Five years ago :- The weather was extremely calm today. The sky was as clear as a white canvas. There were no clouds. The evening was pleasant. The weather was extremely hot as it was mid June. Heat waves were at its peak, but it didn't stop the excitement of the two young boys. " Football? " " Hmm " Lucas hummed in reply. He was busy playing his new video game. His dad bought it from his last business trip. His eyes didn't even leave the screen for once. Daniel put the remote control down on the couch beside him. " Let's go " Lucas tossed his remote control to the side and stood up. He looked up at the sky. " It's so hot " He turned his face towards Daniel. " Rosie will be there " Lucas smiled. He stared at him as his mouth turned into a smirk. Daniel looked at his friend and smiled meaningfully. He knew Lucas would never miss a chance to see her. " Mom " Lucas pulled out his headphones and walked towards his mother. A woman was sitting on the couch with a laptop on
" If it was possible to go back in time and change something. There would be so many things that wouldn't happen and there would be absolutely no regret. " Lucas was feeling extremely strange. He walked inside his house in a hurry. He couldn't put a finger to it, but something was very weird today. Even his house felt weird today. " Mom? " " Mom " He looked around but couldn't find her anywhere. " Mom! " He checked in the kitchen, her room, garden but she was nowhere to be found. Lucas started feeling anxious. This was not the first time her mother was not home, but he was scared today. Scared of something he didn't quite understand. " Mom " " Young master, madam is not home " Lucas turned his face towards the butler. " Where did she go? " " I don't know young master " Lucas nodded. He picked up his phone and called her. The phone went through but no one answered. He tried multiple times, but no one picked it up. He walked towards the living room and sat on the couch.
" Ah! " The surroundings filled with screams. Anastasia's mother fell on the ground. She lost consciousness. Her father froze on the spot. His breathing was fast as his body shivered. He stepped back and his eyes filled with tears. Daniel looked at the spoke before him. He couldn't see anything. Slowly he moved forward towards the cars. His steps were slow and heavy. He stopped beside the car. The accident was so deadly that both of the cars were completely destroyed. He raised his hand and grabbed on the door. It took all the courage for him to open it. Anastasia's father finally recovered from the shock. He rushed towards Daniel and helped him open the door. As the door opened a lifeless body fell out of the car. It was completely covered in blood. Daniel closed his eyes. He kneeled down to look at it. Her long hair was covered in blood as her beautiful blue eyes started at nothing in particular. It was empty. Her lavender top had patches of blood. Daniel's tears fell un
" Students, the school is organising a prom night on Saturday. " As this news was announced, the whole class was Interrupted with murmuring. Everyone was excited to get the piece of news. " Prom Night? " Pearl looked at Lucas. The latter was scrolling through his phone. " Hey! Are you even listening? " Pearl pulled the phone from his hand. Lucas was shocked. He looked at her in confusion. " What is it? " He tried to take his phone back from her, but she hid it behind her back. " What's Prom night? " Lucas looked at her with amusement." You don't know? "Pearl shrugged. In her previous school, she had never heard of this. " Oh. It's nothing just a stupid party " Pearl rolled her eyes at him. He was just so uninterested in everything. She turned back and looked at Anastasia. She was sitting beside him. " What's that? " Anastasia looked up from her phone at her. She smiled and explained everything to her patiently. Pearl understood. She nodded her head. " Let's go shop
" How's school Selina? " A woman in her middle age sat on the dining table. She pointed the fork in her hand towards Selina as she looked at her. " It's good "Selina replied. Her head was lowered. " Hmm.. Look at your sister. She is so brilliant " Her mother laughed. Selina clenched the fork in her hand. She nodded her head. " Oh mommy, you flatter me " A sweet voice was heard. Selina raised her head to look at her. She had long silky hair, defined cheekbones and a perfect straight nose. Her blue eyes were so beautiful that she envied them. As she smiled her beautiful mouth opened and her perfectly shaped teeth shined. She was perfect in every way. She was beautiful. " Rosie sure is perfect " The girl named Rosie smiled. " Thank you auntie Lily " Lily raised her hand to caress her head. She smiled at her. Her mother looked at their interaction with pride. " I am so grateful that you came here Lily " Selina's mother smiled at the woman named Lily. " Of course, I can't
" Pearl! " He shook her but she was not moving. Lucas' heart was beating very fast. The fear of losing her was driving him crazy. He always feared accidents. He lost his mother and someone special due to it. " Pearl.. " His eyes turned red. He stared at her back without blinking. Pearl opened her eyes. She looked at his face, there was so much concern and fear on it. She blinked. Lucas breathed a sigh of relief. He hugged her immediately. " I am alright " Pearl informed him. Lucas cupped her cheeks and looked at her carefully. " Don't you know how to drive? " Pearl pushed him back. She was so scared that she felt as if she was already dead. " I am so sorry " Pearl looked at him. His eyes were red and he was on the verge of crying. " Lucas? " She held his face in her hand. He was scared to lose her? Lucas placed his hand on her. He looked into her eyes. " I am okay " Lucas nodded. Thank god she was okay, otherwise he had no idea what he would do. Lucas observed his ca
The black Bugatti pulled over in the campus of The Elite Garden. Lucas opened the door and got out. He moved across his car and opened the door for her. Pearl got out. She looked at him, he was leaning against the car, looking at her. " Thanks " She took the shopping bag from his hand and started walking towards her hostel. Lucas followed behind her. Pearl looked over her shoulder and saw him following behind her, her mouth lifted up in a smile. She suddenly turned back and threw the shopping bags towards him. Lucas caught it swiftly. " My hands are tired " Pearl looked innocently at him. She saw him smirking at her. " No problem, I should have taken it from you in the first place. " They reached her room. Pearl took out her keys from her pocket. She unlocked the door and pushed it open. She got inside and snatched the bags from him. " Bye, good night! " She was about to close the door but he stopped it mid way. " Not going to invite me in? " Lucas leaned against the wall a
The door to the bedroom opened and a figure got inside. She was in her night wear, she walked towards the woman sitting on the bed. She sat beside her. " Mom " Lily kept her phone down and turned her face towards her. She looked into her eyes as she smiled. " Rosie, my child " She smiled at her. Rosie tugged a hair behind her ear, she looked at Lily and smiled sweetly. " Mom, I think Selina is not happy with me here " " Nonsense " Lily shook her head. Rosie smiled sadly. She looked down and a tear fell down her cheeks. " Rosie.. " Lily held her hand and made her look at her. " Don't be sad, my child. She will get use to it " Rosie nodded. She raised her eyes to look at her. She held her hand and continued. " Mom, are you proud of me? " Lily paused. She nodded her head, smiling at her. " Of course, I am glad I found my daughter again. I am very proud of you. " She kissed her forehead. Rosie hugged her and smiled. She closed her eyes. She felt really safe with her. Se
It had been a week. Seven days of pretending to be Pearl. Of swallowing down the truth like a secret that might rot me from the inside out. No one noticed. Not really. They still called me by the name that wasn’t mine. Still treated me like the girl who arrived at the academy dazed and forgetful. Still saw the version of me they expected to see. But I saw it. In the mirror. In the way I stood. The way my voice had softened, lilting into the same cadence Rosie used to have when she whispered to the stars from her bedroom window. I saw it in the way my fingers reached up—absent, automatic—to tuck my hair behind my ear whenever I was nervous. Just like she used to do. Just like I used to do. Rosie was slipping out of me like light through cracked glass, and I didn’t know how to stop it. And Lucas… he noticed something. I could feel it. He didn’t say anything. But I’d catch him staring sometimes, brow creased in that quiet, careful way of his—like he was trying to
And I screamed and screamed as loud as I can to stop the voices in my head, to hush them from consuming me entirely. The room was pitch-black, but I could still see the flames. Still hear the screech of tires, the shattering glass, the last words my mother ever said to me—Rosie, close your eyes. And I had. For years. But now they were open. Wide open. And everything hurt. The door slammed open. I barely had time to breathe before he was there—Lucas, heart in his throat, panic in his eyes. “Pearl!” He was at my side, hands cupping my face like I might vanish. “What happened? Are you okay?” I couldn’t speak. Not right away. Because looking at him felt like bleeding. He was older now. Broader. More haunted. But he still had the same eyes—the ones that used to look at me like I was his world. Not Pearl. Rosie. And that was the part that shattered me most. He was holding me like I was someone else. Like I was a girl with a different name, a different story. But I
The candlelight is low. Flickering. Dying. I walk barefoot down a hallway lined with mirrors—dozens of them, tall and arched, gilded in gold that’s flaking away. The floor is marble, but my footsteps don’t echo. It’s like the air itself is swallowing the sound. Heavy. Watching. My dress clings to me, unfamiliar. Pale gold, stitched with roses. I don’t remember putting it on. Everything smells like rosewater and smoke. I pause beside a mirror. My reflection stares back, but there’s something off. I lean closer. The tilt of my head, the shape of my mouth, the line of my shoulders—it’s all right, and yet… wrong. Like I’ve seen this face on someone else. It’s me. Of course it’s me. But my stomach tightens. I force myself to look away. That’s when I see him. Daniel, standing at the far end of the corridor, dressed in black, shadows curled around his shoulders like a cloak. He holds a bouquet of roses—blackened, wilting, soaked in something that drips down his wrist.
I press the phone to my ear and glance at the stars. The rooftop is cold beneath me, slates hard against my back. The wind carries that soft chill that always makes me feel like something’s about to shift.My mom’s voice comes through the speaker, warm and clipped with concern.“You sound tired, sweetie. Are they overworking you again?”I let out a breath—half a laugh, half exhaustion.“No, it’s fine. Just a lot of assignments.”A pause.“And late-night walks,” I almost add. “And watching someone unravel.” But I don’t.She hums thoughtfully. I can hear her stirring something, probably tea. Home always sounds like comfort.“Have you made any new friends yet? You never talk about anyone there.”I hesitate, then lie.“Yeah. A few.”She doesn’t press. She never does. Maybe she thinks I’m just quiet. Or maybe she’s learned not to dig when I’m like this—floating somewhere far away from where my body is.“Your father says hi,” she says. I can hear him grumbling in the background, something a
I’ve always hated mirrors.They show too much. Too honestly.But now—Now, I can't stop staring.The girl in the glass tilts her head. She’s beautiful in that haunting, aristocratic way. Rosie Miller’s beauty was always cold, like marble warmed by candlelight.And now… it’s mine. Mother did everything so that I look like her. The cheekbones took two surgeries. The lips were easy—subtle filler and muscle memory. I even learned how she blinked. Slowly. Like she knew the world would wait for her.I lean in, brushing a lock of black hair behind my ear, her signature habit. I trace the light scar at my neck. A perfect replica from her dead body.Rosie was always the star. The one with the spotlight in her eyes. The chosen daughter. The heir. The girl people died for.But she’s dead now.And I’m not.I trace the curve of my jaw with one finger, still bruised faintly under the skin where the bone was shaved. Months of healing. Years of training. Voice lessons. Diary entries memorized. Even
The wind clawed at the windows like it was trying to warn me. I stood at the edge balcony leaning against the railing. Below, the ocean was bathed in silver moonlight, still and too perfect. A lie, like everything else lately. The moon hung low tonight, pale and sharp-edged. Pearl would say it looked like a blade. My phone buzzed once on the table. The number flashed. Cale. I snatched it up. “Report.” “Sir,” he said, voice crisp, but edged with something else. Hesitation. “ I have the report .” The cold that slid through me wasn’t a surprise—it was confirmation. I said nothing. Just waited. “She’s not Rosie,” he continued. “… she’s not the one who died in that accident.” I closed my eyes. My chest didn’t rise. I was stone now. “I had to dig deep, sir. Most of the records were burned or erased, but a few medical files survived in private storage. Enough to run a sequence. And... it matched someone else.” “Who?” My voice came out hoarse, like it hadn’t been used in days. “He
Apollo whined softly as I knelt beside him, his blue eyes watching me with quiet protest. His paw pressed against the doorframe like he understood what it meant—that he couldn’t follow me past this point. “I know,” I whispered, running a hand gently down the sleek curve of his back. “I don’t like it either. " He nuzzled my wrist, and I swallowed hard. “I’ll be back after classes, then we'll go back home, alright? You’ll be safe here.” My voice sounded too sure. Like I was convincing myself more than him. He tilted his head, ears flicking at some distant sound, but stayed close—refusing to move from the doorway. “I have to go,” I said, brushing my thumb just under his chin, where the fur was softer. “You know the rules. No panther cubs allowed in Elite Garden’s holy halls.” my phone ringed again, I looked down it was Lucas calling me. " yes, I am coming. ” That almost earned a huff from him. Almost. I smiled down at him. " it's your dad, the classes are going to start
The engine purred beneath my hand, smooth and obedient like always. The car was built for silence and speed—one of my father’s more useful indulgences. Black exterior, sleek leather interior, the kind of vehicle that announced your presence before you ever stepped out of it. Pearl sat beside me, legs crossed at the ankle, eyes on the window. The early morning light painted the world gold, but she didn’t seem to notice it. She hadn’t said much all morning. I kept one hand on the wheel, the other resting near the gearshift, close enough to brush against her thigh if I reached. I didn’t. Music played softly in the background, something mellow she usually liked. She didn’t hum along like she used to. I stole a glance at her. Eyes open, but distant. Her fingers were curled in her lap, nails tracing the lines of her skirt like she was trying to count something she couldn’t name. She looked tired—not the kind of tired that sleep fixed. The kind that lived in the bones. “You okay?” I
The next morning, I move like nothing happened. I pour coffee, feed Apollo, fold a blanket left on the couch. Lucas is in the shower, and I can hear the water running upstairs like white noise. Safe. Familiar. Grounding. But every now and then—just in the gaps between movements—I feel it again. The weight. Not heavy enough to drag me down, but just enough to notice. Like walking through air that's a little too still. Like forgetting what you were doing mid-sentence. Like something watching from the corners, but only when you don’t look directly. I tell myself I’m fine. And mostly, I am. But the dream clings. Not in vivid images—those faded as soon as I woke—but in texture. In the way I flinch when the kettle whistles. In the way I glance at the kitchen doorway without meaning to. In the way Apollo follows me from room to room, tail low, eyes tracking the corners of the ceiling as if he remembers too. I don’t tell Lucas. I make him breakfast. I brush my fingers throug