Zane stood by the window of their bedroom, the city lights casting long shadows across the floor. He'd been home for hours, yet his heart hadn't found rest since Amara told him about Darian's visit some days ago.
Amara sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her silk robe. The room was thick with silence. Heavy. Dense with unspoken truths.
Zane turned to her, arms crossed. His voice was low but firm. "I can't keep pretending, Amara."
She looked up at him.
He stepped forward. "I've let it go. I've given you space. But tonight I need answers."
Amara's eyes flickered, her throat tightening.
Zane's voice cracked slightly. "You're still hiding something. I feel it every time you look at me and pull back."
"Zane—"
"No. Not this time." He dropped to his knees in front of her, his hands on her thighs. "I love you. God, you know I love you. But this? This gap between us—it's eating me alive."
She blinked fast, the pressure behind her eyes burning. She had wanted to protect him. That was the plan. But it was unraveling. Her past was clawing through the seams of her silence.
"Swear to me, Amara," Zane said, eyes locked to hers. "Swear to me on our marriage that there's nothing else you're hiding."
Her lips parted.
But no words came.
Zane pulled back slightly, eyes narrowing. "So there is something."
Amara exhaled. Her voice came out hoarse. "You're not going to believe me."
"Try me."
She closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, they shimmered—not with tears, but with the weight of what she was about to confess.
"I died," she whispered. "Four years from now."
Zane blinked. "What?"
"In another timeline. Another life. I died. And three days after my death, I woke up—back here. Back to this moment. Four years earlier."
He stared at her. Silent.
"I was pregnant when I died," she continued. "Your child. Our baby. Darian… and Selene… they ripped it from my belly. I bled out. Alone.
Zane let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "What the hell are you saying, Amara?"
"I'm saying that this is my second chance." Her voice cracked. "That everything I've done since I woke up—cutting Darian off, watching Selene, setting traps—has been to stop them from doing it again. From hurting you. From taking our child."
Zane stood abruptly, pacing. His hand ran through his hair as he shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. You're telling me you… came back from the dead?"
"Yes."
"That they killed you, and the baby?"
"Yes."
He turned to her. "Amara, come on. You're scaring me."
"I'm telling you the truth."
"Then prove it!" he yelled. "Tell me something—anything—that proves what you're saying is real and not some delusion you built to justify keeping secrets from me."
Amara stood now too. "The night your father died," she said quietly, "he had a letter drafted for you. One he never gave you. It's in the old ledger book hidden behind the wine cellar shelf. You showed me—in the other life."
Zane's jaw tensed.
"Your mother had a miscarriage before you were born. She never told you. But she kept the baby blanket. Sewn in blue. It's in a chest in her attic—bottom drawer, beneath her wedding album."
His eyes widened.
She stepped closer. "You told me your biggest fear was not dying—but dying without being remembered by someone who really knew you."
Zane's lips parted.
"I remember, Zane. All of it. Because I lived it. And I died in it."
For a moment, the only sound was their shared breathing.
Zane's shoulders slowly slumped.
He looked at her again, this time not with disbelief—but with a thousand questions flooding behind his eyes. His voice was quieter now. "How do you expect me to take this?"
"I don't," she whispered. "I just need you to know."
His eyes scanned her face like he was searching for the version of her he once knew—only to realize he'd never truly understood what lay beneath her calm.
"You've been carrying all of this… alone?"
She nodded, blinking fast. "I didn't want to scare you. I thought if I could fix it all, I wouldn't have to tell you. But now I'm losing grip. They're moving faster than I thought."
Zane stepped forward, took her face in his hands. "And what about us? In that other life…
Tears slipped down her cheeks. " I..i left, I left you for Darian and I was 2 weeks pregnant then, h..he promised to take care of me and our baby. I believed him, all the lies and promises.
"I'm sorry"
Zane's voice broke. "God…"
"I won't lose you again."
He pulled her into his arms and held her—tight, like if he let go, time might steal her again.
"I don't know how to believe in time travel or second lives, Amara," he whispered. "But I believe you."
She gripped his shirt. "Then fight with me. Please."
He kissed the top of her head. "We fight together. From now on, no more secrets."
She nodded against his chest.
But even in the warmth of that embrace, Zane's mind was spiraling.
Because now the stakes weren't just real
They were written in fate.