Chapter 3 Shadows of the past

The world tilted.

Laura's breath hitched, her chest tightening painfully.

No.

No, this couldn't be happening.

She barely registered the way her body collapsed onto the cold hospital floor before darkness swallowed her whole.

When she opened her eyes again, Dr. Carter was sitting by her side. The moment their gazes met, tears welled in her eyes. And once they started falling, she couldn't stop.

She wept-deep, gut-wrenching sobs that shook her frail body.

Why was fate so cruel?

Why did life keep taking everything from her?

She had lost her identity. She had lost her past. And now... she had lost the only future she had been holding onto.

Dr. Carter didn't say much. He simply let her grieve, murmuring soft reassurances that felt meaningless.

"Don't question fate, Laura," he whispered. "It will all make sense one day."

Fate.

She had heard that word too many times. But this time, fate didn't feel like a guiding force.

It felt like a cruel, merciless hand that had torn her world apart.

The days that followed were hollow. She remained in the hospital, going through the motions-therapy sessions, check-ups. People told her she needed to talk about her pain, to let it out.

But what was there to say?

How could she explain the depth of a loss that had taken everything from her?

When her physical wounds healed, she returned to work.

But some wounds didn't heal so easily.

Some wounds left a person as nothing more than a walking shadow.

Days blurred into weeks, yet the ache remained, settling deep in her bones like an old wound that refused to heal. Work became her lifeline-the only thing keeping her from drowning in emptiness.

She barely ate. Barely slept. The therapist at the hospital had warned her about throwing herself into work as a coping mechanism, but what other choice did she have? Work was the only thing she had left.

She was at her desk, fingers flying over the keyboard, when the telecom rang.

"The CEO wants to see you," the voice on the other end informed her.

Straightening her blouse, she hurried to his office.

When she stepped inside, Mr. Carter's friend-the man who had given her this job-was seated at his desk, skimming through a document. He looked up as she entered.

"Laura," he acknowledged with a nod. "There's an important meeting today. A last-minute arrangement. Some high-profile businessmen are coming, and I need you to prepare the conference room."

"Yes, sir," she responded automatically, already making a mental checklist of what needed to be done.

"Make sure everything is perfect," he added, his tone carrying an unusual weight.

Laura found it strange. He wasn't normally this tense. But she didn't question it. Instead, she got to work, making sure the meeting room was immaculate-arranging files, setting up the projector, ensuring refreshments were placed properly.

She barely had a moment to catch her breath before the doors to the conference room swung open.

And then, he walked in.

The air in the room seemed to shift with his presence. He was tall, impossibly broad-shouldered, and carried an aura so commanding that the room itself seemed to shrink around him. His tailored suit was pristine, his movements calculated-but it was his eyes that stopped her cold.

Piercing blue. Sharp as ice.

The moment he stepped inside, his gaze locked onto her.

A flicker of emotion crossed his face-too fast to catch. But for that brief moment, she saw it all.

Shock.

Anger.

Something unreadable.

Then, just as quickly, it was gone. His expression smoothed over, replaced by a mask of cool indifference.

He moved to take his seat at the head of the table, nodding briefly to the CEO before the meeting began.

But Laura felt it.

His gaze.

No matter how hard she tried to focus on the discussion, she was hyper-aware of it-the weight of his stare, the way his eyes drifted toward her every few minutes. Like he was studying her. Assessing her.

She swallowed hard, keeping her hands clasped in her lap.

She didn't know this man.

She was sure of it.

But the way he was looking at her... like he did...

She forced herself to push the thought aside. It didn't make sense. She was overthinking it.

The meeting wrapped up faster than she expected. She was gathering the documents, preparing to leave, when the CEO's voice stopped her.

"Laura, could you stay back for a moment?"

She looked up, surprised. The other businessmen were already filtering out of the room. The CEO stood next to the man-the one who hadn't stopped staring at her all through the meeting.

And then, the CEO said something that made her stomach tighten.