Chapter 17 When Zoey drifted back into consciousness , everything around her was pitch black . Two figures stood before her - both dressed like people from another era . One of them , dressed in black , let out a quiet , helpless sigh . " You haven't exhausted your love yet , " he said . " You can't leave until it's all gone . " And with that , both figures vanished , leaving her alone in the endless darkness . She couldn't feel or hear anything . She just floated there , alone . Until someone seemed to move her body . A strange itch prickled across her skin . She opened her eyes - if one could call it that - and saw a man . A man drowning in sorrow . She didn't know who he was . She had no memories , no sense of who she was or who he might be . But the moment their eyes met , her heart clenched in unbearable pain . Why ? It felt like ... like she had loved him for an entire lifetime . As he dug through the dirt , lifting her bones from the earth , a dull realization began to dawn on her . This was a cemetery . Which meant ... she was dead . She lowered her head , looking down at her hollow , transparent body . Yes . She was dead . She couldn't go anywhere , couldn't leave . All she could do was stand off to the side and quietly watch this man - this heartbreakingly beautiful man . Even in a scene as grotesque as this , his cold , distant aura remained untarnished . ' He must've been someone important to me , ' she thought vaguely . But no matter how hard she tried , her mind stayed blank . Her past was a smear of vague , faceless shadows . She remembered ... being married . She remembered ... having a child . Beyond that , nothing . Her memories were like broken glass - too sharp to touch , yet too fragmented to see clearly . She gave up trying to remember . Sat down quietly , watching him . She thought maybe ... maybe he'd leave after a little while . But he didn't . He sat there for an entire day and night . She could almost see his body fading , becoming translucent . ' If this keeps going , ' she thought , ' he might just die here . ' And for reasons she couldn't explain , she didn't want that to happen . She didn't want him to die . Another person arrived . And strangely , she found him familiar , too - like someone she must have known while she was alive . But his face was also stained with sorrow . As soon as he spotted the man , he dropped to a crouch beside him . " Maxwell ... don't do this , " he said softly . " If Zoey could see you like this ... she'd be heartbroken . " 1/3 Chapter 17 +25 BONUS Maxwell ... She caught his name clearly . It was beautiful . The moment she heard it , it etched itself into her memory . But ... who is Zoey ? Why was he grieving for her ? She glanced back at the man's face , at the unbearable grief carved into his features . Whoever this Zoey was ... she must've meant everything to him . But how could someone like him - a man so breathtaking - end up this devastated ? Zoey sat there , lost in thought . For a long , long time . Long enough that the conversation between the two men ended . Long enough to see Maxwell's body finally give out , collapsing forward . And the moment he fell , her empty , hollow chest clenched so tightly it almost felt like it might shatter . She didn't understand why it hurt so much to see him fall . The other man - the one called Dr. Willow - sighed , pulled out his phone , and called someone to take away the broken , unrecognizable remains for cremation . As the flames consumed her bones , Zoey felt her very soul burning . It hurt . It hurt so much . She struggled , thrashing , trying to move somewhere - anywhere - that didn't hurt . 1 She didn't know how long it lasted . Maybe hours . Maybe years . But eventually , the pain faded . And when she opened her eyes again , she saw Maxwell holding the urn - her ashes - tight against his chest . Somehow , she could feel the warmth of his heartbeat . She could feel the sorrow pouring out of him like an endless tide . For days , he was like a man possessed . Sometimes , she followed Dr. Willow around , watching helplessly as he tried to talk sense into Maxwell . " It's okay , " she found herself whispering . " It'll pass . Everything will pass . " But of course , Maxwell couldn't hear her . He just sat there , murmuring to the urn like a man who had lost everything . Dr. Willow was exhausted . She was exhausted . Then , one night , something pulled her attention . Maxwell was sitting beneath the moonlight , holding the urn in his lap , whispering softly . " Zoey ... can you wait for me a little longer ? I'm coming soon ... I'll come find you ... " And then , he bent down ... and pressed a gentle kiss to the urn . The moment his lips touched it , a sharp , searing pain shot straight through Zoey . She clutched at her hollow chest . Her fingers trembled as she felt the icy warmth of that kiss . And in that moment ... everything became clear . She remembered . 2/3 Chapter 17 She was Zoey . +25 BONUS 313