Chapter Three: A Suspended Identity

She was a little girl, no older than three, hiding behind a boy who appeared to be around five. She clung to the hem of his shirt like someone grasping the shadow of something familiar in a strange world, Her wide eyes stared shyly, yet her small feet carried her toward Xenia, following her brother, who walked with calm, steady steps.. as if shielding her from everything she didn't yet understand.

" Mom, I cleaned the bathroom. Would you like to see it? "

" Mom, I bought the flour you asked for from the market "

They spoke one after the other, like actors rehearsing a scene they had memorized by heart.

The little girl looked up at Xenia with the eager eyes of a child longing for applause, while the boy… he seemed emptied of anticipation, emptied of excitement. His face bore the heavy weariness of expectation, as if he had grown tired of trying to please.

Xenia wondered silently:

' Are these the children that idiot mentioned? They seem like strangers... '

She looked at them for a moment, then murmured in a neutral tone:

" Lead the way "

Her face lit up with joy until her cheeks turned red. She took Xenia's hand as though she had known her for a lifetime. Xenia walked behind her, while the boy walked beside her, casting her quick, cautious, evaluating glances.

They entered the bathroom.. it was clean enough, but that wasn't the point. Xenia wasn't interested in the cleanliness; she was digging through their words, searching for a thread to help her understand this new world.

The strange part? She discovered... the boy was the son of her biological body, and the girl... her husband's daughter from one of his mistresses.

' So they're half-siblings... That's why they don't resemble each other? '

Xenia pinched her arm..

' Aaah! Is this real? Not a dream? Not some prank show? Have I really entered a parallel world? Truly? Has fiction turned into reality? Have I become the protagonist of some novel? But usually, those who cross into other worlds remember the memories of the body they've entered, don't they? Or am I a side character? Why is my luck so awful? Wait… how do I even know this is a novel?... Maybe it's just another world '

She spiraled into a whirlpool of questions, then remembered she wasn't alone. Gathering herself, she signaled them to leave.

Agony... that was the boy's name. Chestnut hair, sun-kissed skin, a dusting of freckles on his cheeks, and wide brown eyes. But his gaze was guarded, closed off, like someone who didn't trust the world.

And Callista… she was his opposite,

Skin as pale as milk, Silky black hair that flowed like a waterfall. Bright blue eyes gleaming with curiosity. Even in her small, childish features, there were hints of a rare beauty.

Xenia thought..

' When she grows up… she'll be a walking temptation! '

She informed them about a family gathering scheduled for the next morning, then hurried off in search of a mirror,

And when she finally found one...

A shiver ran down her spine!!!

Her limbs froze!!

Her features hadn't changed at all...!

Brown eyes, a small nose, full lips… her face looked just as she remembered it, only a little lighter in tone. Like someone kissed by Eastern sun and Western snow. Her long, dark brown hair now reached her hips... astonishingly long.

But… her body?

She used to be 158 cm… now, she was closer to 170!

Her legs were noticeably longer!

Her entire appearance seemed to belong to someone in their late twenties, even though she was still in her prime youth.

She wore a black dress speckled with sapphire blue, vintage in style… as if she had stepped straight out of a novel.

Her eyes trembled as she recalled her obsession with "glass skin"...

And her heart pounded with relentless questions..

' Me...? My skin looks a little dull. I need to boost my collagen! No no, wait, focus.... how do I survive? What's my goal? University? Ah... paper… I need paper! '

She grabbed a sheet and wrote in English... oddly, a language she still remembered:

---

What is my name?

Why can't I remember?

How do I return?

And will I make it back in time?

Can I survive?

How?

If I can't return…

What is my purpose in this world?

---

Then, she began answering inside her own mind:

' My name here is Xenia… but I don't remember my real name, If I can't go back, I'll become rich! I'll build a university! Why do I sound obsessed with universities? I don't know! But I want it!

I'll marry a man I truly love… Oh, wait, I'm already married?! No matter, I'll divorce that uncivilized idiot. I'll take care of the children... even if they're not of my own flesh and blood.

Then I'll have kids with the man I choose… No no! I will return! I'll go to university, absolutely! I'll sleep beside my little sister like we used to… Oh God, Xenia, get your priorities straight!! '

And at the end of that whirlwind...

She collapsed onto the bed.

And strangely… she slept deeply,

As if this new world had never been strange at all.