She''d caught the eye of some dangerous men. One afternoon, walking home from school along a lonely back road, she barely had time to react-a shadow darted out from the tangled bushes. Rough hands mped over her mouth, cutting off her scream. Her eyes went wide with panic as she struggled and kicked, but she didn''t stand a chance. He dragged her away, out of sight, all the way to an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town.

    Inside, she found herself in a nightmare. Teenagers, boys and girls, trapped together—each one enduring horrors no one should ever face. Fear gripped her like a vice. On her first day, she hadn''t been through their "inspection," so she was spared the worst of it, at least for the moment. But pain is pain, and humiliation cuts deep.

    Her ribs were stomped until she heard something crack. She was forced to strip, her dignity crushed alongside her body. The pain was almost unbearable, but the shame was worse. And it didn''t end there-she watched as other kids were abused by thugs in slick suits, their cruelty on full disy. It was too much. She broke downpletely, her face drained of color, her mind nk with terror.

    Then, just when it seemed hope was gone, Nathan burst in with the police. They were saved.

    But after two days locked in that warehouse-after seeing so much horror-she couldn''t shake the trauma. Nightmares haunted her every night.

    Nathan apologized again and again, his voice thick with guilt. "I''m sorry, sis. This is all my fault. If it weren''t for me, you wouldn''t have been there. I''ll make it up to you, I swear."

    He didn''t really understand.

    They say time heals all wounds.

    For a year, Nathalie and Nathan leaned on each other, the only family they had left. Nathan''s patience and quiet care gently soothed her pain. In return,

    Nathalie''s hard work, sharp mind, and quiet courage built a little world for them to call home.

    Life threw plenty at them-poverty, hunger, the sneers of narrow-minded people, the sharp tongue of an unforgiving mother. But after what they''d survived, none of it seemed quite so hard.

    Memories pricked at Nathalie''s heart-tiny needles, each one sharp and fresh. The worst of those days felt like they''d happened only yesterday.

    She looked at Nathan and, for the first time, truly saw the calm in his eyes. It wasn''t peace. It was the emptiness that follows despair so deep, you stop feeling anything at all.

    No wonder he could let go so easily.

    No matter how far Nathan hade, the old wounds from that warehouse had never really healed.

    Suddenly, Nathalie dropped to the ground, sobbing for Nathan and the pain he''d carried all these years.

    "Nathalie."

    Nathan gently set aside the mirror that showed their shared past and walked over. "Don''t be sad. For me, this is finally freedom."

    She gazed at him-he seemed to glow, somehow fading at the edges. She knew he didn''t have much time left in this world. She wanted to say so much, but in the end, all she could offer was a promise. "Whatever you wish for, I hope ites true in your next life."

    Nathan smiled, his body growing more and more transparent, his voice almost like a breeze. "Nathalie, if there''s a next life, let me be the one to protect you. I''ll cross Oceans and mountains just to find you."

    Nathalie remembered another lifetime-another world. After her divorce from Cameron, she''d left everything behind, starting over in a foreign country. That''s where she met Nathan again.

    At first, it looked like she was the one saving him-bruised, lost, and alone. But the truth was, Nathan had always been quietly protecting her, helping her through her studies, cheering her on as she built her new life.  s?novel

    Now she wondered-had Nathane into that world remembering what had happened before? Maybe he''d waited, hoping she''d find him when she needed him most.

    It had seemed like she''d rescued him. But in the end, it was Nathan who had saved her.