CHAPTER 2 — Come Alone Or Never Learn the Truth
1619 Words
Her lungs burned as air rushed painfully into them.
Her heart pounded so violently that she instinctively pressed a trembling hand against her chest, struggling desperately to convince herself she was awake.
The nightmare was over.
Or so she desperately hoped.
For several long moments, Ava could do nothing except breathe.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Her racing heart refused to slow.
Moonlight filtered softly through the sheer curtains, casting pale silver patterns across the familiar walls of her bedroom. The gentle hum of the ceiling fan, the framed photographs resting on her dresser, and the soft ticking of the bedside clock gradually anchored her trembling mind back to reality.
She wasn't in the abandoned punishment grounds.
She wasn't trapped inside a rusted cage.
She was home, safe.
Yet her body refused to believe it.
Her nightdress clung uncomfortably to her skin, damp with sweat despite the cool breeze drifting through the half-open window. A loose strand of hair clung to her cheek as she reached for the glass of water resting on the bedside table.
Her fingers trembled so badly that the glass rattled softly against the wooden surface.
She took a slow, careful sip.
The cold water soothed the dryness in her throat.
Not the fear.
Rain tapped gently against the windowpane.
The familiar sound made her freeze.
It was the very same rhythm.
The same haunting rhythm she had heard inside the dream.
She swallowed hard.
"It was only a nightmare," she whispered quietly.
The words sounded strangely hollow.
She tried again.
"It wasn't real."
Again.
"Kael would never do that."
Only after repeating those words several times did the panic finally loosen its grip around her heart.
Her gaze drifted toward the digital clock resting beside her bed.
1:00 a.m.
A weary sigh slipped from her lips.
"There goes my sleep."
She leaned back against the headboard and drew her knees tightly to her chest.
The dream lingered with unsettling clarity.
She could still hear Kael's voice.
She could still feel the icy sting of rain against her face.
She could still see those impossible crimson eyes watching her through the darkness.
Most dreams faded almost the moment she woke.
This one stubbornly refused to leave.
It felt… real. Too real.
Almost like a memory she had never lived.
Or a warning she wasn't meant to ignore.
A chill crept slowly across her skin.
"No," she murmured, shaking her head.
"I'm letting my imagination run wild."
Trying to distract herself, she reached for her phone.
Her thumb hovered over her best friend Mia's name.
Maybe I should call her...
A faint smile softened her face before she gently lowered the phone again.
Mia would probably panic if someone called at one in the morning simply to talk about a nightmare.
Her thumb slid farther down her contact list.
Mom.
Warmth immediately softened her expression.
Whenever life became overwhelming, her mother's voice always had a way of untangling every knot in her heart.
She could almost hear her saying the same comforting words she had spoken countless times throughout Ava's childhood.
"No storm lasts forever, sweetheart."
Ava's thumb lingered over the call button.
Then she sighed softly.
"She's asleep."
"I'll tell her tomorrow."
She locked the screen and carefully placed the phone back onto the bedside table.
Silence gradually settled over the room once more.
Outside, another distant roll of thunder echoed softly through the night.
She closed her eyes.
Why Kael?
Why would my mind choose him?
Their mating ceremony was only three weeks away.
If anything, she should have been dreaming about wedding flowers, moonlit vows, and the honeymoon Kael had spent months teasing her about.
Instead...
She had dreamed of losing him.
A quiet laugh escaped her lips.
"Nerves."
"That's all this is."
She reached for the romance novel resting on the bedside table.
The familiar story quickly drew her back into its comforting pages.
Two stubborn lovers exchanging playful banter beneath a warm summer sky.
A mistaken confession. A jealous misunderstanding.
Nothing like the nightmare she had just escaped.
Within minutes, she caught herself smiling.
Eventually, the story gave way to thoughts of Kael.
Not the man from the dream.
Her own Kael.
She pictured him laughing beneath the glowing lanterns during last year's Spring Moon Festival.
She remembered the gentle way he had tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before telling her she looked beautiful, even with flour dusting her nose after helping her bake.
She remembered the warmth shining in his eyes whenever he looked at her.
The quiet patience resting within his smile.
The calm certainty that seemed to surround him no matter how chaotic the world became.
Heat slowly crept into her cheeks.
She buried half her face behind the book.
"Oh, Ava..."
She laughed softly at herself.
"You're completely hopeless.”
Her thoughts wandered even further.
She imagined herself walking toward him beneath the sacred full moon.
Their families gathered around them.
The Elders offering their blessings upon their union.
Kael gently taking her hands in his.
Their first kiss as husband and wife.
A home overflowing with laughter.
Children chasing one another through gardens bathed in golden sunlight.
A future so vivid and beautiful that it felt almost within reach.
The nightmare gradually loosened its grip.
Her eyelids slowly grew heavy.
She closed the novel, switched off the bedside lamp, and settled comfortably beneath the blanket.
The rain outside softened into a gentle lullaby.
Within minutes… Ava drifted peacefully back to sleep.
Golden sunlight streamed gracefully through the curtains the following morning, washing away the shadows that had haunted the night.
Her alarm chimed softly at exactly seven o'clock.
Ava stretched lazily before slipping out of bed.
The nightmare already felt distant now.
Still unsettling but distant.
After washing her face and dressing in a cream blouse, fitted blue jeans, and white sneakers, she stood before the mirror and smiled warmly at her reflection.
"There you are."
"That's the Ava I know."
Before leaving her bedroom, she paused for the small ritual her mother had taught her when she was little.
Three slow walks across the room.
"Breathe," her mother used to say.
"Wake your body before you ask it to carry your dreams."
Ava smiled.
Some habits were simply too precious to outgrow.
One wall of her room was covered with handwritten affirmation cards.
Bright colors.
Different handwriting.
Years of encouragement layered lovingly together.
The oldest card had been written by her mother long before Ava was old enough to understand its meaning.
Your worth comes from who God says you are, never from what the world says you are.
Ava gently touched the edge of the card before reading the affirmations aloud, just as she faithfully did every morning.
"I am strong."
"I am loved."
"I am worthy."
"I am blessed."
"I am enough."
With each declaration, the lingering fear left behind by the nightmare faded a little more.
Across the room, her gaze eventually settled on a framed photograph resting quietly on the bookshelf.
Kael.
The picture had been taken during the Spring Moon Festival.
Thousands of floating lanterns glowed behind them while Kael looked at her as though no one else in the world existed.
She picked up the frame and gently brushed away the thin layer of dust.
"I love you," she whispered.
Her smile returned.
Whatever that nightmare had been...
It wasn't reality.
Because the man in this photograph… would never become the man she had seen standing within the storm.
She hugged the frame briefly before placing it carefully back on the shelf.
Completely unaware...
That fate had already begun quietly moving the pieces that would test everything she believed.
Ava picked up her handbag from the dining table and slipped her phone inside.
The inviting aroma of freshly brewed coffee still lingered throughout the kitchen, mingling with the sweet fragrance of the white lilies arranged neatly on the windowsill.
She glanced at the clock.
7:38
If she left now, she would still have enough time to stop by her favorite café before meeting Kael later that afternoon.
The thought alone made her smile.
He had promised to finish work early.
"No excuses this time," he had told her over dinner two nights earlier. "The board can survive one evening without me."
She had laughed and teased him that Sterling Group might collapse if its CEO took even a single afternoon off.
His answer had been simple.
"Then let it collapse."
"I'd rather spend the day with you."
The memory warmed her heart.
She reached for the front door.
Beep.
Her phone vibrated.
Ava smiled instinctively.
"Mom's morning prayer."
Every morning without fail, her mother sent a short Bible verse, followed by a simple reminder to eat well, stay safe, and remember that God walked before her.
It had quietly become their unspoken ritual.
Still smiling, Ava unlocked the screen.
Her smile disappeared.
It wasn't her mother. It wasn't Kael.
It wasn't anyone she recognized.
The sender displayed only two words.
Unknown Number
A single message waited beneath it.
«Ava Sterling.
If you want to learn the truth about your parents...
Come to Sterling Group Pavilion within one hour.
Come alone.
Tell no one.
Delete this message after reading.»
The warmth within her vanished instantly.
Her brows knitted together.
"What...?"
She read the message again.
Then a third time.
Someone knew her full name.
That alone wasn't unusual.
But someone also knew the one truth she'd spent her entire life searching for.
Her fingers trembled around the phone.
"Who are you...?"
Ava whispered, her heart pounding. "How do you know the truth about my parents... and what price will I have to pay to know it?”
- Writer
