Breaking news: At 10:23 this morning, Northbridge Airways Flight NA620 disappeared over the Pacific while on its scheduled route

Watera relentless surge of water rushing in from all directions, pressing her chest so tightly she thought it might explode. Hazel kicked and flailed, desperate for air as suffocating panic clawed at her throat.

And thensuddenlyshe felt a buoyant force under her, lifting her upwards. The roar of the ocean faded, and after what felt like an eternity, her eyes snapped open.

She was sitting in a bathtub.

Hazels mind reeled. She distinctly remembered being aboard the plane bound for Alderhaven. The flight attendants had just begun handing out meals when turbulence rocked the cabin violently. Then someone shoutedthe left wing was billowing black smoke.

The plane had plummeted into the ocean. Chaos erupted as passengers wrestled to put on life vests faster than the seawater surged in, filling the cabin inch by inch

Now, Hazels thoughts blurred. Was this dream or reality?

A raw itch prickled her throat, and before she could suppress it, she coughed hard. Footsteps approached from outside, followed by the creak of the door swinging open.

And then she saw hima face she knew, intimately familiar. Hazels eyes instantly brimmed with tears. Her mouth wobbled into a pitiful pout as she reached out, childlike, begging for comfort. Gab!

Droplets of water hung from her lashes, and the fearwhether born of dreams or fractured memorieschurned in her chest.

Gabriel Jennings, her husband. They had fallen in love in high school, married after college. In the world of Hazel Lynch, no one treasured her moreGabriel held that crown firmly.

Hazel expected him to scoop her up, press a soft kiss to her cheek, and soothe her with tender reassurance. Its just a bad dream. Im here. Dont be scared.

But instead, his hands closed tightly around her throat.

The realization hit her like a slap. This wasnt right. The man before her looked like Gabrielbut he wasnt Gabriel.

"Who sent you? The audacityyou really thought wearing this face would fool me?" His cold, predatory tone cut through the haze like a blade, and his dark eyes bore into her with a cruelty that made her skin prickle.

Hazels breath hitched. This manthis man wanted her dead.

"You have two choices," he continued, his voice airily indifferent yet weighted with menace. "Either you take that face off yourself, or Ill destroy it for you."

It wasnt a threat; there was no ambiguity. He meant every word. Without waiting for her answer, he straightened, plucked a tissue from the counter, and wiped his hands with exaggerated precision like she was something filthy hed accidentally touched.

Cold. Fear licked at her skin like ice water. Hazel shivered, from both the chill and the terror.

The Gabriel she remembered was sunshine incarnate, always patient with her whims, humoring her every mood with a warmth that radiated like the light of youth. Shed tease him for clinging to his clean-cut look, his wind-swept hair untainted by gel or pomade, refusing the polished attire that other business tycoons wore. Even after becoming a father and ascending to the helm of their company, Gabriel had insisted he wouldnt trade his boyish style for anything, just because she loved it.

But the man nowhe wasnt that Gabriel. His slicked-back hair parted neatly at the side contrasted with the open collar of a tailored black shirt, and his once-bright eyes had darkened, impossibly shadowed. He radiated dangerlike a predator laying in wait with razor-sharp claws ready to strike.

She looked closerat his collarbone, where a faint scar lingered. Hazels throat tightened. That was unmistakable, a mark left behind from shattered glass when hed saved her years ago.

Her lips trembled. She stared at the fine lines around his eyes, traces of time subtly stitched into his face.

"You...youve aged," she whispered, stunned.

It felt impossible, yet underneath the transformation, she was certain: this was Gabriel.

His hawkish gaze narrowed, a flicker of fury etched deeper into his expression. "Clever imitationeven your voicebut I dont do replacements. Whoever sent you, theyre dead. So will you be, unless"

"Gab...you really dont know who I am? Is this a joke? Am I dreaming? Have I traveled through time? This cant be real!" Hazel cut him off mid-threat, her voice rising with frustration and bafflement.

She slammed her palm against the water, sending droplets flying. "You! Are you or are you not Gabriel Jennings?!" she demanded.

His silence was sharp as a blade. Those who knew this version of Mr. Jennings would recognize the prelude to bloodshedhe killed with expression alone.

Hazel had been scared moments ago, but adrenaline drowned her fear. This mans facethe sheer familiaritystirred an anger hotter than terror.

"You grew up in Cloudcity, didnt you? Ruyan Districteast alley! You were good at everything except singing! You were allergic to mangoes but ate them anyway because I loved them! You"

Her accusations tumbled out in an unrelenting torrent, cracking through her sadness. When her fingers brushed the tender bruises on her neck, the flood of emotions surfaced, and the tears shed been holding backrage, anguish, humiliationstreamed freely.

Gabriel stared, his breathing shallow and staggered; each of her words struck like lightning, peeling away his composure layer by layer. His hands, clenched at his sides, trembled violently, muscles taut beneath his skin. The crimson in his eyes burned brighter, charged with something raw, primal.

"Who are you?" he rasped, his voice staggered and hoarse, every syllable scraped from an abyss.

"IHazel! Im Hazel Lynch! Who the hell else would I be?!"

She scrambled out of the bathtub, wrestling herself into a bathrobe, her sobs blurring the face before her. She shoved him aside as she stormed past, pushing hard enough to send him stumbling backward.

"Get out of the way, you jerk!"

Jerkthat had always been Hazels go-to insult whenever she fought with Gabriel.

From where he slumped against the wall, Gabriel gazed at her, gasping like hed been dragged from the depths of the ocean. His fist slammed into the wall, knuckles splitting as blood trickled onto the plaster. He stared at his hand, at the pain searing through him, like it was his one anchor to reality.

This was real.

Inside the bathroom, Hazel changed out of her soaked clothes, her mind racing. She was certain the plane crash wasnt a figment of her imaginationshed lived it. She was still wearing the outfit shed boarded with. Then how had she ended up here? And what on earth had happened to Gabriel?

Before she could gather her thoughts, the door flew open without warning. Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her close into the warmth she knewa scent that felt carved into her very soul.

Her nerves loosened their taut hold. Hazel muttered, "Gabriel, whats happening? The planeit crashed. I fell into the ocean. How did I get here, and what kind of attitude were you pulling just now"

She froze midsentence. Dampness spread across her neck. Gabriel was crying.

"Haz...youve been gone for fifteen years." The words fractured, broken by heavy sobs. "I thought Id gone mad trying to find you. Haz."

Hazel stilled, his arms tightening around her waist. Her mind reeled.

Fifteen years. What?!