Lucas looked at her silently. She was in a deep sleep. He leaned in to fix her hair from her face. He could see the tiredness on her face even while stepping. He got out of the bed and grabbed a robe, he pulled it over and walked towards the balcony. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. He raised it towards his lips and inhaled the smoke. He exhaled and white fumes came out of his mouth. He grabbed the railing and leaned against it, starting at the darkness. Click! He heard his phone ringing. He picked it up to take a look. He noticed it was a message from an unknown number. He usually ignored those spam messages, but today he wanted to have a look. He clicked on it and the message opened on the screen before his eyes. His pupils dilated and his eyes turned dark. He read it again and again, but nothing changed. The message read like :- You have been blaming the wrong person for all this while. There was someone else present in the car as well. a picture was attached with
The black Bugatti came to a halt. Pearl Unbuckled her seatbelt, she looked at him. He was sitting silently beside her. There was absolutely no emotion on his handsome face. He was lost, lost into something he could never get out of. Pearl looked at him silently. She wanted to ask what exactly was wrong with him? Despite her curiosity She remained quiet and pushed the door open and got out. He had still not moved. He was just staring down at his phone with empty eyes. Pearl turned her face away from him. She started walking towards the direction of her class. She noticed Anastasia was already in the class. She walked towards her and noticed how everyone was giving her a jealous look. " She is his girlfriend? " She heard someone, they were whispering but she could hear everything clearly. She ignored them and waved her hand. " Anastasia! " Anastasia raised her eyes at her. She tried to force a smile. " What happened to you? " Pearl held her hand in concern. She noticed the girl
The first period passed so slowly, it felt like time had stopped. Pearl felt a gush of anxiety fill her chest. She raised her hand and rubbed her chest. She couldn't breathe. She knew something was going to change between her and Lucas. She turned her face to look at him. He was not paying attention to what the teacher was teaching, he was just staring at her with his emotionless face. He has not spoken to her even once after she entered into their life, all of a sudden. She wanted to escape, she stopped her tears from falling. She wanted a distraction. Pearl turned her face to her side. She met with Daniel's eyes. He was staring at her. She quickly looked away, she focused her attention towards Anastasia. She noticed she was not written either. It seemed she was in shock. Pearl turned her face away. She was feeling so lonely, even though her ' boyfriend ' who swore that he loved her more than anything was sitting beside her. After it felt like eternity the bell finally rang. As t
" Pear! " Lucas saw her running away from him. He wanted to stop her, he wanted to explain everything to her. Rosie turned her face towards Lucas. He was staring at someone. She recognised her right away. She was the same girl who was sitting beside him in the class. She wondered who she was to him. " Lucas.. "He took a step towards him, but he didn't even look at her. He started running after him. Rosie stopped. She just looked at him. He was getting farther and farther away from her. She didn't know what to feel. She just looked at his disappearing back in silence. Her eyes filled with tears and she had a sad smile on her face. " Rosie.. " Anastasia held her shoulder. She noticed she already had tears in her blue eyes. " She.. She is Pearl…His girlfriend " Rosie fell on the floor. " Girlfriend? " Anastasia hugged her. Rosie's body trembled in her arms as she broke into silent sobs. Daniel looked at them silently. Pearl picked up her bag. She was going back to her roo
Pear was at a loss. She knew things were going to be different between them from now on. No matter what he says she knew everything was going to change between her and Lucas. Well, she couldn't blame him for it, it was so messed up. Things were so complicated that she wasn't even sure what she was going to do next. She. Was. Back. Back. Back. From. Dead. “Lucas can.. Can you leave me alone? ” He looked at her, her eyes were no longer teary there was no longer fear in them rather he saw determination in them. “ Why?” “ I want to clear my mind ” He nodded again. “ Alright ” He stood up. Pearl didn't stop him, she saw him making his way out of the playground. She sat there for a very long time. Hands clenched into a tight fist, her head lowered. She was thinking. Thinking of a way out. What she was supposed to do and what she should do. She couldn't give up. She would fight. She will fight to the end of the world. “ Rosie Miller, watch out ” Anastasia bro
“ helloo? ”Came Daniel's deep voice. Pearl held her breath. It was a bad idea, very bad idea but she was left with no other option. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth. It was too late for regret now. “ Pearl? ”Daniel sounded concerned. “ Yeah, yeah it's me. ” She paused. What was she doing? She should ask him about Lucas. She cleared her throat and spoke, her voice soft. “ Daniel, do you know where is Lucas? ”This question was followed by a small silence then Daniel spoke again. “ He must be at his house, why? ”She clenched her phone, either he didn't know or he didn't want to tell her the truth. She rubbed her forehead, she was feeling dizzy. “ ah, he wasn't answering so.. ”Pearl felt stupid. How could she let this happen to her? She felt her tears returning and filling her eyes. She wiped them. What did she expect? “ Okay, sorry to bother you. Bye ”She was about to hang up but she heard him speak again. She paused. “ Wait! ”“ Yeah? Is there something else-“
“ I am so sorry I couldn't pick up your phone. You know I was busy.. ”Anastasia was talking to her, but her words floated past her ears like a distant murmur. The image of Lucas and Rosie on the phone screen last night keeps flashing through her mind, drowning out everything else. Her body was in the room with her friend, but her mind was stuck in the memories of the previous night. She couldn't forget it. Her hand at his arm, their smiling faces. “ Pearl! ”She was pulled out of her thoughts by Anastasia's sudden outburst. She blinked, and blinked again trying to remember what they were talking about. “ Yeah, I am listening ”She cleared her throat. Anastasia examined her expression. “ Alright, so what I'm saying is I am really really sorry ”She held her hand and squeezed them. Pearl nodded. She was not angry with her, she couldn't be. “ It's okay Ana. You don't have to apologise ”She gave her a smile. Suddenly the bell rang.“ We should get going ”Anastasia nodded and they m
She knew they needed to talk, walking away was not the correct choice, but the words stuck in her throat. She could see the confusion and hurt in his expressions earlier, and she wanted to turn back and explain herself, but something held her back. The silence between them was deafening, and every time she opened her mouth to speak, the words died on her lips. She wanted to reach out to him, to make things right, but she couldn't find the courage to do it. Her wrist was grabbed before she even took a step forward and she was pulled back. Her back hit his chest and he wrapped his hands around her waist. “ Pearl, it's not what you think. ”He turned her over to face him, his hand still at her waist. “ Lucas, I think we are done. ”Pearl spoke. Her voice was tiny and soft. She felt her heart drop with those words but had to do it. She couldn't let him make a fool of herself. She was raised as a girl with self respect and she won't allow anyone to step on it. Not even him. She tried t
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