Reflection Of Her

Chapter 9 – Stepping Into Her Skin

Morning sunlight spilled through curtains Ariana didn’t recognize.

She blinked awake, momentarily lost, her mind flickering between two lives — marble hallways and wooden floors, designer sheets and the faint scent of lavender soap.

Then it came back to her.

The swap.

The deal.

The beginning of something she couldn’t undo.

She sat up slowly, the soft robe slipping from her shoulder, and caught sight of her reflection in the mirror opposite the bed. For a second, she swore she saw someone else standing there — Selene, her twin — but when she blinked, it was just her own face staring back.

She shook off the chill. Imagination, she told herself.

Downstairs, the mansion was silent.

Damian was already gone, a note on the kitchen island in his usual elegant handwriting:

“Meeting until late. Don’t wait up.”

Ariana placed the note down gently. There it was — the emptiness Selene had described, the quiet that echoed off walls too wide for love.

She made herself breakfast, something simple. No maids, no routine. She wanted to see how this life truly felt. But as she ate, the lights above her flickered — twice, then steadied.

Her heart thudded. The faintest whisper filled the air, barely audible.

A woman’s voice.

“Don’t… trust… the glass…”

Ariana froze. The mirror on the far wall shimmered faintly.

Then, just as suddenly, everything went still again.

She exhaled shakily, pressing a hand to her chest. “You’re just tired,” she muttered. “That’s all.”

But somewhere in the back of her mind, a whisper of something else — a thread of time — began to unravel.