Page 9 of Rose
They came to steal from them... and they stoleeverything.
Her husband. Her peace. Her future.
And maybe, her baby too.
Tears blurred her vision as she collapsed beside him, the heat closing in.
All she could do was hope this was a nightmare. That she’d open her eyes and find him smiling beside her, alive, safe, whole.
But deep down, she knew.
The love that once filled this house was gone—burned to ashes along with their dreams.
And as her eyes drifted shut, her body weak and broken, she knew this was the end for her too.
Chapter 1
R - Ruin
“What’s left when love burns you alive?”
One Year Later
The sky still wore its dark, quiet robe at six a.m. in Miami, Florida. The streets were nearly empty, save for a few coffee shops and donut spots flickering awake, offering warmth to the city’s earliest souls. Even the birds were still asleep, their songs yet to fill the air. The moon lingered faintly overhead, refusing to let go.
The breeze was cool, brushing against her skin. But Ahzii hadn’t felt a chill in months. All she knew was heat—the searing kind that came from living inside your own personal hell.
Her feet pounded against the concrete, each step sharp, fast, relentless. To the world, she looked like just another runner getting in an early workout. But this wasn’t about fitness.
This was escape. She wasn’t running for health. She was running from ghosts. From the life she lost. From the fire that destroyed everything she ever loved.
The Ahzii Rose of a year ago was gone. Dead.
Her identity, her love, her light—burned alive in that house alongside her husband. And if hell hadn’t finished with her that night, it came for her days later.
She’d woken up in the hospital with scars and stitches, only to be told the one thing she fought to hold onto—her baby girl—never took a single breath.
No first cry. No heartbeat. No life.
Just silence.
She remembered holding her... cold and still... the last piece of William, gone before she could say hello.
If A’Mazi hadn’t charged into that burning house, risking his own life to drag her unconscious body out before it collapsed, she’d be dead too. And part of her wished he hadn’t saved her. Part of her wished she’d died there... beside them. In Heaven. With them.
But life, cruel as ever, forced her to wake up. Forced her to live in a world where she watched her husband die in front of her... and their baby days later.
Now every morning, she woke up to an empty house where laughter should’ve lived. Where chubby toddler feet should’ve pitter-pattered across the floor. Where William’s arms should’ve been wrapped around her, warm and safe.
Instead, there was nothing. Just silence. Just pain. Every day was hell.
But it was the only life she had left.
Ahzii gripped the leash tighter in her hand, her knuckles pale against the thick leather. Ace, her Rottweiler, trotted beside her with steady, protective steps. A’Mazi had given him to her, knowing how much she needed something—someone—to fill the gaping hole in her chest. And Ace did just that. In his own way, the big, loyal dog guarded what little of her heart she had left.
But no matter how fiercely he guarded it, some pieces were already gone.
So much of her had changed.
