Twice Dead Never Your Secret

In my past life, I was foolish enough to lose myself in two women simultaneously.

One was my ice-cold boss, Virginia Beaumont. The other was my childhood friend turned pop-star sensation, Serena Valentine. Both eventually discarded me for the same man. The day Virginia fired me, I returned home only to have my throat pierced by one of Serenas obsessed stalkers. I bled out on my own hardwood floor, the silence of the room swallowed by the gurgle in my lungs.

Then, I woke up.

I was back in the hotel suite, the scent of expensive linen and regret thick in the air. It was the morning after I had first slept with Virginia.

Seattle. A luxury penthouse suite.

Virginia stood by the edge of the bed, her silhouette sharp against the floor-to-ceiling windows. She flicked a black titanium card onto the nightstand with a clinical snap.

"Ben, I cant give you a title or a public commitment," she said, her voice like velvet wrapped around steel. "But as long as youre with me, youll be taken care of."

The scene played out exactly as it had before. In her world, people didn't "date." They "belonged" to someone. In my previous life, I was so starved for her affection that I accepted the arrangement, becoming her dirty little secret.

This time, I pushed the card back toward her.

"Youre overthinking it, Virginia," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "Last night was an accident. Two consenting adults, a bit too much scotch. Let's leave it at that."

I dressed methodicallyshirt, cufflinks, tie. I slid my glasses onto the bridge of my nose, feeling the familiar weight. Virginia watched me, her dark eyes narrowing in genuine shock. I didn't wait for her to recover. I walked out.

When I reached my apartment, exhausted and hollow, I froze. The lights were on. Sitting on my sofa was the most beautiful woman in the countrySerena Valentine.

She stood up as I entered, a faint scent of wine clinging to her. Her eyes were hazy, soft with a dangerous kind of playfulness. She wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Youre late," she whispered against my jaw. "Where were you?"

A flash of Virginias disheveled bedsheets crossed my mind. I didn't flinch. "Work trip."

Serena smirked, her lips inches from mine. This was the face I couldn't say no to for twenty years. This was the woman who owned my heart before I even knew what a heart was for.

As she leaned in to kiss me, I turned my head. Her lips brushed my cheek instead. "I'm tired, Serena."

She pulled back, searching my face. She didn't push it. Instead, she poured me a glass of lukewarm water, her movements graceful yet hesitant.

"Did you hear?" she asked after a moment. "Sebastian is back in the States."

Sebastian. The man who would eventually convince both of them to destroy me. I hadnt realized hed returned this early. It didn't matter.

"I heard," I said, taking a sip of the water. "Which is why we should end this. Today."

Serena didn't argue. She leaned back against the cushions, looking at me with a detached sort of curiosity. "Fine, Ben. We can go back to being friends."

She reached into her designer bag and pulled out a red velvet box. "Consider this a parting gift."

I opened it. A Royal Oakthe latest model. I stared at it. She never remembered that I hated this brand; it was Sebastians favorite. She was buying a gift for the man she wanted me to be, not the man I was.

I put the watch in the closet, a room already overflowing with the luxury scraps shed thrown my way over the years. Then, I grabbed a cardboard box from the kitchen.

"If were done, let's be thorough," I said.

Under her bewildered gaze, I began clearing her life out of mine. Her silk robes, her spare heels, her toothbrush, the expensive skincare she kept on my vanity. Everything went into the box.

When I handed it to her at the door, her expression shifted into something complexhalf-insulted, half-intrigued. "Ben Brooks, are you actually cutting me off?"

My pulse thrummed in my ears, the phantom pain of the knife in my throat prickling my skin. "Yes. We're done."

I shut the door. The silence that followed was the first real peace Id felt in two lifetimes. I touched my neck, tracing the smooth skin where the scar should have been. I suppose my death was the universes way of punishing me for playing house with two powerful women who never truly saw me.

Lesson learned. I didn't want love anymore. I just wanted to stay alive.

The next day was a gray, suffocating Monday.

When I arrived at the office, I didn't head straight to Virginias desk with her specific morning latte like a loyal dog. Instead, I sat at my station and typed out a formal resignation.

Ten minutes later, I was summoned to her office.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Virginia threw a silk tie across her mahogany desk. It landed in my lap.

"You left your tie in my car," she said coldly.

I caught it instinctively. It was my favorite one. "My apologies, Ms. Beaumont."

She leaned forward, her eyes black and piercing. "Ben, if youre trying to play hard to get because I offered you that card, stop. The 'push-and-pull' routine doesn't work on me."

She thought this was a tactic. I didn't bother correcting her. "I understand."

Her expression softened slightly, back to her usual imperious mask. "Theres a charity gala tonight. Youll be my plus-one. Be ready by seven."

As her senior assistant, I was always her escort to these things. But this time, I placed the envelope on her desk.

"Im resigning, Virginia."

The room went dead quiet.

She looked at the envelope, then at me. "Give me a reason. Is it the salary? Or are you feeling sensitive about the... 'accident' the other night?"

"Neither," I replied. "I'm getting older. Im moving back to my hometown. My parents want me to settle down and find someone to marry."

Virginias face darkened. I expected a fight, but she simply picked up a pen and signed the papers with a jagged, angry flourish.

"Then I wish you the best of luck with your domestic bliss, Mr. Brooks."

It was easier than I thought. Without the emotional tether, I was just another employee to her.

"Thank you, Virginia."

As I turned to leave, she spoke one last time. "Ben? If your little matchmaking experiment fails and you realize you're bored of being a 'normal' man, my door is always open."

I didn't look back.

The handover process was tedious. As her right hand, I held the keys to half her kingdom. My colleagues were stunned. "Ben, youre the soul of this firm," one of them whispered. "Youve been with her since the start."

I just smiled. I had been a sponge, soaking up everything she taught me while giving her my soul in return. It was a bad trade.

Since I was officially on my way out, the gala duty was passed to the new intern, Andy. I left the office at exactly six o'clock.

Stepping out into the evening air, I realized the sky was still light. For years, I hadnt seen the sunset from anywhere but a window. I went home and made myself a real dinner.

Just as I sat down, my phone buzzed. It was a video call from Andy.

I picked up, and the screen was a blur of crystal chandeliers and tuxedoed backs. Andys voice was a frantic whisper.

"Ben! Quick, tell mewho is this guy Virginia is with? Sebastian something? They look... intense."

The camera panned. There was Virginia, looking stunning in midnight blue, her eyes fixed on a man in a tailored charcoal suit. Sebastian. The golden boy.

"That's her... stepbrother," I said, my voice flat. "Do yourself a favor, Andy. Don't get in their way when they're together."

I knew better than anyone what happened when you tried to stand between Virginia and her obsessions.

Suddenly, the phone on the other end was snatched away. Virginias face filled the screen. She looked livid.

"Mr. Brooks," she snapped. "Since youre leaving, stop filling the interns head with gossip. Youre making it sound like Sebastian and I have something to hide."

The lady doth protest too much. They were siblings by marriage, but the tension between them was a toxic cloud that Virginia had spent years trying to vent out on me.

"My mistake, Ms. Beaumont. It won't happen again."

I hung up.

I was finishing a face mask and getting ready for bed when the phone rang again. This time, it was Serena.

I tried to decline, but my thumb slipped. Her melodic, effortless voice filled the room.

"Ben? I need you to drop a box of condoms at my place. Grab the brand Sebastian likesextra thin, medium size."

She said it with such casual entitlement, as if I were still her errand boy, her safety net, her unrequited lover. In my last life, this hadn't happened this way, but the disrespect was the same.

"Serena," I said, my voice cold enough to crack. "Call your assistant for that. And don't call me again."

I blocked the number.

The next morning at work, Virginia stopped me in the hall. "Ben. Deal with this."

She turned her laptop toward me. The headline was screaming in bold: "International Model Sebastian Thorne Spotted at Pop Star Serena Valentines Penthouse!"

Virginias eyes were smoldering with jealousy. "Get the PR team to scrub it. I won't have Sebastians reputation dragged through the mud by some tabloid singer."

She spoke of "reputation," but it was pure heartbreak written in her gaze.

"Ill handle it," I said. "But as Im transitioning out, please direct these tasks to the new staff in the future."

Virginia stiffened. "Fine."

I spent the afternoon cleaning up their mess. By lunch, my phone was flooded with messages from Serena. I didn't answer the calls, but I glanced at the texts.

Serena: Sebastian blocked me because of the leak. He doesn't want to go public yet.

Serena: His 'sister' is furious. Shes been texting him all morning saying I'm a bad influence.

Serena: Ben, what do I do? How do I fix this with him?

Every word was about Sebastian. I deleted the thread and blocked her on everything.

Finally, my world was quiet.

On my last day, I cleared out my desk. I found a small, framed photo tucked in the very back of a drawer. It was Serena and me at her first-ever signing event. I had been there as her "number one fan."

Andy saw it and gasped. "Is that Serena Valentine? You were a fanboy, Ben?"

I laughed, a dry, hollow sound. "Yeah. Back when I was young and stupid."

I tossed the photo into the trash can.

"Whoa! Why throw it away?" Andy asked.

"Its just taking up space," I said. "I don't like her music anymore."

Just then, Virginias voice cut through the room. "Quite right. Shallow girls like that aren't worth the devotion anyway."

The jealousy in her tone was thick. To anyone else, it might have sounded like she was jealous of me liking someone else. But I knew better. She just hated Serena because Sebastian loved her.

"I'm all packed, Ms. Beaumont," I said.

Virginia nodded. "The team is hosting a farewell dinner for you tonight. I expect you there."

I couldn't really say no to a final team dinner. But the night was a disaster. Virginia sat next to me like a glacier, her presence dampening the entire mood. The laughter died down whenever she glanced around.

The dinner ended early. Virginia insisted on driving me home.

We sat in her car outside my building in total silence. I reached for the door handle, but the locks clicked shut.

"Virginia? I'm home."

She stared straight ahead. "Ben... if youre just tired of the corporate grind, I can take care of you. Permanently. You don't have to work."

I looked out the window. "I don't want to be a kept man, Virginia. And I certainly don't want to be the guy your future husband beats up for being the 'other man'."

"I can promise you that will never happen," she said, her voice dropping an octave.

I smiled sadly. "You once taught me never to make absolute promises about the future. Im just following your advice."

In my previous life, a year into being her lover, her "appropriate" fianc found out about us. He cornered me at the office, nearly stripped me in front of the staff, and called me a pathetic whore. I hadn't been able to say a single word in my defense then.

Virginia fell silent.

Before she could speak again, a figure emerged from the shadows of my lobby. It was Serena. She walked right up to the car and tapped on the glass.

"Hey," Serena said as I rolled down the window. "You're his boss, right? Its one thing to make him work late, but keeping him captive in your car is a bit much, don't you think?"

Virginias jaw tightened. She didn't look at Serena. She looked at me. "You know her?"

Serena was wearing a hat and a mask, but her aura was unmistakable.

"Shes a... neighbor," I said.

Virginia unlocked the doors. I scrambled out. "Goodbye, Virginia."

As her car sped away, Serena linked her arm through mine. "Your boss seems a little obsessed with you, Ben. Does she want a piece?"

A flash of light went off in the distance. My heart hammered. The stalkers. The paparazzi.

"What are you doing here?" I shoved her hand away and hurried toward the door.

Serena followed me inside, sighing as we entered my apartment. "You blocked me, Ben. We grew up together. Even if we aren't sleeping together, we're still friends. Why are you being so cold?"

She had no shame. She truly didn't see the problem.

"What do you want, Serena?"

She stepped into my space, her eyes suggestive. "I missed you. Honestly, nobody is as good as you in bed. Let's just... keep going? No strings?"

I didn't believe a word of it. "Did Sebastian dump you again?"

Her face went pale, then hard. "Im being nice to you! Youve loved me for years. You think you can find anyone better than me?"

She really overvalued herself. Even in my last life, she wasn't the only one I "loved"I was just the only one who was always there.

"Im moving, Serena," I said firmly. "Don't come back here."

"Fine," she spat, her eyes flashing with rage. "Hope you don't regret it."

She slammed the door.

The next day, I broke my lease and moved. I packed five years of my life into a few boxes and caught a flight to my hometown, a quiet suburb of Charleston.

When I saw my parents, I finally felt warm. They were my only family, and I couldn't bear the thought of the pain Id caused them in my previous life by dying so pointlessly.

I spent three days in blissful anonymity, helping my mom in the kitchen and taking out the trash. Occasionally, my old coworkers would call to ask how Virginia liked her coffee.

"Tell her I can't make her coffee for the rest of her life," I told them. "Shell have to develop a new palate."

Then came the high school reunion.

And there, in the middle of our small-town gymnasium, was Sebastian Thorne. The international supermodel had somehow ended up at a reunion for a school he barely attended.

I tried to stay in the corner, hoping to eat and leave, but Sebastian made a beeline for me.

"Ben! Long time no see."

The room went quiet. Someone whispered, "Since when are they friends?"

"We aren't," I said, trying to move past him.

Sebastian put a heavy arm around my shoulder, his smile bright but his eyes cold as liquid nitrogen.

"Everyone, did you know? Ben Brooks took advantage of my absence to steal my girlfriend, Serena Valentine. And then, he purposefully got a job as my sister's assistant just to stalk her!"

The room gasped.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, my blood running cold.

Sebastian looked at me, tilting his head. "Swear it. Swear in front of everyone you never dated Serena."

He was playing a game. He wanted to humiliate me to clear Serenas name for himself.

I took a deep breath. "I swear, I have never dated Serena Valentine. And I never will. We have no relationship whatsoever."

Sebastian laughed and pulled out his phone. "Hear that, Serena? The test is over. I believe you now."

He had her on speakerphone.

There was a long silence from the other end. Then, Serenas voice came through, cold and mocking. "See? I told you, Seb. Hes just a neighbor. Why would I ever date someone so... ordinary?"

"I believe you, babe," Sebastian said, hanging up. He turned to me with a fake-apologetic grin. "Sorry, man. Im just a little insecure. You know how it is."

In my last life, I would have been crushed. Now, I just wanted to leave these vultures behind.

"Its fine. Just don't involve me in your drama again."

But the night wasn't over. Someone suggested a game of Truth or Dare. Sebastian grabbed my phone and put it on the table.

"I have a dare for the 'ordinary' guy," Sebastian smirked. "Post on your Instagram story: 'I just found out I have an STD. Not sure who gave it to me.' Include a fake medical report. No blocking anyone. Leave it up for 24 hours."

The room went silent. Some people looked uncomfortable. "That's a bit much, Sebastian. His family will see it."

Sebastian shrugged. "If hes too chicken to play, he can just finish this entire bottle of tequila."

I looked at the tequila, then at the phone. Sebastian was determined to ruin my reputation in this town so Id have nowhere to hide.

"Fine," I said. "Ill post it."

I did it. Sebastian looked satisfied, like a cat whod caught a mouse.

When the party ended and I walked to the parking lot, I stopped dead.

Two cars were idling at the curb. Virginias black SUV and Serenas white sports car.

Both women stepped out at the same time. Virginia in a trench coat, Serena with her signature silver-blonde hair blowing in the wind.

Sebastian beamed. "Wow, both of you came to pick me up? I told you I could get a cab!"

He started walking toward them, but I just wanted to vanish. "I'm heading out"

Before I could move, Serena grabbed my right wrist. Virginia grabbed my left.

They both looked at me with identical expressions of horrified fury.

In unison, they demanded: "Ben! If youre sick, why the hell did you sleep with me?!"