Ever since that conversation the other night, I started paying attention to Fito.
Not because I was interested in him.
I just wanted to know what that man really knew.
His words from yesterday kept echoing in my head.
Don't trust everything you remember too much.
The problem was, what I remembered wasn't my own life experience.
It was the contents of a story.
And the longer I stayed in this world, the more things failed to match the story I'd read.
Maybe I really did need to stop treating everything I knew as absolute truth.
"Why do you keep looking at me?"
I came to my senses.
Fito was sitting across from me at the dining table.
"I'm not."
"You've been staring at me for a while."
"I'm just confused."
"About what?"
"How you can live with a family like this."
Fito fell silent.
I immediately realized what I'd said.
Oops.
That was too honest.
"I mean..."
"Forget it."
Fito went back to eating his breakfast.
I watched him in silence.
He really was handsome.
Almost too handsome.
But seeing the way he talked and acted only made me feel more certain that this man was hiding something.
Before I could ask, I heard footsteps coming from the living room.
"Fito."
A woman in her sixties entered the dining room.
Helen.
Fito's mother.
Devia was behind her.
And bringing up the rear was a man who immediately reminded me of what had happened a few days ago.
Yoga.
Helen sat down without asking permission.
"Are you coming to the children's event tomorrow?"
Fito nodded.
"I can't."
Devia immediately spoke up.
"I can't either. There's a branch opening."
Yoga sat down beside Devia.
"I'm going with her."
Helen sighed.
"Then who's going to come?"
I set down my spoon.
"I am."
Three pairs of eyes immediately turned toward me.
Devia even looked as though she'd just heard something impossible.
"You?"
I nodded.
"Why?"
Helen frowned.
"Are you sure?"
"Why not?"
"You usually never want to go."
I gave her a faint smile.
"People can change."
Devia let out a small laugh.
"Change?"
I looked at her.
"Yeah."
"You changed after nearly dying?"
"Looks like it."
Devia immediately fell silent.
Yoga, who hadn't said much until then, studied me for a long moment.
His gaze was different.
As if he were trying to find something in my face.
"Are you really Xana?"
I turned toward him.
"What kind of question is that?"
Yoga gave a small smile.
"I don't know."
Devia immediately looked at Yoga.
"Don't be weird."
Yoga didn't answer.
I narrowed my eyes.
This man...
Why did I feel like he was paying far too much attention to me?
According to the story I'd read, Yoga was nothing more than Devia's husband.
Nothing else.
At least, that's what I remembered.
"If you're done, I'm leaving."
I stood up.
Helen called out to me.
"Xana."
I stopped.
"Don't cause trouble at school."
I turned around.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't embarrass the family."
I smiled.
"Don't worry."
I picked up my bag.
"I have no intention of embarrassing the family either."
I walked out of the dining room.
But before I actually left, I heard Helen's voice.
"She's getting weirder."
I didn't care.
Besides...
I felt the same way.
That afternoon, I returned to Xana's office.
I wanted to look for old documents about this family.
Not because I was being nosy.
I just needed to know Xana's position within the family.
The more information I gathered, the easier it would be to come up with a divorce plan.
I opened several documents.
The company.
Investments.
Assets.
Stocks.
All of it made my head throb.
"Being rich is complicated too, apparently."
I leaned back in my chair.
Then my eyes caught sight of an old folder.
The name on it made me stop.
Morgan Emmanuel.
Xana's father.
I opened the folder.
There were several old business documents.
And one photograph.
A young Xana.
Beside her was a little boy.
Fito.
I stared at the photo for quite a while.
So it was true.
They really had known each other since childhood.
But something about it made me uncomfortable.
I read one of the documents.
There were several business agreements between Morgan and David.
Fito's name appeared over and over.
So did Xana's.
I frowned.
"Could it be..."
Was their marriage not simply because Xana loved Fito?
I opened the next document.
But before I could read any further—
Knock.
Knock.
I hurriedly closed the folder.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Fito.
He stood in the doorway.
"What are you doing?"
"Working."
"Since when have you been interested in reading company documents?"
I shrugged.
"Since I realized I might not know nearly enough about my own life."
Fito fell silent.
His gaze dropped to the folder I'd just closed.
I held it down with one hand.
"Do you want it?"
"Why did you open your father's documents?"
"Because I want to know."
"What for?"
I looked him in the eye.
"Because I want to know why I married you."
Fito didn't answer right away.
Several seconds passed.
"Xana."
"Hmm?"
"Don't dig into something that might make you regret it."
I let out a small laugh.
"If there's something I need to know, wouldn't it be better to find out now?"
Fito looked at me.
Then he turned away.
"I've already warned you."
The door closed.
I glared at it, annoyed.
"Why does this man always talk in half-sentences?"
I opened the folder again.
But this time, I didn't read the documents.
I only stared at the names written there. Morgan Emmanuel.
David Arnault.
Fito Ditio Rafrendra.
Xana Syifanazia.
And for the first time, I started to wonder...
Maybe this marriage had never been just about love.
The night grew late.
I stood in front of the mirror.
Xana's face stared back at me.
The face of a woman I'd never known before.
But now...
I had to live as her.
Tomorrow, I would go to school.
I didn't know what would happen.
I didn't know whether the story I'd read would really unfold the way I remembered it either.
But at least I knew one thing.
I wouldn't let anyone destroy Raka and Alma's lives just because of a storyline.
If something was wrong...
I would fix it.
And if this world really did have a story of its own— then I would find out who had actually written it.
I picked up my bag from the table.
"We'll start tomorrow."
I gave my own reflection a faint smile.
"Xana..."
"I hope you don't mind if I change your life a little."