Aria's POV
"No," I said.
The curse stopped. Dark energy crackling around my mother's hands like black lightning. The temperature in my apartment dropped so low I could see my breath. "What did you say?"
"I said no." I stepped forward, even though every instinct screamed at me to run. "You're not killing us today."
The curse laughed through my mother's mouth. It was a horrible sound. Nothing like my mother's real laugh. "And how exactly are you going to stop me, little girl? I've existed for three hundred years. I've consumed thousands of souls. What makes you think you're special?"
"Because I know something you don't." I felt calm. Strangely, impossibly calm. Like my thirty-five-year-old self was guiding my twenty-two-year-old body. "You need us alive."
"I can feed on anyone's suffering—"
"But you're obsessed with us specifically." I interrupted. "Damien's been looping for eighteen years. Six complete cycles through the same three years. That's not random. That's deliberate. You could have killed him permanently in any of those loops. But you didn't."
The curse tilted my mother's head. Curious. Dangerous. "Continue."
"And me. I died at thirty-five and came back to twenty-two. You sent me back. You could have just ended me. Let me stay dead. But instead, you gave me another chance." I moved closer, ignoring Damien's warning hand on my shoulder. "Because we're special. Our connection is special. Whatever twisted magic you're working, you need us alive for it. And if you kill us now, permanently, you lose that power source forever."
The curse's smile faded from my mother's face. The black eyes narrowed. "You think you're clever?"
"I think you're bluffing." I looked directly into those horrible black eyes, seeing nothing of my mother in them. "You're scared. Actually scared. Because Damien and I figured out we're connected. We're working together now. And that terrifies you. So you're here, threatening us, trying to make us panic and make mistakes. But I already died once. I know what death feels like. I'm not afraid of you anymore."
The silence stretched out. Long. Cold. Heavy.
I could feel Damien behind me, tense and ready to fight. Could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. Could see the dark energy still swirling around my mother's hands.
Then, suddenly, my mother's body went completely limp.
She collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
Damien caught her before she hit the floor, wincing as his injured shoulder took the weight. The darkness disappeared from the room like someone flipped a switch. The cold vanished. The windows unlocked with soft clicks.
My mother gasped, her eyes fluttering open. Brown eyes. Normal, confused, human eyes. "Aria? What... what happened? Why am I in your apartment? I don't remember coming here."
She didn't remember. The curse left her with no memory of being possessed. No memory of threatening us. Nothing.
"You came to visit me, Mom," I said, helping Damien lay her gently on the couch. My hands were shaking but I kept my voice steady. "You must have felt dizzy on the way up. Low blood sugar maybe. Just rest for a minute, okay?"
My mother closed her eyes, confused and exhausted. Within seconds, she was asleep.
I grabbed Damien's good arm and pulled him into the kitchen, keeping my voice barely above a whisper. "The curse backed down. It can't kill us yet. We have time."
"How did you know it was bluffing?" His grey eyes studied me intensely.
"I didn't. I guessed." I took a shaky breath, my earlier confidence crumbling now that the immediate danger was gone. "But it worked. The curse needs our suffering. Quick death doesn't feed it enough. It wants us to suffer slowly, over years. That's why it kept Damien looping. That's why it sent me back instead of just letting me die."
"That buys us time to find a way to break it," Damien said.
"No." I met his eyes. "That buys ME time to break it. On my own terms."
Damien's expression hardened. His jaw clenched. "What does that mean?"
"It means I'm not signing your contract. Not the new one either. I'm doing this my way."
"Aria—"
"Listen to me." I kept my voice low, aware of my mother sleeping just one room away. "The curse controls my mother. It knows about Apex Entertainment. It knows about you, your company, your resources. If I sign with you, become part of your world, it'll use that connection against us. It'll find ways to hurt us through business deals, contracts, legal ties. But if I stay independent, unpredictable, moving on my own path, it can't anticipate my moves."
"That's insane," Damien said flatly. "You need protection. You need resources. You need support. The entertainment industry will eat you alive, curse or no curse."
"I need freedom." I looked back at my unconscious mother, still seeing those black eyes in my mind. "I spent my entire first life doing what everyone else wanted. Following their rules. My mother's rules. The industry's rules. Maya's manipulation. Victor's threats. Look where it got me. Dead at thirty-five in a dirty bar with twelve people in the audience."
"This is different—"
"Is it?" I turned back to him. "You want me in your company. Under your management. Under your control. Even if you mean well, even if you're trying to protect me, I'm still trapped. Just a prettier cage than before."
"I'm not trying to trap you—"
"I know. I believe that. But the curse will twist it. Use it. Make our connection into a weapon against us." I touched his arm gently, feeling the tension in his muscles. "I appreciate everything. The bullet you took. The help. The investigation into Victor. But I need to become a star on my own. Prove to the curse—and to myself—that I don't need saving. That I can stand on my own two feet."
Damien stared at me for a long moment. His jaw clenched. His eyes flashed with anger and something else. Frustration? Respect?
Then he smiled. That dangerous, predatory smile. "You're either brilliant or suicidal."
"Maybe both."
"Fine. Do it your way." He pulled out his phone, scrolling through something. "But when you realize you need help—and you will—call me. Day or night. No matter what time. No matter what trouble you're in. I'll come. Immediately."
"Deal."
He looked at my mother sleeping on the couch. "What about her?"
"I'll handle it. Get her home safely. Figure out how to protect her from being possessed again." I walked him to the door. "Thank you, Damien. For everything. Really."
He paused in the doorway, his good hand on the frame. "This isn't over between us."
"I know."
"The curse. Our connection. The fact that we die on the same day. All of it. We're tied together whether you sign a contract or not. Whether you work for me or not. We're bound, Aria."
"I know that too."
His eyes held mine for a moment longer. Then he left. I watched through my peephole as Marcus appeared from somewhere in the hallway, looking confused about why they were leaving. Damien said something to him I couldn't hear. They disappeared into the elevator.
I closed the door and leaned against it, suddenly exhausted. My legs felt weak. My hands were still shaking.
But I'd done it. Stood up to the curse. Stood up to Damien Cross. Chose my own path.
Now I just had to walk it.
My mother stirred on the couch. "Aria? I should go home. Your father will worry. And Luna has a test tomorrow I promised to help her study for."
Of course. Luna. The perfect daughter. The one my mother actually loved.
"Let me call you a car," I said, keeping my voice neutral.
While I arranged the car, I grabbed my phone and texted someone I hadn't contacted yet in this timeline. Someone who would be crucial to my new plan.
"Zoe Park? This is Aria Chen. Remember me from college? I need to talk business. Urgently."
Zoe and I had been friendly in college. Not best friends, but we'd taken a few classes together. She'd talked constantly about becoming an agent. Changing the industry. Fighting for artists' rights.
In my first life, she'd failed. Given up after two years and become an accountant.
But I remembered her fire. Her passion. Her loyalty to the few clients she had.
The reply came in seconds.
"ARIA?! OMG yes I remember you! What business? I'm literally eating ramen in my office at midnight because I'm a struggling agent with exactly zero clients but SURE let's talk business! "
I smiled. Classic Zoe. Honest to the point of pain.
"I need representation. Are you available tomorrow morning?"
"Are you kidding?! I'm available RIGHT NOW. Like literally right this second. Where are you? I'll come to you! Please be serious. Please don't be pranking me."
"Dead serious. Here's my address."
Twenty minutes later, my mother was safely in a car headed home. And Zoe Park was at my door.
She looked exactly like I remembered. Messy bun with a pencil stuck in it. Oversized blazer that had seen better days. Sneakers instead of heels. And fierce, intelligent eyes that said she'd fight anyone who hurt her clients.
"Okay, what's happening?" Zoe burst into my apartment, looking around like she expected cameras. "Is this a prank? Why does viral sensation Aria Chen need a nobody agent like me? I have seventeen followers on Twitter. Seventeen."
"You're not a nobody. You're smart, hungry, passionate about artists' rights, and most importantly, you don't owe Damien Cross anything."
"Wait, what? Damien Cross? THE Damien Cross?" Zoe's eyes went wide. "What does he have to do with this?"
"He wants to sign me. Exclusive contract. Five years. He'd manage me personally."
"And you said...?"
"No."
"YOU SAID NO TO DAMIEN CROSS?!" Zoe looked like she might faint. She sat down heavily on my couch. "Are you insane?! Do you know what people would do for that opportunity? I have clients who would sell their souls for a meeting with Marcus Stone, never mind Damien Cross himself!"
"Well, I have different priorities." I pulled out my phone, showing her my viral videos. The shooting. The audition. Victor's scandal. "I'm famous right now. Everyone wants to know my story. Everyone wants a piece of me. I need an agent who'll help me use that fame on MY terms. Not his terms. Not Apex Entertainment's terms. Mine."
Zoe stared at the numbers. The views. The comments. The interview requests flooding my direct messages.
She sat down slowly, her expression shifting from shock to calculation. "You want me to go up against Apex Entertainment. The biggest entertainment company in the country. With their unlimited resources and connections."
"I want you to make me a star without them. Can you do it?"
She was quiet for a long moment. I could see her brain working. Weighing risks. Calculating odds.
Then she grinned. A wild, reckless grin. "Oh hell yes. When do we start?"
"Tonight. Right now. I need to record three songs and upload them before sunrise. Strike while the attention is hot. While everyone's still talking about me."
"Three songs? Do you have them written?"
I tapped my head. "All up here. Songs I wrote in my... previous career. Songs nobody's heard yet."
"Previous career? You're twenty-two."
"Long story. I'll tell you someday. Maybe. Right now, we work. You in?"
Zoe stuck out her hand. "I'm in. Let's make you a superstar and prove Damien Cross doesn't own the entire industry."
We shook on it.
For the next six hours, we worked like possessed women. Zoe called in every favor she had. Found a friend with a home studio who owed her money. Borrowed equipment. Set up recording software.
I recorded three songs. Raw. Emotional. No polish. No auto-tune. Just my voice and my pain.
"Phoenix Rising." "Stolen Melodies." "Breaking Free."
Songs from my soul. My first life's pain. My resurrection. My refusal to stay dead.
We uploaded them at 5 AM to every platform we could find. Then collapsed on my couch, exhausted and wired on adrenaline and coffee.
"This is either genius or career suicide," Zoe mumbled, staring at her phone.
"Let's find out."
My phone buzzed. One notification. Then ten. Then hundreds. Then thousands pouring in like a flood.
The songs were exploding.
Zoe sat up, staring at her phone in shock. "Oh my god. Oh my GOD. Aria, you're trending! Number one on three platforms! Four! Five! What is happening?!"
I checked my phone. Messages flooding in faster than I could read them. Interview requests from major networks. Performance offers from venues I'd only dreamed of in my first life. Record labels wanting to talk. Producers wanting to work with me.
And one text from Damien:
"Impressive. You have talent and timing. But you just started a war with Maya. Check the news. Be careful."
My stomach dropped. I clicked the link he sent.
Maya Lin had just posted a video. Twenty minutes ago. Crying. Perfect tears running down her perfect face. Claiming I stole all three songs from her. That she had recordings proving they were hers. That I was a thief and a liar who'd betrayed her friendship.
And somehow, impossibly, she had "proof." Recordings dated weeks before mine. Documents with her name listed as composer. Timestamps that made it look like I'd stolen from her, not the other way around.
"How is that possible?" Zoe whispered, her face pale. "We literally just recorded these tonight. Like six hours ago. How does she have recordings from weeks ago?"
I knew how. The curse was helping Maya. Changing timestamps. Creating false evidence. Manipulating reality itself to destroy me.
This was the war Damien warned about.
My phone rang. Unknown number.
I answered, already knowing this would be bad.
"Hello, Aria." Victor Zhang's voice. Smooth. Confident. But he was in jail. How was he calling me? "Did you really think firing me would stop anything? You're so naive. Maya and I made a deal while I was waiting for my bail hearing. She gets your songs and the fame. I get my revenge and my reputation back. And you? You lose everything. Again. Just like your first pathetic life."
The line went dead.
Zoe looked at me, panicked. "What do we do? If she has proof, even fake proof, people might believe her. You're new. She's established. This could destroy you before you even start."
I stood up, walking to my window. The sun was rising over the city. Painting the sky pink and gold. A new day. A new chance.
"We fight," I said. "We prove every single song is mine. Every word. Every note. Every emotion. And we destroy anyone who tries to stop us."
My phone buzzed again. Another unknown number. Another message.
I opened it.
A photo appeared on my screen.
Of me.
Asleep in my bed.
Taken from inside my bedroom. From the angle, whoever took it had been standing right next to my bed. Watching me sleep. Close enough to touch me.
My blood ran cold.
Below the photo, one sentence:
"Time's up. April 14th comes early for some. See you very soon. Sweet dreams, Aria."
I checked the date on my phone. Today was April 16th.
I'd already passed the death date. Both Damien and I had survived past April 14th.
So why did the message say "see you soon"?
Unless...
Unless the curse wasn't waiting until 2026 anymore.
Unless it had moved up the timeline.
Unless I was supposed to die much, much sooner than I thought.
"Aria?" Zoe's voice sounded far away. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
I looked at the photo again. At whoever had been in my room. Watching me. Waiting.
"Call Damien," I said quietly. "Tell him we need that contract after all. And we need it today."
Because I couldn't fight this alone.
Not anymore.