It was supposed to be a normal morning.
Luna Carter told herself that four times as she got dressed, five times while waiting for her bus, and a final time as she rode the elevator to the twelfth floor of Willow Creek City Hall.
But "normal" didn't seem to follow Luna around.
Not anymore.
Not since she opened the red box.
Not since the word Seraphina started echoing in her dreams like a name lost to time.
Not since she met him — Asher Grayson.
The walking thunderstorm in a tailored black suit.
And every time she saw him — even when he wasn't looking at her — something inside her cracked open just a little more.
---
The hallway outside the Legal Department buzzed like a disturbed beehive. Interns darted between desks, printers spit out endless sheets, and someone in accounting was having a nervous breakdown over coffee filters again.
Luna moved through it all like she was underwater. She clutched two case files to her chest, barely dodged a rolling office chair, and weaved through a stack of precariously balanced legal binders.
She needed caffeine. Badly.
Her brain still reeled from last night — the name Seraphina, the garden behind the church, and Asher's voice telling her:
> "We tried to love each other."
What did that mean?
Were they lovers? Enemies? Something in between?
And why did she keep seeing fire when she closed her eyes?
---
Her thoughts were so loud, she didn't hear the footsteps.
Didn't see the man rounding the corner.
Didn't realize her cup of steaming hot coffee was about to collide with someone's very expensive shirt.
Until—
Crash!
Brown liquid splashed like an explosion across black fabric. Luna stumbled back in horror.
"Oh no no no no—oh my God! I'm—I'm so sorry—"
She looked up.
Of course.
Of course it was him.
---
Asher Grayson stood perfectly still, coffee dripping from his chest and sleeves. His black dress shirt clung slightly to the muscles underneath. The coat over his shoulders was already ruined.
He didn't say a word.
The hallway fell silent. Phones paused ringing. Interns froze mid-sentence. Somewhere, a printer jammed.
Luna's eyes widened. Her voice was a high-pitched whisper. "I think I might actually throw myself down the stairwell."
Asher blinked once, slowly.
"I can fix this," she blurted. "I have napkins. Or a time machine. Whichever works faster."
Still, he said nothing. His expression was unreadable — a perfect poker face chiseled out of marble and coffee-stained dignity.
"I swear I wasn't aiming for you," she added, rummaging for tissues. "You just… happened to appear. Like a terrifying wizard."
That finally made his eyebrow twitch.
---
She stepped forward, dabbing at his shirt with trembling hands.
"I'll pay for dry cleaning. Or like, buy you a new—"
Her fingers brushed his chest.
And everything… stopped.
The hallway vanished.
The world fell away.
A searing pulse surged through her fingertips — not hot from coffee, but alive with something else. Something electric.
She gasped.
So did he.
And for one fleeting second, Luna saw something she couldn't explain:
A room made of flame.
A ring falling from her hand.
Asher screaming her name — but not Luna.
> Seraphina.
And just like that—
The vision vanished.
---
She stumbled backward, eyes wide. Her hand trembled.
Asher stared at her like she'd struck him.
"You felt that," he said, voice low, rough.
She didn't trust herself to speak. She just nodded, stunned.
"What was that?" she whispered.
He didn't answer.
Instead, he stared at her like she was a puzzle he'd spent centuries trying to solve.
Then, very softly, almost to himself:
> "The magic remembers you."
---
Luna turned on her heel and ran.
Not literally. Not dramatically. But fast enough that she nearly knocked over the HR bulletin board and clipped a ficus on her way around the corner.
Her pulse wouldn't calm down.
She ducked into the small café nook on the floor below, collapsed into a seat, and buried her face in her hands.
"What was that?!" she whispered fiercely. "Seriously, what was that?"
Her palm still tingled from where she'd touched him.
And the worst part?
It hadn't felt like the first time.
---
Across the hall, Asher Grayson entered his office, removed his soaked coat, and leaned against the window.
Rain trickled slowly down the glass. His shirt clung to his chest. But it wasn't the coffee bothering him.
It was her.
The vision had come back — not just fragments this time, but emotion. Heat. Her voice.
The curse was waking up again.
And Luna Carter was right in the middle of it.
---
Meanwhile, the front lobby doors of City Hall swung open.
And in walked Sienna Vale.
Every click of her high heels echoed like a countdown.
Dressed in a white silk pantsuit that shimmered faintly under the fluorescent lights, Sienna moved through the building like a storm in disguise. Hair sleek, eyes sharp, lips the color of blood and war.
She didn't need to be announced. She was the announcement.
The receptionist sat up a little straighter. "Ms. Vale! We weren't expecting—"
"I know," she purred. "Tell Asher I'm here. And no"—she tapped the marble counter—"he doesn't get to reschedule me."
Her gaze swept the room like a queen checking for threats.
She found none.
But she wasn't looking for threats.
She was looking for Luna Carter.
She just didn't know it yet.
---
Back in the café, Luna was trying to calm her brain with a fresh cup of decaf. (She didn't trust herself with actual caffeine anymore.)
A girl flopped into the seat beside her — notebook, lip gloss, and dramatics in tow.
"Hey bestie," she sang. "Who'd you assault with coffee this time?"
Luna groaned. "Don't make me say it."
The girl's eyes widened. "Oh my God. No."
"Yes."
"No."
"It was him."
"ASHEEER GRAYSON?" Her friend gasped so loud the lady at the pastry counter dropped a croissant.
Luna buried her face again. "Please end me."
"Oh no, honey. I am reviving you." She leaned in, whispering gleefully. "I saw the way he looked at you yesterday — like you were either the key to his destruction or the love of his past life. That man has brooding trauma chemistry."
"Not helping."
"So when you splashed him, did his shirt cling all perfectly?"
"I'm not talking about his shirt."
"I'll take that as a yes." She grinned. "So? What happened?"
Luna paused.
Then whispered:
> "Something… magical."
---
Later that afternoon, Luna tried to focus on actual work. She sat at her desk pretending to type while secretly Googling ancient symbols, magical curses, and names tied to Seraphina.
She found nothing concrete. Just myths. Folklore.
But one thread kept appearing.
Fire.
Rings.
Time.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
And then a shadow passed behind her.
She turned.
Asher.
He didn't say anything. Just paused at her desk and handed her a file.
His hand brushed hers again.
A spark.
Small.
Still there.
He met her eyes — not cold this time.
Just… quiet.
"Be careful," he murmured.
And walked away.
---
At that exact moment, on the top floor of the building, Sienna Vale stood at Asher's old office window, arms folded.
She had the Grayson family crest on her bracelet. She knew secrets even Asher didn't.
And she had waited long enough.
"I warned you, Asher," she said softly to herself. "Fate doesn't like to be rewritten."
Behind her, a folder rested on the desk.
A photo of Luna inside it.
Labeled in red: Possible Reincarnation Match: Seraphina.
Sienna closed the folder with a faint smile.
"Let's see how long she survives this time."
---
End of Chapter