Chapter 1
Louisa Hart was woken by the sound of rough, heavy breathing.
Her eyes snapped open. Her back hit a cold wall.
In the dim space, a man was pulling off his jacket with his back to her—the rustle of fabric amplified tenfold in the dark.
"I just finished three shifts. I'm really tired. Can we skip it tonight?" His voice came through, heavy with exhaustion.
Before Louisa could react, he turned and walked toward her.
In the gloom, she could only make out a blurry shape drawing closer. It was a silhouette both foreign and familiar. His scent hit her before her mind caught up.
Her hand moved faster than her brain. A slap landed across his face.
The man paused, his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek.
A sliver of light slipped through the gap in the curtains, falling across his face.
His features were sharp and well-defined—a straight nose, a clean jawline, thin lips pressed into a tight line.
Louisa's eyes went wide.
Dominic Rodger? No, that couldn't be right. This man was far too young, lacking the imposing presence befitting a scion of a financial empire.
His brow was furrowed, his gaze heavy on her, annoyance flickering behind his eyes, but his voice stayed carefully controlled.
"Louisa. What are you acting up about now?"
Dominic was exhausted. He just wanted to sleep. The slap had jolted him awake, but he had no idea what he'd done wrong. He'd given her everything. He wanted to be angry, but he also knew he'd have to patch things up. If he said one wrong word, she'd stop talking to him for days.
Her head was ringing.
The yellowed ceiling of the partitioned room. The muffled TV from next door. The sound of water rushing through the pipes. It all felt too real, so real that she couldn't tell if she was still dreaming or already awake.
She had been reborn. Back to the year before they broke up. Before the truth came out.
Louisa's legs gave way. She dropped to her knees in front of Dominic.
Dominic froze. Confusion flickered across his face. "You..." He opened his mouth, but no words came. Then he knelt down too.
"Can we not go too wild tonight?" His voice was low, a mix of exhaustion and plea. "I really can't handle it. I'm too tired."
They knelt face-to-face, knees brushing, less than half a meter apart.
Louisa was so embarrassed she wanted the ground to swallow her. She scrambled to her feet.
Dominic pushed himself up too, moving slowly, like a body drained of all its strength.
His gaze landed on her fluttering lashes. He was quiet for a moment. A moment ago, she'd been a hissing cat, lashing out.
Now she was shrinking back, scrambling to her feet faster than anyone.
What was going on with her today? When did she ever care about his exhaustion?
Louisa felt her resolve crumbling under his stare. She knew herself too well. The more guilty she felt, the easier it was to slip up. Every word could be a trap.
But staying silent would be just as suspicious, too out of character. So she fell back on her old spoiled self, lashing out without a trace of gentleness.
"What are you staring at? You reek of sweat. You're suffocating me!"
She pinched her nose and took two steps back, pointing at the tiny bathroom that barely had room to turn around. "Go take a shower. Now."
Dominic had worked as a security guard during the day, hauled bricks at a construction site after dinner, then spent hours delivering food on his bike. Of course he smelled.
Without a word, he grabbed his change of clothes and went into the bathroom. He didn't ask any more questions.
When the water started running, Louisa slowly sank onto the edge of the bed, pressing a hand to her chest. Her heart was slamming against her ribs.
Memories of her past life reassembled in her mind like shards of glass.
She'd taken credit for a debt of gratitude that wasn't hers, and spent every cent Dominic had worked himself to the bone for. The day the truth came out, his eyes had cut through her like blades.
She'd been cast back to her small town, but she couldn't let go. She'd gone back to Newville again and again, clinging to him. Until one of his wealthy suitors had her taken onto a boat and thrown into the sea.
The feeling of cold seawater flooding her lungs was still so vivid it made her fingers tremble.
She couldn't go through that again.
This time, she had only one goal—take enough money and disappear before Dominic discovered the truth.
Dominic didn't take long. He came out in just a tank top, not looking at her. He pulled back the covers and lay down. The moment his head hit the pillow, his breathing evened out.
He was too tired.
Louisa hesitated, then lay down stiffly beside him, curling into a small ball. The warmth radiating from him seeped into her skin, and only then did she realize she'd been shaking the whole time.
Behind her, the sheets rustled. The next second, Dominic pulled her into his arms.
He wrapped his hands around her cold fingers, tucked her feet between his own. The move was so automatic it felt like muscle memory.
He patted her back, his voice heavy with sleep. "Go to sleep."
Louisa lay still in the dark. She didn't move for a long time.
She'd forgotten what this warmth felt like. In the final days of her past life, all she'd seen was cold indifference in his eyes.
But now, this man—after three shifts, barely keeping his eyes open—still reached for her out of instinct. Still pulled her close.
Her eyes stung. But she held it back.
No weakness. Weakness meant death.
She counted the time. She had about half a year before the Rodger family came for him.
Dominic had always been good to her. He remembered everything about her. One summer, when the power went out and they were both drenched in sweat, he'd stayed up fanning her to keep her cool, even when he was barely awake herself.
She still had time to make things right. To ease her conscience. To get what she needed and vanish.
Six months. That was all she had.
