CHAPTER 3 — THE REALITY
CHAPTER 3 — THE REALITY
“You’re not my husband,” Lena said.
Ryan tilted his head.
“I was,” he replied. “Until you rewrote me.”
Lena stepped back.
“I didn’t do anything!”
A pause.
Then Ryan said:
“That’s what Amara told you to believe.”
The name hit harder than anything else.
“Amara…?”
The lights flickered.
And suddenly Lena wasn’t in her apartment anymore.
She was in a lab.
Glass walls.
Machines.
And herself… standing in front of a prototype body.
Amara’s voice echoed:
“If she remembers, we lose everything.”
---
Lena gasped back to reality.
The apartment was empty now.
No party.
No guests.
Just Amara standing in the middle of the room.
“Surprise,” Amara said softly.
Lena’s voice broke.
“You did this to me?”
Amara sighed.
“I saved you.”
“By erasing my life?!”
Amara shook her head.
“Your life was the lie.”
Ryan stepped forward.
“I wasn’t your husband,” he said.
“I was your protection system.”
Lena whispered:
“Protection from what?”
Silence.
Then Amara answered:
“From yourself.”
---
The walls unlocked.
Hidden doors opened.
And a voice from the building system echoed:
“ORIGINAL SUBJECT AWAKE.”
Lena froze.
Amara looked at her sadly.
“You’re not Lena Brooks.”
“You’re the one who created all of us.”
“And we had to stop you before you finished the last reset.”
Lena stepped back.
“No… that’s impossible…”
Ryan said quietly:
May you like
“You already did it once.”
“And we’re not letting you do it again.”
