Chapter 7 You Changed

The room felt the same.

That was the first thing Meredith noticed.

The same polished furniture. The same warm lighting. The same familiar faces gathered around her in effortless conversation.

Nothing had changed.

And yet-

something had.

"...you're not listening."

Meredith blinked once before smiling faintly.

"I am."

Selene Arkwright leaned back in her chair, gaze sharp with amusement.

"Really?"

Meredith's expression remained calm.

"Yes."

"Then what did I just say?"

The question came too quickly to dodge.

Meredith answered smoothly.

"You were talking about the upcoming academy event. You think the schedule is excessive."

A pause followed.

Then Selene tilted her head slightly.

"...Interesting."

The others glanced between them.

Meredith kept smiling.

"Was I wrong?"

"That's not what I said."

Silence settled briefly across the room.

Light.

But noticeable.

Evelyn Cross laughed softly, trying to smooth the atmosphere.

"She probably got distracted."

"Maybe," Selene replied.

But her eyes never left Meredith.

"You pause before answering now."

Meredith's fingers remained neatly folded in her lap.

"I think you're imagining things."

"Am I?"

Selene's tone stayed casual.

Too casual.

The dangerous kind.

"You didn't use to think before speaking," she continued lightly. "Now it's like you're checking something first."

Another pause.

Longer this time.

One of the others shifted awkwardly.

"...That's a little harsh."

Selene shrugged.

"I'm just saying she feels different."

Meredith finally let out a soft laugh.

"People change."

"Not this suddenly."

Their eyes met.

Selene smiled slightly.

Not warm.

Not friendly.

Interested.

Like she had finally found something worth looking at.

"You know what it feels like?" Selene said quietly.

No one answered.

Her gaze remained fixed on Meredith.

"It feels like you're remembering how to be yourself."

The room went still.

Even Evelyn looked uncomfortable now.

Meredith's smile did not move.

But something behind it hardened instantly.

"That's an odd thing to say."

"Is it?"

Selene leaned forward slightly.

"You sound like someone following a script lately."

The words landed cleanly.

Precisely.

And for the first time-

Meredith felt it.

A small crack in her composure.

Tiny.

But real.

Evelyn spoke quickly before the silence could deepen further.

"So-about the project groups..."

The conversation shifted after that.

Too quickly.

Too obviously.

But Meredith could still feel it lingering underneath every word.

The attention.

The doubt.

The subtle discomfort settling into the room around her.

Something was wrong.

And Selene had noticed first.

Later, after everyone left, Meredith remained alone in the room.

The door clicked shut.

Silence followed.

Then slowly-

her smile disappeared.

"...A script," she repeated softly.

Her fingers curled against her sleeve.

That wasn't possible.

She remembered every detail.

Every habit Ari had ever shown her.

Every preference.

Every tone.

Every expression.

She had studied all of it carefully.

Perfectly.

So why-

"...why is it still not enough?"

The question unsettled her immediately.

She stood abruptly.

No.

The problem wasn't her.

The problem was interference.

Ari.

Meredith's gaze darkened.

"She's the one causing this."

It made sense.

Ari was here now.

Watching.

Correcting.

Disrupting things Meredith had already secured.

That was why people were noticing.

That was why mistakes kept appearing.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

Meredith's expression shifted instantly.

Calm.

Elegant.

Controlled.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly.

Evelyn stepped inside.

"...Hey."

Meredith smiled gently.

"Did you forget something?"

"Not really."

Evelyn hesitated before speaking again.

"I just wanted to check on you."

Meredith tilted her head slightly.

"Check on me?"

"You've seemed stressed lately."

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

Meredith's smile softened carefully.

"Of course."

Evelyn looked relieved for only a second before uncertainty returned again.

"...Selene was being too much earlier."

Meredith said nothing.

Evelyn continued quietly,

"But..."

A pause.

"She wasn't completely wrong."

The silence that followed felt colder than before.

Meredith's gaze sharpened slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Evelyn looked away awkwardly.

"I don't know. It's just..."

She struggled for the right words.

"You used to feel more natural."

There it was again.

Natural.

Meredith's fingers tightened slowly at her side.

"That's a vague accusation."

"I'm not accusing you."

"Then what are you doing?"

Evelyn hesitated.

"...I think you're trying too hard lately."

That landed worse than Selene's words.

Because Evelyn wasn't her rival.

Evelyn liked her.

Trusted her.

Which meant-

if even Evelyn noticed-

Meredith looked away first.

"...You're overthinking things," she said softly.

Maybe.

But Evelyn didn't sound convinced.

After a moment, she gave a small nod and left quietly.

The door closed behind her.

Meredith stood motionless in the silence.

Her expression slowly emptied.

Precision.

Observation.

Control.

She had all of those.

So why did Ari still feel more real than her?

Why did people respond to Ari without effort-

while Meredith had to calculate every reaction perfectly?

Her jaw tightened slightly.

No.

She refused to lose because of something as meaningless as emotion.

A knock interrupted her thoughts again.

This time, the door opened before she answered.

Lucian Grey stepped inside carrying several papers under one arm.

Quiet.

Observant.

Annoyingly difficult to read.

"I came for the reports," he said simply.

"They're there."

Lucian walked toward the desk and gathered the papers calmly.

Then he paused.

"...Selene's right, you know."

Meredith's gaze sharpened immediately.

"About what?"

Lucian glanced at her briefly.

"You changed."

The words felt different coming from him.

Not emotional.

Not provocative.

Certain.

Like an observation already confirmed.

Meredith smiled faintly.

"People keep saying that."

Lucian adjusted the papers in his hand.

"Maybe because it's true."

Their eyes met briefly.

And for the first time all day-

Meredith felt genuinely uncomfortable.

Lucian studied people too carefully.

Not emotionally like Evelyn.

Not aggressively like Selene.

Systematically.

Like he was solving something.

"...You know what's strange?" he said quietly.

Meredith remained silent.

"You act correctly."

A pause.

"But somehow it still feels rehearsed."

The words struck harder than they should have.

Lucian left moments later.

Quietly.

Leaving Meredith alone once again.

This time, she didn't smile after the door closed.

Her fingers curled tightly enough to leave marks in her palm.

Because now she understood something terrifying.

No matter how perfectly she copied Ari-

people could still feel the difference.

And feelings were much harder to control.