be wrong. Then I remembered the welcome sign outside the hotel in my previous life. It had clearly said November 3. What on earth was going on? I sent Ryan everything I had found. A few seconds later, he called me on video. His hair was a mess, and his glare was sharp enough to cut me. “Emma, you’re still sending me news from days ago to screw with me?” “Forget what day it is. I want you at the wedding venue. Now!” He fell silent for a few seconds, rubbed his brow, and softened his voice. “Emma, whatever’s happened, just come here first. Our families are all here. We’ll apologize to everyone together, and then we can put this behind us.” “Your grandmother is too old for this stress.” My parents leaned into the frame. Mom looked exhausted, but her voice was gentle. “Sweetheart, please come. Even if you mixed up the date and overslept, your father and I won’t blame you.” My throat tightened. “But today’s the thirty-first. My wedding is on the third.” Dad snatched the phone, his face dark with anger. “What have I always taught you? When you make a mistake, take responsibility. You’re a college graduate, for God’s sake. How can you not know the date?” “Get over here right now and apologize!” He hung up. Whatever happened, I had the experience of my previous life to guide me. This time, I could avoid the danger. I made up my mind. I was going to find out what Ryan was hiding. I hurried back to my hotel and changed. The moment I got into a cab, I checked the display. Just like in my previous life, it still read October 31. My mind was a tangled mess. Had someone altered all their calendars as some kind of prank? I had barely sat down before I spoke urgently to the driver. “The Crestview Hotel, please.” He froze for a moment. In the rearview mirror, a flicker of fear crossed his eyes. “Are you sure?” I nodded. The cab sped down the road, the scenery sliding past the windows. The hotel I had booked for the wedding wasn’t terribly far from the beach, but it was still a two-hour drive. The driver put on some soft instrumental music. As my tension eased, drowsiness crept over me. When I checked my phone again, we were half an hour from the hotel. I rubbed my eyes. Then I read the notification on my screen, and cold sweat broke out all over me. A story was trending. #DelusionalBrideGetsWeddingDateWrong—Groom’sMotherDiesOfHeartAttackI stared at the screen. The comments were exploding. [She did this on purpose, didn’t she? If you don’t want to get married, at least don’t torment people like this.] [The groom’s mother died because of her. She should pay with her life!] [I heard the bride’s still on vacation at the beach. What a piece of trash.] [What a curse. She turned a wedding into a funeral. There’s no forgiving that.] My finger shook uncontrollably as I scrolled. Ryan’s mother… was dead? That was impossible. In my previous life, just as the flowerpot came crashing down outside the hotel, I had clearly seen his mother scream in horror. I jerked my head up toward the cab’s display. October 31, 2:23 p.m. The driver glanced at me in the mirror. “Miss, you don’t look well.” “Can you drive any faster?” “This is as fast as I can go.” He paused. “The Crestview Hotel… You should prepare yourself.” My heart lurched. “What do you mean?” He didn’t answer. He simply turned up the music. It was an old, familiar piece: the “Wedding March.” Its gentle melody sounded horribly eerie now. Goose bumps rose along my arms. My phone rang again. Lily. “Emma, where are you? Ryan’s mother… she’s really gone.” Her voice trembled with tears. “Please hurry. Ryan’s in a terrible state. He keeps saying this is all your fault.” I tightened my grip on the phone. “Lily, tell me. What is today’s date?” A few seconds of silence. “November third. Emma, are you… really sick?” I hung up, opened my camera, and pointed it at a roadside sign. Coastal Highway. Crestview Hotel, 9 miles. The electronic date display on the sign clearly read: October 31, 2026. I took a photo and sent it to Lily. She replied almost immediately. “Are you seriously Photoshopping pictures now?” Then another message. “You’re still playing games after everything that’s happened?” I turned off my phone and looked outside. In the distance, the pointed roof of the Crestview Hotel was coming into view. In my previous life, the vase had fallen from that curved balcony on the fourth floor. The cab stopped outside the hotel. I paid the fare. Suddenly, the driver grabbed my wrist. “Miss, remember this,” he whispered. “Don’t trust anyone. Not even what you see with your own eyes.” I shook off his hand. “What does that mean?” He had already started the car. His last words drifted back through the exhaust. “Time is a circle. You can’t escape.” Standing before the revolving doors, I took a deep breath. The lobby was empty, unnervingly quiet. A huge welcome sign stood in the center. Behind the gold lettering was our wedding photo. Groom: Ryan Mitchell & Bride: Emma Bennett Wedding Date: November 3, 2026 My breathing quickened. The terror of my previous life tore through what remained of my composure. I was certain my death hadn’t been an accident. If that was true, the killer wouldn’t show themselves unless I approached. They might even find another way to kill me. My back was soaked with sweat. I gritted my teeth and charged forward. Crash! The flowerpot shattered behind me. Flying shards sliced across my leg, leaving bloody scratches. I didn’t have time to care. I stepped back and glanced up. The person above hurried out of sight, but I had already seen her face. I thought I finally knew what was happening! ----------Cutoff Point----------