Mizuki woke with a heavy heart, a lingering sense of dread weighing her down. Another dream—sad, yet different from the nightmares that used to haunt her. Since her fight with Nancy, a storm of emotions had stirred within her. Old anger she thought she'd buried now clawed its way to the surface, raw and undeniable. Yet, beneath the anger lay something else, something she didn't want to admit—a pang of guilt.
Nancy's words had unsettled her, forcing her to see their history through a lens she'd never considered. Mizuki knew she wasn't to blame—she had done nothing intentionally wrong. But still, the knowledge that her choices had played a part in how things had unraveled haunted her.
Her dreams weren't the cruel ones from her past life, where Nancy and her friends' mocking laughter echoed in her ears, leaving her awake and trembling. No, these dreams were softer, tinged with bittersweet nostalgia. They transported her back to their childhood in London, to days when Nancy had been different. Back then, Nancy had been her friend—a real friend.
Mizuki recalled the simple, happy moments they shared as children, when they laughed and played without a care in the world. Nancy had been kind, bright-eyed, and loyal. But those days felt like they belonged to a different lifetime, swallowed by the tide of change when they moved to the Netherlands.
Maybe it was here, in this land of wealth and expectation, that Nancy began to change. Mizuki had brought her here, insisting they couldn't be apart. Was it the new environment? The overwhelming disparity between their worlds? Mizuki didn't know. But something had twisted in Nancy, something Mizuki hadn't noticed until it was too late.
The thought left a hollow ache in her chest. Nancy's betrayal was undeniable, but Mizuki couldn't shake the feeling that she had, in some way, been the catalyst. She buried her face in her hands, torn between the anger that simmered beneath her skin and the sadness of losing someone she'd once called a best friend.
Perhaps it wasn't just Nancy who needed to confront her demons. Maybe Mizuki needed to confront her own, too.
A knock on the door pulled Mizuki out of her thoughts. She turned, her gaze heavy, to see the door already swinging open. In stepped a regal woman, her presence commanding yet warm, her beauty an older echo of Mizuki's. Kai Wolfe, already in her late forties, carried herself with an elegance that seemed untouched by time. Her smooth skin and delicate features could have belonged to someone a decade younger. The only notable difference between them was her eyes—light brown, not the rare silver-gray that Mizuki had inherited, a genetic quirk said to date back to an ancestor from centuries ago.
"Hey," Kai greeted softly, her voice like a melody that broke the oppressive silence of the room. Mizuki, startled, quickly turned her face away, trying to hide the mess she knew it was. She had been holed up here since the fight with Nancy, her emotions bouncing between anger, guilt, and a gnawing emptiness.
Kai chuckled, her laughter soft but full of affection, as she moved to sit on the edge of Mizuki's bed. "You should really step outside and get some fresh air, sweetheart, or open the window. You're looking more and more like a ghost with each passing day."
Mizuki groaned, reluctantly pulling her hands away from her face to glare at her mother. "Thanks a lot, Mom. Always know how to boost my self-esteem."
Kai smirked, brushing a strand of Mizuki's hair out of her face. For a moment, they just looked at each other, an unspoken connection passing between them. The silence felt like a fragile truce between the storm of emotions swirling in Mizuki's heart.
Then Kai broke it, her tone gentle but firm. "They're gone."
Mizuki's breath caught, her body tensing as though struck by a sudden blow. She sat upright, her confusion evident. "Gone?"
Her mind raced to piece together the meaning behind her mother's words. It wasn't until Kai's calm expression softened further that Mizuki realized who she was talking about. Emma and Nancy.
"No." The word slipped out, barely audible, as a surge of anxiety flooded her. "Why? Did you—did you fire Emma? Mom, it's not her fault. She—"
"Hey, hey." Kai's hand rested on her daughter's shoulder, her touch grounding Mizuki as her voice soothed her rising panic. "Nobody got fired, darling. Take a deep breath."
"But you said they're gone." Mizuki's words came out in a rush, her thoughts colliding with each other. She wasn't ready for this. One of the reasons she had been so lost these past few days was because she didn't know how to handle the aftermath. She had sought revenge, had exposed Nancy's lies, but now what? What was the next step? What would become of Emma?
Emma had never been anything but kind and respectful. Her years of loyal service were proof enough. If anything, she had been a victim of circumstance, caught in the crossfire of her daughter's inability to reconcile her feelings of resentment and jealousy. Mizuki didn't want to be the reason Emma's life fell apart.
Kai stepped back, letting Mizuki process for a moment before she continued. "They've been transferred, Mizuki. That's all. Emma is still employed with the family, and Nancy is with her. They're being given a fresh start—somewhere far from here. It's not a punishment, but an opportunity for them to rebuild."
"Transferred?" Mizuki repeated, her voice cracking slightly as relief began to creep in. She looked at her mother, searching her eyes for any hint of dishonesty, but all she saw was warmth and reassurance.
Kai nodded. "Yes. We discussed the options, and Emma chose to relocate to Asia. She felt it was the best choice for Nancy, too."
Mizuki fell silent, her emotions swirling as she tried to reconcile the relief she felt with the lingering sadness in her chest. She harbored no ill will toward Emma, and despite everything, she did not truly hate Nancy. After all, in this lifetime, she had not yet committed the ultimate sin that would drive her to trample Nancy to dust. No matter how much anger she had felt toward Nancy in her previous life, Mizuki could not blame her for events that had not yet occurred. Perhaps, deep down, she still wished things had turned out differently.
Kai leaned in, her expression soft. "I know this has been hard on you, sweetheart. On all of us. But sometimes, people need distance to grow and find themselves again. This is the best thing for Emma and Nancy—and for you."
Mizuki blinked back the sting of tears. "I just… I don't want to hurt anyone, Mom. I didn't want it to end like this."
Kai placed a comforting hand on her cheek, her smile full of motherly wisdom. "You didn't cause this, Mizuki. You only revealed the truth. What happens next isn't on you. Remember that."
Mizuki nodded slowly, her chest feeling just a bit lighter. As her mother stood to leave, she lingered in the doorway, glancing back with a smile. "Get some rest, darling. The world will still be waiting when you're ready to step back into it."
As the door closed behind her, Mizuki exhaled deeply, her thoughts still tangled but no longer suffocating. Perhaps her mother was right. Sometimes, all anyone needed was a chance to start over—even Nancy.