Chapter 3

I sat in the basement, staring at that stupid moonstone. The blue glow reminded me of something soft I'd never seen in Lucas's eyes—something he saved just for Maya.

I had to figure out what this thing was.

Next afternoon, I brought some tea up to Lucas's grandmother.

Nora was in her rocking chair knitting, sunlight coming through the curtains. She looked tired as hell.

"Made you some rose tea, Grandma," I said.

"Thanks, sweetie." She took the cup, and I could see how worn out she was. "Three years, and you're the only one who gives a damn about this old lady."

That hurt. Even Nora could see how cold Lucas was to me.

"Grandma..." I tried to sound normal. "Yesterday I saw this glowing stone in the basement. What's that about?"

The teacup slipped right out of her hands and smashed on the floor.

"You went down there?" Nora went white as a sheet. "Did you touch it?!"

She was way more freaked out than I expected. I got down to clean up the mess. "No, just looked. Nora, what is that thing?"

Nora grabbed my hand hard. "It's a moonstone! Don't you dare touch it! It sends people back in time, but there's a catch..."

"What catch?" My heart started pounding.

"You'll look completely different," she was shaking. "And you might never get back. They say only real love can make it work, but nobody knows when it'll send you."

Moonstone... time travel...

This crazy idea hit me. If I could go back, if I could save Maya, then Lucas could finally be happy.

"What are you thinking?" Nora was staring at me. "You've got that look in your eyes."

"Nothing, Grandma," I tried to sound normal. "Just wondering."

But I'd already decided.

That night, I sat at my desk writing out my plan. Every word felt like I was cutting myself.

If I'm gone, Lucas is free.

If Maya lives, Lucas gets real love.

This is the last thing I can do for him.

Right when I finished, the door flew open. Lucas was standing there looking pissed as hell.

"What are you writing?"

He walked over and grabbed the paper. When he read it, he just froze.

"You're fucking crazy!" He ripped it up. "That moonstone will kill you!"

I stood up and looked him in the eye for the first time ever. "At least if I die, you can be with Maya! Isn't that what you want?"

"Shut up!" Lucas yelled. "You're not touching that stone!"

"Why?" I was crying now. "Because I'm Kane family property and you don't want me broken?"

Lucas's face got darker. "That's right. You're property."

Those words felt like getting stabbed. "Property... so I'm not even human to you."

"Since you get it, stay put!" Lucas headed for the door. "Starting tomorrow, you don't leave this room!"

The door slammed and I heard the lock click.

He locked me up. Like a thing.

All night I thought about Maya, about Lucas, about three years of this shit. If I could do it over, if I remembered my past, would I still marry someone who didn't love me?

Hell no.

But now I was gonna do one last thing for him.

At sunrise, I heard Lucas leave. Something with the family—this was my shot.

I picked the lock with a bobby pin and snuck down to the basement. The moonstone was just sitting there, glowing blue in the morning light.

I reached out and touched it. Instantly, this crazy energy shot through me like lightning.

Then I heard footsteps upstairs.

Lucas was back!

"Sophia!" His voice from upstairs, and he sounded... scared? "Where are you?!"

He was looking for me, getting closer.

No time to think. I grabbed the moonstone tight, closed my eyes and whispered: "Maya, I'm gonna save you. Let Lucas be happy."

"Sophia! Drop the moonstone!" Lucas ran into the basement and went white when he saw me.

I looked at him one last time. This guy who hadn't really looked at me in three years suddenly looked... afraid?

"Sorry, Lucas," my voice was shaking. "But this is the only way."

"No!"

Lucas ran at me, but too late. The moonstone exploded with blue light and everything started spinning. I felt like I was getting ripped apart as everything went black.

The last thing I heard was Lucas screaming: "Sophia—!"

Then nothing.

I got sucked into some time warp, falling back to god knows when. Maybe I'd die, maybe I'd never get back, but at least... at least Lucas could have what he wanted.