The Secrets of Their Souls (24 page)

With shaky hands, she picked up the receiver.

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Her body shivered and she wondered where she was going to get the strength she needed to go ahead with this plan.

“Good morning, Jayce Tohmatsu’s office, Olivia speaking.”

“Hi, Olivia, it’s Zahra Foster. I wonder if it’s possible to speak to or leave a message for Jayce, please?”

Olivia paused and then said, “Please hold.”

Zahra waited, tapping her foot anxiously.

“Zahra?”

The sound of his voice resurrected a mountain of emotions that she didn’t want to feel, and when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. Ten seconds passed before she finally she found her voice, one so dominated by nerves that she barely recognized it. “Hi, are you busy?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Um… No, but I need to speak to you about something. Are you free sometime today?”

He hesitated and she held her breath. “Zahra, that’s not a good idea.”

“I know, but it’s important to me.”

There was another long silence before he answered. “Okay… do you want to come up now?”

“Sure, I will be there in a few minutes.”

She didn’t want to go, she didn’t want to see him, but she needed him. She picked up her cell and walked to the elevator. Her legs felt weaker with each floor the cart ascended.

Olivia gestured for her to go straight through. She hesitated at the door, though, eventually forcing herself to open it. He was sitting at his desk when she walked in and at first glance he looked exactly like the Jayce Tohmatsu she remembered, but as she walked closer, and looked into his eyes, she saw half the man she had once known—the man sitting in front of her was hurting and barely able to look at her.

Zahra sat down, covering her plastered arm with the other, as if that would somehow make it less obtrusive. In a moment of weakness, she almost fled from the room, but needing to know their past made her stay. Her body sat heavy in the chair, moments passing with neither of them saying a word.

“Church Street sold out and broke records. That must have made you happy,” Zahra said in an attempt to break the ice.

He nodded his head softly. “Everyone did well.
You
did very well.”

Zahra nodded her head, her heart breaking all over again. “I have a favor to ask.”

He raised his eyebrows and waited for her to continue.

Zahra fretted with the piping on her blazer sleeve. “I have been seeing a past life regression therapist—Dr. Moore. Unfortunately, though, I can’t seem to regress despite several attempts. For a girl who has, or had,” Zahra corrected, “such graphic dreams, that seems inconceivable but it is what it is, I suppose. Anyway, I half-explained our situation to him—that we are colleagues and that we have both seen parts of our past-life together—and he suggested it might be worthwhile trying to regress you.”

The color drained from his face and his veins became visible underneath his now white skin. He leaned forward on the desk and hid behind his hands. Zahra waited patiently, giving him time; she would no doubt have reacted the same way had he surprised her with this proposition.

“Maybe your mind is blocking you for a good reason,” he said before looking up at her. “The past is done, Zahra. I’m trying bury it, not bring it back to life. Please let this go,” he pleaded.

“I can’t! I can’t believe that this was all for nothing, that we found each other and have hurt each other again for nothing. There has to be some greater purpose to this or what has been the point? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Life is painful and it doesn’t make sense. The sooner we accept that the better.”

Zahra shook her head rebelliously. “No. I can’t believe that.”

“What do you want to get out of this?”

“I don’t know, but I feel like I need to see more of our past to understand what we are supposed to learn from this.” She chewed her cheek unconsciously, only stopping when she realized she could taste blood. She could see that he didn’t want to do this and she wasn’t going to beg, so she stood up and gave him a pass. “I doubt whether we would be able to get an appointment anyway, since he’s extremely booked up.” Zahra walked toward the door, defeated.

“What is his number?”

She paused.

“I don’t want to do this, at all, but if it’s that important to you, I will,” Jayce said. “Write down his number, and I will organize it.” His chin was tilted up and he was looking at the ceiling, looking anywhere but at her. She wanted to take away his pain but she couldn’t, she couldn’t even take away her own pain.

“Thank you,” Zahra said, writing down the telephone number.

Back in her office, Zahra held a team meeting for their next project. Church Street was a true success story but that was not emblematic of Luma Street—they would have to up their game again, a ceaseless ambition for the next project to be even better.

As lunch approached, Zahra checked her cell:

Zahra read the message several times and was even more surprised to notice it came in several hours ago. She questioned how he had managed to get an appointment at eleven o’clock at night, in his office no less. Money talks, she thought, and Dr. Moore was not above it.

For the rest of the day, the evening’s upcoming therapy session was like a ghost in the back of her mind. Zahra knew they only had one chance—if this didn’t work Jayce would not do it again. She decided to eat dinner at the office rather than go home, and at 10:55 p.m., she walked into Jayce’s waiting room. The lights were on but there was no sign of Olivia, which Zahra was grateful for. The door to Jayce’s office was parted and she could hear two voices talking. She recognized them both and she wanted to stay back and listen to their conversation, although she was sure the clicking of her heels had announced her arrival.

Jayce and Dr. Moore sat on the couches opposite each other. Zahra shook the doctor’s hand as she walked in and nodded to Jayce who, from the outside, appeared calm but she knew otherwise. She took a seat on the single chair, not wanting to sit next to either of them.

“Jayce and I have been chatting,” Dr. Moore said. “I have advised him it is very rare that both involved remember the same past life, or are even aware of your past lives. In fact, I have never seen it in all my years.”

Zahra nodded and glanced across at Jayce. He also nodded his head but said nothing.

“What we’re going to do tonight is regress you,” he said to Jayce. “You will be comfortable and relaxed, but at no stage are you in any danger. It is very safe. You can open your eyes at any time and you can stop whenever you want. You will never get ‘stuck,’ as some people think. Just experience what you see or feel, don’t react to it, don’t judge it. Whatever comes into your mind is fine. If you want to sit back in the chair and relax, we’ll get started.”

Zahra also sat back in her chair with her hands pressed together, nervous but grateful that Jayce was doing this for her.

“Please close your eyes, and let your body relax. Relax the muscles of your face and your jaw, let go of all tension. Let go of the tightness in your body, go deeper and deeper and relax. Let all your troubles fade away. Relax your shoulders, your arms, your chest, your back, your legs, your toes.

Imagine now that there is a beautiful, healing light above your head. Let that light come into your body now. Imagine that the light heals your body, wherever you need it most, and that it cocoons you like a bubble, a protective bubble. Let your mind go deeper now, so deep that you can remember every experience you’ve ever had whether in this body or any other body. You can remember everything.”

He counted backward from ten, and after he reached one, he continued.

“You are in a blissful state of calm. Imagine yourself walking into a garden, full of beautiful flowers. It is peaceful in the garden. Imagine now that you find a place to stop and rest. This place is filled with the healing light and you go deeper again. You can remember everything.

Let us go back in time now. I am going to count down from five to one and you are going to go back to a time that is significant for you. Whatever comes into your awareness is fine.”

After counting down the numbers once more, he asked, “What do you become aware of?”

“I’m in a tunnel, it’s very dark.”

It was working. Jayce spoke slowly, deliberately, and Zahra leaned forward eagerly, resting her chin on her hand, careful not to make a single noise.

“That’s good. What else do you see?”

“There are carvings on the stone walls, but I can only see a few steps ahead. I’m a young child, I shouldn’t be in here.”

“Do you know why you are in the tunnel? How do you feel?”

“I’m running to the end, to the light. I’m scared.”

“That’s okay, you’re okay. Are you alone?”

“Yes, but my friend is waiting for me at the top of the stairs, at the light. She has the blue stone. It sparkles.”

“What kind of stone is it?”

“… It’s a healing stone. She stole it and I have to get it back.”

“Can you see your friend now?”

“Yes, I’m at the bottom of the stairs now, and she is standing at the top.”

“What does she look like?”

“She is older. She has long red hair. She’s smiling at me.”

“Do you know her name?”

“… I can’t remember.”

Dr. Moore’s eyes flickered to Zahra’s before he asked his next question.

“Do you recognize her from another lifetime?”

“… Yes, it’s Zahra…” Jayce paused. “No, no… She’s closing the tunnel door… I can’t get out!”

Love hadn’t been enough to save them.

Zahra Foster is alone again and once more haunted by the night. If Zahra thought Raven’s past was bad, nothing could have prepared her for Makare’s.

While Zahra tries to piece together the fragments of her past lives, Jayce is dealing with his own demons. The Tohmatsu family is being threatened, and Jayce blames himself.

With a security situation spiraling out of control, Zahra and Jayce are brought back together—along with the ghosts of their pasts. Can they make amends for their mistakes and learn to trust each other? Or are they still keeping secrets?

A captivating story of love, forgiveness, and betrayal,
The Ghosts of Their Pasts
will immerse readers into a world that shows the choices we make can have unimaginable consequences. But, the power of love should never be underestimated.

THANK YOU.

Writing is often thought of as a solitary journey, but I disagree, because I write for my readers and nothing is more fulfilling to me than building relationships with you all.

To keep in touch, I occasionally send newsletters with details on new releases, special offers and other bits of news relating to The Soul Series novels.

And, if you sign up to the mailing list, I’ll send you some exclusive content:

1. A Q&A with Zahra Foster
   
2. A Q&A with Jayce Tohmatsu
   
3. A Q&A with Kyoji Tohmatsu
   
4. A Q&A with Rebecca O’Sullivan
   

You can get these Q&As, for free, by signing up at
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Thank you so much, B.

Brooke Sivendra lives in Adelaide, Australia with her husband and two furry children—Milly, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, and Lara, a massive Great Dane who is 50lbs heavier than Brooke and thinks she is a lap dog!

Brooke has a degree in Nuclear Medicine and worked in the field of medical research before launching her first business at the age of twenty-six. This business grew to be Australia’s premier online shopping directory and Brooke recently sold it to focus on her writing.

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A few years ago I read
Many Lives, Many Masters
by Dr. Brian Weiss, M.D. This book changed how I thought about life and the situations we find ourselves in. It taught me that whenever something difficult arises in my life, it is simply a lesson I need to learn and a challenge to overcome, and it is all part of my purpose of being here. Thank you, Dr. Weiss, for having the courage to write that book because it changed my entire perspective on life and inspired this series.

To my wonderful editor, Lorelei Logsdon, I am truly thankful for your guidance and your support. You’re able to give constructive criticism in a way that is firm yet so helpful to a writer, and your attention to detail is incredible. Thank you.