Chapter 1
Maya's POV
When consciousness struggled up from the darkness, the first sensation was heat.
Not the lazy warmth of summer, but suffocating, burning heat with a sharp, acrid smell. I forced my eyes open, and orange flames stabbed at my vision.
Fire. Fire everywhere.
Derek's white Porsche interior was burning, the leather seats billowing black smoke. I tried to move, but my limbs felt weak. Damn it! The drugs hadn't worn off yet—my head was foggy, stuffed with cotton.
Wait... what the hell was happening? I remembered Derek saying he wanted to show me the stars, remembered the peach juice he handed me, its sickly-sweet taste still on my tongue. Then my eyelids grew heavy, consciousness blurred...
This wasn't right!
"Derek?" I managed to croak out. "Help me..."
Voices came from outside the car.
"Once the insurance money comes through, our gambling debts are cleared." Derek's voice! But cold, nothing like my gentle boyfriend's usual tone.
"It looks completely accidental. Perfect." A female voice—definitely his cousin Jess Williams. "Those FBI guys will never figure out it was intentional."
My blood turned to ice.
Insurance money? Accident? What were they talking about? I desperately tried to understand what these words meant, but flames had already spread to my clothes. The searing pain cleared my head slightly, and the horrifying truth crashed over me like a tidal wave.
Derek had drugged me, set the car on fire, staged an accident—all for my student life insurance payout!
My God! I'd been betrayed by the person I trusted most!
"No..." I tried to struggle, to escape, but my body wouldn't obey. The drugs had completely taken control of my muscles. I could only watch helplessly as flames consumed everything inch by inch.
Heat waves hit my face. My skin began to blister, my hair giving off that nauseating burned smell. The pain exceeded anything I could bear. I wanted to scream, but couldn't even make a sound.
Before consciousness faded, I thought of Connor.
My brother, my only family—and I'd decided to leave him forever because of Derek's manipulation. If I died, what would happen to him all alone?
I'm sorry, Connor...
Darkness slowly swallowed everything.
"Maya! Wake up!"
I snapped my eyes open, heart pounding like it would explode. The room was bright with sunlight—no flames, no smoke, just my roommate Sarah Chen's concerned voice.
"Bad dream? You kept screaming for help and calling Connor's name." Sarah sat on the edge of my bed, brow furrowed, holding her half-finished psychology assignment.
I stared at the familiar ceiling, mind reeling. This was our dorm—Oklahoma State University, girls' dorm 412. Pink floral bedsheets, beige walls, Sarah's beloved teddy bear lamp. Sunlight streamed through blinds, casting golden stripes across the floor.
Wait! This was all... too real!
I grabbed my phone. The screen read: October 15, 2023, Sunday, 7:32 AM.
My hands started shaking.
Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I remembered my death date—October 22nd, the night Derek took me for that drive. Today was the 15th—exactly seven days before!
"Impossible..." I whispered. "I died. How could I..."
FUCK, I actually came back?
"What died? Maya, what are you talking about?" Sarah leaned closer worriedly, pressing her hand to my forehead. "No fever. Should we go to the campus clinic? You look scary pale."
I tried to calm down, carefully recalling every detail before death. Derek's fake smile, that drugged juice, gradually blurring consciousness, then flames, pain, despair. These memories were vivid as if they'd just happened—every sensation real enough to make me want to vomit.
But I really had come back. Actually returned to before it all began!
"I'm fine." I forced a smile. "Too many all-nighters. Had a super realistic nightmare."
Sarah looked at me skeptically, then finally returned to her desk to continue her assignment. I picked up my phone, scrolling through chat records. Derek's messages were still there, sickeningly sweet.
"Babe, want to take you somewhere special this weekend. Beautiful scenery I want to share with you."
"It's super quiet there, just the two of us. We can talk about our future."
"Trust me, I'd never hurt you. I love you so much, Maya."
Reading these words made my stomach churn. Now I knew—that "special place" was a remote country road, and "I love you" was a cruel fucking lie!
If I really had been reborn, returned to a week before my death, I still had a chance to stop all this.
That afternoon on the main campus walkway, autumn sunlight filtered through sycamore leaves, casting dappled shadows. Students passed by with backpacks, chatting. Football players loudly discussed weekend games. Everything looked so normal.
But my attention was completely captured by a figure near the security booth.
Connor stood there, his tall frame conspicuous in the crowd. Six-foot-two, broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist. Even in his worn black leather jacket, you could see his perfect build. Dark brown hair slightly messy, strong jawline, three-day stubble giving him a wild edge. Those deep gray eyes were currently flashing with anger.
"Listen here, punk, this is my final warning—stop stalking Maya or we're calling the cops!" Campus security officer Tom Johnson pointed at Connor, voice harsh. "Thugs like you shouldn't even be on campus."
Connor's hands clenched into fists, veins bulging. I could see him fighting his violent instincts—reflexes learned from foster homes and street life.
"She needs protection. You people don't understand!" Connor growled. "That Derek guy is bad news. He's gonna hurt Maya!"
"Protection?" Johnson sneered. "You think stalking and harassing her is protection? Maya made it clear she doesn't want to see you. Give it up!"
I stood in the distance, heart clenched tight. In my past life, Derek had brainwashed me into thinking Connor's concern was pathological control, that his "stalking" was his inability to accept I had a boyfriend. I'd even had campus security ban him from approaching me—just like now.
So STUPID! Every time Connor appeared, it was because he sensed danger! He might not have known Derek's specific plan, but his instincts told him I wasn't safe.
Suddenly, fuzzy memories flooded my mind. Not my own memories, but strange images from a third-person perspective. I saw myself after being burned to death, Connor frantically searching for the truth. I saw the despair and rage in his eyes when he discovered Derek's crimes, saw his final choice to die together with Derek.
Those images were so clear, like I'd really witnessed everything as a ghost. I saw Connor holding my charred body, sobbing. I saw him disappear with Derek in flames from his homemade bomb.
"I'll stay with you, Maya." Those were Connor's last words. "This time I'll be the one protecting you."
No, I couldn't let that happen again.
"CONNOR!" I shouted, running across the street toward them.
Johnson was about to continue his lecture, Connor backing away, shoulders tensed and ready to explode. But hearing my voice, he froze completely.
"Maya?" He turned, those gray eyes flashing with surprise, wariness, and disbelieving hope.
I didn't stop—ran straight up and hugged him tight.
Connor's body instantly stiffened, heartbeat racing. He was so much taller than me, I could only wrap my arms around his waist. His leather jacket carried faint scents of motor oil and tobacco—the most comforting smell in my memory.
"I missed you so much." I whispered against his chest, voice trembling. "Connor, I really missed you."