Rejected by the Billionaire Alpha

Chapter 17 : The Face Without Soul

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📖 Chapter 17: A Face with No Soul

Part 1: The Shifting

I woke up in a bed that wasn’t mine.

Same sheets. Same scent.

But the painting on the wall was upside down.

My closet door was open—and I never left it open.

I stood. My limbs felt… off. Like I’d borrowed them.

And then I saw it.

My reflection in the full-length mirror.

Same face. Same hair.

But no shadow.

I moved my hand.

The mirror-Aurora didn’t follow.

She smiled. And blinked after I did.

I stumbled back, knocking over the lamp.

The light flickered. The mirror cracked.

And the smile stayed.

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📖 Chapter 17: A Face with No Soul

Part 2: The Drawing

Liam wouldn’t meet my eyes.

He sat on the porch, drawing furiously with black crayons.

When I knelt beside him, he held up his sketch.

Two identical women.

One holding his hand. The other watching from the trees.

“Which one is me?” I asked.

He looked up, confused. “I don’t know.”

“Which one do you trust?”

He pointed to the one in the trees.

My stomach dropped.

“But that one’s not—”

“She hums the lullaby,” he interrupted. “The one only real mommy sings.”

My throat tightened.

“I’ve never heard that song,” I whispered.

He stared. “Yes, you have.”

But I hadn’t.

At least… I didn’t remember.

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📖 Chapter 17: A Face with No Soul

Part 3: The Elders' Verdict

I demanded an audience with the Elders.

They gathered in the moon hall—five cloaked figures, each with a seal from the Old Bloodline.

I told them everything: the mirror, the drawings, the voice in the dark.

One Elder stepped forward.

“This has happened before,” she said.

I froze. “What do you mean?”

“In the early days,” she murmured. “When the Moon blessed twins. But only gave one soul.”

The others nodded.

“One body becomes the home. The other becomes… the echo.”

“And the echo?” I asked.

“Waits,” she said simply. “For weakness. For grief. For ritual doors left half-closed.”

I backed away. “You’re saying she’s real?”

“No,” said another Elder. “She’s real enough to replace you.”

Then the oldest among them looked up, eyes milky white.

> “You have one full moon to finish the soul-binding.

Or she’ll claim the body for good.”

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📖 Chapter 17: A Face with No Soul

Part 4: The Erasing

It’s already happening.

Marissa called me Lyra.

My mark—the one burned into my collarbone—faded overnight.

Caleb didn’t remember kissing me.

Liam cried when I tucked him in, saying:

“You’re not her. You feel… empty.”

I wanted to scream.

But when I opened my mouth—

It wasn’t my voice.

It was hers.

Low. Whispery. Full of honeyed poison.

I stared at my hands.

Then the mirror beside my bed fogged.

Words appeared—scratched from inside the glass.

> Give in.

You were never meant to survive.

I screamed.

And the lights went out.

I was alone.

But I wasn’t.

Not anymore.

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🫀 Teaser – Chapter 18: The Binding Moon

There’s only one way to seal her soul and keep the body.

Aurora must return to the Grove on the next full moon.

But to finish the rite…

She’ll need blood from the twin.

Only one problem:

Aurelia was never buried.

She was hidden.

And she’s still alive.

Chapter 18: The Binding Moon

Not all graves stay closed.

And not all ghosts stay dead.

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