The Rescue

The afternoon sun blazed over the city, turning the crowded streets into rivers of heat and noise.

Cars honked. Vendors shouted over one another. People rushed past without a second glance.

For everyone else, it was just another exhausting day. For me, it was the day everything changed.

I stepped out of the bookstore clutching a small paper bag filled with secondhand novels. Reading had always been my escape.

Whenever life became too heavy, I buried myself in someone else's story and pretended mine didn't exist for a while. I preferred the peace of being alone and surrounded by books.

I glanced down at the books and smiled. At least I found them before someone else did Then I checked my phone. Three missed calls. All from my landlord.

My smile disappeared immediately. My rent deadline was approaching, and I was already drowning in unpaid bills.

"Great," I muttered.

I shoved my phone back into my bag carefully. One problem at a time, Dana. I had no idea a much bigger problem was only seconds away.

Across the street, traffic crawled through the crowded intersection. Pedestrians gathered at the curb, waiting impatiently for the light to change. I joined them.

The signal turned green. We started crossing the road.

I was halfway across the road when a deafening screech tore through the air.

SCREEEECH!

Every head turned around towards the direction of the sound. A massive delivery truck came speeding around the corner. Too fast. Way too fast.

The driver fought desperately with the steering wheel as the truck swerved out of control. "LOOK OUT!"

Chaos exploded.

People screamed out at the top of their voices. The sound echoed loudly. They all scattered in every direction. Bags hit the ground. Phones slipped down from people's hands then A child began crying.

But I couldn't move from where I was standing. My body froze immediately. The noise around me faded until all I could hear was the violent pounding of my heart. The truck was coming straight towards my direction.

"No." I whispered.

Then a voice cut through the chaos.

"DANA!"

My head snapped toward the sound Before I could react, strong arms wrapped around my waist.

The force knocked the air from my lungs as my feet left the ground. The world spun Then CRASH!

The truck slammed into the concrete barrier exactly where I had been standing. Metal twisted. Glass shattered. Screams filled the air.

For several seconds, My breathing almost stopped, I couldn't breathe very well again. Someone was holding me tightly, shielding my body with his own. I slowly looked up. My breath caught. My heart beat faster.

"Zaf?"

Zaf Morgan.

The city's most admired young entrepreneur. His face was everywhere billboards, magazines, interviews, and social media And somehow, he had just saved my life.

His chest rose and fell rapidly. His arms were still locked around me as if he was afraid the moment he let go, something else would happen.

"Dana." His voice was breathless. "Are you hurt?"

"I. I don't think so."

His brows pulled together.

"You don't think so?"

A nervous laugh escaped me. "I mean, I'm okay. I think."

Only then did he slowly let go. That was when I noticed his hands were already shaking. He had been terrified too.

"You saved me," I whispered.

Zaf ran a hand through his hair, trying to catch his breath.

"Good thing I got there in time."

"So could you."

He frowned. "What?"

"You could've been hurt too."

Our eyes met each other. For one strange second, everything around us disappeared. Everywhere was very quiet.

No screaming. No sirens. No crowd. Just him and me Then reality came rushing back.

"Oh my God!"

"Did you see that?"

"He jumped into the road for her!"

“Jesus Christ!”

"Someone call an ambulance!"

Phones were everywhere, pointed directly at us. The light flashed around us but Neither of us realized it then, but someone had captured the entire thing And the internet was about to lose its mind.

A teenage content creator named Marcus had been livestreaming near the intersection when the accident happened. His camera caught everything,the speeding truck, me frozen in the middle of the road, Zaf running toward me, and the moment he pulled me out of danger.

Marcus stared at his screen.

"No way," he whispered. "Did I seriously just record that?"

He uploaded the clip. Within minutes, the views exploded. Thousands became tens of thousand Then hundreds of thousands Before long, the video was everywhere.

ZAF MORGAN RISKS HIS LIFE TO SAVE MYSTERY GIRL.

The comments poured in. That man didn't even hesitate!

“Who is the girl?”

This looks like something straight out of a movie. Zaf Morgan is a real life hero.

“Did anyone else see the way he looked at her?”

By the time emergency responders arrived, the internet was already obsessed.

Fortunately, no one had been seriously injured. The truck driver was taken away for questioning, and the crowd slowly began to disperse.

I sat down quietly on a nearby bench, gripping a bottle of water with trembling hands. Zaf sat down beside me.

For a while, neither of us spoke to each other. Everywhere was very quiet for fews seconds, Finally I broke the silence.

"You didn't have to do that."

He turned around toward me. "Do what?"

"Risk your life for me."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"I wasn't exactly thinking."

I let out a weak laugh. "That's a terrible answer."

"It's the truth."

His expression became serious.

"When I saw that truck coming toward you, I just moved."

Something about the way he said it made my heart beat faster. I looked away immediately.

"Well.." I swallowed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

For the first time since the accident, we both relaxed.

Neither of us knew how much our lives had already changed. That evening, I returned to my apartment completely exhausted.

I dropped on the couch, kicked off my shoes, and pulled out my phone. The screen lit up Then the notifications started.

Messages. Tags. Mentions. Friend requests. Thousands of them.

"What the hell is happening?"

I sighed dramatically before leaning back on the couch then I opened one of the links and there I was. Frozen in the middle of the road Then Zaf appeared, running toward me.

I watched him pull me out of the truck's path seconds before the crash. My stomach twisted. My chest hurts painfully. I hadn't realized how close I'd come to dying.

Above the video was a headline in bold letters:

BILLIONAIRE HERO ZAF MORGAN RISKS HIS LIFE TO SAVE MYSTERY GIRL.

Millions of views. Millions of strangers watching the most terrifying moment of my life then My phone suddenly rang. The caller id showed an Unknown number.

I hesitated before answering.

"Hello?"

"Good evening. Am I speaking with Dana Johnson?"

I sat up.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"My name is Sophia. I represent Zaf Morgan's media team."

I frowned.

"His media team?"

"Yes. There's something important we need to discuss with you immediately."

My grip tightened around the phone.

"Discuss what?"

There was a brief silence between us for a fews seconds Then finally Sophia spoke again.

"After what happened today, the public wants to know who you are. And more importantly." She paused. "They want to know what you are to Zaf Morgan."

My heart skipped. My heart beat faster. A strange feeling settled inside my chest. My chest hurts painfully.

"What?"

"We'll explain everything tomorrow."

The call ended.

I stared at my phone for a very long time. Different questions was going through my mind.

“Why did Zaf Morgan's media team need to speak with me?”