The Day I Became to Ophelia Ashbourne
The vision left me so suddenly that I almost fell.
My hand slammed against the bookshelf beside me, breath catching in my throat.
Cold.
Everything felt cold.
Alekxander grabbed my wrist before I could lose balance completely.
“Ophelia.”
I stared at him.
No.
Not him.
Past him.
Through him.
That man.
Black coat.
Black gloves.
The ring.
God.
The ring.
“I saw him,” I whispered.
Alekxander’s expression changed instantly.
“Who?”
“The man before my accident.”
The room went silent.
Cassian straightened from where he’d been leaning against the desk.
“What accident?”
I laughed softly.
Not because anything was funny.
Honestly, if I didn’t laugh, I might start screaming.
“My death,” I said.
That shut him up quickly.
Rain tapped lightly against the library windows.
I pulled my wrist from Alekxander’s grip and stepped back, trying to breathe normally.
“This is insane,” I muttered.
“This is actually insane.”
“Tell us what you saw,” Alekxander said quietly.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Which meant he was definitely panicking inside.
I was starting to learn his tells.
Terrifying knowledge, honestly.
I rubbed my temple.
“Before I died… there was someone watching me.”
Cassian frowned.
“Watching you?”
“I remembered it just now.” I swallowed hard.
“A man across the street.”
“And?”
I looked at Alekxander.
“He wore the Black Sun ring.”
The air changed immediately.
Cassian cursed under his breath.
Alekxander went completely still.
Not shocked.
Worse.
Like he already feared this answer.
My stomach twisted.
“You knew this was possible.”
“No.”
“You did.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“I knew they were searching for something.”
“That’s not comforting.”
Nothing about this was comforting.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
Because suddenly it felt like every memory I had was rotting from the inside.
My old life.
My death.
This world.
None of it felt separate anymore.
“What if my accident wasn’t an accident?” I asked quietly.
Cassian looked uncomfortable immediately.
Alekxander looked furious.
“At who?” I snapped before he could speak.
“The Society? Fate? Whoever decided my life needed extra trauma?”
“You’re upset.”
“Oh wow, really? Amazing observation.”
Cassian snorted.
Alekxander ignored him.
His eyes stayed on me the entire time.
Focused.
Like he was making sure I was still standing.
“I need you to stay calm,” he said.
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Stay calm?”
“Yes.”
“I literally just discovered I may have been murdered across dimensions.”
Cassian blinked.
“When you say it like that, it sounds significantly worse.”
“THANK YOU!!!”
Alekxander pinched the bridge of his nose once.
Tiny movement.
But weirdly human.
“You’re drawing attention to yourself.”
“I’m sorry. Next time I’ll discover horrifying truths more quietly.”
His mouth twitched slightly.
I narrowed my eyes immediately.
“Are you laughing?”
“No.”
“You literally almost smiled.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
Cassian looked deeply disappointed in both of us.
“This is painful to witness.”
“We are not flirting,” we both said instantly.
Cassian sighed dramatically.
“I miss when rich people only had affairs and tax problems.”
I groaned and leaned against the shelf again.
My head hurt.
Everything hurt.
And underneath all of that fear was something worse.
A question.
One ugly question clawing around in my chest.
“What if they wanted me here?”
Silence.
No one answered.
That was answer enough.
I felt sick.
“No,” Alekxander said finally.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
I looked at him slowly.
“You don’t sound sure.”
His gaze darkened.
“Because none of this should be possible.”
“But it is.”
He didn’t argue.
That scared me more than anything.
Cassian crossed his arms.
“The Society studied the Ashbourne bloodline for years. If they truly believed certain people could retain memories after death…”
“Stop,” Alekxander said coldly.
But I already heard enough.
I looked between them carefully.
“You knew.”
Alekxander said nothing.
“You knew they were researching this.”
“There were theories.”
“What kind of theories?”
His expression hardened.
“The founder believed some bloodlines could carry memories beyond death.”
I froze.
My heartbeat slowed painfully.
“Oh.”
That was all I could say.
Oh.
Because suddenly everything felt too big.
Too real.
I died.
I woke up here.
The original Ophelia died too.
And now someone connected to the Society had been watching me before my death.
Like they knew.
Like they were waiting.
A horrible chill crawled down my spine.
“What if I was chosen?”
Cassian immediately looked away.
Alekxander stepped closer.
“You were not.”
“You don’t know that.”
“How?”
His silence lasted too long.
My chest tightened.
“Alekxander.”
His eyes finally met mine.
And there it was again.
That fear.
Raw and ugly beneath all his control.
Because this wasn’t just about secrets anymore.
He thought I was in danger.
Again.
“The last Ophelia died after they discovered what she knew,” he said quietly.
The last Ophelia.
Not Lady Ashbourne.
Not your fiancée.
Just.
Ophelia.
Something in my chest hurt unexpectedly.
“She mattered to you,” I said softly.
His expression changed instantly.
Like I hit something fragile by accident.
Cassian suddenly became very interested in the bookshelf beside him.
Alekxander looked away first.
“That isn’t relevant.”
“That’s not a no.”
His jaw tightened.
“She died because of me.”
“No.”
The word left my mouth before I could stop it.
His eyes snapped back to mine.
And suddenly the room felt too small.
“You don’t get to blame yourself for everything,” I said quietly.
A bitter laugh escaped him.
“You know nothing about what happened.”
“Then tell me.”
Silence.
Again.
God, this man treated emotions like they were assassination attempts.
“You loved her,” I whispered.
A muscle in his jaw ticked.
He never answered.
But honestly?
He didn’t need to.
And weirdly…
Weirdly it hurt.
Which made absolutely no sense.
Because I wasn’t her.
Except maybe part of me was becoming her.
Or maybe he looked at me and still saw someone else.
I hated that thought more than I wanted to admit.
Cassian cleared his throat awkwardly.
“They’re not the same person.”
The words hung heavily in the room.
Alekxander closed his eyes briefly.
“I know.”
But he sounded tired when he said it.
Not convincing.
Just tired.
Like he’d been trying to force himself to believe it for a long time.
Before I could respond, footsteps echoed outside the library.
All three of us stiffened immediately.
A knock came moments later.
“My lady?”
A servant.
But something about the voice sounded nervous.
“Yes?” I called carefully.
“The Duke requests your presence immediately.”
Cassian frowned.
“At this hour?”
The servant hesitated.
Then quietly added.
“There is… someone here asking for Lady Ophelia Ashbourne.”
Alekxander’s entire body went tense.
I swallowed slowly.
“Who?”
The answer made my blood go cold.
“He says he knew you before your death.”