I opened my laptop, the screen casting a pale glow in the dimly lit hospital room. My fingers moved across the keys, typing out everything I could rember since this second chance at life began. The monts spilled out like puzzle pieces, scattered and jagged.
Gabriel and Jessica’s betrayal.
The chaos at the mall and Jason’s unexpected rescue.
Lola’s ordeal—eerily similar to what I experienced before.
The strange mont when I thought I could stop ti.
I wrote Question Lola next to the bullet point. What did she know? Was she another pawn in this twisted ga of rebirth and secrets or did she have her own secrets?
Was she reborn too? As ?
The thought made shiver.
That was sick.
Though good na, Rebirth and Secrets.
I instantly changed the file na to that.
I leaned back, staring at the blinking cursor. It felt like everything I knew was slipping through my fingers. I wrote Ti stopping: failed with Gabriel. Why? The words stared back at , taunting with their mystery. It had worked once—at the mall, with Jason.
Why not with Gabriel?
My eyes narrowed as I thought about my ex. Breaking up with him had been risky, impulsive. I should have done it long before now, should have severed those ties before they choked again. But the need for control, the desire to take him down, simred beneath my skin. There were more strategic ways to do it. I had leverage. I knew where the weak points in his career were.
Break him through there, I just need a way. A point
But do I really want to play that ga? I wondered, my fingers tapping absently on the keys. Using him to make money was tempting, a shortcut.
But it felt hollow, beneath .
I wanted to see Gabriel fall, and for that, I needed a more ticulous plan.
Jessica. Her na burned on my tongue. She was a critical piece in this. She had secrets, ones she guarded behind that innocent smile of hers.
And that was the reason I had clawed my way into JFK in the first place. To be close enough to dig up everything she buried. But now, there were too many distractions. Too many wild cards.
Jason.
The thought of him sent a jolt through my system, one I didn’t know how to read. I added Jason to my list, followed by question marks. Why did he keep showing up, pulling into these situations? There was sothing about him that didn’t fit, like a piece from another puzzle that had sohow slipped into mine. His eyes, the way he moved with an edge of familiarity. It was as if he knew more than he let on.
I racked my brain, trying to recall if we had crossed paths before my death. But there was nothing. Just the mory of seeing his face in news articles, the notorious billionaire with a reputation for recklessness. Yet here he was, appearing at every turn of this second life, always watching, always... present.
Groaning, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the headboard. Life was confusing, a tangled ss that refused to untangle itself.
I stared at nothing, the sterile walls of the hospital blurring at the edges as I tried to piece everything together. Every recent event played in my mind like a jumbled film reel, the chaos of it fraying the last strands of my sanity. The drugs they’d given were doing their job, dragging into a sleepy fog. My eyelids drooped, but I fought against it, my body tensing.
I can’t sleep. Not again. Not the nightmares.
"I can’t..." I whispered to the emptiness, my voice barely audible. But the room began to tilt, the pull of sleep too strong. I succumbed, the darkness folding over like a thick blanket.
---
It was 2025 again, the year my world had shattered into jagged pieces.
I stood in the hallway of my old ho, the familiar scent of lilies mixed with sothing rotten. My heart pounded in my ears as I pushed open the door to our bedroom, already knowing what I’d find but still hoping I was wrong.
There they were, tangled together in the sheets—Gabriel and Jessica.
Jessica riding him. Naked.
Their laughter was cruel, echoing in my skull like a taunt. But this ti, the numbness that had consud before wasn’t there.
Instead, rage flared hot and bright, coursing through my veins like fire.
I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream. My weak, broken body from that year sohow moved with a strength I didn’t recognize. I stumbled to the kitchen, my hands shaking as I grabbed the knife. It glinted in the dim light, sharp and cold.
Back in the room, the world seed to move in slow motion. Jessica turned her head, eyes widening just as I plunged the knife into her back.
Once.
Twice.
Over and over, each thrust t with a wet, sickening sound. Blood spattered, warm and sticky against my skin.
She gasped, her mouth opening in a silent scream as she crumpled forward.
But when she turned again the face that looked back at wasn’t Jessica’s.
It was mine.
I stumbled back, my breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps.
My eyes shifted to the man on the bed, and a chill settled over as I saw Jason staring back, his expression twisted in shock and betrayal.
"No," I whispered, the knife slipping from my hand and clattering to the floor. "No, no, no..."
A voice slithered into the room, low and mocking. "So, this was your plan? Sha."
The walls seed to close in, the room spinning faster and faster until I couldn’t tell up from down.
I woke with a start, the sheets tangled around my legs and my chest heaving with panicked breaths. The heart monitor beside beeped erratically, its rhythm mirroring my own. The cold sweat dripped down my temple as I clutched the blanket, trying to convince myself that I was safe—that none of it was real.
Tears welled up in my eyes and spilled over, hot and uncontrollable. The nightmare still clung to , its echoes squeezing the breath from my lungs. My sobs were small and shuddering, the kind that made feel both fragile and exhausted. I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth, trying to quiet myself when the door opened.
A nurse walked in, her shoes squeaking softly against the linoleum floor. She looked up, brows furrowing at the sight of . "Miss Williams, are you alright?" she asked, concern coloring her voice. She glanced at the monitor, noting the erratic beeping.
I tried to pull myself together, wiping my eyes and nodding weakly. "Just... a bad dream."
The nurse’s expression softened, but there was still a hint of confusion. She took a few steps closer, checking the readings on the monitor and adjusting the blanket around . "Your vitals spiked," she said, studying my face with kind eyes. "Are you sure there isn’t anything else bothering you?"
Before I could respond, her eyes lit up with sudden rembrance. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Soone ca by earlier and dropped off these." She gestured to a vase filled with pristine white lilies and deep red roses, sitting on the table by the window.
My breath caught in my throat. The arrangent was almost identical to the first set I’d received, down to the small, discreet card with that cryptic initial. My stomach twisted as I looked at it, the feeling that I was being watched creeping over like a shadow.
"Who sent them?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
The nurse shrugged, a faint smile on her lips. "There wasn’t a na, just this card. And the person who ca was wearing a mask. They said they are a friend." She reached for it, but I stopped her, shaking my head.
"Can you... throw them away, please?" The request ca out more desperate than I intended.
The nurse blinked, taken aback. "Throw them away? But they’re so pretty." Her eyes sparkled, oblivious to the unease gnawing at .
I clenched my jaw, my heart racing as I tried to explain. "Please, just do it. I don’t want them."
Her smile faltered, but she nodded, the confusion in her eyes deepening. "Of course, Miss Williams. I’ll take care of it." She lifted the vase, her movents gentle as if handling a delicate treasure.
As she left the room, the door closing softly behind her, the knot in my chest loosened just a little. But the unease lingered, an invisible thread pulling at my nerves. Whoever sent those flowers knew exactly where I was and seed determined to make their presence known.
Especially since it was the sa person who sent one at the office.
I exhaled shakily, glancing out the window at the city lights twinkling against the dark sky. The feeling of being spied on wouldn’t leave . And for the first ti, I wondered if this second chance at life ca with more dangers than I had ever anticipated.
I felt tired, every muscle in my body aching for rest, but my mind refused to let drift. I needed a breather, a mont to escape this suffocating sense of paranoia. Just as I was about to close my eyes, the familiar ping of my laptop pierced the silence.
I glanced over, my heart stuttering as the screen lit up. An email notification flashed, marked from Unknown. My pulse quickened as I clicked on it, the subject line glaring at in bold letters: HELLO KIARA.
My eyes skimd the ssage, the color draining from my face.
"HELLO KIARA. MAYBE STOP THROWING MY FLOWERS AWAY."
A cold shiver ran down my spine, and my breath caught in my throat. I sat up straighter, the monitor’s glow making the dark room feel colder, more nacing. My hands trembled as I re-read the email, my mind racing.
Who was this? How did they know?
I pushed the blanket off and swung my legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the dull throb from my ankle. The fear that crawled up my spine was electric, sparking old instincts that told to run, to get out. But where could I go?
The email stared back at , mocking, daring to respond. My fingers hovered over the keys, indecision clawing at . Responding could lead to answers—or more questions I wasn’t ready to face.
A noise outside my room made jump. It was just the nurse passing by, her shadow moving across the sliver of light under the door. I exhaled shakily, but the paranoia didn’t leave. It pressed in on , tight and suffocating.
I needed to find out who this was. If soone was watching , I needed to know why. And how much they knew.
I leaned forward, typing a response with fingers that felt far too cold.
"Who are you?"
I hit send and waited.
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