Ask Not of Time

Love. It takes a second to say, a lifetime to prove.
Kade spent seven years making me believe in that one-second promise.
Then, he spent a single day shattering that belief, burying it in a cold, rainy night along with my blood, my flesh, and the only family I had left.
So when I opened my eyes and found myself back at the beginning of the tragedy, I knew my life had been distilled to two simple purposes.
First, take my brother, Leo, and run from him.
Second, if I couldn't run, I would drag Kade to hell with me.
...
The sharp scent of antiseptic filled my nostrils. My eyes snapped open to a familiar white ceiling and a cold crystal chandelier.
This was the bedroom of the penthouse Kade and I shared at One Lunar Bay in Oakhaven City.
My hand instinctively went to my stomach. It was flat. There was no swell, no gut-wrenching pain.
The digital clock on the wall read August 15th, 10:23 AM.
I was reborn.
I was back on the day I discovered Kade had unilaterally divorced me, the day I went to confront him, pregnant with his child.
In my past life, on this very day, I had stormed into his top-floor office at "The Abyss" casino like a madwoman, slamming the doctored copy of my personal information onto his desk.
I had demanded to know why.
He had only looked at me with cold indifference, as if I were a stranger throwing a tantrum. "Eliza," he’d said, "it's time to be sensible."
Standing beside him was that girl, Vivian. She was dressed in a white dress, as pristine as a hothouse flower. She hid behind Kade, peering at me with the wide, frightened eyes of a fawn, as if I were the venomous woman tearing them apart.
I lunged to slap her, but Kade’s bodyguards pinned me down.
Everything that followed was a nightmare from which I could not wake.
My only brother, Leo, in a fit of rage on my behalf, went to confront Kade. Kade’s men broke both his legs and threw him into the pouring rain. He bled out, freezing to death right in front of me.
The shock sent me into a miscarriage. I bled all over the white hospital sheets, and finally, my own absurd life ended in a convenient "accidental" car crash.
In my final moments, I thought I saw Kade standing nearby, holding an umbrella over his pristine flower, not even bothering to waste a single glance on me.
"Heh..." A dry laugh escaped my throat, the corrosive hatred in my chest threatening to consume me whole.
I pushed myself up, my stomach churning.
Calm down, Eliza. You have to calm down.
Fate hadn't given me a second chance just to relive the agony.
I threw off the covers and walked barefoot to the floor-to-ceiling windows. This penthouse was a symbol of power in this city, a kingdom I had helped Kade build, step by step, from the days when he was nothing more than a desperate outlaw.
I was the "Queen of Cards" in Oakhaven's underworld, a name whispered with fear and reverence. My hands had dealt him countless winning hands, and they had been stained with the blood of his enemies.
The irony was, once he was firmly seated on his throne as the city's uncrowned king, he decided I was too dirty.
He wanted a clean flower.
I stared at my reflection in the glass. My face was pale, but my eyes were as cold as ice.
This time, I didn't want his kingdom. And I certainly didn't want his love.
All I wanted was my brother, Leo.
I picked up my phone and dialed a number I knew by heart. It connected quickly, and Leo's sunny, slightly sleepy voice came through. "Sis? Why are you calling so early? I thought you and Kade were celebrating your birthday today?"
My birthday.
Right. Today was also my birthday.
How fitting.
Last time, I had waited with a heart full of joy, expecting a surprise. The surprise he gave me was a divorce and a feast of death.
A bitter sting pricked my nose, and I fought back tears. This was not the time to cry.
"Leo," my voice trembled, but I forced it steady. "Listen to me. Pack your most important things right now. Don't ask any questions. Go to the entrance of the alley in our old neighborhood, the one we used to live in, and wait for me. Hurry!"
"Sis? What's going on?" Leo's voice was tight with worry.
"Don't ask. Just do what I say. I only have two hours."
I hung up before he could ask anything else and immediately dialed a second number. It was my most trusted man, Caleb.
"Boss," Caleb's voice was, as always, a steady rock.
"Caleb, I need you to liquidate everything. All our secret accounts. Cash out my jewelry, the properties in my name, as fast as you can. Transfer everything to the anonymous Swiss account. And contact the Serpent. I need two tickets on a boat to Southeast Asia tonight. Top price, most secure route."
Caleb was silent for a few seconds, clearly stunned. "Boss, is this about... Kade?"
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't," I cut him off. "This stays between you and me. If this leaks, my brother and I, and you, will all end up as fish food in the Oakhaven River."
"I understand," Caleb’s voice was firm, resolute. "You saved my life, Boss. I'll get it done, even if it kills me."
After hanging up, I took a deep breath and began to move.
I opened a hidden compartment in the walk-in closet. Inside was my personal stash, accumulated over the years: several priceless, limited-edition watches, a few bars of untraceable gold, and a handful of flawlessly forged passports.
I had prepared all of this for Kade, a contingency plan in case his empire ever fell and he needed to rise again.
Now, it was my escape plan.
I packed everything into a nondescript duffel bag, changed into a simple tracksuit, and wiped off my makeup. A baseball cap and a mask completed the disguise.
When I was done, I took one last look at this gilded cage. I once thought this was happiness. Now, I saw it for the joke it was.
I turned and walked toward the door without a shred of sentimentality.
Just as my hand reached for the doorknob, the door swung open from the outside.
Kade’s tall frame filled the doorway. He wore a perfectly tailored black suit, his handsome face an emotionless mask. His deep-set eyes, like chips of ice, were fixed on me.
My heart plummeted.

2
The sight of Kade froze the blood in my veins.
Why was he here?
In my last life, he never showed up. He was gone the entire day, not appearing until I hunted him down.
My mind raced, my hand tightening on the duffel bag.
Kade's gaze swept over me, from my baseball cap down to my running shoes, finally landing on the bulging bag in my hand. His eyes instantly turned glacial.
"Where are you going?" he asked, his voice low, heavy with a pressure that permitted no argument.
The me from my past life would have probably dropped the bag, stammering out a clumsy explanation.
But now, I just calmly met his gaze. "Out," I said simply. "For some air."
"Dressed like that? Going for a hike?" A sarcastic smirk touched his lips as he advanced on me, step by step.
The force of his presence was overwhelming. I could smell the familiar scent on him—a cool, clean fragrance mixed with the faint trace of tobacco. A scent I had once been infatuated with.
Now, it just made me sick.
"Is there a problem?" I retorted, my voice flat.
My composure clearly took him by surprise. In his world, Eliza was the woman who would coo and cry and wear her heart on her sleeve.
He narrowed his eyes, studying me, searching for a crack in my fa?ade.
"Eliza," he said, and his hand shot out, snatching the bag from me. He yanked the zipper open, and the gold bars and passports inside spilled into view. "You had better give me a very good explanation."
I looked at him and laughed coldly in my head.
An explanation? Why should I explain myself to the man who was about to cast me aside?
"The explanation," I said, each word clear and deliberate, "is that we're done, Kade."
The air went still.
The last trace of warmth vanished from his face, replaced by a terrifying, dark fury. He grabbed my wrist, his grip so tight I thought the bones would shatter.
"Say that again," he hissed, the words ground out from between his teeth.
"I said, we're done." I ignored the searing pain in my wrist and held his gaze without flinching. "You already had my marital status changed to 'divorced,' didn't you? What, you have the guts to do it but not to admit it?"
Kade’s pupils contracted.
He clearly hadn't expected me to find out so soon. In my past life, I'd overheard it from a subordinate by accident. This time, I was just bluffing.
But his reaction told me I'd hit the mark.
He released my wrist, his expression reverting to its usual cold mask, as if his momentary rage had been a figment of my imagination.
"Since you know, why didn't you make a scene?" he asked, his tone probing.
"What's the point?" I gave a self-mocking smile. "If I make a scene, will you change 'divorced' back to 'married'? If I make a scene, will you take your heart back from that girl, Vivian?"
At the mention of her name, Kade’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. "This has nothing to do with her."
"Oh, really?" I stared at him, my eyes full of scorn. "Kade, I know you better than anyone. You never do anything without a purpose. You pulled her from the card-washing tables at The Abyss, gave her a place to live, and put her under twenty-four-hour protection. Now you're in a rush to cut ties with me. Don't you dare tell me you're not trying to make her a respectable woman."
My words were a knife, slicing through his pretense.
His face darkened completely. "Eliza, my affairs are none of your business."
He spoke coldly. "I'll pretend I didn't see any of this. From now on, you will stay put at One Lunar Bay. You are not to go anywhere."
With that, he tossed the bag onto the floor and turned to leave.
"Kade!" I called out.
He stopped but didn't turn around.
"Today is my birthday," I said. My voice was soft, but it pierced the dead silence like a needle.
His back stiffened for a fraction of a second.
"I forgot," he said after a long pause. Then he walked out without another glance.
The door slammed shut with a deafening bang, sealing two worlds apart.
All the strength drained out of me. I slowly sank to the floor, burying my face in my knees.
I forgot.
With three simple words, he had erased seven years of my devotion.
From the day he had nothing to his name until the day he ruled Oakhaven, I had remembered every important date, every small detail. His stomach was weak, so I learned to make soup. He was a light sleeper, so I learned to breathe softly beside him. When he was in danger, I would have taken a bullet for him without a second thought.
I thought I had warmed a block of ice.
It turned out it wasn't ice. It was a stone, one that could never be warmed.
Tears finally fell, betraying me.
But this time, I didn't let myself drown in sorrow. I wiped my eyes and forced myself to my feet.
He thought locking me in here would be enough? That I was a bird in a cage?
He seriously underestimated me.
I walked to the window and watched Kade's car pull away from the building. Plan A had failed, but I couldn't just sit here and wait for the end.
I picked up my phone and sent a message to Caleb.
Change of plans. Proceed with Plan B. And one more thing, I need you to find out what Kade’s rival, 'Mad Dog' Marcus from the West Side, has been up to lately.

3
Kade had placed me under house arrest.
Four stone-faced bodyguards now stood outside the door to the penthouse, working in shifts, never leaving their post. My phone was confiscated, the landline was cut, and the internet was shut off.
He wanted to turn me into an isolated island.
But he forgot one crucial detail: I was the one who helped him build this island. I knew every secret escape route.
Using a backup phone hidden in a wall cavity, I contacted Caleb.
"Boss, I've got news on Mad Dog. He's fighting Kade for the development rights to that new casino plot in the South Hills. Tensions are high. Word on the street is, Mad Dog is planning to make a move on the person Kade cares about most."
A cold smile played on my lips as I listened.
The person he cares about most?
Right now, all of Oakhaven knew that the person Kade cared about most was the girl he had tucked away in a secret love nest, Vivian.
"Caleb, do me a favor. 'Accidentally' leak Vivian's schedule for today to Mad Dog's crew."
Caleb hesitated. "Boss, if we do that, Miss Vivian will be in real danger."
"I know," I said, my voice devoid of warmth. "I'm counting on it."
I didn't expect Mad Dog's thugs to actually harm her; Kade protected her like the crown jewels. I just needed a diversion. A chance to get away.
And Vivian was the perfect bait.
"One more thing," I added after a pause. "Find a doctor, someone you trust with your life. Get some things ready and wait for me at the old place. And be quick."
"Understood."
I hung up and began to wait.
I knew Kade would be coming for me soon.
Sure enough, he returned at dusk, radiating a murderous aura. He kicked open the bedroom door and stormed over to me, grabbing me by the collar and slamming me against the wall.
"It was you, wasn't it?" His eyes were bloodshot, like those of a cornered beast. "You were the one who leaked Vivian's location to Mad Dog!"
My back hit the cold wall with a painful thud, making me gasp. But I smiled.
"What if it was? What if it wasn't?" I met his savage gaze without backing down. "Kade, what makes you think I'm still the same woman who cleans up the messes from your little affairs?"
"Eliza!" he roared, his grip tightening. "I'm warning you, don't you dare touch her! If you have a problem, you come at me!"
"Come at you?" I laughed, a bright, sharp sound. "I'd love to. But you won't even let me out the door. What's a girl to do? I had no choice but to ask your little sweetheart to act out a scene for me."
"You're being completely unreasonable!"
Kade was trembling with rage. He had probably never seen this side of me—unyielding, even vicious.
"Unreasonable?" I dropped my smile, my eyes turning to ice. "Kade, don't you forget who walked through fire and fought at your side to get you where you are today! It was me, Eliza! When Mad Dog had a gun to your head, who took a knife for you? Me! Now that you're on top, you kick me to the curb to protect some sniveling woman who does nothing but hide behind you. You want to talk to me about being reasonable?"
My questions hit him like hammer blows. The fury in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by something complex and unreadable. He let go of me and took a step back, his tone softening slightly. "Eliza, whatever is between us, let's not drag innocent people into it."
Eliza.
How long had it been since he'd called me that, with that soft inflection? For a fleeting moment, I almost believed he still had some feelings for me. But I knew better. This was just a tactic to pacify me.
"Innocent?" I scoffed. "Kade, in this godforsaken city, nobody is truly innocent. She chose you. She should have been prepared for the consequences."
"What is it you want?" His patience was clearly wearing thin.
"It's simple," I said, looking him straight in the eye. "Let me go. I'll take my brother and leave Oakhaven. We'll never come back. Our debt to each other will be paid."
"Impossible," he refused without a second thought.
"Why?"
"There is no why," he said, turning his face away. "Eliza, stop pushing my buttons."
I understood then. It wasn't that he couldn't bear to let me go. It was that he couldn't allow his possession to escape his control. It was his pathetic, laughable kingly pride.
"Fine," I nodded, a strange smile gracing my lips. "If you won't let me go, then we'll see who breaks first. I wonder who has more stamina—your delicate little flower, or my worthless life."
Without another word, I turned, walked to the bed, and pulled the covers over myself, closing my eyes.
I knew my words had planted a thorn in his mind. The one thing he feared most was my reckless streak, the fact that when pushed, I didn't care if I lived or died.
Kade stood there for a long time, so long I almost drifted off to sleep. Finally, I heard his footsteps recede. The door closed again, but this time, it wasn't locked.
My chance had come.

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