Everyone but me

Chapter 9

Breakfast had never felt so dangerous.

To Rosalina, however, it looked completely ordinary.

Almost.

She sat between her mother and sister at the long dining table, still waking up from her sleep. Her lavender hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and she occasionally rubbed her eyes while quietly eating.

Across from her sat Lily.

Smiling.

Talking.

Laughing.

Just as she always had.

And that was precisely what made the family uncomfortable.

Because they remembered.

They remembered how easily Lily had once fit into their lives.

How naturally she had smiled at them.

How effortlessly she had earned their sympathy.

How she had always known exactly what to say.

And now—

They were listening.

Not believing.

Listening.

“Rosalina,” Lily said gently.

Rosalina looked up.

“Hm?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

The family went still.

Not visibly.

Not enough for Rosalina to notice.

But internally, every one of them recognized the opening.

That soft voice.

That careful pause.

The way Lily made something sound innocent before turning it into an accusation.

They remembered.

I’ve been meaning to ask you something.

Those words had come before so many disasters.

Lily smiled.

“Are you happy lately?”

Rosalina blinked.

The question caught her off guard.

“Happy?”

“Yes.”

Lily tilted her head.

“You seem different.”

Rosalina thought about it.

“I guess I am.”

Her mother immediately looked at her.

“Different how?”

Rosalina smiled faintly.

“I don’t know. Everyone has just been really nice to me lately.”

The table went silent.

Lily’s smile didn’t disappear.

But it changed.

Only slightly.

“Oh.”

There it was.

The first hook.

Lily lowered her eyes toward her plate.

“I’m glad.”

Her voice suddenly sounded quieter.

Almost sad.

Rosalina noticed.

“Are you okay?”

Lily quickly shook her head.

“I’m fine.”

The family almost sighed.

They knew this tactic.

Pretend nothing was wrong.

Wait for the other person to ask.

Then deny it.

Then let the guilt settle naturally.

It had worked countless times before.

One of Rosalina’s siblings clenched their hand beneath the table.

Not this time.

Rosalina looked concerned.

“Lily, you can tell me.”

Lily hesitated.

“I just…”

She gave a small laugh.

“Never mind.”

There.

The family recognized it immediately.

Their father calmly took a sip of coffee.

Their mother continued cutting her food.

Adrian remained perfectly composed.

Nobody rescued Lily from the silence.

Nobody asked what was wrong.

Nobody apologized for something they hadn’t done.

Lily’s eyes moved around the table.

She noticed.

For the first time, uncertainty appeared in her expression.

“What?”

Rosalina frowned.

“What?”

“You aren’t asking.”

The family exchanged a glance.

Mother smiled.

“Do you want us to ask?”

Lily paused.

“I thought…”

“You thought what?”

Another pause.

Lily smiled.

“It’s nothing.”

Their father finally spoke.

“If it’s nothing, then there’s nothing to worry about.”

His voice was calm.

Lily’s smile tightened.

Rosalina looked between them.

She didn’t understand the strange tension.

She simply continued eating.

Lily watched her.

Then she turned toward Rosalina.

“I was just worried about you.”

Rosalina looked surprised.

“About me?”

“Yes.”

Lily gave her a concerned expression.

“You’ve been spending so much time with everyone lately.”

One of the siblings nearly laughed.

There it was.

The second hook.

Concern disguised as criticism.

Lily continued.

“I just don’t want you to become overwhelmed.”

Rosalina shook her head.

“I’m not overwhelmed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Lily smiled.

“That’s good.”

Then she lowered her voice.

“I just thought maybe everyone was suddenly putting too much pressure on you.”

Silence.

The family recognized the maneuver immediately.

Plant doubt.

Make Rosalina question their affection.

Make her believe their attention was becoming suffocating.

Then position Lily as the one person who understood.

They had seen this before.

They had fallen for it before.

Not again.

Adrian looked at Rosalina.

“Are we making you uncomfortable?”

Rosalina blinked.

“What?”

“If we are, tell us.”

His voice was gentle.

“We’ll stop.”

Rosalina looked around the table.

Her mother.

Her father.

Her siblings.

Adrian.

All staring at her.

She hesitated.

“No.”

A tiny smile appeared on her face.

“I actually like it.”

Everyone froze.

“You do?” her mother whispered.

Rosalina nodded.

“I know it’s strange.”

She looked down at her plate.

“But…”

Her fingers tightened slightly around her fork.

“I spent so long wishing everyone would notice me.”

Her voice softened.

“So I don’t want you to stop now.”

The words hit them harder than any accusation could have.

Their mother lowered her gaze.

Her eyes burned.

Her father looked away.

One sibling swallowed.

Adrian’s fingers tightened around his cup.

And Lily—

Lily stared at Rosalina.

For the briefest moment, her expression became unreadable.

Then she smiled.

“I’m happy for you.”

The family saw it.

The tiny flash of irritation.

Gone almost instantly.

But they saw it.

Every one of them.

Lily picked up her glass.

“You know, Rosalina, I was actually worried that maybe you weren’t comfortable around them.”

Rosalina looked confused.

“Why?”

Lily hesitated.

“Because…”

She looked toward the family.

Then back at Rosalina.

“They’ve changed so much.”

That sentence landed differently.

The family went completely still.

Lily continued carefully.

“They’re suddenly so attentive.”

A nervous little laugh escaped her.

“It’s almost like they’re trying to make up for something.”

Rosalina smiled faintly.

“Maybe they are.”

Lily looked surprised.

“For what?”

Rosalina glanced at her family.

“I don’t know.”

Her mother immediately reached over and gently squeezed Rosalina’s hand.

“Whatever we did wrong, we’ll spend the rest of our lives making it right.”

Lily’s expression faltered.

Only slightly.

But again—

They saw it.

Because Lily had expected hesitation.

She had expected Rosalina to question them.

Instead, Rosalina accepted their affection.

Lily changed tactics.

“That’s sweet.”

She smiled.

Then she turned toward Rosalina’s brother.

“Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”

He looked at her.

“What?”

“I heard there was a problem with one of the company’s accounts.”

The room went silent.

His heart stopped for half a second.

That was information Lily shouldn’t casually know.

He forced himself to remain calm.

“There was?”

Lily blinked.

“Didn’t Rosalina mention it?”

Every pair of eyes shifted toward Rosalina.

She looked confused.

“Me?”

Lily nodded.

“Yes.”

Rosalina shook her head.

“No.”

Lily smiled apologetically.

“Oh.”

She laughed softly.

“Maybe I misunderstood.”

The family recognized the tactic immediately.

Introduce information.

Attach Rosalina’s name to it.

Then retreat.

If they reacted emotionally, Lily could claim it was a misunderstanding.

If they questioned Rosalina, suspicion would begin.

It was one of the oldest tricks in her playbook.

Their father calmly placed his cup down.

“Where did you hear about the account?”

Lily smiled.

“Someone mentioned it.”

“Who?”

Her smile froze.

“Someone from the company.”

“Who?”

“I don’t remember.”

Father smiled.

“That’s unfortunate.”

Lily laughed nervously.

“Why?”

“Because that’s confidential information.”

Her face paled slightly.

Rosalina looked between them.

“What’s wrong?”

Her father immediately softened.

“Nothing, sweetheart.”

He reached across the table and gently touched her hand.

“Eat your breakfast.”

Rosalina nodded.

Lily watched them.

Something had changed.

She couldn’t identify it.

But she could feel it.

The family wasn’t reacting the way they used to.

They weren’t rushing to conclusions.

They weren’t questioning Rosalina.

They weren’t looking at Rosalina suspiciously.

They were looking at Lily.

And that frightened her.

Still, Lily wasn’t finished.

After breakfast, Rosalina stood.

“I think I’m going to take a walk.”

“I’ll come with you,” Adrian immediately said.

Lily smiled.

“Oh, I can go with her.”

Adrian looked at her.

“No.”

The word came too quickly.

Silence.

Adrian corrected himself.

“I mean…”

He smiled.

“Rosalina and I already planned to spend some time together.”

Rosalina blinked.

“We did?”

Adrian paused.

“…We can.”

Rosalina laughed softly.

“Okay.”

Lily smiled.

“Of course.”

She stepped closer to Rosalina.

“I’ll see you later, then.”

She reached toward Rosalina’s arm.

Adrian moved before he could stop himself.

His hand gently caught Lily’s wrist.

The room went silent.

Lily stared at him.

Adrian stared back.

For one terrifying second, the memory of another life burned behind his eyes.

Lily standing beside Rosalina’s hospital bed.

Lily whispering accusations.

Lily pretending to cry.

Lily telling them Rosalina had gotten what she deserved.

Then Rosalina’s final breath.

Adrian released her.

“I’m sorry.”

His voice was calm.

“I thought you were going to make her uncomfortable.”

Lily rubbed her wrist.

“I wasn’t.”

“I know.”

He smiled.

But there was nothing warm in it.

“I just wanted to be careful.”

Lily nodded.

“Of course.”

Rosalina looked at Adrian.

“You’ve been really protective lately.”

He looked at her.

“I have.”

“Why?”

His expression softened.

“Because you’re important to me.”

Rosalina’s cheeks warmed slightly.

She looked away.

Lily watched.

And something inside her tightened.

Because once again—

Rosalina was being chosen.

Only this time, Lily wasn’t controlling the choice.

The family watched Lily leave later that morning.

They stood together in the foyer until the front door closed.

The instant it did—

Every smile disappeared.

“She knew about the account,” one sibling said.

“She shouldn’t have.”

“She was testing us.”

Father nodded.

“She wanted us to suspect Rosalina.”

Mother’s hands trembled.

“Just like before.”

No one corrected her.

Because they were all thinking about the same thing.

Lily had used the same tactics.

The same voice.

The same expressions.

The same carefully planted doubts.

But there was one difference.

This time—

They remembered.

Adrian looked toward the door.

“We let her believe we’re still the same.”

Father nodded.

“Yes.”

“And we keep investigating.”

“Yes.”

His eyes hardened.

“But we don’t underestimate her.”

Upstairs, Rosalina was completely unaware of the conversation.

She stood in front of her mirror, fixing her hair.

She couldn’t explain why.

But something about breakfast had felt strange.

Lily had been acting differently.

Her family had been acting differently.

Everyone seemed to know something she didn’t.

Rosalina frowned at her reflection.

“What is going on with everyone?”

She had no answer.

And downstairs—

Her family had no intention of giving her one.

Not yet.

Because they had finally learned something important.

Lily didn’t need to openly attack Rosalina.

She didn’t need to accuse her directly.

She only needed to whisper.

Plant a doubt.

Create a misunderstanding.

Then sit back and watch the family destroy Rosalina for her.

But that was the old family.

The family Lily remembered.

This family remembered everything.

And this time—

Every lie would be heard.

Every manipulation would be recognized.

Every trap would be documented.

And most importantly—

When Lily tried to turn them against Rosalina…

She would discover that the people she once controlled were now watching her instead.