Chapter 3
I watched Natasha disappear through the lobby doors, my heart hammering.
Could I trust her? Ryan's ex-girlfriend showing up uninvited on my wedding day—that screamed setup. For all I knew, she was one of the people trying to kill me.
But across six deaths, no one had ever acknowledged what was happening to me. Natasha looked at me and saw a woman who'd been dying on repeat. That meant she either knew about the loop, or she knew about the murder plot.
Either way, I needed what she had.
I checked the time. 9:30 AM. I had two and a half hours until our meeting.
First, I needed to handle the immediate threats I already knew about.
I pulled out my phone and texted Sophie: [Hey, can you come to my room? Need help with my veil.]
Sophie responded instantly: [On my way babe!! 💕]
Three minutes later, Sophie burst through my door in a silk robe, her blond hair still in curlers. "Okay bride, what's the emergency? Don't tell me you ripped the veil. I will literally cry."
I looked at my best friend of twelve years. The woman who'd held me when my father died. Who'd helped me move into my first apartment. Who'd introduced me to Ryan in the first place.
In my fourth loop, Sophie was the one who handed me the drink.
I'd watched her smile as she pressed the glass into my hand. "To forever," she'd said.
Thirty minutes later, I was convulsing on the floor.
"Bella? Hello?" Sophie waved her hand in front of my face. "You're spacing out."
"Sorry. Sophie, can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"If you found out Ryan was doing something terrible... would you tell me?"
Sophie's smile faltered for just a fraction of a second. If I hadn't died four times already, I would have missed it.
"What do you mean? Like cheating?"
"Like anything. Anything terrible."
Sophie sat beside me on the bed and took my hands. "Bella, listen. Every bride gets cold feet. But Ryan loves you. I've seen the way he looks at you. Whatever weird thoughts you're having right now, push them away. Today is your happily ever after."
She squeezed my hands.
I looked into her eyes and saw nothing but warmth.
But I knew. I knew she was lying.
"You're right," I said. "I'm just being silly."
"That's my girl. Now, do you actually need help with the veil or was that a ruse to get emotional support?"
"Emotional support."
Sophie laughed and hugged me. "I love you, you disaster. I'll come back at one to do your makeup, okay?"
After she left, I stood in the middle of my room and let the silence settle over me.
Sophie. My best friend. The first woman I'd ever truly trusted.
She was in on it.
But why? What did Ryan promise her? Money? Something else?
I didn't have time to unravel that right now. I needed to get to Room 407.
At 11:55, I took the elevator to the fourth floor. The hallway was empty. I slid the key card and stepped inside.
The room was dark. Curtains drawn.
"Natasha?"
No answer.
I stepped further in. The door clicked shut behind me.
Then I saw it.
Natasha was on the floor. Eyes open. Not breathing. A thin red line across her throat.
And written on the mirror in what appeared to be lipstick were five words:
**STOP LOOKING OR YOU'RE NEXT.**
My stomach lurched. Whoever was behind this—they knew. They knew I was investigating.
But how? In previous loops, I'd never met Natasha. This was new. This was a change.
Which meant the loop wasn't static. The killers were adapting.
Someone knocked on the door behind me.
"Housekeeping!"
I couldn't be found in this room with a dead body. I raced to the bathroom, climbed through the window onto the fire escape, and—
My foot slipped on the wet metal.
I fell.
Three stories.
The last thing I heard before the darkness took me was my own neck snapping against the pavement.
Could I trust her? Ryan's ex-girlfriend showing up uninvited on my wedding day—that screamed setup. For all I knew, she was one of the people trying to kill me.
But across six deaths, no one had ever acknowledged what was happening to me. Natasha looked at me and saw a woman who'd been dying on repeat. That meant she either knew about the loop, or she knew about the murder plot.
Either way, I needed what she had.
I checked the time. 9:30 AM. I had two and a half hours until our meeting.
First, I needed to handle the immediate threats I already knew about.
I pulled out my phone and texted Sophie: [Hey, can you come to my room? Need help with my veil.]
Sophie responded instantly: [On my way babe!! 💕]
Three minutes later, Sophie burst through my door in a silk robe, her blond hair still in curlers. "Okay bride, what's the emergency? Don't tell me you ripped the veil. I will literally cry."
I looked at my best friend of twelve years. The woman who'd held me when my father died. Who'd helped me move into my first apartment. Who'd introduced me to Ryan in the first place.
In my fourth loop, Sophie was the one who handed me the drink.
I'd watched her smile as she pressed the glass into my hand. "To forever," she'd said.
Thirty minutes later, I was convulsing on the floor.
"Bella? Hello?" Sophie waved her hand in front of my face. "You're spacing out."
"Sorry. Sophie, can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"If you found out Ryan was doing something terrible... would you tell me?"
Sophie's smile faltered for just a fraction of a second. If I hadn't died four times already, I would have missed it.
"What do you mean? Like cheating?"
"Like anything. Anything terrible."
Sophie sat beside me on the bed and took my hands. "Bella, listen. Every bride gets cold feet. But Ryan loves you. I've seen the way he looks at you. Whatever weird thoughts you're having right now, push them away. Today is your happily ever after."
She squeezed my hands.
I looked into her eyes and saw nothing but warmth.
But I knew. I knew she was lying.
"You're right," I said. "I'm just being silly."
"That's my girl. Now, do you actually need help with the veil or was that a ruse to get emotional support?"
"Emotional support."
Sophie laughed and hugged me. "I love you, you disaster. I'll come back at one to do your makeup, okay?"
After she left, I stood in the middle of my room and let the silence settle over me.
Sophie. My best friend. The first woman I'd ever truly trusted.
She was in on it.
But why? What did Ryan promise her? Money? Something else?
I didn't have time to unravel that right now. I needed to get to Room 407.
At 11:55, I took the elevator to the fourth floor. The hallway was empty. I slid the key card and stepped inside.
The room was dark. Curtains drawn.
"Natasha?"
No answer.
I stepped further in. The door clicked shut behind me.
Then I saw it.
Natasha was on the floor. Eyes open. Not breathing. A thin red line across her throat.
And written on the mirror in what appeared to be lipstick were five words:
**STOP LOOKING OR YOU'RE NEXT.**
My stomach lurched. Whoever was behind this—they knew. They knew I was investigating.
But how? In previous loops, I'd never met Natasha. This was new. This was a change.
Which meant the loop wasn't static. The killers were adapting.
Someone knocked on the door behind me.
"Housekeeping!"
I couldn't be found in this room with a dead body. I raced to the bathroom, climbed through the window onto the fire escape, and—
My foot slipped on the wet metal.
I fell.
Three stories.
The last thing I heard before the darkness took me was my own neck snapping against the pavement.