Dominic's POV
I drove toward Winter's Wishes with Nora silent beside me and death threats burning in my pocket.
My hands gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. Every traffic light felt like torture. Every minute that passed was another minute someone could hurt her.
"You should have stayed away from me," I said quietly. "This is my fault. All of it."
"How is someone stalking me YOUR fault?" Nora's voice was sharp with stress.
"Because—" I stopped. How did I explain this? "Because bad things happen to people I care about. It's like a pattern. A curse."
"The curse the card mentioned." She was staring at me. "Tell me about it."
I'd never told anyone the full story. Not even Owen knew all the details. But Nora deserved the truth, especially if she was in danger because of me.
"My family has a history," I started. "Every Kane man for five generations has lost the woman he loves before his thirty-fifth birthday. My great-great-grandfather's wife died in childbirth. My great-grandfather's wife drowned. My grandfather's wife had a heart attack at thirty-two."
I paused, the next part always harder to say.
"My father met my mother when he was thirty-two. They got married six months later. She got pregnant with me. And then—" My voice cracked. "She died giving birth to me when my father was thirty-four. He killed himself two years later. Couldn't live without her."
"Dominic," Nora whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"My uncle Marcus lost his wife Rebecca the same way. Car accident when he was thirty-four. She was coming to meet him for dinner. Drunk driver hit her car." I swallowed hard. "He's never been the same. He warns me constantly—don't fall in love. Don't get close to anyone. The curse will take them."
"And you believed him."
"I saw the proof. Every Kane man, same age, same tragedy. How could I not believe it?" I glanced at her. "I'm thirty-four, Nora. Same age they all were when they lost everything."
"So you push people away." Understanding dawned in her eyes. "That's why you're so cold. So mean. You're trying to protect them."
"I'm trying to protect YOU." The words burst out before I could stop them. "Do you know how hard it's been? Working with you every day, watching you smile at other people, wanting to touch you so badly it hurts—and knowing that if I do, if I let myself care about you, you'll die?"
Silence filled the car.
Then Nora said something that shocked me: "What if the curse isn't real?"
"What?"
"What if it's just terrible coincidences? What if your uncle is wrong?" She turned to face me fully. "The card said I'm supposed to break the curse. Maybe that means it CAN be broken."
"Or maybe it means you're the next victim." The thought made my stomach turn. "Maybe whoever is doing this knows about the curse and is using it to hurt you. To hurt me through you."
"Or maybe someone is trying to HELP us." Nora held up the mysterious card. "This person knew about the photo before it happened. Knew about your gift box before you showed me. They're either psychic or they're manipulating time somehow."
"That's impossible."
"So is a family curse that kills women before their men turn thirty-five."
She had a point.
My phone buzzed. Another text from the unknown number.
"You're five minutes away. Good. Here's what you need to know before you arrive: Mrs. Winters isn't human. She's what your ancestors called a Time Keeper. She's been watching your family for five generations, waiting for the right moment to intervene. Tonight is that moment. Tonight, Nora breaks the curse by making a choice. The wrong choice kills her. The right choice saves everyone. No pressure."
I showed Nora the text.
Her face went pale. "What choice?"
Another text: "Oh, and Dominic? The person who's been stalking Nora, threatening her, hacking her email? They're in the shop right now. Waiting for you both. Someone you know. Someone you trust. Someone who WANTS the curse to continue. See you in four minutes."
My blood ran cold.
Someone I trust?
Owen? No, impossible. He's been my best friend for twenty years.
Uncle Marcus? He wouldn't—would he?
"Dominic." Nora grabbed my arm. "Maybe we shouldn't go. Maybe this is a trap."
"It's definitely a trap." I pulled up in front of a narrow shop I'd never noticed before, wedged between two buildings on Bleecker Street. The sign said "Winter's Wishes" in faded gold letters. "But we're out of options. Jasmine is in danger. You're in danger. And someone in there has answers."
The shop looked ancient. The windows glowed with warm light, but I couldn't see inside clearly. Something about it felt wrong. Felt otherworldly.
"Together?" Nora asked, her hand finding mine.
Her touch sent electricity through me. I looked down at our joined hands and made a decision.
Screw the curse. Screw fear. Screw everyone who said I couldn't have this.
"Together," I agreed.
We got out of the car and walked toward the shop door.
It opened before we could knock.
An old woman stood there—ancient, with silver hair and eyes that looked like they could see through time itself. She smiled, and it was both kind and terrifying.
"Dominic Kane. Nora Chen. Right on time." Her voice was soft but powerful. "Please, come in. We've been waiting for you."
"We?" Nora whispered.
Mrs. Winters stepped aside, and we saw who else was in the shop.
Uncle Marcus stood by the counter, his face guilty and afraid.
And next to him, smiling like a predator, was Vivienne Cross.
"Surprise," Vivienne said sweetly. "Did you really think I was just a jealous coworker? Oh, Dominic. I'm so much more than that."
Uncle Marcus wouldn't meet my eyes. "I'm sorry, Dominic. But the curse has to continue. It's the only way to keep our family safe."
"Safe from what?" I demanded.
Mrs. Winters closed the door behind us with a soft click. The lock turned by itself.
"From the truth," she said. "The truth about what really killed all those Kane women. The truth about who's been behind it all. The truth about—" She paused dramatically. "—why Nora isn't just some random girl you fell in love with. She's the key to everything. Always has been."
Nora's hand tightened in mine. "What does that mean?"
Vivienne laughed. "It means your parents didn't die in an accident, sweetie. They were MURDERED. By the same person who killed Dominic's mother. And his grandmother. And every Kane woman before them."
The room spun.
"Who?" I could barely get the word out.
Uncle Marcus finally looked at me, tears streaming down his face.
"Me," he whispered. "I killed them all. Including your mother. And tonight, if Nora makes the wrong choice, I'm going to kill her too."
The shop exploded with golden light.
Mrs. Winters raised her hands, and suddenly we weren't in the shop anymore.
We were standing in a white void, timeless and infinite.
"Welcome," Mrs. Winters said, her voice echoing, "to the moment where everything changes. Nora Chen, you have a choice to make. Break the curse and condemn Dominic to die within the hour. Or let the curse continue and die yourself, saving him for another woman to love someday. Choose wisely. Choose quickly. You have exactly sixty seconds."
A clock appeared in the air above us, already counting down.
59... 58... 57...
Nora looked at me, her eyes wide with terror.
"What do I do?" she whispered.
And I realized with horror that I didn't know.
Both choices ended with one of us dead.
Both choices destroyed everything.
"There has to be another option," I said desperately. "There has to be—"
"There isn't," Mrs. Winters said gently. "Sometimes love means sacrifice. Sometimes fate demands blood. Sometimes—"
"Sometimes," Nora interrupted, her voice suddenly strong, "fate can go to hell."
She turned to me, grabbed my face with both hands, and kissed me.
The countdown stopped.
The void shattered like glass.
And everything went dark.
When I opened my eyes, we were back in the shop.
But everything had changed.
Uncle Marcus was on the floor, screaming and clutching his head.
Vivienne was gone—just vanished.
And Mrs. Winters was smiling.
"Well," she said. "That's one way to break a curse. Congratulations, you two. You just rewrote five generations of family history."
Uncle Marcus looked up at me, his face twisted in agony.
"What have you DONE?" he screamed. "The curse was protecting us! Now they'll come! The REAL monsters! The ones I've been keeping away by feeding them Kane women every generation! They'll come for ALL of us now!"
The shop's windows exploded inward.
Something dark and terrible slithered through the broken glass.
Something that had been waiting a very, very long time.
Mrs. Winters sighed. "Well. This just got complicated."