IN MY NEXT LIFE, NOT MR. ALPHA

The hospital monitor beeped slowly, each sound stretching like it was being forced through thick water. The fluorescent lights above her flickered, throwing weak shadows all around. The smell of antiseptic, so harsh that she forgot what it felt like to breathe. The taste of metals in her mouth, the weight of an oxygen mask, the sheets beneath her were stiff and cold, almost unfamiliar against her skin. Her vision blurring, returning, then slipping of away again as thought it never existed. Her head felt too heavy for her body, filled with the chaotic rhythm of beeps echoing in her skull… Amara is not angry, neither is she sad. She's tired and broken. Tired in a way that settled in her bones, tired in a way that even blinking feels like labour Amara is lying cold replaying the ruins of her life. The mistakes she made. The trust she shouldn't have given and the love she should never have believed in. The red flags she ignored. The instincts she silenced and all the voices she gave a deaf ear too, because she believed Adrian would never hurt her. It was all regret with a heavy heart. For a few minutes, the flashbacks came in Waves, sharp, violent and cruel each one, and cruel slicing into her with the precision of a knife. A voice cut through the fog. Cold and familiar. “ I can't be involved in this scandal, Amara” Her chest tightened painfully. The pain wasn't just physical but also emotional. It crawled up to her throat, hot and humiliating, swallowing what little strength she had left. She remembered how she stared at him that day, hoping he would take her hand, defend her and choose her. Another memory rose without warning, she remembers the very first argument. A small and harmless thing. Adrian raised his voice at her, called her “ too emotional” and walked out. He came back with flowers the next day and she forgave him instantly. Now she realized that moment wasn't apology, it was training. Another memory drifted in, softer but crueler. He used to look at her like she was something he wanted, someone he chose. But the last time she saw Adrian in the office hallway, he walked past her without pausing. No warmth, no recognition, not even a glance…..just a tight-straight face, irritated jaw like she was a curse and a burden to him and, he couldn't wait to dispose her off. Her breath stuttered, as tears dropped from the corner of her eyes. The beeping grew slower. Another flash ripped through her…. The smell of rain, her soaked dress clinging to her skin, her hands shaking as waited outside his building. He stepped out after hours of keeping her in the cold, laughing on the phone with a friend, he her but still kept walking like he couldn't recognize her presence. He kept walking, “ you're becoming a problem for me Amara” Her heart and mind had broken long before her body did. Reality hit her again, cold and merciless. Amara's body was bruised. Her soul was exhausted. Her spirit was tortured. All at extreme levels, Amara had tasted bitterness and pain. Her mind found another memory, she remembered the day he used her secrets against her. When she cried on his shoulder, telling him about her father, her fears and insecurities… Months later, he threw it back at her “No wonder no one stays with you” her heart had cracked then… Quietly, but she didn't leave. She stayed She had given him everything…. Her love, her heart, her body, her mind, her soul, her loyalty, even her dreams all of it. Amara had given her all while he had taken all of it and left her to die with the consequences… unapologetically. Her breathing grew shallow. Her heart felt distant. Her skin was pale. Her eyes were slowly dimming. Her lungs struggled to breathe. Even her lips trembled. If She had any regrets at all, it was the hope she wasted on him. The version of him that was created in her mind... that gentle, kind, loving, protective man. The man she wanted him To be, but never existed. Amara’s fingers twitching, like she never got a fist. The cold creeping up her spine against the sheets. The heaviness on her chest, Amara's eyelash felt wet and sticky from tears. Her voice was long lost, cracked barely a whisper… “Not again… not in my next life…. Not Mr. Alpha”. She said, barely audible. The monitor gave a final beeped…. Long, flat and final. The light flickered. Flickered again once more and dimmed. The mask lost its weight on her face, the world softened, faded and dissolved. Then everything went blank And still.