Chapter 2: The Lady in the Mirror

Arc I – The Possession Begins

Chapter 2: The Lady in the Mirror

For a full five seconds, Mira did not move.

The reflection did.

It smiled—her smile, but sharper.

Her hands went cold.

“I—uh,” Mira stammered, “I’m… me?”

Brilliant. Pulitzer-winning dialogue.

The reflection tilted its head.

“You are not Seraphina Edevane.”

Mira’s heart pounded. She backed away, but the reflection followed in perfect synch, except for one crucial detail: the eyes. They weren’t her normal wide-eyed panic; they were calm, ancient, and unmistakably aware.

“You’re not supposed to be awake,” the mirror-Seraphina murmured.

“I’m not supposed to be here!” Mira shot back. “I was on my couch, watching—uh—television! Then truck, light, boom! Next thing I know, I’m in corsets and debt-free!”

The reflection blinked, confused. “What’s a truck?”

Mira sighed. “Never mind. The bigger question is—why do you look like me, and why are you talking like you’re auditioning for a ghost movie?”

“I am not a ghost,” the reflection said, voice soft but dangerous. “I am the true Lady Seraphina. You are the intruder in my body.”

“Okay,” Mira said slowly, raising her hands, “in my defense, this wasn’t voluntary possession. I didn’t sign any magical Airbnb agreement.”

---

The reflection’s face softened, but her tone stayed distant.

“I don’t sense malice in you. But your presence has disturbed something… ancient. Something connected to him.”

“‘Him’ being the very tall, very annoyed duke who hears my thoughts?”

Seraphina nodded. “Adrian Vale. My husband. Our marriage was… arranged. But I never knew his heart. I thought him cold, distant, unfeeling.”

“Plot twist,” Mira muttered. “He’s not unfeeling. Just emotionally constipated.”

The reflection almost—almost—smiled. “Perhaps. Yet even I never heard his thoughts as you do. That bond is new… dangerous.”

Mira frowned. “Bond? You mean this voice-thing?”

Seraphina’s image flickered. “It is a curse that binds souls tethered by unresolved fate. The more affection grows, the farther the distance extends. If you grow too close, you may disappear entirely.”

“Disappear—like die again disappear?”

“Yes.”

Mira stared. “Fantastic. Love him and poof. Don’t love him and he hates me. Excellent options.”

---

A knock jolted her out of the mirror conversation.

“Seraphina?” Adrian’s deep voice filtered through the door. “Are you all right? I heard—talking.”

Mira panicked. “Hide!” she whispered to the reflection.

Seraphina’s smile turned wistful. “I am already hidden.”

Her image dissolved into ripples.

The door opened, and Adrian stepped in—still in his evening clothes, hair slightly mussed as though he hadn’t slept either.

He looked around warily. “Who were you speaking to?”

Mira forced a nervous laugh. “Myself! You know, pep talk. Self-care. Very modern.”

Don’t tell him about the mirror ghost. Don’t tell him about the mirror ghost.

“I heard another voice,” he said, stepping closer.

Mira froze. Her heart thudded in panic. Don’t come closer—!

The voice in her head rang immediately: “What are you hiding, Seraphina?”

Oh no.

“I can hear your thoughts again,” Adrian muttered.

Can you not right now?!

He arched an eyebrow. “You’re panicking.”

“I am not!”

“You’re shouting in my head.”

Mira flailed. “I—uh—just remembered something I need to—do—like—pray!”

“You don’t pray.”

“Well, I’m branching out spiritually!”

Adrian sighed, pinching his nose. “Seraphina, whatever is happening between us—it’s not normal.”

You think?!

He scowled faintly. “You’ve been… different lately.”

Mira’s brain short-circuited. Oh no, he noticed. He noticed I’m not his wife. Quick, deflect. Compliment him. Compliment—

—You have really good hair.

Adrian blinked. “Pardon?”

Mira slapped both hands over her mouth. “I didn’t say that!”

“You thought it.”

“Stop eavesdropping!”

“I can’t!” he snapped, then took a deep breath. “I’m trying to understand this, Seraphina. Why do I hear your voice in my head when you look at me like you’ve never seen me before?”

Because technically, I haven’t!

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing! Metaphor! Poetry!” she blurted. “You’re… like a sunrise. Unfamiliar but… bright!”

He stared at her like she’d just declared herself a turnip. “…A sunrise.”

“Yes. Poetic.”

“I see.”

He clearly did not see.

---

After he left (mercifully), Mira flopped onto the bed and screamed into a pillow. “I’m so dead. Again.”

The mirror shimmered faintly. Seraphina’s reflection returned.

“You cannot keep lying to him,” the spirit murmured. “He will sense the truth.”

“Oh sure,” Mira said, voice muffled by the pillow. “I’ll just casually say, ‘Hey, by the way, your wife’s body is occupied by a woman from another world who ships you with your best friend.’ I’m sure that’ll go great.”

Seraphina sighed. “Your humor is strange.”

“It’s called coping.”

---

Days passed. Mira kept her distance from Adrian as best she could, but the estate was large and fate was cruel. Every accidental encounter sent chaos ricocheting through their heads.

When Adrian was near, his emotions bled faintly through the connection—small flashes of curiosity, frustration, and sometimes… warmth.

Once, she tripped on the stairs. Before she could fall, he caught her, arm firm around her waist.

The moment their eyes met—static.

Her voice echoed louder than ever in his mind.

Oh no, he smells good.

His jaw clenched. “Seraphina.”

Abort mission! Abort—!

He set her down abruptly, stepping back as though burned. “Stay away from me.”

Gladly!

---

Later that night, Seraphina’s reflection appeared again.

“You’re changing,” the spirit said.

“How?” Mira asked.

“You laugh more easily than I ever did. Yet you’re afraid of love.”

Mira’s smile faltered. “Love got me nowhere. In my world, it was… complicated.”

“You cared for someone?”

“I cared for fictional someones,” she admitted wryly. “They never hurt me. Real people do.”

Seraphina looked thoughtful. “Perhaps this is why the bond chose you. You both run from affection in different ways.”

Mira frowned. “Both?”

“Adrian and you. He hides behind control. You hide behind fantasy. The curse feeds on denial.”

“Meaning?”

“The more you pretend not to feel, the closer your souls will pull. The distance between you will grow until one of you breaks.”

“Breaks?”

“Body or mind. Whichever comes first.”

---

The next morning, Mira resolved to test the “distance” rule. She convinced the butler to measure the garden path in meters—claiming she wanted to “exercise mathematically.”

At five meters from Adrian’s study, the voice connection began.

At ten meters, it faded.

Two days later, after he’d caught her mid-slip and she’d accidentally thought, wow, he’s kind of sweet when he’s not brooding,

the range jumped to fifteen meters.

She panicked.

The more she liked him, the farther the voice traveled. Which meant—if she ever truly loved him, it might never stop.

---

That evening, as she watched the sunset from the balcony, Adrian appeared quietly beside her. His presence filled the space without sound.

She tried not to think. Don’t think about how pretty he looks in this light. Don’t—

“I heard that,” he murmured.

She groaned. “You’re supposed to pretend you didn’t.”

“I tried. It’s difficult when you’re narrating my existence like an overzealous bard.”

She huffed. “Well, excuse me for having commentary! You’re very… comment-worthy!”

He turned to her then, eyes softening despite himself. “I don’t know what’s happening between us, Seraphina. But I no longer wish to avoid it.”

Her pulse stuttered. “You… don’t?”

“No. Whatever binds us—it feels less like a curse now. More like… recognition.”

Don’t say things like that! her mind screamed. You’re going to make me catch feelings!

He smiled faintly. “Too late, I heard that too.”

Mira’s face flamed red. “You’re impossible.”

“Perhaps.” He hesitated, gaze dropping to her hands. “But so are you.”

He left before she could reply, footsteps fading into the night.

Mira stood there, heart pounding, caught between terror and something dangerously like hope.

Behind her, the mirror on her vanity gleamed faintly even in the dark—Seraphina’s voice whispering one last warning:

“The distance grows, Mira. And soon… one of you will vanish.”

---

End of Chapter 2

Next: Chapter 3 – “Experiments in Madness”

Where Mira begins testing the curse, accidentally matchmaking the castle staff, and starts to uncover the real reason Seraphina’s soul still lingers.