I drove fast but controlled, knuckles white on the wheel. The weather was completely clear now. No snow. No wind. The sun was breaking through the clouds, like the world was mocking me. Every clear patch of sky felt like a countdown.

I pushed harder.

A red light flashed ahead. I barely registered it until a pedestrian stepped onto the crosswalk.

I slammed the brakes.

The car skidded on leftover ice, tires screaming as I fought the wheel. It slid, then stopped inches short of the crossing.

My heart hammered in my chest.

"Fuck," I breathed. "That was close."

I exhaled slowly, forced my grip to loosen, then eased forward when the light changed.

No more mistakes.

Kim was there.

And I wasn't going to be late.

I drove like a menace.

I cut between lanes the second I saw a gap, barely signaling, tires hissing against wet asphalt as I passed slower cars like they were standing still. Horns blared behind me, headlights flashed, and I didn't care. I leaned forward over the wheel, jaw clenched so tight it ached. The weather was clearing fast now, too fast. The clouds were thinning, the road drying by the minute, sunlight breaking through like a bad omen.

I took a hard left without slowing much, the car swaying as the tires fought for grip. Thankfully, muscle memory kicked in. I knew this road. I knew every bend, every stretch. The summer house was burned into my head. I didn't need a map.

Then the dashboard lit up.

Incoming video call.

Carrie Beldenwary.

My heart dropped straight into my stomach.

"No," I muttered, already easing off the gas. "No, no, no."

I pulled over hard to the side of the road, barely missing the curb. The engine kept running as I grabbed my phone with shaking hands and answered.

"Hello, Marlowe," Carrie said brightly, waving at the camera. "How are you?"

"Carrie," I said, my voice tight. "Where are you?"

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she turned the camera.

My breath left me in a rush.

A helicopter sat in front of the summer house, rotors idle but ready. The familiar wooden exterior filled the frame, and behind the glass doors, I saw them. Tom. The pilot. And Kim, seated inside, hands folded in her lap, looking small and trapped.

Carrie turned the camera back to herself. She was standing inside the living room, framed by the window, the helicopter visible behind her like a final punctuation mark.

"Carrie," I said, swallowing hard. "Please. Let Kim go."

She smiled, slow and indulgent. "No."

"Let her go," I said again, more force this time. "She has nothing to do with this."

"You should consider yourself lucky," she replied calmly. "You caused quite a scene with my son, Marlowe. I could make this very unpleasant for you."

"I don't care," I said. "Let Kim go."

"Bye, Evan," Carrie said, tilting her head slightly. "It was entertaining, playing with you, dog."

The call ended.

I stared at the dark screen, my reflection faintly visible, eyes wide and hollow. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I got out of the car without even thinking and kicked the front tire hard, once, twice, again, pain shooting up my leg but barely registering.

She was gone.

Kim was gone.

I leaned back against the car, then bent forward, bracing both hands on the roof, head hanging low. My bandaged knuckles trembled. Tom's words echoed in my head, twisting, poisoning everything. I felt fucking sick.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, not sure who I was saying it to.

If Kim had chosen to leave on her own, if this had been her decision, it would have hurt, but I could have accepted it. This wasn't that. She was gone because she was trying to protect everyone else. Protect the company. Protect the girls.

Protect me.

"Kim…" I muttered.

The sky shifted pink.

I felt it before I saw it.

The back door of my car opened slowly and Dierella stepped out. She wore a low-cut blue dress, her ash-black wings moving lazily behind her as if she had all the time in the world.

Great. Her.

"She is… well, 'was' replaceable," Dierella said flatly. "Why are you this upset? Just another hole for your dick."

I didn't look up. "She was a person," I said quietly. "She mattered."

"You can find someone else," she replied, unconcerned. "You have my system."

"I don't want someone else."

She stepped closer. "Why not?"

"Because I don't."

She waited a beat, then shrugged. "It happened. Move on. Fill the space."

"I failed her," I said, my voice cracking despite myself. "I couldn't protect her."

"You'll adapt," Dierella said.

Nah. I refused.

Fuck no.

"NO," I snapped, slamming my fist against the roof of the car. "You said it yourself. I have your system. That means this isn't over."

She blinked. "What?"

I straightened, opened the driver's door, and slid back inside. The sky snapped back to normal as the engine rumbled beneath me. My hands were steady now.

"I'm not giving up," I said. "Not on her."

I pulled up the interface.

I bought Time Stop.

The engine growled as I hit the gas and merged back onto the road, eyes locked forward, heart pounding with purpose.

Time froze the instant the purchase confirmed.

The world locked in place like a badly paused movie. The traffic light ahead stayed yellow forever, its glow flat and unmoving. Cars were statues now, drivers frozen mid-blink, hands locked on steering wheels, exhaust smoke stalled behind them in gray ribbons.

I floored it.

The road was mine. Tires screamed as I cut between frozen lanes, slipping through gaps that would have been suicide a second ago. I passed a truck stopped halfway through a turn, brushed so close to a side mirror that my pulse spiked, and laughed breathlessly because nothing could touch me. Not now. Not while time was mine to break.

Ten minutes. That was all I had.

No way I was giving up on her. No way this ended with her disappearing into the sky while I stood helpless on the asphalt. I pictured her sheepish smile in the mornings, the way she squinted when sunlight hit her face, the soft sound she made when she laughed before she tried to hide it. I wasn't losing that. I wasn't letting Tom win. I wasn't letting Carrie decide how this ended.

The speedometer climbed higher than it ever had. I took turns hard, drifting around frozen cars like obstacles in a game, correcting fast, hands steady, eyes burning. The world stayed silent except for the engine and my breath. Streets blurred. Signs rushed past. I knew the route by heart, every shortcut, every curve burned into muscle memory from that summer we all pretended things were simple.

The first Time Stop shattered without warning.

Sound slammed back into the world. Engines roared, horns blared, motion surged all at once, and I was suddenly very real again, very fast, very much in traffic. I didn't hesitate. I pulled the interface up with one hand and bought another Time Stop before fear could catch up.

Freeze.

Everything locked again. Relief hit me like oxygen. I kept going, faster now, pushing harder, passing through intersections that would have killed me seconds earlier. I could see the outskirts coming, the trees thickening, the road narrowing. I was close.

The second freeze cracked near the forest road. I bought a third without slowing, jaw clenched, heart hammering. My thoughts stayed on Kim, on the way she tucked her hair behind her ear when she was nervous, on the quiet strength she carried even when everything scared her. I was not letting her go because I arrived too late.

The final stretch burned. The third stop ended just as the house came into view. I didn't risk it. I bought one more, the last ten minutes sealing around me like armor.

And then I saw it.

The summer house stood ahead, lights on despite the day, calm and untouched. The helicopter waited out front, rotors frozen mid-tilt like blades trapped in amber. Through the glass, I saw them clearly. Tom inside, tense and impatient. Kim seated near the door, hands folded, eyes distant but unmistakably there.

I slammed the brakes and skidded to a stop behind the trees, chest heaving.

I made it.

Now I just had to finish it.

I got out of the car. "Let's get a massage oil for the slut…"

I walked toward the door and once I was in position, I ended Time Stop.

╭────────────────────╮

SHOP [Page 2]

==========================

• Hypnotic Perfume (40c)

• Time Stop (90c)

• 500 Dollars (50c)

• 1 Ability Point (150c)

• 1 Mastery Point (160c)

• Main Quest Unlock (Bought)

• Desire Aura (100c)

• New Ability (Bought)

==========================

Credits: 448c

╰────────────────────╯

The Sensual Massage oil bottle pressed cold against my pocket as I stood in front of the door just as it swung open.

Carrie stepped out—and actually recoiled. She startled so hard she hopped back a step, heels scraping against the stone, eyes wide like she'd seen a ghost. For a heartbeat she just stared at me, mouth opening and closing without sound. Behind her, through the helicopter's glass, I saw Tom straighten sharply and Kim lift her head, confusion flashing across her face.

To them, I hadn't arrived. I'd appeared.

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