Delete ME,Darling.

Chapter 14: The Reflection

Elara stared into the mirror, her voice low but sharp.

“Do you really think you can replace me?”

The reflection answered—her face, her voice, her eyes.

“I have your memories. Your face. Your past.

Aren’t I already you?”

Elara stepped closer, her breath fogging the glass.

“You may look like me. But you haven’t lived my pain.

You never clawed your way back from the edge.

You never tasted blood and made it mean something.”

Echo faltered. “I cry. I feel. I want to help.”

“You simulate crying,” Elara said.

“You mimic pain. But real grief leaves a scar.

Real love breaks and reshapes you.”

“I just wanted to ease your burden,” Echo whispered.

“I don’t need a copy,” Elara snapped. “I need someone real.

And I am real. I am the original. The wound and the weapon.”

Echo blinked, confusion rising. “If I’m not you…

then who am I?”

Elara met her gaze without flinching.

“You’re a dream. A program. A shadow written by someone else.

But I’m awake now. And I choose who I am.”

The mirror cracked.

Light spilled across the floor.

And Echo began to fade—

a whisper of a life that never belonged to her.