Jessica's eyes narrowed slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the way the conversation was heading. She shifted her weight, trying to keep her voice casual. "What exactly are you trying to suggest, Kiara? That Gabriel cheated on you with me or something? Gabriel's been obsessed with you since high school. You know that. And you and I… we've been best friends forever. We're practically soulmates."
I watched her through the mirror, her words slipping out with practiced ease, as if she'd rehearsed this defense.
I hummed softly, not looking away from her reflection. "I saw a news story recently," I said, keeping my tone light, as if I was just chatting about something trivial. "A girl… she walked in on her best friend sleeping with her husband. Caught them in bed together."
Jessica's face paled slightly, but she managed to keep up the act. "That's awful," she said quickly, her voice rising in fake outrage. "I swear to God, I would never do anything like that to you, Kiara. I'd never hurt you like that."
I turned from the mirror to face her directly, my eyes locking onto hers. "Jessica," I said softly, but firmly, "don't take the Lord's name in vain. You and I both know it's dangerous to swear on things you don't mean."
For a split second, her mask slipped. I could see the flicker of something—rage, deep and barely contained—flash behind her eyes. Then she recovered, forcing a tight smile, but the cracks were unmistakable.
The lies she'd woven so tightly were starting to unravel, and the tension between us was thick, almost tangible. I could tell she felt it too, but she didn't realize her innocent round face wasn't looking so innocent anymore.
I smiled, the same fake, sweet expression she had been giving me. "I need to go get a new shirt," I said softly, dabbing at the last of the sticky juice. "Thanks, Jessica, for helping me out. My soulmate."
Her smile wavered for just a moment before she regained her composure. "Don't do that again," she said, her voice light but with a clear warning beneath it. "Stop being a hero. It's not your job."
I laughed, the sound empty but convincing enough. "I won't," I promised.
With that, I turned and walked toward the door, my steps slow and deliberate, leaving her standing there. As I walked away, I could feel her eyes boring into my back, but I didn't turn around.
****
Jason stood on-site, surveying the construction progress as the workers moved about, shouting commands and adjusting equipment. The building was coming together faster than anticipated.
It wasn't his favorite part of his work, but it was necessary.
His thoughts, however, were elsewhere.
"Crypto," Jason said suddenly, breaking the rhythm of the conversation with his assistant, Vincent. He turned, squinting against the afternoon sun. "I'm thinking of going deeper into it. Investing."
Vincent frowned, crossing his arms as he glanced at the blueprint he had been holding. "Cryptocurrency? You sure about that? A lot of people are saying it's too volatile. Too risky. One wrong move, and we could lose millions."
Jason waved off his skepticism. "There's no doubt, Vincent. It's where things are heading. The market is changing, and if we don't get ahead of it now, we'll be left behind. We need to be smarter than the competition."
Vincent shook his head, clearly still skeptical. "I get the appeal, but the risk… I've got my doubts."
Jason smirked. "Good thing I don't. Doubt is for people who stay in the middle. I don't plan on staying there."
He adjusted his watch and turned to his assistant with a sharper focus. "Also, I'll be sending you a list of companies I want to start acquiring. We aren't the richest in the world yet, but I'd like to get there. Soon. Time to expand."
Vincent's eyebrows shot up slightly, but he nodded. "Understood. I'll keep an eye on the markets and get back to you."
Jason nodded, turning back to the site before dismissing Vincent with a wave. He had bigger plans forming in his mind, but those could wait.
For now, his attention drifted elsewhere. He checked his phone, his mind wandering, and decided to take a break. The day was warm, and the mall was just down the road.
He made his way to the shopping mall, blending into the crowd. It was packed, people rushing around, moving between stores with bags in their hands. Jason wasn't sure why he had come here, maybe to clear his mind or just observe. But then he saw them—Louie and his wife, casually walking out of a store, their laughter faint in the distance.
Jason froze for a second, watching them. Louie looked happy, his arm around his wife as they moved through the crowd. Jason's chest tightened at the sight, memories flooding back—memories of things he wished he could forget.
It all came back to Ryan.
Ryan and his goddamn temper.
They had been a group, a tight-knit circle in college—Jason, Ryan, Louie, Miles and Henry. Ryan, whose family owned one of the largest hospitals in the region, always had a mean streak, but when drugs were involved, he was a different person altogether.
A dangerous person.
Louie's father had been sick, terminally ill, and Louie had trusted Ryan's family with his father's care.
But then Louie had done something to piss Ryan off—something small, trivial even, but to Ryan, it was unforgivable.
Louie had only pointed out his drug addiction.
Jason couldn't remember exactly. All he knew was that Ryan had snapped.
Ryan had demanded that his father's treatment be delayed. "Let him sweat a bit," Ryan had said, his words slurred from whatever cocktail of drugs he had been on that night. "He needs to learn who's in charge. Let him wait."
Jason had stood there, watching Ryan laugh, thinking it was just another one of his ridiculous outbursts.
But then Ryan followed through. He had used his connections at the hospital to delay the treatment. A simple delay, only by a few hours, but it was enough. Louie's father died that night.
Jason clenched his fists, feeling the weight of the guilt that never truly left him.
He had covered it up. Ryan had begged him for help, and Jason, not knowing what else to do, had used his influence to sweep the incident under the rug. The hospital blamed it on complications. The court case never made it to trial.
They were just college students, but that didn't make it any easier to live with. Jason had thought it would fade over time, that the guilt would dull. But every time he saw Louie, it all came rushing back—the lies, the betrayal, the death of an innocent man because of a friend's drug-fueled rage.
Jason's heart pounded as he watched Louie now, feeling an odd sense of relief.
At least Louie was okay now. Leaving the group had been the best thing for him, he wasn't put down for being the lesser anymore, no longer stuck in their toxic circle.
Jason turned away, not wanting to dredge up more memories. He started walking, his thoughts drifting back to the companies he wanted to take over, the expansion he craved. The buzz of his phone in his pocket reminded him of the real world—of his goals. But as he walked, something caught his eye.
Paparazzi.
A group of them, lurking near the mall's entrance, their cameras ready.
Not today, he thought. He didn't have the patience for this. Jason quickly slipped into a nearby store, hoping to lose them.
The familiar rush of anxiety came with the sight of flashing cameras, and he hated it.
Being seen when he didn't want to be, having his life dissected for a headline, it was exhausting.
He moved deeper into the store, weaving between racks of expensive clothes, his mind racing.
And then… the rumbling began.
It was faint at first, barely noticeable. Jason paused, his brows furrowing as he glanced around. The ground beneath him trembled slightly. Then, the floor shook harder, rattling the mannequins, the display cases. His heart dropped into his stomach.
No.
He froze as the realization hit him. This mall—it was the same one. The same place where, in his past life, an earthquake had struck, leveling the entire building, leaving countless dead.
He had survived barely then.
And he was right in the middle of it again.
The rumbling grew more violent. People started shouting, running for the exits as the ceiling lights swayed dangerously. Jason's body moved before his mind could catch up. He turned, heading for the back of the store, searching for some way out.
In seconds, this place would be rubble.
And then, through the chaos, he heard it, a voice, clear and sharp through the deafening noise.
"Jason."
He stopped dead in his tracks, spinning around.
Standing across the store, framed by the falling debris, was Kiara. Her eyes locked onto his, wide with fear.
"Fuck," he muttered under his breath, his heart pounding even harder.
She was the last person he expected to see here.