I Shine Without Him

Emma was working the night shift at the convenience store when the glass door slammed open. A blood-soaked man staggered in and locked the door behind him. She recognized those eyes—three years ago, at the crash site, he had held her dying body and wept until his voice broke. Back then, she was called Lena Walker. Now she’s Emma Kim, living under a new identity, even her heartbeat trained to lie. "Don’t call the police," he gasped, knuckles pressing against the counter. "They’re trying to kill me… because of you." Footsteps echoed outside. Three shadows passed across the window. Without hesitation, she lifted the counter flap and pulled him into the back. She brought antiseptic, gauze, a needle and thread. Her hands were steady—not like someone saving a life, but fulfilling a fate. He stared at her. "You’ve changed." "And aren’t you alive too?" she shot back coldly. "Didn’t you swear to die with me after I was gone?" Before the words faded, gunfire exploded outside. Glass shattered. A man kicked the door open, gun aimed at her head: "Walker bloodline—you're due to pay." Lucas lunged. A struggle erupted. A bullet grazed her cheek. Blood dripped onto his lips. He suddenly smiled. "Remember this taste? You once said blood was your favorite perfume." When the police arrived, they found the two of them sitting in a pool of blood, laughing at each other like lunatics. The media captured it all. The headline rocked the city: *Behind the Nightclub Shooting: Lovers or Accomplices?* But only Emma sensed something was wrong. In the moment before he lost consciousness, he slipped her a note that read: *You’re not Lena. Who are you?* And on the last page of her diary, written in unfamiliar left-handed script: "This time, I’ll kill you." In her past life, the childhood sweethearts stayed in love until old age. Reborn together, she expects happiness—until he dumps her for his hidden "true love." Heartbroken but proud, she's adopted by a top-tier family, starts fresh, and writes her own ending where she calls the shots.