Chapter 1 After being in a coma for three years due to a car crash, I woke up to find everyone treating me like an endangered species. They were terrified something would happen to me again, meticulously planning my schedule to ensure I was never alone. My little brother, Liam, was in charge of keeping me company during morning physical therapy to help me regain my strength. My best friend, Chloe, took the afternoon shift, passing the time with me by shopping or going to the movies. In the evening, my parents would pick me up and cook a massive feast to nourish me. And when it was time for bed, my boyfriend, Ethan, would come take me home. Snuggled in his arms before falling asleep, I giggled. “You guys don’t have to be so careful. I’m an adult. I won’t let anything happen to me again.” Ethan frowned, shaking his head seriously. “Maya, you mean the world to all of us. We can’t survive going through that kind of pain again.” My heart swelled. I felt completely enveloped in absolute bliss. That was, until I found a group chat on my best friend’s phone. A group chat that didn’t include me. The group name: [Operation: Protect Ethan’s Love] The newest message was from Chloe. “Maya and I are at the movie theater. You can take Harper home now, don’t worry.” Scrolling up, there was a message from my brother. “I took my sister to the park by the neighborhood. Ethan, you better not take Harper out for breakfast around here today.” Further up, from my parents. “Maya finished eating. Drop Harper off and then come pick Maya up.” I tapped on the profile picture for the contact named Harper. I froze in place, my blood running cold. The person who put me in a coma for three years… was now with Ethan. And the people I thought loved and protected me the most were all covering for them. …… The sounds around me were bustling and loud. Yet I felt like I had been sealed inside a soundproof box. It wasn’t until Chloe bumped my shoulder that I snapped out of it. “What’s wrong, Maya?” The movie had already started. The green light from the screen reflected on my face, hiding how deathly pale I was. I shook my head and handed her phone and purse back to her. “I’m going to the restroom.” A hand grabbed my wrist. Chloe looked slightly nervous. “Do you want me to go with you?” The bliss I used to feel was entirely replaced by a bitter ache. I forced a smile. “I’m just going to the restroom. Are you really that worried?” A flash of guilt crossed her eyes. She let out an awkward laugh and released my wrist. “Then hurry back.” I nodded, walked out of the theater, and immediately went downstairs to hail a cab. As I was getting out of the taxi, Ethan called. I didn’t answer. I opened my call log and scrolled through it. There was a missed call from Ethan almost every half hour. I used to tease him about being too tense. He would hug me tight, lingering fear in his voice. “Maya, I have to know you’re safe to have peace of mind.” The doctors said Ethan was sick. If something happened to me again, he might not mentally survive it. So I never missed a single one of his dozen daily calls. I honestly reported my location every time. Turns out, I was just making it incredibly convenient for him and Harper to be together without getting caught. The call went to voicemail, then instantly started ringing again. I answered it. Ethan sounded frantic. “Where are you, Maya?! Chloe said you went to the restroom and never came back. She can’t find you anywhere.” I blinked back the stinging tears in my eyes. “It was stuffy inside. I stepped out for some fresh air.” After a moment, Ethan’s voice came through, thick with relief and a hint of a sob. “Oh, Maya. Please don’t scare me like that again.” “Where are you? I’ll have Chloe go pick you up.” I stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the drawn curtains of a sixth-floor apartment. Through the earpiece, right as Ethan’s last syllable faded, I heard a muffled grunt and a faint, unmistakable gasp of pleasure. It struck my ear like a crack of thunder. The moment I hung up, I doubled over and started dry-heaving. I threw up until my stomach cramped. Just as I managed to stand up straight, I saw two silhouettes walking out of the apartment building’s stairwell. Harper. The girl who hit me with her car three years ago. Ethan had his arm wrapped intimately around her waist, gently pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Maya’s going to be back soon. I’ll come see you tomorrow. I’m sorry for putting you through this, Harper.” She hugged him back. “It’s okay. Back then, I fell in love with you and got so jealous I made a stupid mistake and hit her with my car.” “You didn’t blame me, and her parents even signed a letter of forgiveness because I was so young.” “This is what I owe her. I don’t dare ask for anything more.” Every word stabbed into my heart like a dagger. My eyes widened. In an instant, every ounce of strength was drained from my body. So what happened three years ago wasn’t an accident. I lay in a hospital bed for three years, and the culprit received everyone’s forgiveness. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. Ethan reached out, tenderly wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “Let me take you back to…” Before he could finish, Chloe came sprinting toward them. “Ethan! Maya’s gone! I can’t find her anywhere!” Ethan’s expression drastically changed. Panic, terror, and residual trauma flooded his face. He shoved Harper aside, grabbed Chloe’s arm, and demanded viciously, “I gave you one job! Watch her! How could you screw that up?!” He looked like a demon. I lowered my eyes, turning and walking away before they could look in my direction. Chapter 2 I gave the taxi driver an address and dug up a number I hadn’t called in a very long time from my contacts. “Three years ago, you invited me to move to the East Coast and join your research team. Is that offer still on the table?” Getting a positive answer, I closed my eyes tightly. “No problem. But I need you to help me fake my own death.” The second I hung up, calls from Ethan and the others started flooding in. I ignored all of them. Messages rapidly popped up on my screen one after another. [Maya, where did you go?! Ethan is going crazy trying to find you!] My brother’s message popped up right under Chloe’s. It was a video. I tapped it, my fingers curling slightly. In the video, Ethan had a massive, fresh scrape down his arm. He was limping heavily as he walked. His clothes were covered in dirt and grime. He looked completely pathetic. [Maya, Ethan got hit by a car while looking for you. Mom and Dad almost fainted.] [Where are you?! Stop scaring us!] I took a deep breath. My fingers tightened their grip on the phone, then slowly relaxed. I tapped the screen and finally sent a location back. Then I turned off my phone and began climbing the stone steps, one by one. Two months ago, right after I woke up from my coma, Chloe showed me a video. In it, Ethan was climbing these exact same stone steps. Taking one step, then dropping to his knees. Over and over. He was an atheist. He never believed in gods or spirits. But during the three years I was in a coma… He prayed devoutly, using this method, begging for me to wake up. After I woke up, Ethan, who hadn’t left my side for a single second, disappeared for a full day and night. When he returned, he looked exhausted. I asked him where he went. His eyes were incredibly bright. “I went to fulfill my vow. To thank the heavens for giving my Maya back to me.” My eyelashes fluttered. Looking at the holes worn into the knees of his pants and his bruised, swollen forehead, tears instantly poured from my eyes. I threw my arms around him, my voice soft but incredibly resolute. “Ethan, let’s get married.” I was so completely engulfed in happiness back then. So much so that I completely ignored Ethan’s momentary, rigid stiffening when he heard the word “married.” It took me an hour to climb the hundreds of steps. The leg that had required surgery after the crash began to ache. I leaned on my knees, catching my breath. I arrived at the temple room where Ethan had lit an eternal candle. The moment I pushed the door open, my fingernails dug fiercely into my palms. Underneath the eternal candle that was supposed to be dedicated to the child Ethan and I lost… Was Harper’s name. Ethan’s familiar handwriting stabbed my eyes until they burned. Every breath of air felt like inhaling needles. The pain made me tremble uncontrollably. The car crash three years ago didn’t just put me in a coma for three years. It also killed the baby that had just begun to grow inside me. And now, the murderer had replaced my baby, receiving the blessings of the eternal candle. I raised a trembling hand, ready to smash the candle to the floor, when hurried footsteps echoed behind me. “Maya!” I stopped and looked back with bloodshot eyes. Ethan charged forward, throwing himself between me and the candle. “You can’t smash this.” I stared at him, my eyes stinging. “Why?” “The candle that used to be here belonged to your baby!” My own hoarse voice shocked even me. A flash of heartache crossed Ethan’s face. He opened his mouth, but seemed completely at a loss for words. Another voice spoke from behind me. “Don’t blame Ethan. It was my idea. Mine and your father’s.”
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