He Stole My Sixty Years Of Hard Won Lifespan Chapter 06

He Stole My Sixty Years Of Hard Won Lifespan Chapter 06

He thought she’d do what she always did.

Stay away for half a day, then come slinking back on her own.

But the moment he stepped into the master bedroom, something felt wrong.

The few jackets Mira wore all the time were gone from the walk-in closet.

Her mint toothpaste and towel had disappeared from the bathroom.

Even the old gray bunny slippers by the front door—the pair he’d always complained about and told her to throw away, but she’d never been able to part with—were gone.

Everything that belonged to Mira…

Had vanished.

It was as if she’d never lived there at all.

For the first time, a fear he couldn’t control took hold of Evan.

He immediately activated his high-level system privileges and tried to access Mira’s Time Task records and current location.

The system displayed only a single line of red text.

[This user’s file has been classified. Access denied.]

How was that possible?

Then he remembered the call from the night before.

—

The way she’d said goodbye…

It hadn’t sounded like she was throwing a tantrum.

And after that call, her comm wristband had gone completely offline.

Evan tugged irritably at his collar and forced himself to calm down.

She had to be hiding somewhere.

She was just trying to force him to give in.

It didn’t matter.

She loved him too much to leave for real.

She’d survived everything life had thrown at her.

There was no way she’d die.

In a few days…

She’d come home on her own.

He repeated those thoughts to himself.

But the panic inside him never eased.

…

Meanwhile—

The Null Zone.

Beneath a lifeless gray sky, endless ruins stretched in every direction.

The instant I stepped through the portal, my body finally gave out.

—

Everything went black, and I collapsed.

The pain I expected never came.

Instead, I fell into a pair of strong arms.

The crisp scent of cedar surrounded me.

“Mira?”

A stunned voice sounded above me.

I forced my eyes open.

The face staring back at me belonged to Liam Hayes.

He’d once been my partner.

The only person who could stand shoulder to shoulder with me on an S-Class High-Risk Task.

Three years ago, he’d been critically injured during a mission.

His lifespan had dropped to zero.

The system declared him deceased and exiled him here.

Everyone believed he’d died.

“How are you here?”

Liam’s brows knitted together.

His eyes immediately landed on the countdown racing toward zero on my wrist.

“Where’s your lifespan?”

—

I tried to smile.

I didn’t even have the strength for that.

“I gave it away.”

Liam’s face darkened instantly.

Without another word, he swept me into his arms and hurried deeper into the ruins.

“Don’t be afraid.”

He lowered his head to look at me.

His eyes held a certainty I’d never seen before.

“I’m not letting you die.”

Still carrying me, he pressed his wrist display against mine.

I watched the already meager time left on his wrist display begin flowing into my account.

…

At an upscale gala, Evan absentmindedly swirled the wine in his glass.

Lena drifted through the crowd in a couture gown like a brightly colored butterfly.

It was the very dress Evan had originally planned to give Mira for their anniversary.

He saw one of his business partners wrap an arm around his

—

companion.

Out of habit, he turned, ready to call—

“Mira.”

But when he looked back, all he saw was Lena, wearing Mira’s clothes and laughing flirtatiously with the wealthy son of another guest.

For the first time, a wave of nausea hit him.

He set down his wineglass and turned to leave.

Just then, the massive screen in the center of the ballroom switched to an official broadcast from the Time Authority.

“Next, we bring you the latest casualty report for High-Risk Task operatives…”