Episode 1 – The Girl Who Fell From Time

The sound of sirens echoed in the distance. Rain fell in silver sheets, cold and relentless, as traffic honked and lights flickered across the skyline of Verden City.

Auren Kain didn’t notice the storm.

He sat in the backseat of his bulletproof SUV, fingers flying across his tablet screen, eyes unreadable, sharp as blades. Stock numbers danced. Contracts blinked for signatures. Another hostile takeover was hours away from being finalized.

Business as usual.

Until the impact.

A deafening crash shook the vehicle. The roof above dented inward with a metallic groan, and shards of glass rained down from the cracked sunroof.

The driver slammed the brakes.

“What the hell—?” Auren growled, already unbuckling, heart pounding from pure irritation, not fear. “What did we hit?”

“Nothing,” his driver said, wide-eyed. “Something... fell.”

Auren stepped out into the storm, suit drenched within seconds. He looked up—and froze.

There, sprawled across the roof of his car, was a girl.

A girl in a torn white gown. Barefoot. Blood trickling down her temple. Her chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths. Around her neck hung a glowing blue stone—faint, pulsing like a dying heartbeat.

She looked like she'd been ripped straight from a fantasy novel. Or a dream.

Or a nightmare.

Auren’s jaw tightened. “Call an ambulance.”

As the driver reached for his phone, the girl stirred.

“No hospital,” she croaked.

Auren blinked.

She sat up slowly, trembling, eyes wild with confusion. Rain plastered her dark hair to her face, and her fingers curled protectively around the glowing pendant.

“They’ll find me…” she whispered. “They’ll kill me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Who, exactly?”

She blinked at him. Her gaze locked onto his—intense, unblinking. Then something shifted behind her eyes. Recognition.

“Auren Kain,” she said, voice barely audible. “Even here... it’s you.”

He stilled. “Have we met?”

“In another life,” she murmured. “Another timeline.”

Auren stared at her like she'd gone mad.

Because surely, she had.

But something in her tone… something in her eyes… stopped him from walking away.

One Hour Later

She sat on a sleek black leather couch in his penthouse office, wrapped in a towel, shivering beside a fireplace. Her wet gown was draped over a chair to dry. Auren stood several feet away, arms folded, watching her like a puzzle he didn’t trust—but couldn’t stop solving.

She wouldn’t give her last name. Wouldn’t say where she was from. Claimed she didn’t exist on any record.

“I’m not crazy,” she said, quietly. “I promise.”

Auren said nothing. Just poured two fingers of whiskey into a glass and handed it to her.

She didn’t take it.

“I didn’t come here on purpose,” she added. “The Time Gate—”

“There’s no such thing as a Time Gate,” he interrupted flatly.

“Not in this timeline,” she said. “But where I come from, it’s real.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What are you trying to say? You’re a time traveler? From another dimension?”

“Yes.”

“And I’m… who, in your story? Your captor? Your knight in shining armor?”

Her voice trembled. “My fiancé.”

He blinked.

Serene looked up at him, her expression soft, haunted. “You were different there. Cold, but powerful. A prince. A ruler. You promised me safety. Then you locked me in the tower and called it love.”

He didn’t respond. His fingers tapped the edge of his desk, once. Twice.

“And then?” he finally asked.

She looked away. “You destroyed everything.”

Silence stretched between them. The fire crackled in the hearth. Rain ticked softly against the glass windows.

“Why me?” Auren asked. “Why now?”

“I didn’t choose to land here,” she said. “The Gate was collapsing. I ran, and it opened to this world.”

“And you just happened to land on my car?”

“I wish I hadn’t,” she whispered. “Because even here… you feel the same.”

Auren took a slow breath. “You expect me to believe this story?”

“No,” she said, eyes tired. “But part of you already does.”

He frowned.

“Your dreams,” she said. “The flashes. The headaches. The memories you don’t understand. You see me in them, don’t you?”

His expression shifted. Barely—but it shifted.

And that was all the confirmation Serene needed.

“Time doesn’t forget,” she said softly. “Not entirely. And neither do we.”

Auren turned away, walking toward the window, jaw clenched tight.

Something inside him had ached the moment he saw her. Something ancient. Something buried. She was wrong, of course—she had to be—but the way she said his name, the way she looked at him...

He hated how much it rattled him.

She stood slowly, the towel clutched tightly around her.

“I’ll leave,” she said. “You don’t have to help me. I just needed a place to breathe.”

“You can’t go outside like that,” he said without turning. “You’ll get arrested. Or worse.”

Silence.

“You’re not letting me go,” she said, almost amused.

He finally looked at her again, silver eyes unreadable. “Not until I figure out what the hell you are.”

“I already told you.”

“Yes. And I don’t believe a word of it.”

“Then why haven’t you called the police?”

His jaw flexed. “I haven’t decided if you’re dangerous yet.”

Serene met his gaze, her eyes steady despite the tears threatening at the edges.