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Two years had passed since Liam’s death, and Tessa Hale had mastered the art of silence. She never visited his grave again. She never spoke his name. Whenever her parents tried to bring him up at the dinner table, she would excuse herself, retreating to the solitude of her room.
Sadness was too heavy to carry, so she let it harden into something colder—hatred. Hatred for the universe that had stolen him away. Hatred for the memories that refused to fade. Most of all, hatred for herself, for not being able to move past it.
Instead of drowning in the past, Tessa threw herself into her studies. At 20, she was already a second-year quantum physics student, determined to carve out a name for herself in a world that rarely made sense. If she couldn’t fix her family, she’d focus on fixing the laws of the universe itself. She often told herself that if she could just unravel the mysteries of time and space, she might one day change the world. Maybe then the universe would stop taking things from people like her.
Her days were rigidly structured: lectures, labs, late nights in the library, and coffee-fueled study sessions. Her classmates admired her determination but often whispered about how distant she seemed, as if there were walls no one could climb.
On a cold Friday evening, the city buzzed with life as Tessa left the physics building. Her bag was slung over one shoulder, heavy with textbooks and research papers. The streetlights flickered to life, casting an eerie glow over the pavement. Tessa walked briskly, her thoughts occupied with equations and theories, barely noticing the world around her.
She crossed the street just as a car sped around the corner.
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Liam moved through the shadows, his steps silent, his presence unseen. For two years, this had been his life—following Tessa from a distance, ensuring she got home safely. It was the only way he could still be part of her world, even if she could never know.
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Tessa walked briskly, her bag heavy on her shoulder, her head slightly bowed as if the weight of the world pressed down on her. Liam’s chest ached at the sight of her. She was so much like him—stubborn, determined, and brilliant. She didn’t deserve the grief that had been forced upon her when he died.
The thought was a dagger that twisted in his chest every time he watched her from the shadows. He longed to step into the light, to tell her he was here, to let her know she wasn’t alone. But that wasn’t an option. Not after what he had become.
Ahead, the streetlights flickered as she crossed the street. Liam’s eyes scanned the surroundings as he always did, his instincts sharp, his senses attuned to danger.
That’s when he saw it—the car.
It came hurtling around the corner, its engine roaring, its headlights a blinding glare against the darkness.
Time seemed to slow as Liam’s heart slammed against his ribs. He could see it all happening before it did: the car striking Tessa, her body hitting the pavement, the sound of her screams.
He had seconds to decide.
The urge to act was instinctual, primal. He was her brother. He couldn’t just stand there and let this happen. He had spent two years in silence, in sacrifice, ensuring she was safe. But stepping in now would destroy everything.
If he saved her, she would see him. She would know. And she would hate him for the lie, for letting her mourn him while he hid in the shadows. She would hate him for what he had become, for the monster that wore her brother’s face.
But if he did nothing—
The thought was unbearable. Letting her die? Letting her life slip away while he stood by, a coward in the shadows? He would lose her forever, and this time, it would be permanent.
His fists clenched, his body trembling with indecision. He had always told himself he could watch over her without interfering, that this was the price he had to pay for his secrets. But now, that fragile balance was shattering in an instant, and the weight of it crushed him.
The car was only feet away now, its tires screaming against the pavement. Tessa turned her head, her eyes widening as she realized the danger too late.
Liam’s muscles coiled, every fiber of his being urging him to move.
Save her. Expose the truth.
Or let her die and keep his secret.
His mind screamed in protest as his heart made its final, devastating choice.
And then—
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