Chapter 3: No Easy Outs

The system’s hundreds of warnings weren’t wrong.

Because the second I landed in this world, the second I tried to catch a glimpse of James Donovan from afar, his burly bodyguards spotted me.

James was dressed in black, a long coat thrown over his shoulders, standing at the elementary school gates waiting for his son to get out.

He didn’t even glance my way.

I looked at the sharp, cold lines of his profile, and some strange, uncontrollable emotion welled up in my chest.

It made me so sad I almost wanted to cry.

I was dazed, lost in the moment, not even noticing the bodyguards coming up.

They shoved me hard against a brick wall, pain shooting through my side.

One of the guards glared at me, his voice low and threatening: “People who shouldn’t be looking shouldn’t stare.”

He shot a cold glance at my crumpled figure on the ground. “If there’s a next time, it won’t end this easy.”

I clutched at the rough, icy sidewalk, the taste of copper in my mouth, blinking back tears. The world spun a little, the shouts of kids and the distant blare of a car horn blending into white noise. Only their threat lingered, heavy as winter sleet on my skin.