Chapter 2

SHEBA'S POV

The next day, I had a meeting, a very boring one.

Normally, I could tolerate boring meetings. I sat through enough of them over the years to develop the patience required to survive anything from endless presentations to people arguing over numbers that had already been decided.

But this morning, I was in a particularly terrible mood and I blamed the book.I was still thinking about it. To be more specific, I was still thinking about Ezra.

My driver was taking me to the office while I sat in the back seat, staring through the window without actually seeing anything outside.

My mind was somewhere else entirely.

Ezra.

I couldn't believe how much I missed him.

It was very strange.

Completely ridiculous, actually.

He was fictional.

A character in a novel, yet, somehow, I genuinely feel like I lost someone.

"My baby," I muttered under my breath.

I immediately frowned.

What is wrong with me?

My baby?

I never even called a real man that.

Yet somehow, calling Ezra that felt perfectly natural.

I sighed and leaned my head against the seat.

It was probably because I got too attached to the story.

I spent so much time reading about him that my mind had started treating him like someone I knew. Maybe this was how many readers felt after finishing a really good book.

Soon enough, I would stop thinking about him, I would get back to work and life would return to normal.

Still, a small part of me couldn't stop thinking about what I had said the night before.

If I had the chance, I would protect him.

The thought made me smile bitterly.

What could I possibly do?

I was real.

Ezra was fictional.

There was no way for our worlds to ever meet, I couldn't save him.

And that was probably what bothered me the most, I built an entire life from nothing, I faced challenges that would have broken most people. I had become one of the most powerful women in my industry.

But there was one person I couldn't save.

A man who didn't even exist.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice the change in traffic.

I didn't notice the vehicle approaching

I didn't notice my driver's reaction

I didn't even have enough time to understand what was happening when—

BANG!

The car was hit.

My body was thrown sideways, and my head struck something with enough force to make my vision blur. Pain exploded through me.

For a moment, I couldn't understand what had happened.

My ears rang so loudly that the rest of the world became distant.

Then the pain came, It spread through my body, sharp and overwhelming.

I tried to move.

I couldn't.

My chest tightened.

I couldn't breathe properly.

Panic rushed through me.

No.

No, no, no.

Not like this.

I tried to take a breath, but it came out weak.

My heart was pounding.

My hands trembled.

I could feel myself slipping.

Dying.

The realization was terrifying.

I didn't want to die.

I worked too hard for my life......I built everything myself. I had plans.

Things I still wanted to do.

Places I wanted to see.

Books I wanted to read.

I wanted to wake up tomorrow.

I wanted to go to my boring meeting and complain about it afterward.

I wanted to go home.

I wanted—

Ezra.

For some reason, his face appeared in my mind.

That calm expression.

Those sharp eyes.

That stupidly handsome face.

My eyes burned.

It was absurd that he was the last person I thought about.

But perhaps that was because I was still angry about his death.

"I didn't even get to save you," I whispered.

My breathing became weaker.

I tried to hold on.

I genuinely tried.

But my body wasn't listening to me anymore.

Everything around me grew darker.

The sounds faded.

The pain disappeared little by little.

And then, with one final breath...

I was gone.

---

At first, I felt nothing.

It was as though I were floating somewhere without actually knowing where I was.

There was no sound,no light no sense of direction.

Then everything went completely dark.

I don't know how long I remained that way.

Seconds.

Minutes.

Maybe hours.

I had no idea.

Then suddenly......

I opened my eyes.

My head hurts so much . I squeezed my eyes shut again and groaned.

What happened?

Am I Alive..?

I slowly opened my eyes.

"Did I survive?"

My voice sounded weak.

I swallowed and tried to move and my body responded.That alone shocked me, I was alive.

Somehow, I survived, relief washed over me. Then I noticed the room.

I froze.

This wasn't a hospital.

I looked around slowly.

In fact...

This wasn't any room I recognized.

The room was enormous.

The ceiling was high, the walls beautifully decorated, and the furniture looked nothing like anything I owned. There were elegant purple curtains hanging over enormous windows.

A large bed sat behind me, covered in soft fabric that looked far too expensive to touch.

I stared at it.

Where the hell am I?

I pushed the covers away.

My feet touched the floor.

Cold.

I shivered.

Slowly, I stood.

My legs felt strange, but they held me, I took a few cautious steps.

Everything around me was beautiful.

Too beautiful.

The room looked like something from a historical drama.

Or...

A princess's bedroom.

I walked toward one of the windows, staring at the decorations around me.

Who brought me here?

I should be in a hospital.

Not here.

I turned around, still trying to make sense of everything. I walked past a large mirror and I stopped.

Something made me turn around.

I stared at the reflection.

My eyebrows furrowed.

That wasn't me, I took a step closer and the woman in the mirror did the same and stared back at me.

she was beautiful , her golden hair shines so bright and her emerald eyes held so much light she seemed young too.

Completely unfamiliar.

I blinked.

My mouth fell open.

"Who the hell is this woman…”