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Chapter One — The Name That Doesn’t Exist

Aiden

The hum of the tattoo machine was the only sound in the room, other than the occasional inhale of the guy in his chair. Aiden’s hand was steady, his focus razor-sharp as he filled in the outline of a phoenix on the guy’s forearm.

But his mind? Miles away.

He'd been up all night again, pacing the length of his apartment, eyes glued to the name inked just over his heart.

Lyra.

Not Ava. Not Emily. Not any of the common names that showed up in the soulmate database. No records. No birth certificates. No death certificates either.

She didn’t exist.

“Yo, man,” the client said, pulling him back. “You good?”

Aiden blinked. “Yeah. Almost done.” He wiped away excess ink and leaned back. “Take a look.”

The guy glanced down, nodding in approval, and stood to pay. Aiden barely heard him leave.

Once the door shut, silence wrapped around him like an old, bitter friend. He pressed a hand against his chest through his shirt.

Sometimes he wished he could just rip the name off his skin. But he didn’t believe in erasing fate.

Not yet.

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Lyra

The rain soaked through her hoodie before she reached the front door of the shop.

Black Venom Ink.

It looked closed. Perfect.

She hesitated. The moment she walked in, everything would change.

She pulled the hood tighter, trying to bury the name burning just below her collarbone.

A name she used to dream about.

Now, it was a prison.

Her fingers curled around the cold door handle, and she stepped inside.

The bell above the door rang.

Aiden turned toward the sound, half expecting a regular. But the girl standing there was anything but.

She looked like a ghost — drenched, exhausted, and beautiful in a way that made his breath catch. Her eyes… one hazel, one blue.

She was trembling.

“I… I want a tattoo removed,” she said quietly, not even meeting his gaze.

Aiden frowned. “You know I don’t do erasure.”

She looked up. Her lips trembled.

“It’s a soulmate name.”

Silence.

His world stopped spinning.

“What name?” he asked before he could stop himself.

She slowly peeled the hoodie from her shoulder. There it was—etched into her skin in delicate cursive.

Aiden stared.

And his entire body turned to ice.

Because the name on her skin…

Was his.

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End of Chapter One

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