When we finally reached home, the night felt heavier than before.
The house was quiet. Too quiet.
My parents had already left earlier, insisting I rest and promising to call in the morning. Their absence made the silence stretch longer, deeper.
Victor unlocked the door and let me step in first.
I moved slowly, exhaustion settling into my bones. The events of the night replayed in fragments Sara's trembling hands, the masked figures, the basement door.
I didn't realize I had stopped walking until Victor's hand gently touched my shoulder.
"You shouldn't be alone tonight," he said quietly.
I looked up at him.
"I wasn't planning to leave," he added.
There was something different in his tone now. Not commanding. Not protective in a public way. Just… certain.
"You don't have to," I said softly.
"I know."
That was what made it heavier.
He removed his coat and placed it on the chair, then walked toward the kitchen to pour me a glass of water. His movements were calm, controlled as if grounding himself through routine.
"I'll stay," he repeated, handing me the glass. "At least until you fall asleep."
The thought should have comforted me.
Instead, it made my chest tighten.
Because the last time I had fallen asleep beside him…
I hadn't woken up.
He noticed the flicker in my expression.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Nothing," I whispered too quickly.
Victor stepped closer.
"Stop doing that," he said gently.
"Doing what?"
"Carrying everything alone."
His hand lifted slowly, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. His touch was warm, careful like I was fragile glass.
"You don't have to be strong all the time," he murmured.
I swallowed.
If he knew what I remembered…
If he knew what I feared…
Would he still look at me like that?
"Stay," I said quietly.
It wasn't just a request for protection.
It was a test. He didn't hesitate.
"I'm not going anywhere."
The lights were dim when we finally walked toward the bedroom. The house felt smaller now, quieter like the world outside had been shut away.
Victor sat at the edge of the bed while I lay down, watching me with an intensity that made my pulse quicken.
"Sleep," he said softly.
"You?"
"I'll be right here."
He reached for my hand again.
And as our fingers intertwined in the dark, I couldn't tell if I felt safer…
or more afraid. The silence between us had shifted no longer heavy with fear, but charged with something else.
Something warmer.
He leaned slightly closer.
"You're still thinking," he murmured.
"Not right now," I whispered.
His thumb brushed along my jaw gently, tilting my face toward him. The intensity in his eyes wasn't dark this time it was vulnerable. Like he needed reassurance as much as I did.
"Stay with me," he said softly.
"I am."
His lips touched mine slowly.
Not rushed.
Not desperate.
Careful
As if he was asking permission without words.
I responded, my fingers sliding into his hair, pulling him closer. The kiss deepened gradually, the air between us growing warmer, heavier. His hand moved from my waist to my back, drawing me against him.
For a moment, the world outside disappeared.
Just us.
He pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against mine. "I almost lost you," he whispered.
"You didn't."
His lips traced softly along my cheek, down to my neck, slow and deliberate. My breath trembled, fingers tightening in his shirt.
Then his phone rang.
The sharp sound shattered the moment.
Victor stilled immediately, his jaw tightening in irritation.
I glanced at the screen briefly. Unknown number. Nothing important.
"Don't," I said softly, placing my hand over his chest before he could pull away. "Just silence it."
He hesitated for half a second then reached over, silencing the call without looking.
The phone fell quiet.
The world narrowed again.
He looked back at me, eyes darker now not cold, not distant but intense.
"You're sure?" he asked quietly.
Instead of answering, I pulled him back to me.
The kiss returned, deeper this time. His hands slid carefully along my waist, mindful of my injuries but no less passionate. The tension between us had transformed into something urgent not reckless, but consuming.
Like we both needed proof that we were alive.
That we were still here.
His voice was low against my skin. "If anyone ever tries to take you from me…"
I didn't let him finish.
"Don't," I whispered. "Just stay."
He did.
And for a little while, wrapped in warmth and breath and heartbeat, I allowed myself to forget that I had once died in his arms.
Tonight, he wasn't my murderer.
He was just the man holding me like I was the only thing that mattered.
And that was what made it dangerous.
And then we felt asleep.
I don't know what pulled me out of sleep.
There was no sound.No movement.
Just… a feeling.
My eyes opened slowly.
The room was dark, shadows stretching long across the ceiling. The faint streetlight outside filtered through the curtains, casting pale lines across the bed.
Victor was asleep beside me.
Deeply asleep.
His breathing was slow. Steady. One arm resting loosely near my waist, relaxed, unaware.For a second, I almost closed my eyes again.
Then I saw it.
A faint glow.
On the bedside table.
His phone.
The screen was lighting up again.
My heart gave a strange, uneven beat.
Carefully, I shifted his arm away from me and sat up. The mattress barely moved. He didn't stir.
I leaned forward and picked up the phone.Unknown Number.
My throat tightened.
Below it....
47 missed calls.
All from the same number.
All within the last hour.
The timestamps were close together.
2:56 AM
3:02 AM
3:07 AM
3:14 AM
3:22 AM
3:31 AM
Relentless.Not random.
Deliberate.My pulse started racing.
The screen lit up again.
The same number.
Calling.
My fingers felt cold.
For a long moment, I just stared at it ringing.
If I woke Victor right now
Would he look shocked?
Or would he already know who it was?
The ringing continued.
My breath grew shallow.
Without letting myself think further, I swiped to answer.
I didn't speak.
Neither did the caller.
For three seconds, there was only breathing on the other end.
Slow.
Controlled.
Then
"Why are you not picking up the call?"
The voice was male.
Low.
Angry but restrained.
Not shouting.
Worse.
Measured.
I couldn't tell how old he was. His voice didn't shake. It didn't hesitate.
"You think ignoring me will solve this?" he continued.
My grip tightened around the phone.
He thought he was speaking to Victor.
"If you didn't pick up this time," the man said coldly, "I was going to come in and tell her everything."
Tell her what?
My stomach twisted. Behind him, I could hear faint background noise.
Wind.
A distant car passing.
And then
"I'm standing outside Elena's house."
My entire body froze.
Not somewhere far away.
Outside.
Here.
Right now.
"Come out."
The line disconnected.
The call ended with a sharp beep.
The room fell into silence again.
Heavy.
Pressing against my ears.
Slowly… I lowered the phone.
My hands were shaking.
I turned my head.
Victor was still asleep.
Peaceful.
His face calm in the dim light.
How could he sleep through forty-seven calls?
Unless
He expected them.
A chill slid down my spine.
I stood up slowly, my bare feet touching the cold floor. Each step toward the window felt unreal.
Don't look, I told myself.
But I had to.
I pulled the curtain aside just slightly.
The street outside was dimly lit.
Empty and still...
Then
Movement.
Across the road.
A dark figure leaning against a car.
Not moving and pacing but just… waiting.
My breath stopped.The man lifted his head slightly.As if he felt me watching.
The streetlight flickered faintly above him.
He wasn't trying to hide.He wanted to be seen.
I stepped back from the window quickly, heart hammering in my chest.
Behind me, Victor shifted slightly in his sleep.
When I looked back outside the window.
The house was silent again.
The street outside had gone empty.
The mysterious car was no longer there.
Victor was still asleep behind me, breathing peacefully as if the world hadn't just shifted beneath my feet.
But I wasn't the same girl who died in the rain anymore.
I stood near the window, staring into the fading darkness of dawn.
In my first life, I was confused.
Trusting.
Blind.
I loved without questioning.
I believed without investigating.
And I paid for it with my life.
This time would be different.
This time, I would not wait for fate to strike.
If there were secrets I would uncover them.
If there were lies I would expose them.
If there were enemies I would find them before they found me.
No more fear.No more hesitation.
If Victor truly killed me once I would learn why.If he was forced I would find who forced him.
And if he chose it willingly…
My fingers slowly tightened into fists.
Then I would choose differently this time.
The sky outside was slowly turning pale.
A new morning.
A new beginning.
I turned back toward the bed, looking at the man who once ended my life.
"You won't decide my fate again," I whispered softly.
Because this time
I would decode everything.
I would become stronger.
I would fight for my life.
I would correct my past mistakes.
And when the truth finally surfaced
The guilty would not walk away.
Not in this life.