Everyone but me

Chapter 12

Lily sat quietly in the back of the car.

The mansion disappeared behind her as the vehicle turned onto the main road.

She didn’t look back.

She didn’t need to.

She could still picture Rosalina standing in the foyer.

The confused expression.

The lavender dress.

The bracelet Lily had placed in her hands.

Rosalina had smiled when she received it.

That smile was enough to make Lily’s fingers tighten around her purse.

“She’s still wearing it.”

The driver glanced at her through the mirror.

“Miss Lily?”

“Nothing.”

She looked out the window.

The city passed by in a blur.

Everyone had changed.

Rosalina’s family.

Adrian.

Even Rosalina herself.

But Lily knew something none of them seemed to understand.

This wasn’t the life she had been living before.

It was another chance.

Another beginning.

Another life.

And Lily remembered every second of the first one.

⸻

The family thought they knew Lily.

They remembered her as an ungrateful girl.

A liar.

A manipulator.

Someone who had entered their home, accepted their kindness, and eventually used it against Rosalina.

They remembered the accusations.

The stolen jewelry.

The confidential information.

The lies.

They remembered discovering her connections to the competitor.

And they remembered Rosalina’s death.

To them, Lily’s story was simple.

She had been selfish.

She had become obsessed with what the family had.

She had manipulated everyone.

She had destroyed Rosalina.

But they didn’t know the beginning.

They didn’t know that Lily hadn’t met Rosalina intending to hurt her.

They didn’t know that Lily had once loved her.

And they certainly didn’t know that Lily remembered that love in this life.

⸻

The First Life

Years ago, Lily had been having the worst day of her life.

Her phone had died.

She was lost.

Rain poured over the city, soaking her clothes as she hurried down an unfamiliar street.

Then she slipped.

Her papers scattered across the sidewalk.

People walked around her.

Nobody stopped.

Nobody cared.

Then a voice reached her.

“Are you okay?”

Lily looked up.

A girl stood above her, holding an umbrella.

Her hair was damp from the rain.

She looked concerned.

Rosalina.

She crouched down and began gathering Lily’s papers.

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

Lily stared at her.

“Why are you helping me?”

Rosalina looked confused.

“Because you need help.”

Simple.

No ulterior motive.

No expectation.

Just kindness.

Something inside Lily changed.

“What’s your name?”

“Rosalina.”

Lily repeated it.

“Rosalina.”

She remembered that name.

She remembered the umbrella.

The rain.

The warmth in Rosalina’s voice.

The smile.

Everything.

That was where it started.

Not with hatred.

Not with jealousy.

With love.

At least, Lily thought it was love.

⸻

For a while, it was harmless.

She wanted to see Rosalina again.

So she found excuses.

Coffee.

Lunch.

Shopping.

Messages.

Rosalina never seemed bothered by her constant presence.

She welcomed Lily.

They became friends.

Then close friends.

Lily slowly began thinking of Rosalina as the most important person in her world.

And Rosalina didn’t seem to realize it.

At first, Lily didn’t mind.

She only wanted to be near her.

Then Adrian entered Rosalina’s life.

Then Rosalina’s family began giving her more attention.

Then came the Jonas family.

Friends.

Business associates.

People who wanted Rosalina’s time.

Lily watched all of them take pieces of the person she loved.

And jealousy began growing alongside her affection.

She tried to ignore it.

She couldn’t.

Eventually, she convinced herself that she had a right to feel that way.

After all—

Who understood Rosalina better than her?

⸻

The first lie was small.

A necklace disappeared.

Lily knew where it was.

She could have spoken.

She didn’t.

She watched Rosalina get questioned.

“I didn’t take it.”

Lily remembered those words.

She remembered Rosalina’s eyes.

She almost told the truth.

Almost.

Then she saw Rosalina smile at Adrian.

Something inside her twisted.

So she stayed silent.

The necklace was eventually found.

Rosalina was innocent.

The family apologized.

Lily apologized too.

But Lily had learned something that day.

A small lie could create distance.

And distance meant Rosalina had fewer people around her.

Lily liked that.

She hated herself for liking it.

Then she did it again.

⸻

One lie became several.

A misplaced document.

A suspicious rumor.

A question asked at exactly the right time.

Lily never had to accuse Rosalina directly.

She only needed to say:

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe I misunderstood.”

“I just don’t want her to get hurt.”

The family did the rest.

Slowly, Rosalina became the person they questioned first.

And Lily became the person they trusted.

That was when something inside Lily broke.

She had crossed a line.

Instead of stepping back, she kept walking.

She told herself she was protecting Rosalina.

But she wasn’t.

She was isolating her.

She wanted Rosalina to need her.

⸻

Then Rosalina discovered the company’s stolen information.

The competitor.

The money transfers.

The people working against the family.

Lily knew enough to understand what was happening.

She also knew Rosalina was going to expose it.

Lily confronted her.

“You don’t understand what you’re getting involved in.”

“I know.”

“You could get hurt.”

“I know.”

“Then stop.”

Rosalina shook her head.

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because people could lose everything.”

Lily stared at her.

Even then, Rosalina cared about everyone else.

“Why do you always have to save everyone?”

Rosalina smiled sadly.

“Because someone has to.”

Lily should have admired her.

Instead, she became afraid.

Afraid Rosalina would leave.

Afraid she would expose everything.

Afraid she would choose everyone else.

So Lily made a decision.

A terrible one.

⸻

She never intended for Rosalina to die.

That was the truth nobody knew.

Not the family.

Not the police.

Not even Rosalina.

Lily only wanted to stop her.

She wanted time.

She wanted to frighten her.

She wanted Rosalina to depend on her.

She thought she could control the situation.

She was wrong.

One mistake became another.

A door left unlocked.

A confrontation that went too far.

A vehicle arriving at the wrong moment.

Then—

The accident.

Lily remembered running toward her.

“Rosalina!”

Nothing.

“Rosalina!”

She dropped beside her.

Her hands trembled.

“Please.”

But Rosalina didn’t answer.

The person Lily had spent years trying to keep close was gone.

And Lily finally understood what she had done.

She had loved Rosalina until she destroyed her.

⸻

After Rosalina’s death, everything collapsed.

The family discovered Lily’s lies.

They discovered her connection to the competitor.

They discovered enough to understand that she had manipulated them for years.

They called her ungrateful.

A liar.

A monster.

Lily never corrected them.

How could she?

The truth sounded worse.

She hadn’t done it because she hated Rosalina.

She had done it because she loved her so much that she stopped seeing Rosalina as a person who could choose.

That was the truth Lily carried to the grave.

⸻

Then she opened her eyes.

And she was alive.

Young again.

Her phone was beside her.

The date on the screen made her blood run cold.

Years before Rosalina’s death.

Before the accusations.

Before the accident.

Before everything.

Lily stared at the date for several minutes.

Then she began crying.

She laughed.

She sobbed.

She covered her face with both hands.

She had been given another chance.

A second life.

A chance to fix everything.

At first, Lily promised herself she would stay away from Rosalina.

That would be the right thing.

She wouldn’t interfere.

She wouldn’t manipulate.

She wouldn’t become obsessed.

She would let Rosalina live.

That promise lasted until the day she saw her again.

One glance.

One smile.

One familiar voice.

And Lily knew she had been lying to herself.

She couldn’t stay away.

Not from Rosalina.

Never from Rosalina.

⸻

Now, in the present, Lily sat in her bedroom.

An old box rested on her bed.

Inside were photographs from the first life.

Letters.

Small keepsakes.

A dried flower.

And a photograph of Rosalina.

Lily touched it gently.

“I found you again.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

This time, she would be different.

She wouldn’t make the same mistakes.

She wouldn’t let Rosalina die.

She wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt her.

Not Adrian.

Not her family.

Not the Jonas family.

No one.

Lily smiled.

“I know what happens if I lose you.”

Her expression softened.

“And I won’t lose you again.”

There was something unsettling about the certainty in her voice.

Because Lily had changed.

But not enough.

She still wanted Rosalina close.

She still wanted to be important to her.

She still hated watching other people receive Rosalina’s affection.

The obsession hadn’t disappeared.

It had simply learned patience.

⸻

Across the city, Rosalina sat in her bedroom.

She looked at Lily’s message.

Lily: Can we talk?

Rosalina hesitated.

Another message appeared.

Lily: I promise I won’t cause trouble.

Rosalina frowned.

Rosalina: About what?

The typing indicator appeared.

Disappeared.

Then appeared again.

Finally:

Lily: About us.

Rosalina stared at the screen.

She didn’t understand.

As far as she knew, they had always been friends.

She had no idea that Lily remembered another version of their relationship.

Another life.

Another ending.

Another Rosalina.

Lily stared at her phone.

She typed:

I missed you.

Deleted it.

She typed:

I never stopped loving you.

Deleted that too.

Finally, she sent:

Lily: There are things about our past you don’t remember.

Rosalina’s brows furrowed.

She didn’t know what Lily meant.

And Lily wasn’t ready to explain.

Not yet.

She placed the phone beside the photograph.

The family believed Lily had received exactly what she deserved.

They believed they understood her.

They didn’t.

They knew the lies.

They knew the manipulation.

They knew she had played a role in Rosalina’s death.

But they didn’t know why it had started.

They didn’t know that Lily’s first feeling toward Rosalina had been love.

They didn’t know that the monster they remembered had once been a girl who simply wanted to stay beside someone who had shown her kindness.

And they didn’t know that the girl sitting in this timeline remembered everything.

The family had their secret.

Lily had hers.

And Rosalina had none.

She was the only one walking through this life without knowing that everyone around her was carrying ghosts from a life she had never lived.

Lily looked at Rosalina’s photograph one last time.

“I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

Her fingers traced Rosalina’s face.

“But I still want you.”

That was the part Lily hadn’t changed.

And perhaps—

That was the most dangerous part of all.