On the ground, there was another "me," and just as I tried to focus on it, the old woman barked, "Rachel, get the young lady to her room. Call for more servants to help. And fetch the family doctor-quickly!"

The only one in this house who's ever been kind to me was Rachel, Catherine's governess-honest, simple, yet Catherine never showed her an ounce of respect. They hurriedly carried me toward the mansion. As we passed the grand hall mirror, I caught a glimpse of a face identical to Catherine's.

"Ah!" I screamed. The servants froze in their tracks. Catherine's mother shrieked, "Be gentle! Did she hurt herself? My baby, the doctor's coming, don't worry!" And then, like a wounded animal, she howled.

"Back! Back to the mirror!" I yelled, panicked. The servants quickly stepped back. In the mirror, I saw a face-a face just like Catherine's. But where was Catherine? I looked down at my body-dressed in expensive Burberry, something I never wore. I had always dressed in cheap street clothes, sometimes even the cast-offs Catherine didn't want. What was happening?

My mind raced. Where's my face? Then it hit me-the moment before I was carried in, when I jumped, I saw another version of me. But who was that?

Just then, another me was dragged in by her hair. We stared at each other. She screamed, "Mom! Dad! I'm Catherine!"

"You've lost your mind!" the old woman screamed. "You're Beata! The girl we took in! If it weren't for your marrow, you'd have been cast out long ago!"

I'm in Catherine's body. The supernatural has happened. Our bodies swapped.

Looking at the "me" on the floor, I barked, "Get her to the bed. Take care of her. Heal her wounds. Treat her well, feed her well."

Everyone froze. I wasn't trying to be kind to Catherine-I was pitying the body I had once inhabited, the frail, abused body.

"Yes, take care of Beata. My daughter still needs her marrow to live," Catherine's sickening father added, patting my head. I flinched, pushing away.

They carried me into Catherine's room-my former prison. Once, I dared glimpse inside, and they beat me half to death. Now, I could enter freely, sleep here.

"Rachel, give me the mirror. My body hurts... I can't move properly." I whispered.

Rachel handed me the mirror with reverence. "Thank you," I said, as she stared at me in disbelief.

"What's wrong, Rachel?" I asked.

"Miss... I... Ah, never mind. Rest, Miss. Call me if you need anything."

"No need. You go rest. If anything, I'll message Mrs. Smith. She'll come," I told her.

"Mrs. Smith?" Rachel's eyes widened at the title.

"Mrs. Smith," I repeated-my usual way of referring to Pearl. But now, I was Catherine. I should be calling her "Mother." Realizing my mistake, I quickly corrected myself. "I must have lost my memory from the fall. Temporary amnesia."

"The doctor's here!" A servant called from downstairs.

Rachel explained my condition to the doctor. Catherine's mother hovered, fretting. "Make sure you check her head thoroughly. We can't afford her forgetting anything."

How could I forget? Everything they did to me-I'll never forget it.

The doctor asked me questions, and I answered with ease. He conducted a thorough check. Aside from a slight arm fracture, nothing else seemed wrong. Then I asked, "What about myself? The one who took over my body-how is she?"

The doctor replied, "No one has asked to treat her yet."

I exploded. "What do you mean, no one? Go to her immediately. There can't be a single scratch on her! What if I end up back in my body one day? She can't be injured."

"Of course. Right away," Catherine's twisted father replied, his voice filled with haste.

From now on, I would be Catherine, and she would be me. Her parents would be mine, and I... well, I had no parents anymore.

On the ground, there was another "me," and just as I tried to focus on it, the old woman barked, "Rachel, get the young lady to her room. Call for more servants to help. And fetch the family doctor-quickly!"

The only one in this house who's ever been kind to me was Rachel, Catherine's governess-honest, simple, yet Catherine never showed her an ounce of respect. They hurriedly carried me toward the mansion. As we passed the grand hall mirror, I caught a glimpse of a face identical to Catherine's.

"Ah!" I screamed. The servants froze in their tracks.

Catherine's mother shrieked, "Be gentle! Did she hurt herself? My baby, the doctor's coming, don't worry!" And then, like a wounded animal, she howled.

"Back! Back to the mirror!" I yelled, panicked.

The servants quickly stepped back.

In the mirror, I saw a face-a face just like Catherine's. But where was Catherine? I looked down at my body-dressed in expensive Burberry, something I never wore.

I had always dressed in cheap street clothes, sometimes even the cast-offs Catherine didn't want. What was happening?

My mind raced. Where's my face? Then it hit me-the moment before I was carried in, when I jumped, I saw another version of me. But who was that?

Just then, another me was dragged in by her hair. We stared at each other. She screamed, "Mom! Dad! I'm Catherine!"

"You've lost your mind!" the old woman screamed. "You're Beata! The girl we took in! If it weren't for your marrow, you'd have been cast out long ago!"

I'm in Catherine's body. Our bodies swapped.

Looking at the "me" on the floor, I barked, "Get her to the bed. Take care of her. Heal her wounds. Treat her well, feed her well."

Everyone froze. I wasn't trying to be kind to Catherine-I was pitying the body I had once inhabited, the frail, abused body.

"Yes, take care of Beata. My daughter still needs her marrow to live," Catherine's sickening father added, patting my head. I flinched, pushing away.

They carried me into Catherine's room. Once, I dared glimpse inside, and they beat me half to death. Now, I could enter freely, sleep here.

"Rachel, give me the mirror. My body hurts... I can't move properly." I whispered.

Rachel handed me the mirror with reverence. "Thank you," I said, as she stared at me in disbelief.

"What's wrong, Rachel?" I asked.

"Miss... I... Ah, never mind. Rest, Miss. Call me if you need anything."

" You go rest. If anything, I'll message Mrs. Smith. She'll come," I told her.

"Mrs. Smith?" Rachel's eyes widened.

"Mrs. Smith," I repeated-my usual way of referring to Pearl. But now, I was Catherine. I should be calling her "Mother."

Realizing my mistake, I quickly corrected myself. "I must have lost my memory from the fall. Temporary amnesia."

"The doctor's here!" A servant called from downstairs.

Rachel explained my condition to the doctor. Catherine's mother hovered, fretting. "Make sure you check her head thoroughly. We can't afford her forgetting anything."

How could I forget? Everything they did to me-I'll never forget it.

The doctor asked me questions, and I answered with ease

He conducted a thorough check. Aside from a slight arm fracture, nothing else seemed wrong. Then I asked, "What about the girl they took over?"

The doctor replied, "No one has asked to treat her yet."

I exploded. "What do you mean, no one? Go to her immediately. There can't be a single scratch on her!"

What if I end up back in my body one day?

"Of course. Right away," Catherine's twisted father replied.

From now on, I would be Catherine, and she would be me. Her parents would be mine, and I... well, she had no parents anymore.

I was surrounded by the Smiths' overwhelming care. Everyone pampered me, indulged me.

Breakfast was brought to my bed, and every snack was so exquisite, even the pickles were arranged like art before being served.

To keep me from getting too bored, they would carry me out into the garden to bask in the sun every day.

This was the first time I had ever stepped into a garden since being brought to this family from the orphanage.

The sunlight hit my body-or rather, Catherine's body-warming me, soothing me.

I ordered someone to bring "myself," the body Catherine occupied, outside too, hoping the exposure would hasten my recovery.

Once I was better, I could switch back. It would be a healthy body then, I thought.

"You'd better give my body back, or you'll regret it." Catherine's voice cut through my thought.

"I don't know why our bodies swapped. Maybe it'll change back one day," I said, .

"If you don't change back, I swear I'll make you suffer like your dead parents," she snarled.

Her words struck me like a thunderclap. My parents? I had no memory of them. Who were they?

"Tell me-who are my parents? What happened to them?" I asked, my voice rising in desperation.

Catherine smirked, clearly enjoying my panic. "The more you want to know, the less I'll tell you. Help me, and I'll tell you everything."

Anger surged. I needed to know. Then it hit me-a way to make her talk.

Just then, a few servants entered the room.

"She's too dirty, clean her"

They were the same brutish women who had once scrubbed me harshly, dragging Catherine into the bathroom just like they had with me.

They took their steel scrubbing brushes to her back. My body might be precious, but if the cost of truth was pain, I was willing to pay it.

Half an hour later, they dragged her out, gasping for breath, tears streaming down her face. The servants left, and I approached Catherine with cold eyes.

"Well, can you talk now?"

"You're cruel," she sobbed.

Cruel? I had only done to her what she had done to me.

"Do you want another wash?"

"Rachel..."

At the sound of my voice, Catherine collapsed, trembling. "Please, don't... I'll tell you."

"Your parents... they were the housekeeper and the maid here," she confessed, voice shaky. "Your mother tried to seduce my father, but when he exposed her, your father... he killed her in a fit of rage."

A wave of nausea hit me.

My mother-dead? Killed by my father

I had no memory of them. No recollection of my family, just flashes of brutality. I couldn't process it all. My heart ached for the truth. "Where's my father now? Where is he?" I demanded.

Catherine smirked, clearly relishing my pain. "Why would he come for you? He's probably long gone by now."

I couldn't accept it.

I had to find him.

But there was something wrong with her story. It didn't sit right with me. Henry was a monster, but this felt... off. Was it just a lie?

I couldn't stay here. I had to find my father before I returned this body to Catherine.. From the moment I entered this house, I had sensed the strange mix of luxury and dread that hung in the air.