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Morana’s POV

I felt air slam into my lungs in a way it does when one drowned and came back to life. I gasped sharply as my body jerked upright.

My chest heaved my fingers clawing at the sheets beneath me as if I were still drowning in that cold darkness. That taste of nothingness that felt like death and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe properly.

I was alive???

My hand flew to my arm and there was no needle or tube or blood and I was not at the hospital. My heart started pounding harder like it was trying to make up for the one that had stopped.

“No…” The word came out hoarse.

This wasn’t right because I remembered everything that had happened and it didn’t feel like a dream. The court and the clerk and the blood and his words saying they should take more. Everything u felt happened!

My stomach twisted violently and I felt the need to throw up. So much was going on inside of me that I don’t have words for.

I threw the covers off and stumbled out of bed, nearly collapsing before catching myself on the edge of the dresser. My legs felt weak but not dying kind of weak. The room spun slightly as I looked around.

This was my room! My gaze snapped to the calendar on the wall and I froze completely. The date stared back at me like a slap because it says one month earlier. One month to our anniversary.

My fingers tightened against the bed frame as I watched again. Either that whole anniversary was a dream or this is a dream. It cannot all be real. It’s not possible.

“No way.”

My chest rose and fell slower this time, my mind catching up piece by piece. I wasn’t dreaming. This wasn’t some afterlife illusion because I remembered and felt too much.

I know i had died! But somehow I was back a month before everything happened.

I heard footsteps approaching the door and I blinked watching as the handle turned. My husband (is he?) Xavier Lancaster walked inside looking everything inch handsome in his perfectly tailored suit. His dark hair was brushed to the side, his soft brown eyes shining with the rays of sun from the window.

He looked like he hadn’t stood in a hospital room and signed off on my death. I could totally see why I was foolish enough to allow him to do everything he’d done. Xavier looks too perfect and polished and innocent to do anything.

“Babe, you’re up already.” he said softly, a small smile forming as his eyes landed on me.

My stomach dropped at the smile because I used to love it. Now it made my skin crawl and the need to throw up increased. He crossed the room easily as though he belonged there and I belong to him.

“You didn’t come back to bed last night.” he murmured softly while reaching for my hand.

I forced myself not to pull away yet. I still didn’t understand everything that is going on and I feel the need to play the part before I unravel what is going on. Everything feels like a movie in front of me.

“I just woke up.” I said quietly then cleared my throat. My voice sounded so normal for someone who had just died.

His fingers wrapped around mine as he pulled me in for a hug like he does whenever he wanted something. I knew instantly he was going to request something. Mostly, blood.

“Good” he murmured. “I actually needed to talk to you.”

Of course you do. The thought came sharper than I expected but I kept my face neutral.

“What about?”

He guided me gently to sit, his touch careful and almost affectionate. See? There was a reason I fell for his easy charms because he knows the exact buttons to press and have me putty in his arms. I have been for the past five years but one faithful day snapped me back to reality.

“I have another donation scheduled. Today, actually.” He said, still having that devastating smile on his face.

He said it so casually like he wasn’t asking for pieces of my life. My throat felt tight realizing it has always been like that and I have always been too eager to do his bidding.

“Uh another one?”

He nodded, watching me closely as if not expecting me to question it. Because I have NEVER once questioned when he requested it. Before, I would have told him I’d not bother showering, just change my outfit and go to the hospital to see Dr. Jenner.

“It’s for the foundation” he said smoothly. “You know how critical your blood type is. The program has expanded with more children and more cases.”

“It’s becoming more frequent.” I said slowly and for a split second something flickered in his eyes. It was calculating then he smiled and it was gone.

“It has to be babe.” He said, squeezing my hand gently. “You’re saving lives, Morana.”

Saving lives? The irony almost made me laugh. He lifted my hand slightly, brushing his thumb over my knuckles then slightly to the curve of my diamond wedding ring. My blood boiled at the sight of the ring. It’s so ugly and I used to adore it.

“Those children depend on this. You wouldn’t want them to suffer, would you?” He added softly.

He always wraps the guilt around kindness and I feel something inside me ache but not from love this time. It was sheer clarity as I remembered the doctor begging him to stop and him choosing otherwise.

I studied his face carefully now and really looked at the controlled expression and the way his concern never quite reached his eyes. Forr the first time in five years, I saw the real him.

“Of course, babe.” I said softly adorning my smile.

His smile deepened looking satisfied. “I knew you’d understand.”

Fool! The word echoed quietly in my mind. How did I never question this? I came from a pharmaceutical empire! I had a PhD! I understood blood, research and medical ethics better than most people in the country. I have several awards that came from that field and yet for him, I never asked or researched.

I just believed blindly because I loved him. I thought I was his wife.

“Get dressed and come down for breakfast. Cook made your favorite this morning.” Xavier said standing. “Then I’ll have the car ready in an hour.”

I nodded then watched him. The way he lied so effortlessly need an Oscar award. At the door, he paused and turned back to look at me with those soft eyes that used to make my knees tremble.

“I’m proud of you, Morana.”

The words were gentle but completely empty. The shallow minded lover girl in me never once thought to look this deep. Oh, what death does to the human mind.

The door closed behind him and I stayed there. I didn’t move for a long time. Slowly my expression changed from that fake softness I forced on myself. My confusion cleared because even if I thought my death was a dream, Xavier cleared that out fast with his request.

His footsteps faded down the hallway then I heard a child’s laugh followed by the low sound of a woman shushing him gently.

Iris and his mother, Aiden.

I’d felt sorry for her then. I thought she was a mother, difficult past that needed her brother’s stability. Xavier had framed it so cleanly that I believed them completely.

She was never a sister.

I felt something cold settle inside of me as Morana Mortaine emerged. If this was a second chance then I wasn’t going to waste it loving him again. I pushed myself to my feet and walked toward my desk.

My laptop sat exactly where I left it untouched. I haven’t been using it much since I got married when I used to be tied to it all the time. He’s never checked.

He didn’t think a girl from the slums of Brooklyn could ever be the one running a multi-billion dollar empire that he always wanted to sign with.

“You needed my blood so badly.” I murmured while opening my laptop.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard then quickly began to move.

“Let’s find out why!”

I was going to ask questions and find the answers right away.