Hannah sits on the edge of the bed, her fingers stroking Joseph's face. She feels resentment toward him because of the words he said earlier, and yet she can't take a step away from him. Her heart aches when she thinks about the fact that things are getting worse between them. Their relationship is taking a wrong direction, as his father is the main provocateur, striving to get Joseph to leave her.
He won't rest until he wins this battle.
As if that weren't troubling enough, the girl is struggling with a ghost that has been haunting her since high school. The phantom, previously claiming to be her twin, is now showing its true face to her, wanting Hannah to discover the cause of her death.
— Am I really seeing you, or are you a cluster of memories that my mind is unlocking? — she whispers into space, hoping to see Solar. — Too many doubts arise in my mind about your existence....
He looks over his shoulder as he senses her presence.
— I thought you were already convinced of me.... Again, do you have doubts about whether I am real? — Solar lowers his shoulders and sighs deeply. — You are annoying me.
— You are real only in my head....
All this is illogical to her. Why is she the only one to see the ghost of a dead student? The fact that the room was possessed when she lodged there is no explanation. She finds it strange that Solar has transformed into Danielle in the past. This year, when Hannah started seeing her she was her reflection, and after seeing the photo in the diary, the phantom took on her real form.
— What if by recent events I actually have a relapse? Maybe Joseph is right, and I am judging him, wanting to protect myself at all costs?
— Think what you want. I've had enough of telling you I'm real. — Solar crosses her arms on her chest, looking indignant. — I forgave Jin because he was not the main reason for my death. I forgave him because I saw the sincere sadness in his eyes. He regrets how he treated me.
I was the one who subconsciously forgave him, knowing that there is someone else who led you to death, Hannah thinks.
— Solar, you are an illusion, my subconscious.... — The brunette is disturbed by her vision. — You are not taking revenge on me. I am the one who is unknowingly harming myself, bringing misfortune upon myself. I am sick.
— Your arguments are meaningless. You would rather be mentally ill than see me.
— That's not the point, Solar. I need help. And I require it as soon as possible, before I harm myself or others!
The phantom points his head at Joseph.
— Then how you would know the truth about him before you read the diary?
— Because it is the subconscious that reminds me of the past. At the age of sixteen, I first read your diary, I was the one who tore out the last pages, which are the key solution to your death. — The brunette puts her hands to her mouth — Oh god.... I definitely know who killed you.
— So you insist that you have a personality disorder? — Solar tries to laugh at her. — You are funny.
— You are the one who is my second personality, that's why you know everything, you remember what I learned in the past....
The illusion disappears, Hannah looks at one point, starting to put the scattered puzzle together.
— I am the problem, I am the one who brings misfortune to the people around me. — The girl looks at Joseph's face, feeling tears gathering. — Your father is right. He is trying to protect you from me because I have the same issue as my biological mother.... I am mentally ill.
*
The girl lies next to Joseph, wide-eyed, staring at a single point on the ceiling. She can't squint, pondering her issue. Only now can she put everything together and realize that she needs the help Joseph continually tells her about.
Did everything have to go wrong for her to finally understand that she is the root cause of the growing issues?
If she is indeed sick, she can be proud of herself for being able to admit it. Joseph confessed to her that she is much stronger than his mother, who couldn't fight the disease and gave up too quickly, without even thinking about her children.
Hannah still has the strength to deal with the problem.
— It's strange that I'm lying next to you after what I told you yesterday.
The brunette glances' fleetingly at the boy, noticing that his eyes are still closed.
— It's strange that after what came out of your mouth, you wanted to come to me so badly that you even threatened the cab driver.
Joseph forces a slight smile.
— A drunk man is always sincere....
— Then why did you lie before? Your words yesterday made me sorrowful. My heart still hurts after you confessed that getting to know me was the biggest mistake of your life.
— You know my temperament, so you should know that sometimes I say a few words too many just to get my anger out. Yesterday I was so angry and overwhelmed by the whole situation that I even started to blame it on my late mother, even though I always defend her.
— This wasn't the first time, Joseph, but you haven't behaved this way for a very long time. I understand that your father is putting pressure on you.... — She is unable to finish her sentence because the boy enters her mind:
— He is blackmailing me! — He raises his voice, and it causes him a terrible headache. — He is blackmailing me by making me choose between you and the family estate. Do you think this is easy for me? — He squats down and looks at her obliquely, his fingers massaging her throbbing forehead. — You are the most important thing to me, but the thought that I could lose everything instantly makes my head cloudy. All my life I had to put up with my father, adjust to him, knowing that he would leave it all for me, and you appeared.... You are his curse, he hates you so much that he can throw me out like a dog if I don't separate from you. He thinks I'm an idiot, that I'm making the same mistake as him, even though I still have a chance to change it. He says you will end up exactly like your biological mother and bring me down....
Hannah closes her eyelids.
— Your father is right. He is doing this because he wants the best for you.
— What?
Joseph looks confused as he turns his face toward her.
— You should leave me and take over the family estate. This is your future, with me, you will never be happy again.
Her soul aches when he utters these sentences; however, she realizes that there is truth in these words.
The boy crinkles his eyebrows, watching her for a long moment to make sure she is serious.
— Don't piss me off first thing in the morning, Hannah. A hangover gets me unbalanced enough. You don't have to.
— Is it worth leaving all your possessions for a girl who doesn't trust you? Who has problems with her head? Who can't get over the thought that you might be the murderer of Solar?
The brunette gets off the bed, without looking at him, walks to the door and grabs the handle. He watches the movements carefully, wondering what she means.
— I'm listening. — He stands next to her and holds the door with one hand, not allowing her to leave. — What did you just say?
— I'm already at this stage of the disease that I see you as a murderer.
Memories hit him with double force as he retreats to the past, when he stood on the doorstep, biting his finger and watching his parents arguing. His father was holding his mother's shoulders, tugging at her and telling her repeatedly to come back to her senses. She was crying, and her face was already so exhausted that she looked like a human wreck.
— I'm already at that stage of illness that I see you as a murderer — she repeated in a choked voice.
Joseph looks at Hannah with wide-open eyes, looking frightened. She finds his behavior disturbing. The girl immediately gets it into her head that her suspicions may turn out to be true. However, she doesn't realize that currently they are both thinking about two, entirely different situations.
— You really contributed to the death of Solar....
He doesn't focus on her words, he simply looks at her, noticing how tears gather in her eyes.
— You sound exactly like her.... — he whispers.
Hannah can't stand it and walks out of the bedroom. She grabs her jacket and hastily puts it on.
— I need to get some fresh air — she says quietly, then walks out of the apartment, leaving Joseph alone.
— I can't make the same mistake as my father.
Brunet finds his jacket and, despite his headache, runs after Hannah, intending to find her as soon as possible. He has a bad feeling that a repeat of the past is coming.
His father chose money, but this situation speaks to him that nothing is more important than the girl he loves.
He does not intend to bring about the same tragedy as his family. He would rather not become like his father: powerful with vast wealth, but lonely and unhappy. Above all, he needs to help Hannah and forget the past, which is still dragging behind him and causing him to be perpetually bitter, and thus taking it out on those close to him....
It's time to put an end to it.
*
The brunette sits on a bench, with trembling hands embracing a mug of hot coffee. The found change in her jacket pocket was her salvation, even though her doctor advised her to lay off the caffeine in the first place if she suffers from insomnia.
Before her eyes, she can still see Joseph's frightened face when she unceremoniously confessed to him that she saw him as a murderer.
Did it actually shake him that much? Was he scared that she had begun to uncover the truth about Solar?
— For God's sake, this is the man I love, so what am I thinking about? — she whispers quietly. — What am I doing...
She feels like her heart is about to jump out of her chest from these nerves. Should she be so concerned about this situation? Maybe Joseph reacted this way because the girl who loves him confessed to his face that she sees him as a murderer?
At that moment, he looked shocked....
The mug falls out of her hand when someone grabs her arm and forcibly lifts her off the bench. She falls right into Joseph's arms, confused by his behavior.
— I choose you, Hannah — he says in a confident voice, not allowing her to break out of his embrace. — It was a quick decision when I thought of my mother. She would defy my father and make me fight for you. I can't leave you alone, not now, not even if my father takes everything away from me. I have no intention of going through the same thing as in the past. I can't lose another person I love.
The girl can't get a word out of herself. After all, just a moment ago she confessed to his face that she sees him as a murderer....
— I will fight him. I will face him to protect you. This is why the former Joseph Scott has returned, he has returned to stop being controlled because of money.
— Joseph, you are acting strangely. A moment ago, I confessed to you that I see you as a Solar assassin, and you grab me in your arms and are going to renounce the family fortune, which just a moment ago caused confusion in your mind?
The brunet pushes her away and lowers his head to look into her eyes.
— I am able to turn a blind eye to this because it is a figment of your imagination, Hannah. You've been putting something in your head for a long time. Why would I be Solar's murderer? — Joseph crinkles his eyebrows, looking hard into her eyes. He doesn't seem to be lying. — I tried to protect her, although I did it secretly. At that time, there were people above me who ruled the school.
— What — now it is Hannah who looks confused.
— With their departure, it was up to me to take the place of one of them, so they manipulated me. I did everything they asked me to do. That was my job. — Joseph swallows his saliva harder. — The subject of Solar is sensitive for me, not because I contributed to her death, but because I couldn't protect her from it.... She was my friend, and they made me cut off contact with her overnight.
— What kind of people were they?
— Simply... Horace Mann's disciples, who had the most power there at the time.