I always thought my life was boring.
Wake up.
Go to school.
Go home.
Eat dinner.
Sleep.
Repeat.
I never believed anything extraordinary would ever happen to someone like me.
But everything changed the night the storm came.
Rain slammed against my windows like someone was knocking—desperate, urgent. The lights flickered twice before shutting off. My whole room fell into darkness except for the faint silver glow of the moon.
I grabbed my phone to turn on the flashlight.
That was when I heard it.
A sharp inhale.
A low groan.
A man's voice—inside my room.
I froze.
The sound came from the corner near my wardrobe. My heart pounded so loudly I thought it might give me away.
"Who's there?" I whispered, even though I already knew no one was supposed to answer.
But someone did.
"Amara…"
My blood turned to ice.
Slowly, a shadow separated itself from the darkness. A man stumbled forward, one hand pressed against his side. The moonlight revealed blood dripping through his fingers.
He was injured.
He was inside my room.
And he knew my name.
I backed away until I hit the wall. "S-Stay back!"
He didn't move closer. He just looked at me with eyes full of… relief.
Relief?
"Finally," he breathed. "I made it in time."
I didn't understand anything. "Who are you?! How did you get in here?!"
He took a shaky breath, like every word hurt. "Amara… it's me."
"No!" I yelled. "Don't say my name like you know me!"
He flinched. For a moment, I saw something break inside him.
"My name is Adrian," he said softly. "Adrian Hale."
The name didn't ring any bell, but the way he said it—like I should know him—sent a strange chill down my neck.
"I don't know you," I said firmly. "You're a stranger."
He shook his head. "Not to me."
The storm outside grew louder, but the silence between us felt heavier. Adrian took one step closer, and I could finally see his face clearly.
Sharp jaw.
Messy dark hair.
Eyes that looked tired and desperate.
Like he hadn't slept in days.
Like he had cried before coming here.
And strangely… like he was familiar even though I knew I had never seen him.
"Amara," he whispered, "I'm not your stranger. Not in my time."
I blinked. "In your… what?"
He swallowed hard. "I came from the future."
For a second, I thought he hit his head too hard.
But he looked too serious. Too broken. Too real.
"You're lying," I said, voice shaking. "This is insane."
"If I had a choice, I wouldn't drag you into this," he murmured. "But I had no choice. Because in the future… you die."
My breath caught.
"You die because someone kills you," he continued, voice cracking. "And I couldn't save you. No matter how hard I tried."
His words should have sounded ridiculous. Impossible.
But the pain in his eyes… that wasn't fake.
"Why would someone kill me?" I whispered.
His jaw clenched. "Because of me."
The room spun.
I grabbed my desk for support. "What do you mean because of you?"
He looked away. "Back in my time, we're married. You become Amara Hale. My wife. My everything."
His voice softened painfully.
"And someone used you to hurt me."
Something warm and sharp twisted in my chest. Married? To him? The idea felt impossible. Yet… something in me trembled at his words.
He took a careful step forward. "You don't believe me now. I understand. But I'm here to change your fate. I'm here to keep you alive."
A sudden gust of wind slammed my window open. The curtains flew wildly.
Adrian's expression darkened instantly.
"They're close," he whispered.
"Who's close?"
"The one who killed you."
He stared straight at the open window.
"They came back too."
My heart stopped.
I didn't know this man.
I didn't know this future.
I didn't know this danger.
But as the storm raged outside and the shadows thickened in my room, one thing became painfully clear:
My life was no longer boring.
It had just become a nightmare.
A nightmare—and a beginning.