They Will Force Open What We Close

I didn't sleep that night. Or maybe I did, but I didn't really leave. Because I was conscious.

I sat in an empty room—no color, no walls. Just dim light, and the sound of… breathing other than my own.

Then I saw it.

Myself.

Or someone who had the same face as me, but with a different aura. Stronger. Sharper. More… wounded.

She didn't look at me with hatred. But not warmth either. Her gaze was that of someone who had waited too long to say something important.

"You know who I am," she said.

I nodded slowly. "Adelina Gavrila. The owner of this body."

She sat down across from me.

"And you're not a usurper. I know you have no intention of replacing me."

I didn't know whether to feel relieved or sad. But a voice inside me said: finally.

"I don't know how I got into this body either," I replied. "But since the first day… I've only been trying to survive."

She nodded. "Me too."

We were silent for a long time before she spoke again.

"I'm not mad. I'm just… disappointed. The world forgot about me too quickly. Even Nathan."

I looked down. "He didn't forget. But he chose to stay. And that… makes things more complicated."

Adelina looked at me.

"I still love him. But I also know… there's a part of him that loves you now."

I bit my lip. "I don't want to take anything from you. Including him."

She stared at me deeply. "Maybe you don't have to take. Maybe we can share."

I stared at her, confused.

"What do you mean?"

She smiled thinly. For the first time… without burden.

"This body won't last if we pull each other. But maybe… if we support each other, we can take care of each other."

I fell silent.

Then slowly, nodded.

"I don't know if this will work or not. But I'm willing to try."

She held out her hand.

I took it.

And in an instant, the room was gone. I woke up. But this time... it felt different.

My body was light. But also full.

My mind was calm. But sharper.

And inside, I could feel it.

Adelina.

She was no longer pushing. But standing with me.

Her voice whispered softly in my mind:

"If we can't live as one person, then we will live as two souls who care for each other.

Not to fight for each other's love, but to protect each other's hearts."

That night, I stood in front of the mirror. The face I saw was still the same. But I knew... I wasn't alone.

And for the first time since I woke up in this body... I wasn't afraid of myself.

Everything felt calm... too calm.

After that night—the night Adelina and I first spoke—there were no nightmares. No blackouts. No strange noises.

Our bodies began to stabilize. But we knew that this peace was not the end. Just a lull before the storm.

And sure enough. The storm was named Clea.

That afternoon, Nathan called me into the living room. His expression was stiff. In his hand, an envelope with a black seal.

"Someone sent this to my office," he said. "Anonymous."

I opened it slowly. Inside, photos. Lots.

Me—sitting in the garden in a daze. Me—standing still in the kitchen in the middle of the night. Me—staring in the mirror downstairs, with a blank expression. There was even one photo... of me writing in a journal. But it wasn't me who wrote it.

Nathan looked at me. His eyes were sharp. But this time... not angry. More like scared.

"Someone is watching you, Del. And they know... you've changed."

I wanted to say that everything was fine. But I knew that lying now would only make it all fall harder.

"Clea?" I asked.

Nathan nodded slowly. "Could be. Or someone she hired."

That afternoon, I got a message from an unknown number.

"I don't know who you are. But you're not her. And I'll prove it to everyone."

—C.E.

Clea Evelyn.

Before, she was just teasing. Now, she was threatening.

And I knew that if this got out to the public, everything would fall apart: me, Nathan, Gavrila's family… even Adelina herself.

Adelina and I—inside—began talking more often.

"Do you see this?" I asked the vague image in my mind.

"Yes," she replied. "She wants us to crack. So that we can be easily taken down."

"Are you sure we can face her?"

"Not us. But you. I'm part of you now. But the outside world… that's your business."

I decided to call Arvid. We met in secret in an abandoned parking lot—a place where there were no cameras, no microphones, and only unyielding honesty.

"Does anyone know," I said quickly.

"Clea?"

I nodded. "She has pictures. And I think… she wants to bring me down socially. Not just personally."

Arvid took a deep breath. Then he said quietly, "If she succeeds, you could lose everything. Your name, your house, even this body."

I froze.

"If she takes this to the media, they'll call you schizophrenic, delusional, crazy. They'll put you in a mental hospital, not because you're wrong… but because you can't be proven right."

I held my breath.

"Then what should I do?"

Arvid looked at me. His face was stern, but his voice was soft.

"We'll strike back. Not with threats. But with controlled truth."

"What do you mean?"

"Let her know you know. But don't hide. Show her… you're not afraid."

I looked into Arvid's eyes.

And in that moment, I realized: this fight wasn't about choosing between Nathan and Arvid. It wasn't just about love.

It was about staying who I was—and protecting the part of me I almost lost.