The Live-Chat Says Grandma Will Steal My Luck, So Never Marry

In our family there was a rule: you had to be married before twenty-five.

On my twenty-fourth birthday, my grandmother came around to push the subject again.

Hailey Simmons, sweetheart, your grandmother's getting old. I just want to see you settled down. This year, no matter what, you get that marriage license and you have the wedding.

I was about to nod and agree when a row of text suddenly floated up in front of my eyes:

No! You absolutely cannot get married!

All that talk about having to marry before twenty-five, your grandmother made it up!

In your last life you listened to her, and on your wedding day she showed up in red and stole your good luck!

After that, you and your husband both got laid off, your investments blew up, and the worst part, you took a flat fall on level ground and it killed you outright!

And your grandmother? She won a hundred million in the lottery, bought a car and a house, and lived to a hundred and thirty-eight!

I froze where I stood.

So those images I'd been dreaming over and over lately were things that happened in my last life.

The live-chat kept scrolling wildly, urging me to refuse, begging me not to repeat the same mistakes.

But I looked into my grandmother's kind eyes and slowly nodded.

"Grandma, don't worry. I'll definitely get my license and marry next month."

The moment I said it, the live-chat blew up.

Has she lost her mind? Why is she agreeing?

Please don't marry him! Wasn't last life's lesson enough?

It's over, it's over, she's walking right back into it.

Well, can't blame her, she can't see what we're saying anyway.

I lowered my eyes and ignored it.

Grandma patted the back of my hand, beaming.

"Good, that's good."

"Your grandmother can't wait to celebrate at your wedding."

After she left, my sister came out from the back room.

She braced herself against the door frame, her face pale.

"Hailey, I've had this strange feeling."

The live-chat started scrolling again:

Of course it's strange!

Hasn't she noticed yet? Ever since your grandmother stole your sister's good luck on her wedding day, your sister's health has gotten worse by the day!

And look at your grandmother, bedridden for years, and now she's miraculously back on her feet.

I stared at the live-chat, and my heart dropped hard.

On my sister's wedding day, when the lucky hour arrived and the bride should have been walking in, my grandmother pushed ahead of her in a red padded coat and rushed out the door first.

After that, my always-healthy sister was never free of illness, big or small, in and out of the hospital every few days.

And the grandmother the doctors had said wouldn't make it past year's end only got better and better.

The live-chat went quiet for a beat, then another line popped up:

The two sisters were born late, so they don't know what happened before.

She doesn't actually think her grandmother only stole her sister's luck, does she?

Truth is, your grandmother stole it way back at your parents' wedding too, or how else would your dad have died?

My head snapped up, and the live-chat kept going:

Your dad's health was always fine, too, but the day after the wedding he was suddenly diagnosed with something terminal, and in three months he was gone, leaving just your mom to raise the two of you on her own.

Who'd have thought the two sisters still couldn't escape that old witch's claws.

Just then my mother, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke.

"Hailey, you don't even have a boyfriend. How are you supposed to marry next month?"

The answer came out of me before I thought.

"I do have one."

My mother and sister both turned to look at me.

"It's Theo Butler, my old classmate from middle school. You met him at a parents' meeting once."

My mother's face changed in an instant.

"No. How can you marry him? He's"

"Mom." I cut her off. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

The live-chat got worked up, too:

That's not right, her husband in the last life wasn't Theo at all!

It's over, I'm losing track of this.

I curved my lips and said nothing.

Grandma liked stealing wedding luck, didn't she?

Then this time, I'd let her steal all she wanted.

From that day on, I threw myself into planning my own wedding.

Theo's mother was a gentle woman. When she heard me out, she sat stunned for a long moment, then looked me over from head to toe before she asked,

"You're serious?"

I nodded.

She stayed frozen where she stood, and the tears came all at once.

"Good, good, good"

Everything went unbelievably smoothly.

Setting the date, choosing the venue, drafting the invitations.

I was run off my feet.

A week before the wedding, my grandmother came again.

She pushed the door open leaning on her cane, all smiles, a bank card in her hand.

"Hailey." She pressed the card into my palm. "Just a little something from Grandma."

"Whatever you need, take it from this card."

"Grandma only wants to see you married in style."

Right then she looked exactly like a kind, doting elder.

That same instant, the live-chat started scrolling again.

This is the blood money her grandmother's paying for her life!

Last time our girl was moved to tears by her grandmother, and after she died, didn't the money just go right back into that old witch's hands?

I held the card and gave her a smile.

Thank you, Grandma.

The grandmother nodded, satisfied, and hobbled slowly out on her cane.

The live-chat blew up again:

Give it up, give it up, this girl's got no brain.

She takes the blood money and can still smile. She really must be tired of living.

Wasn't dying so horribly last time enough for her?

The screen packed with row after row of text, all disappointment and mockery.

I kept my eyes down and said nothing.

Just then, a new comment drifted slowly past.

Let's wait and see. I feel like this rebirth is different for her.

Look at her eyes. She doesn't look like someone walking to her own death.

Over the following days, my grandmother didn't come by again.

It was Gail Lambert next door who cornered me one day, back from the market, and pulled me aside all secretive.

"Hailey, I saw your grandmother in town today."

"She said she's buying herself a new outfit for your wedding day."

Gail lowered her voice and leaned in close.

"Guess what color she picked?"

Before I could answer, she went on,

"Red. Bright red."

I smiled and let it pass.

But the live-chat started up again:

Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes!

Red! The exact same red as last time!

On the wedding day she's definitely going to come charging out in that red dress!

The comments kept flooding past, and yet I was strangely calm.

Everything about the wedding was ready.

But I never expected that the night before the wedding, something would still go wrong.

I had just finished trying on the bridal gown when Theo's mother called me.

The moment I picked up, she was crying so hard on the other end she could barely breathe.

"Hailey Theo's gone"

I didn't stop to think. I grabbed my coat and ran.

By the time I reached the Butler place, the front door was standing wide open, and Eliana was slumped on the floor, her eyes red enough to frighten me.

I rushed into the bedroom and saw Theo lying on the bed, perfectly still.

Eliana pulled herself up by the nightstand, choking on the words.

"Ever since he got sick, I've followed the doctor's orders exactly. Kept his meals light, nothing rich..."

"Tonight he said he wanted some porridge, so I made it for him. But somehow, partway through eating, he just stopped breathing."

I stood at the bedside, looking at Theo's quiet face, and couldn't say a single word.

Eliana took my hand, her nails digging into my palm.

"Hailey, all these years, because of how sick he was, nobody would marry him..."

"I introduced him to so many girls, and the moment they heard he was ill, they turned and walked away."

"You were the only one willing. And now Theo, he... how could he just..."

She couldn't finish. She dropped down against the bed and wept.

I crouched beside her, patting her back gently, and stayed a long while to calm her before I left.

Theo's dead now, so the heroine won't be getting married, right?

Even heaven is helping the heroine!

No wedding needed. Crisis averted!

When I got home, my mother was standing at the door, waiting for me.

She clearly already knew. The first thing she said when she saw me was:

"Hailey, what do we do about the wedding tomorrow?"

"The invitations are out, the banquet's booked, all our family and friends have been told."

"And now the groom is gone."

The more she said, the more frantic she got, until even her voice was shaking.

I took a deep breath and patted the back of her hand.

"Mom, for now we keep this from Grandma."

"And the wedding tomorrow goes ahead."

My mother froze.

Her mouth opened, like she wanted to ask something, but when she saw the look in my eyes, the words stopped at her lips and she swallowed them back.

It took a long moment before she slowly nodded.

"All right... we'll do it your way."

Early the next morning, the sky was just turning gray when I got up.

I'd barely finished putting on the wedding dress when a burst of noise and commotion came from outside.

I pushed the door open and stepped out, and there was Grandma.

She was wearing something even brighter than my wedding dress, climbing into the lead wedding car.

Someone beside her panicked and blocked her. "You can't sit there. The photographer and the bridesmaid have to ride in that car!"

But Grandma shoved the person holding her aside and plopped herself down.

Then she scooted over, taking up the whole back seat, shouting, "What's wrong with riding in my granddaughter's wedding car? I'm her own grandmother! If I don't ride in this car, who does? Who are you to stand here telling me what to do?"

The live-chat started flooding in.

The old witch is up to her tricks again. Now she wants the lead car too.

The person was left speechless, face flushed red.

Someone else tried to smooth it over. "Ma'am, why don't you take that car in the back? It's a nice car too, plenty of room."

Grandma sneered. "What car could be roomier than my granddaughter's lead car? This old woman is riding in this one today, and it's none of your business."

Just then my sister came over, frowning, and reached out to pull Grandma down.

But I caught my sister's hand gently and shook my head. "Sis, it's fine. Let Grandma sit there."

Hearing that, Grandma broke into a grin, every wrinkle on her face folding open. She slapped the door frame and raised her voice. "None of you are as good as Hailey. I've said it all along, out of all these kids, Hailey's the most devoted! Not like some people, ungrateful, raise them for nothing."

The moment Grandma finished, the wedding car started up.

Firecrackers crackled and popped, the drum and gong band pounded loud enough to shake the sky, and the crowd of onlookers parted to let us through.

Grandma sat in the back seat, leaning against the leather upholstery, eyes half-shut, looking thoroughly satisfied.

We'd been driving about twenty minutes when Grandma suddenly seemed to remember something and turned her head to ask me, "That's right, where's the groom?"

I turned to her and smiled. "He's got something to take care of right now, so he can't come for me this morning."

"But don't worry. He'll be at the wedding right on time."

The wedding cars pulled up outside the venue, and Grandma was the first one out, heading straight for the place of honor in the hall.

The live-chat started scrolling again:

That spot is closest to the doors. The second the heroine comes out, she'll cut in front of her and race over!

Heroine's mom, you have to stop that old witch!

Sure enough, my mother saw her. Frowning, she walked over, took Grandma's arm, and said quietly,

"Mom, there are a lot of people today. Don't push up to the front. Just sit in the back."

Grandma yanked her arm free and glared at her.

"Mind your own business."

The words stopped my mother short. She said nothing more, but her eyes stayed locked on Grandma.

The guests gradually filled in, and the hall grew lively.

Then the officiant stepped up onto the stage.

He wore a crisp suit, held a microphone, and spoke with a broad smile.

"Guests, family, friends! Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to celebrate the wedding of Ms. Hailey Simmons!"

Applause rose from the floor.

The officiant paused, then lifted his voice a notch.

"I can see it in everyone's eyes, all of you keep glancing toward the doors. Looks like nobody can wait any longer to see our bride!"

"That's right! Bring the bride out!"

Grandma's eyes lit up. She leaned forward, poised to bolt.

The live-chat rolled again:

Stop her! Stop her! Don't let her steal the luck!

The officiant cleared his throat on the stage.

"Now, let's give the warmest possible welcome to our bride!"

The bridesmaids stood on either side, hands on the door handles, ready to push them open.

But the moment the doors cracked open, Grandma moved.

She shot up out of the seat of honor and rushed straight at the doors.

My mother reacted fast, throwing herself forward almost at the same instant, grabbing Grandma around the waist from behind.

"Mom, stop! What are you doing?"

The pull threw Grandma off balance, and her eyes went red with rage.

She spun around and slapped my mother hard across the face.

The crack of it left the whole hall silent for half a second.

"You little tramp, what are you grabbing me for? Get off me!"

My mother's head snapped to the side, half her face flushing red at once.

Before she could reach out again, Grandma shoved her away and cut in front of me, running out through the doors.

The whole hall buzzed.

Someone muttered under their breath,

"What's the old woman doing?"

"Stealing the wedding luck. You don't know about that? You've never seen those videos?"

"Wait, that's a real thing?"

"It is. The older generation all believe it. Supposedly whoever steals the luck turns their own fortune around, but the couple gets hit with bad luck instead"

The live-chat blew up in that instant:

It's over, it's over, she got it after all.

Heroine's mom didn't stop her.

My mother clutched her face, tears spilling at once. Never mind the pain, she lunged and caught Grandma's sleeve, sobbing.

"Mom, hurting me is one thing! But why would you hurt Hailey? Isn't she your own granddaughter? How can you be so cruel, Mom!"

Now that she'd snatched the luck, Grandma dropped the act. She sneered at my mother.

"I gave you your life. Without me giving birth to you, would either of those two girls even exist?"

"By rights, your lives are all mine. If I take it, I take it. Who are you to question me?"

She paused, threw my mother a sideways look, and curled her lip down.

"Besides, she's just a girl. Once she's married off, she belongs to someone else's family. If she won't give this blessing to me, her own grandmother, is she going to carry it off to her husband's house instead?"

Just then the officiant suddenly looked toward the front, his voice rising several notches.

"The groom is here."

Everyone turned to look.

Eliana Butler stood at the door of the hall, a box wrapped in red cloth in her arms.

I walked up to her and took the urn with both hands.

The officiant drew a deep breath and called out loud,

"A marriage of the living and the dead! The rite is complete!"

The next second, the color drained from Grandma's face