Chapter 3 Ghosts of the Past

The following days were a blur. Cole reached out after the event, inviting Amara for coffee under the guise of discussing her expertise in fuel logistics. At first she resisted, but eventually she agreed. Over steaming cups of cappuccino, she found herself sharing pieces of her story-not the darkest parts, but enough for him to see she wasn't an ordinary woman.

But the shadows of her past weren't finished with her.

David, her ex, had grown darker since the divorce. He had sunk deeper into internet fraud, but that wasn't all. Amara had begun to suspect he was dabbling in diabolical practices. Strange accidents seemed to follow her whenever she grew close to someone new-business deals collapsing, sudden illness, suitors disappearing without reason. It was as though invisible hands were always tearing down her hopes.

One night, as Amara tucked Ella into bed, Micah came to her, his young face grave.

"Mom," he whispered, "I saw him again. In the dream. Dad. He was... doing things. Bad things. He doesn't want you free."

A chill ran through her.

But when Cole called later that night, his voice steady and warm, she felt a peace she hadn't known in years. Somehow, with him, the arrows never pierced. The attacks that once scattered her now bounced back, as though an unseen shield surrounded them both.

Amara didn't understand it, but she knew one thing: meeting Cole had awakened something divine. And for the first time, she dared to believe that victory-over her past, over the shadows, over the chains David had tried to bind her with-was possible.