Chapter 2 This Isn't My Life

Ari didn't remember leaving the hallway.

One moment she had been standing there, unable to breathe, staring at the woman wearing her face-

and the next-

she was moving.

Fast.

Too fast.

The tray in her hands rattled slightly as she turned the corner sharply, her pulse loud enough to drown out everything else.

Someone else was living her life.

The thought repeated over and over in her head, refusing to settle into something understandable.

No.

Not just living it.

Belonging in it.

Like Ari had never existed at all.

"Claire!"

Ari flinched violently.

A woman frowned at her from farther down the corridor.

"What's wrong with you today?" the older servant snapped. "Move already. Lady Ari wants the west room prepared before dinner."

Lady Ari.

Again.

The name struck something raw inside her chest.

Ari lowered her head quickly.

"...Sorry."

The apology came automatically.

Wrong.

Everything felt wrong.

The older servant clicked her tongue impatiently. "Honestly. If the housekeeper notices you wandering around uselessly again, you'll be lucky if you're only thrown out."

Thrown out.

Ari's fingers tightened slightly around the tray.

"Especially now," the woman continued. "The Valens are already watching the staff closely because of the engagement talks."

Engagement.

The word hit harder than it should have.

Ari looked up before she could stop herself.

"...Engagement?"

The servant frowned. "Were you dropped on your head this morning?"

Ari said nothing.

The woman sighed dramatically. "Lady Ari and Young Master Emy. The families have been preparing for months."

Months.

Ari's chest tightened painfully.

No.

Too fast.

Everything was happening too fast.

The servant shook her head. "Just work properly and stay out of sight. House Valen doesn't tolerate servants causing problems."

Then she walked away.

Leaving Ari standing alone in the corridor.

Engagement.

The word echoed painfully in her head.

Ari leaned back slightly against the wall, her breathing uneven.

This wasn't right.

None of this was right.

Emy was supposed to-

Her thoughts stopped abruptly.

Supposed to what?

Remember her?

How could he?

Even she barely understood what had happened.

Ari closed her eyes briefly.

The warmth of his hands still lingered in her memory.

Find me again.

Her throat tightened.

"I did," she whispered softly.

But someone else had reached him first.

A sharp voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Claire."

Ari opened her eyes immediately.

A young maid stood nearby holding folded sheets.

"You're helping in Lady Ari's rooms today."

Ari froze.

"...What?"

The maid frowned. "Why are you acting strange?"

Ari forced herself to straighten slightly. "Nothing."

"Then hurry up."

The girl shoved the folded linens into her arms.

Ari stared at them blankly for a moment.

Lady Ari's rooms.

Her rooms.

No.

Not anymore.

The walk upstairs felt longer than it should have.

Every hallway carried fragments of memory.

A painting moved slightly farther left.

The flowers changed.

The carpets replaced.

Small things.

Tiny things.

But enough to remind her that time had passed here without her.

That life had continued.

Without her.

Ari stopped outside the familiar doors.

Her heartbeat quickened painfully.

She knew this room.

Every inch of it.

She had lived here.

Laughed here.

Cried here.

Loved here.

And now-

she stood outside it carrying laundry like a stranger.

The maid beside her pushed the doors open carelessly.

"Just clean quickly," she muttered. "Lady Ari hates dust."

Ari stepped inside slowly.

And immediately-

something twisted painfully in her chest.

It looked almost the same.

Almost.

The curtains were different.

The books rearranged.

Fresh flowers rested beside the window where Ari used to keep dried ones instead.

Not wrong.

Just...

not hers.

Like someone had rebuilt her life from memory alone.

Ari moved quietly through the room, setting down the linens carefully.

Then she stopped.

There was a framed photograph beside the bed.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she picked it up.

Emy stood smiling faintly beside-

her.

No.

Not her.

The woman wearing her face leaned comfortably against him, perfectly at ease.

Ari stared at the image silently.

Then quietly-

very quietly-

"...That's not where you stand."

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

"Really?"

Ari froze.

She turned too quickly.

The woman from the photograph stood in the doorway.

Watching her calmly.

Ari's breath caught instantly.

Up close, it was worse.

Every feature belonged to her.

Every expression almost right.

Almost.

The woman's gaze shifted briefly toward the photograph in Ari's hands.

Then back to her.

"You've been staring a lot today," she said lightly.

Ari couldn't speak.

The woman tilted her head slightly.

"Do I know you?"

The question struck harder than it should have.

Because Ari suddenly realized-

she truly didn't know.

This woman had her face.

Her voice.

Her life.

But Ari had no idea who she was.

"...No," Ari answered quietly.

The woman studied her for a second longer.

Then smiled softly.

Polite.

Distant.

The kind of smile given to servants.

"Claire, right?"

Ari's stomach twisted at the unfamiliar name.

"...Yes."

"You're new?"

Ari hesitated.

"...I think so."

Something flickered briefly across the woman's expression.

Confusion.

Amusement, maybe.

Then it disappeared.

"You think so?"

Ari looked away quickly. "Sorry."

Silence settled briefly between them.

Then the woman stepped farther into the room.

Natural.

Comfortable.

Like she belonged there.

Like Ari didn't.

"You should be careful," she said gently. "The housekeeper dislikes careless servants."

Ari's fingers curled slightly at her side.

Servant.

The word felt unreal every time she heard it.

The woman glanced toward the photograph again.

Then smiled faintly.

"...You were looking at Young Master Emy."

Ari's breath caught.

"I wasn't-"

"It's alright," the woman interrupted softly.

"There are plenty of girls in the estate who stare at him."

The words weren't cruel.

That somehow made them worse.

Because she sounded so certain.

So secure beside him.

Like no one could ever threaten her place there.

Ari looked at her quietly.

Really looked.

And suddenly-

something felt familiar.

Not the face.

Not the voice.

Something smaller.

The way she watched people carefully before speaking.

The way her smile adjusted slightly depending on the reaction she received.

A strange feeling crawled slowly down Ari's spine.

Like she had seen that habit somewhere before.

But before she could think harder about it-

the woman smiled again.

"You should get back to work, Claire."

Claire.

The name landed heavily in Ari's chest.

Not mine.

"...Yes, Lady Ari," she said quietly.

The woman nodded once before turning away.

Effortless.

Certain.

Completely at home in the life she had taken.

Ari stood motionless until the door closed behind her.

Then slowly-

her gaze shifted back toward the photograph beside the bed.

Her fingers tightened around the frame.

"...That's my place," she whispered.

But the room remained silent.

As if the world itself disagreed.