POV: Maya Chen
I'm going to meet A.X.
I know Sophie told me not to. I know she said A.X. is dangerous. But that video of her smothering me with a pillow keeps playing in my mind.
Maybe both of them are dangerous. Maybe I can't trust anyone.
But I need answers, and sitting in my bedroom won't give them to me.
I grab my car keys and the USB drive with all of Jennifer's evidence. If this is a trap, at least I'll have proof to bargain with.
It's 1:30 PM. The café meeting is at 2:00 PM. I have thirty minutes.
I sneak out of the house while Jennifer is on the phone with someone, speaking in angry whispers. She doesn't see me leave.
My hands shake as I start my car—the old Honda my father bought me for my eighteenth birthday last week. In my first life, I kept this car for three years before Derek made me sell it to pay his business debts.
This time, nobody's taking anything from me.
I pull out of the driveway too fast. My heart is pounding. What if Sophie is right? What if A.X. kills me the moment I arrive?
My phone rings. Sophie again.
I don't answer.
I drive toward the Silver Moon Café, my mind racing. The streets are busy with afternoon traffic. I stop at a red light and check my phone. Three missed calls from Sophie. Five text messages.
The last one says: "MAYA, PLEASE. A.X. ISN'T WHO YOU THINK. TURN AROUND NOW."
The light turns green. I drive forward.
Then I see it—a black luxury car in my rearview mirror, driving way too fast. It's not slowing down. It's going to hit me.
I slam on my brakes, but it's too late.
CRASH!
The impact throws me forward. My seatbelt catches me hard, knocking the air from my lungs. My head hits the steering wheel. Pain explodes behind my eyes.
For a second, all I see is darkness. For a second, I think I'm dying again.
Then I hear a car door slam. Footsteps running. A voice shouting, "Are you okay? Please be okay!"
I push my door open and stumble out, my legs shaking. My head throbs. Blood drips from a cut on my forehead.
"What is wrong with you?" I scream at the other driver. "You could have killed me!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't—" The voice stops suddenly.
I look up, ready to yell more. Then I freeze.
The man standing in front of me is the most handsome person I've ever seen. He's tall—at least six feet—with perfect black hair and sharp, elegant features. His eyes are dark and intense, and right now they're staring at me like I'm a miracle.
"Maya Chen," he whispers. His voice shakes. "You're alive."
My anger vanishes, replaced by confusion. "Do I know you?"
He takes a step closer, and I see tears in his eyes. Actual tears. "No. But I know you."
"That doesn't make sense—"
"My name is Ashton Xu." He reaches out like he wants to touch my face, then stops himself. "And I've been waiting eighteen years to meet you."
Eighteen years? That's impossible. I'm only eighteen years old now.
"You're not making sense," I say. "And you just crashed into my car. I should call the police—"
"Please don't." Ashton pulls out his phone and shows me the screen. "Look at the time. 1:47 PM. You were supposed to meet A.X. at Silver Moon Café at 2:00 PM, right?"
My blood runs cold. "How do you know that?"
"Because I'm A.X." He smiles sadly. "I sent you those texts. I've been watching over you, trying to keep you safe."
"Safe?" I almost laugh. "You just rear-ended my car!"
"I had to stop you from going to the café. Sophie planted a bomb there. She's trying to kill you before we can meet." Ashton shows me his phone again. There's a live video feed of the Silver Moon Café. "Watch."
I lean closer. The café looks normal—people drinking coffee, reading books. Then I see Sophie walk in, carrying a large backpack. She looks around nervously, then places the backpack under a corner table. The same table I sat at in my first life when I met Derek.
Sophie leaves quickly. The backpack stays behind.
"That could be anything," I say, but my voice shakes.
"Then let's find out." Ashton makes a phone call. "Marcus, check the package now."
On his phone screen, I watch a man in a security uniform approach the backpack. He opens it carefully. Then his face goes pale, and he starts evacuating the café immediately.
People run out screaming. Within two minutes, the café is empty except for the bomb squad that arrives.
I can't breathe. "Sophie... Sophie tried to kill me?"
"She's killed you four times already." Ashton's voice is gentle but firm. "I've been trying to stop her for seven timelines. That's why I crashed into you—to keep you away from the café until my team could secure it."
My legs give out. Ashton catches me before I fall, holding me steady.
"I don't understand," I whisper. "Why would Sophie do this?"
"Because she's in love with you. Obsessively. And every time you don't love her back, she kills you and resets the timeline, hoping the next version of you will choose her." Ashton helps me sit on the curb. "I know it's hard to believe. She's been your best friend for so long."
"How do you know all this? How many times have you lived this?"
Ashton sits next to me. "Fifteen times."
I choke. "Fifteen?"
"I was eleven years old the first time my parents were murdered. I watched them die while hiding in a closet. Then I woke up as an eleven-year-old again, with all my memories. I've lived from age eleven to thirty-three, fifteen different times." His voice is tired. "Each time, I try to save different people. My parents. My friends. You."
"But you don't even know me—"
"I do." He turns to face me, and his eyes are full of pain and love. "In Timeline 7, you saved my life. I was twenty-eight, and someone tried to assassinate me. You were a doctor. You operated on me for sixteen hours straight and refused to let me die. Afterward, I fell in love with you. We had three beautiful years together before Sophie poisoned you."
Tears run down my cheeks. "I don't remember any of that."
"You won't. Each reset erases your memories. But I remember everything." He wipes my tears gently. "I've loved you in seven different timelines, Maya. I've watched you die in eight. This time—Timeline 15—I swear I'm going to save you."
My heart is breaking and healing at the same time. This stranger loves me. This stranger has died and been reborn fifteen times, and he's spent multiple lifetimes trying to save me.
"Why?" I ask. "Why do you care so much?"
"Because in Timeline 7, when I asked you why you saved me, you said: 'Because every life is worth fighting for. Even the broken ones.'" Ashton smiles. "You saved me, Maya. Now it's my turn to save you."
I want to believe him. I want to trust him. But I've been betrayed so many times.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
Ashton pulls out a photograph from his wallet. It's old and wrinkled. The photo shows us together—older versions of us. I'm in a white dress. He's in a suit. We're kissing, and we look so happy.
"Timeline 7," he says quietly. "Our wedding day. Three months before Sophie killed you."
I stare at the photo. The woman in it looks like me but older, more confident, radiantly happy. The man looks like Ashton, but his eyes aren't sad like they are now.
"I want to believe you," I whisper.
"Then believe this." Ashton takes my hand. "I'm going to protect you from everyone—Jennifer, Derek, Lily, and especially Sophie. All I ask in return is that you trust me."
His hand is warm and strong. For the first time since I was reborn, I feel safe.
Then my phone rings. Sophie's name flashes on the screen.
"Don't answer it," Ashton warns.
But I do. "Hello?"
Sophie's voice is ice cold. "So you chose him. Interesting. Did he tell you about Timeline 9, where he was the one who killed you? Did he mention that he's only helping you because his company needs your mother's shares in Chen Group? Did he explain that this is all just business to him?"
My heart stops. I look at Ashton. "Is that true?"
Ashton's face goes pale. "Maya, I can explain—"
"Yes or no. Do you need my mother's shares?"
He hesitates. "Yes, but—"
I drop his hand like it's burning me.
Sophie laughs through the phone. "See? I told you not to trust him. Now come to my house. I'll tell you the real truth about Ashton Xu. The monster behind the handsome face."
She hangs up.
I stand up, my head spinning. "You need my inheritance. That's why you're helping me."
"It's not like that—"
"Then what is it like?" I step away from him. "Tell me the truth. All of it. Now."
Ashton stands too, and for a second, his mask cracks. I see desperation, fear, and something else—guilt.
"The truth is complicated," he says.
"Uncomplicate it."
"Fine." Ashton's jaw tightens. "Yes, I need your mother's shares. My company is at war with a rival corporation, and whoever controls Chen Group controls Shanghai's economy. But that's not why I'm saving you, Maya. I'm saving you because I love you. I've loved you for eight lifetimes, and I'll love you for eight hundred more."
"How do I know that's not a lie too?"
"You don't." Ashton looks me in the eyes. "You'll just have to decide—trust the best friend who just tried to bomb you, or trust the man who's died fifteen times trying to save the world you're in."
My phone buzzes. A text from an unknown number.
"Neither of them are telling you everything. But I am. Meet me at Chen Group building, top floor, in one hour. Come alone. The real enemy wants to meet you face-to-face. - Your Mother's Ghost"
My mother's ghost?
I look up at Ashton. "Did you send this?"
"No."
Another text: "P.S. - Jennifer didn't kill me. She's just a pawn. The real killer is someone you'd never suspect. Someone close to you. Someone in your bloodline. Tick tock, Maya. One hour or you'll never know the truth."
My hands shake so hard I drop the phone.
Someone in my bloodline killed my mother. Someone close to me.
My father?