Aarohi's POV
I don't remember falling asleep.
Maybe I didn't.
Maybe I just closed my eyes for too long and slipped between worlds again.
But when I opened them, I was there.
Back in the room with the broken mirror.
Except now… it wasn't broken.
The glass was flawless.
And I was the one cracked.
I stepped closer.
My reflection looked like me—but not quite. Same eyes, same lips, same shape—but the posture, the stillness, the smirk?
Not mine.
Hers.
"Finally," the reflection said.
I stumbled back.
"You're not real," I whispered.
She smiled. "Neither are you, technically."
Her voice—mine, but sharper. Confident. Smooth like velvet and glass.
"You're just a mask stitched from fear and denial," she said, stepping out of the mirror. "Aarohi, the good girl. The daughter. The doll."
I backed away as she circled me. "You're just—just something broken in my head."
"No," she said softly. "I'm the part you broke to survive. And now I'm done staying in the dark."
"You hurt people," I snapped. "You killed—"
"I protected us," she shot back. "The world isn't kind, Aarohi. You know that better than anyone. You cry in corners while I make sure no one puts us there again."
She stopped, eyes burning into mine.
"Aryan's different," I whispered, as if that made her wrong.
"Yes," she said. "He sees you. But he sees me, too."
"You're not supposed to be real," I said, my voice cracking.
"Neither is strength without pain," Reyza said. "You want to be whole? Then stop pretending I'm a demon. I'm not your curse. I'm your spine."
She reached out—and suddenly, her hand was on mine.
And for the first time… I didn't pull away.
"Let's stop fighting," she said. "Let's win."
I opened my mouth to speak, but the world cracked like shattered glass—
And I woke up.
Gasping.
Sweating.
Heart racing.
But something inside me felt… steadier.
Like a storm had passed.
Or just begun.
The morning was grey.
Muted.
Like the world itself was holding its breath.
I stood by the window of a café that hadn't opened in years—its door unlocked only because I knew where the key was still hidden, taped behind a loose brick near the back alley.
This place used to be alive once.
Now, it was just echoes and dust.
I pulled out my phone and typed slowly.
Come to the old place. The one with the piano. Just you. Please.
–Aarohi
I hit send before I could overthink it.
And then I waited.
It didn't take long.
Ten minutes later, the bell above the door creaked open.
He stood there.
Hair messy. Shadows under his eyes. Like he hadn't slept either.
But the second he saw me—he froze.
I wasn't crying this time.
Wasn't shaking.
I was just… standing there. Still. Quiet.
"Hey," I said.
He stepped in, shutting the door behind him gently. "You okay?"
"No," I admitted. "But I'm here."
He walked closer, eyes scanning me—like he was trying to figure out who I was this time.
"I had a dream," I said. "Except it wasn't really a dream."
He didn't interrupt.
"Reyza was there. And she wasn't… cruel. Just real. And honest."
I swallowed. "She says I wear a mask. That I created her to survive the things I couldn't handle."
Aryan's jaw tightened. "Do you believe her?"
I looked up at him. "I think… I'm done pretending I don't."
Silence stretched.
He didn't flinch.
Didn't look away.
Instead, he walked to the old piano in the corner, brushed off the dust from its edge, and sat down slowly.
"She's part of you," he said quietly.
"Yeah," I whispered.
"Then I want to know both of you."
My throat burned. "Even if she's dangerous?"
"I've already met dangerous," he said, looking at me. "And I'm still here."
I didn't move.
Because for the first time, I wasn't sure if I needed to run—or if I had finally stopped.
"She's not gone," I said.
"I know."
"And she'll come back."
"I'll wait," he said. "For both of you."
I closed the space between us and sat beside him on the piano bench.
Two halves of the same broken melody.
And for the first time in a long time… I didn't feel alone in it.