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Disclaimer: This chapter contains emotional distress, themes of reincarnation, and looming death. Reader discretion is advised.
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Mia stood alone in the middle of a vast white space. There was no ground beneath her, no sky above—just endless light, humming with a silence too heavy to ignore. Then came the sound.
It was not a voice, not exactly. More like an echo in her bones.
"One month. That is all you have left."
She turned, heart thundering. "Who's there? What do you mean?!"
The voice replied again, this time clearer, like a whisper carried by the wind.
"Your soul is on borrowed time. The wish that anchored you here has been fulfilled. Say your goodbyes, child. This is your gift. And your limit."
Mia clutched her chest. Pain bloomed like fire in her ribs. She fell to her knees as light engulfed her.
"One month… That's all I have?"
She remembered her final breath as Nia. How cold the hospital had felt. How helpless she'd been when Zavian's plan unfolded, when her own sister stood just meters away, unable to save her.
"I just wanted to see her again… to help her once."
And she had. She had been reborn, not as Nia, but as Mia. Reunited with Liv. Together again.
Tears streaked down her cheeks.
"Is that enough?"
But before she could question it further, the world vanished.
---
"Mia! Mia, stay with me!"
Her eyes opened with a gasp, lungs dragging in air as if she had forgotten how to breathe. Her vision swam until she saw Liv's worried face leaning over her, and realized she was in a car. She was in Liv's lap.
"Mia?" Liv's voice broke. "You fainted. You had a fever—we're almost at the hospital. Just hold on."
But Mia's tiny hands grasped Liv's shirt, clinging with desperate strength.
"I'm going to leave you again…" she whispered.
Liv froze. "What? Mia, what are you talking about?"
Before she could answer, Mia's head dropped again, and she fainted into darkness.
---
The hospital room was quiet except for the soft beeping of monitors. Night had fallen.
Mia stirred beneath the blanket. Her head ached, and her body felt hollow. But her first thought wasn't the pain. It was Liv.
She turned slightly—and there she was. Liv had fallen asleep, still seated beside the bed, her head resting on the edge of the mattress, hand clutching Mia's small fingers tightly.
"Liv…" Mia whispered.
Her voice stirred Liv awake. Her eyes flew open, and when they met Mia's, they instantly filled with relief.
"You're awake," Liv breathed, touching her forehead. "Thank God. You scared me."
"I'm sorry," Mia said, her voice breaking. "I didn't want to scare you."
Liv sat up fully, brushing Mia's hair gently. "What did you mean earlier, in the car? Why did you say you're leaving me again?"
Mia hesitated. For a second, she thought to lie. To keep it all from her. But she couldn't. Not to Liv.
"I had a dream," she began, staring up at the ceiling. "But it wasn't a dream. It was something more."
Liv's face tensed.
"They told me… that I only have one month left to live in this body," Mia whispered. "The one month is my reward. Because I wished to see you one last time, to help you. Now that it's almost over… I have to go back."
Liv stared at her, lips parted, eyes filling with horror.
"No…" she whispered.
"I don't want to go either," Mia said, crying now. "But I don't have a choice."
Liv pulled her into her arms, hugging her so tightly Mia could barely breathe.
"We just got each other back," Liv choked. "Why does this world keep taking you from me?"
Mia said nothing. There was no answer.
They cried together until the dawn.
---
The next day, court proceedings resumed. It wasn't just about justice anymore—it was now Mia's final mission.
Liv wore a calm expression as she walked through the courthouse doors, Mia's small hand in hers. But inside, she was boiling with sorrow and rage.
She didn't care if the judge saw her tears today. Let them all see.
Kavian and Zavian were already inside, seated with their lawyers. They looked confident—until Liv pulled out the USB drive.
"I have new evidence to submit," she told the judge.
Zavian's smirk faltered.
And then, piece by piece, Liv began unraveling their scheme in front of everyone. She showed emails, recordings, falsified reports—all of which pointed directly to Kavian's desperate ambition and Zavian's twisted loyalty.
Liv described the manipulation, the lies, the plot that ended her sister's life.
Mia sat silently, legs swinging, her eyes burning holes into Kavian's face.
Liv was no longer seeking survival.
She was seeking retribution. For Nia. For Mia. For every lie and betrayal that tried to drown her.
---
Later that evening, Liv sat alone in the apartment balcony. The city lights glowed below like a pool of stars, but her mind wandered back to the hospital. Mia was asleep again, her fever rising and falling in waves.
The doctor said it could be exhaustion. Stress. But Liv knew better.
That night, Mia woke up crying again, and Liv rushed to her side.
"Nightmare?" she asked.
Mia nodded.
Liv pulled her into a warm embrace. "It's okay. I've got you."
Sometimes, Liv would find herself just watching Mia breathe, afraid that each breath could be her last. She brushed her fingers gently through Mia's hair and whispered, "You're safe with me. Always."
---
Meanwhile, the trial was gaining attention. Public interest was rising. Media whispers started circling—who was the woman exposing a high-profile business fraud involving her own family?
Reporters waited outside court buildings.
But Liv didn't care. This wasn't about reputation. It was about truth.
One night, while going over the files, Liv heard a quiet voice.
"You're doing too much," Mia said sleepily from the couch.
Liv smiled. "Not enough. Not until justice is served."
"You're doing everything alone."
"You're helping too."
Mia looked up. "I'll help more. Let's do this together until the very end."
And Liv nodded, heart aching and full.
Together—until the very end.
To Be Continued in Chapter 13…