“Raven.”I heard a faint voice call. The voice sounded too melodious to be human. It felt like an entity. “Raven, wake up!” The voice said again. Raven? Who is that?“You've been asleep for so long, child, it's time to wake up!” The voice kept getting louder. I couldn't tell if my eyes were closed or open but I was surrounded by darkness. Pure darkness. “Wake up…”Then there was a flicker of light, like a star in the darkness. Then it got bigger and bigger until it almost blinded me and next thing, I spat out water.“Skylar! Skylar?! Can you hear me? Please tell me you can hear me, Sky…” the panicked voice didn't completely register in my mind as I busy coughing out water. Both my throat and my lungs burned. “Skylar?”Who is Skylar now? First was Raven, now Skylar? Who are all these people? I opened my eyes to see the chubby blonde with tears streaming down my cheeks. I barely sat up when she engulfed me in a hug. “Oh, thank God you are okay! I thought you were dead. We tried
/-Skylar-/“Why are you staring at me that way, Skylar? Are you not happy to see me?” He asked. “Calm down, Khaid. She has been acting weird since she regained consciousness. She doesn't even remember me either. The nurses said that she is in shock,” Blondie told him. “What does that even mean, Ava?” Khaid frowned. “No one loses their memory from just drowning.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “What do you want me to say? Maybe her case is different. You know her heart actually stopped for almost ten minutes, she didn't have a pulse and everyone thought she was dead and then she suddenly woke up. Maybe…”“What you're saying doesn't even make sense in the least, Ava,” Khaid cut her short. “Drowned or not, I am her boyfriend. The love of her life. She can't just forget me!”He stepped towards me suddenly and I backed away. “Come on, baby. You know who I am, Khaid, your boyfriend!” he said and I moved backwards again. He was creeping me out and I hated it. Ava stepped in between us. “T
/-Skylar-/“Raven…”I jerked up from sleep and it all came flooding back. Holy fuck!I ran to the bathroom to confirm I wasn't just dreaming and it was still there. Long dark hair, pale blue eyes, flawless milky skin, fuck!!I paced around the bathroom, trying to make sense of everything. Where was this place? What the fuck was I doing here? I could have sworn that I died. “Whatever it is, Raven, raging in a fucking bathroom won't hell,” I told myself. I stepped into the small room, scanning my environment. Everything just seemed strange and the place was so cramped up. Blondie was still asleep and by the time I checked the clock, I realised it was past 9am.I could remember a certain man telling me that I needed to be at work by 7 am. I waved it off and continued checking out her room. It was the calendar that stopped me. Was this real?“2025?” I muttered. This had to be some sort of joke. I could have sworn we were still in the ‘90s yesterday. Did I sleep off an entire century? O
/-Skylar-/Those seafoam eyes narrowed at me like he was going to tear me apart.Blondie immediately stepped in to beg for me. Back in the day, she would definitely be useful as my spokesperson.“I didn't explain to you, sir, but she has temporary amnesia so I promise you, she didn't know it was you,” She pleaded. “Do I look like I care?” His sharp retort caught both of us off guard. “Miss Anderson, you're fired. Make sure to clear your desk before I get back!” Ava gasped. “No sir, please. You can't fire her, she didn't mean it, I swear to you. Please spare her. It will never happen again.”His gaze shifted to me as if he was expecting something. Ava nudged me. “What are you doing? Beg him! Don't you want your job?” She whispered harshly. “What's with you and begging everyone?” I retorted. “If he wants to fire me, he should. I don't care. I am very capable of getting a job anywhere I want with a better pay too!” I didn't know about that but I just wanted him to know I wasn't at h
/-Skylar-/It didn't occur to me how much trouble we were in at the moment I beat them to pulp. I left the office with Ava whining about how she was going to lose her job as well. How the Macaulay sisters will get back at us and so mqny more I couldn't make sense of.I said nothing to all her complaints and simply followed her outside the building. “You're not going to say anything?” She asked me. “What do you want me to say?” I asked her. “Take a look at your hand, Ava. Look at what they did to you and tell me if they don't deserve that beating?” She bit her lip. “I think you are acting this way because you have forgotten what it used to be like working under them. Those women can make our lives miserable whether or not, we work for them. You were never like this Sky. You used to be smarter than this!” I looked at her in disbelief. “What is wrong with you? Would you have preferred I stood there and watched them crush your hands?” “Yes! Yes I would! If it means we can go back to
/-Kai-/“Boss, this is the information you asked for,” Reid handed a file to me. I opened it curiously.“Skylar Anderson,” I read then glanced at her picture. This was the audacious woman who damaged my car. I read through her information and I couldn't say I was impressed with what I saw. Former staff of Macaulay Enterprises, lives in a crumbling apartment with a huge pile of debts and an abusive boyfriend. Interesting. So a girl from a rival company attacked me. I didn't think the Macaulays would go that low for a mere business deal. There was no way someone like this could possibly pay for my car but again, that was none of my business. She should have thought about that when she attacked me. I tossed the file on my desk. “Bring her to me.” “Yes boss. What about the friend?” He asked. There was a friend?“I don't care. Bring them both,” I dismissed him.As soon as the door shut, I took out a cigar and lit it. I leaned against my chair, twirling idly as I smoked. It's been two
/-Skylar-/“I can't believe you did that, Sky!” Ava exclaimed. “Good morning to you too, Ava. Did you sleep well?” I asked and she glared at me. “Did I sleep well? We have two people tied up in your closer. We don't even know if they are alive!” She exclaimed.I sighed and walked to the closet. I opened it and they both fell with groans. I looked at Ava with a bored expression. “They are good, happy now?”Khaid struggled to stand but his sloppy partner kept him on the floor. I paid no attention to him as I headed for the kitchen. I opened the fridge and found it empty. Same with the drawers. I looked at Ava who was staring at him with concern. I rolled my eyes and walked back to her. “I need some money,” I told her. “Why?” “Because we're going to starve. My house is practically empty,” I retorted and I saw her shoot Khaid a resentful look. Right! He was the reason I was out for money to begin with. I walked over to his littered clothes and picked his jeans. I found. I found s
/-Skylar-/“Fine! What do I need to do. I don't have a job anymore and I don't have any savings either so how do we do this?” I asked him.He looked at me in disbelief. “You seriously want me to suggest how you earn money to pay me back?” “You need your money back, don't you?” I quipped. “Tell me how to earn it then.” “I really don't care how you are going to make it. I only care about you fixing the damage you've caused. Until you pay back, your friend will remain in our custody!” He said and Ava looked like she would rather die at that moment. “Uhm… how about you take me in your custody instead? I was the one who bashed your car, remember? She had nothing to do with what happened to your car and frankly, of the two of us, she is the one most likely to bring you money for the damages,” I told him. The look on Ava's face was priceless. She didn't seem to know whether to be relieved I was offering to take her place or pissed that I was shifting my responsibilities to her. He took
/-Skylar-/I woke up feeling unusually drained and weak. The lights were almost blinding and I couldn't open my eyes properly.“Daddy… she's awake!” I heard a child's voice. Who the hell was that? My eyes fluttered open and I had to blink repeatedly to keep the light off my eyes. “Raven!” Kai's voice followed and his cologne hit my nostrils as he sat beside me. My vision cleared and I realized his sons were also in the room. A hospital room to be exact. I could smell the drugs and antiseptic. What happened to me?Did that mean that Gwen was here? It was a little weird for her because the woman didn't even like me. She has no reason to be here. “How are you feeling baby?” He asked me.“I… why am I here?” I asked him. My mind was completely blank so I didn't remember anything.“You were poisoned,” he told me. My heart skipped a beat. But it seemed like that was the trigger word because everything came flooding back and so did my suspect.“Did you find how did it?” I asked and his ey
Days later/-Sally-/We were all gathered. Me, Amelia, Diane and about two other people I had no idea about. Diane had explained that the reason we were sucked in by the magic was because we all had strong ties to Declan and her. “What's taking them so long? We've been here for over an hour,” Amelia was the first to complain. I said nothing. I already knew he was having fun with that Raven girl. It wouldn't surprise me if they suddenly decided to stay here. “Let's wait a little longer,” Diane said. She was unbelievably calm for someone that desperately wanted Declan dead. I looked at Amelia who simply looked away.I hope whatever plan she made doesn't immediately backfire. If Diane could still be dangerous in the human world, that means she was going to be terrifying in our timeline. I really wish I could sit this one out. I was caught in the crossfire last time. I would rather not involve myself with fights that had almost nothing to do with me. What I experienced the last ti
/-Kai-/My knuckles turned white against the steering wheel as I swerved into the hospital driveway, tires screeching to a stop. Nurses and an emergency staff rushed toward the car the second they saw me carrying Skylar out, limp and burning up."She's been poisoned," I said sharply, my voice barely holding together. "She was fine this morning. She just ate breakfast and then…""Sir, we'll take it from here," one of them interrupted, but not unkindly.I didn’t want to let her go. Her hand was still curled loosely around my shirt like her body knew it needed me even if her mind had already faded.I bent down, kissed her forehead. "You’re going to be okay. I swear it."Then she was gone, wheeled through double doors I couldn’t follow her through. My arms felt painfully empty.The second I was left alone in the hallway, I dialed Anders “Track every single person that walked into the mansion in the last twenty-four hours. I want footage. I want names. I want blood.”There was no hesitati
/-Skylar-/Anger flashed in their eyes but I couldn't even hide my amusement. They were the ones asking for it anyways. The girls stepped forward as if they stood a chance against me but Kai pulled me behind him. “That's enough!” He snapped and they blinked in surprise. “You two were hospitalized, weren't you? How is that the first thing that came into your mind after waking up was to attack the person that put you there? Did you not learn your lessons the first time?” “Are you seriously defending her now? She was the one…”Kai turned his back to them, clearly uninterested in whatever they had to say. “Let's go baby,” he said softly. “I'll make you something to make you feel better.” I smiled at him and allowed him to take me away. As we walked away, I threw them a smirk and their shocked faces morphed into angry faces.Even if they didn't say anything, I knew they were swearing at me and that made it even more funny. On getting home, Kai picked up the breakfast tray he dropped
/-Skylar-/Ava's death was still fresh in my heart. Most nights I couldn't sleep. I had countless nightmares about that day every time I shut my eyes. Crying myself to sleep was now a routine. I didn't even realise how much I loved her until I lost her. To think it was all my fault. Four days. That was all I had before I saw that murderer again. Before I o my ever viewed her as a victim of circumstances. But now, now I hated her guts. Especially since she killed an innocent girl unprovoked. A girl that was naive enough to threaten her with the police. She was going to pay for this. She had to pay or I would never be able to forgive myself. “Raven…” Kai called and I blinked away the furious thoughts. “Breakfast?” He already had a tray in his hand but I didn't have the appetite for food now. “I… I'm not really hungry,” I told him and his face dropped. I hated that look in his eyes but I just had to reject it. If I threw up right after eating it, it would be a lot more painful tha
/-Skylar-/I hit the ground running and hurried to Ava's side."No, no, no!" I gasped, catching her before she collapsed completely. Her body was trembling, her wide eyes filled with shock and pain as blood seeped from the wound in her chest. My hands were shaking as I pressed them against the injury, desperate to stop the bleeding. "Ava, stay with me! Please!"She coughed, her lips parting as if she wanted to speak, but only a weak wheeze came out. Tears burned my eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen. She had nothing to do with this. Diane had no right—I snapped my head up, fury roaring through my veins. "You bitch!" My voice shook with rage as I glared at the woman responsible for this. "I’ll kill you!"Diane merely tilted her head, her expression unreadable. "Anger won’t bring her back, Raven."I snarled, gripping my blade. She thought this was a game. She thought I wouldn't make her pay. But before I could lunge, Ava weakly grasped my wrist. "Sky… don’t…"My heart clenched. Even
/-Skylar-/I decided to pay Ava a visit. I was so caught up in my own life that I forgot that Skylar had a freaking best friend. Kai was out with Anders so I decided to visit her alone. Even though he told me to tell the driver to take me wherever I wanted to go, I was more comfortable using a cab. I had this strange feeling that I was being watched. I took a glance around but I couldn't find anyone suspicious. Then almost on insist, I entered the cab just a few seconds before the bullet sped past me, hitting the side mirror of the car behind. What the fuck?What is this now?The cab driver was frightened of course and drove off without a second thought. It was a good thing, even though it was somewhat annoying. It didn't take long for me to spot the bastards who shot at me. I wasn't even in the mood to have a conversation with them, to know who sent them or anything. I just wanted to return the favour and go see my friend. I took out my trusty blades. Yup, still wasn't a gun pe
/-Taylor-/“We need to find that girl.” I looked at them in disbelief. They just woke up and all they can think about is causing more trouble? After everything that happened?“She must not get away with what she did to us. She has to pay!”I didn't say a word as I watched them discuss amongst themselves. They didn't even notice the scars on their hands. They were busy obsessing over the girl that put them in the hospital. “We won't go easy on her this time. That good-for-nothing had the audacity to lay her jands on us. By the time we are done with her, she will regret being born.” “Are you two done?” I cut them short and their attention turned to me. “Brother…” They pouted simultaneously. “Can you even listen to yourselves? You just woke up and all you are bothered about is the girl that put you here. Did you even notice the marks on your hands?” I huffed and they looked down at the same time. Their eyes widened with horror as they screamed.“What is this?” “Who did this?’ “Wa
/-Amelia-/Lisa just wouldn't do. Her methods were way too slow. We could end up waiting an entire year or more for Diane to show up. Or worse, she might not even show up at all. I couldn't bear the thought of spending another year in this hell hole. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. If she wouldn't come to me then I would simply go to her. I was already dressed and ready to leave when Taylor suddenly showed up. I groaned inwardly but tried not to let it show. “Mother, they are awake!” He announced. I assumed he was talking about his sisters whose names I forgot every single time. “My! That is good news,” I feigned a smile. “I will make sure to see them when I am back.” His smile immediately dropped. “Seriously?” “What?” I retorted almost impatiently. I had an appointment I needed to catch up with and all this small talk was only slowing me down. “I said I will see them when I get back.” “Your daughters just woke up from a terrifying coma and all you can do is bru