Chapter 27: The Other Side of Her

Chapter 27: The Other Side of Her
Tessa as Elena’s POV

“What’s happening?” Bella asked the second the teacher left the room, her eyes wide with curiosity.
“Did you cheat?” Emris added, tilting his head.
“You even beat Adrian?” Bella gasped, then let out a disbelieving laugh. “That’s not supposed to happen.”

I blinked at both of them, struggling to hide how suffocated I felt. Their voices were just noise in my ears. I wasn’t trying to be better than anyone—I was just trying to survive here.
“Can we just forget this?” I muttered, brushing past them, needing space.

Emris smirked. “The accident really brought a lot out of you, Elena.”
I rolled my eyes, too tired to argue. I wasn’t Elena. I was Tessa—trapped in someone else’s perfect skin.
“I’m going to see our math teacher,” I said simply, turning before either of them could press further.



The hallway felt cold as I walked alone, my steps echoing faintly against the floor. With every stride, the weight on my chest grew heavier. Gloria’s death, the anonymous texts, the whispers behind my back, the soul switch mystery, and the weird dreams that haunted me… I wasn’t just pretending anymore—I was unraveling, slowly and silently.

When I reached the office, I knocked lightly before stepping in.
“Good morning, sir,” I greeted, forcing a polite smile.
“Morning, Elena,” he replied with a faint smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“You called for me?”

He cleared his throat and straightened some papers. “Yes. It’s about your test result.”
I tilted my head slightly, trying to make sense of what he was getting at.
“I’m not saying what you scored was bad—in fact, it was excellent. But considering your academic history, it’s... unexpected.”

There it was—suspicion wrapped in politeness.
He continued, “Because of that, we’ll need to administer a retest. Just to confirm the integrity of the result.”

A soft laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Of course. I didn’t even study properly with all the chaos going on. And now I was being punished for doing well.
“No problem, sir,” I replied with a calm smile. “Just let me know when.”

As I left the office, my heart felt like it was sinking into the floor. No matter what I did, this place kept trying to remind me that I didn’t belong here.

As I walked through the hallway, I logged into the school’s portal to check Elena’s past results—and the moment the page loaded, I finally understood why everyone had looked so stunned.



Later that afternoon, I found Lucas walking down the corridor after one of our classes.
“Lucas, do you have a moment?” I called out.

He looked surprised, probably because Elena never addressed him directly like that. After a short pause, he nodded.

A few minutes later, we were seated in one of the empty lecture halls. Bella and Emris were with me, their eyes sharp with curiosity and suspicion.
“We just need to ask a few things,” I began carefully.

Lucas shifted in his seat. “Okay…”
“I saw you near the pool the night Gloria died,” Bella said cautiously. “Do you know anything about what happened?”
“Or did you see anyone else around her?” Emris added, more directly.

Lucas scoffed. “Why is everyone suddenly asking me about Gloria’s death?”
I frowned. “Everyone? Who else asked you?”

He hesitated, then said, “Adrian. He cornered me at a charity gala two days ago. Asked if I pushed Gloria into the pool.”
I blinked. “Adrian?” Even Bella’s mouth dropped slightly open.
“Yes,” he nodded, his voice firm. “Look, I didn’t hurt her. I didn’t push her. I didn’t kill her.”

I leaned in, watching him closely. “Then just tell us what happened. The truth.”
Lucas exhaled and looked away, jaw clenched. “Gloria and I were in a secret relationship. No one knew—not even Rosa. We kept it hidden because she didn’t want it public.”

There was bitterness in his voice—and pain.
“On the day she died, she called me to break up. Said she’d fallen for someone else, and I knew it was Adrian. I was hurt and angry. We argued. Then I walked away. I didn’t look back.”

Silence wrapped around the room like a blanket. The walls, once echoing, now seemed to hold our breaths hostage.

I stared at Lucas, unsure if I felt sympathy or suspicion, the pain in his voice was real. Bella glanced at me, taken aback. Emris looked more troubled than skeptical now.
“Thanks, Lucas,” I said quietly.

He nodded once before leaving the hall, his footsteps echoing behind him.



We sat there for a moment, just staring into space. This investigation was turning into a mess. A cruel, endless puzzle where every answer brought us back to more questions.

Someone was lying.
Lucas. Rosa. Bella. Maybe even Elena herself… or the part of her that still lingers somewhere I can’t touch.

I exhaled, leaning back in my chair. My mind was spinning. I just wanted to go back. Back to my quiet life. Back to working late and eating cold noodles on the rooftop. It wasn’t glamorous. But it was mine. And more stress-free than this.

Now, I had everything—clothes, cars, attention—but not a single breath felt like mine.

Just then, my phone buzzed.
I reached for it, already knowing it wouldn’t be good.

Unknown: Meet me here. Blackstone Quarry. By 8PM. Alone.

My chest tightened. The quarry? Where on earth is that?

I barely had time to process it when another message appeared.

Lucy: Don’t think I forgot what you did at Kade’s party. You really thought memory loss could hide your secrets? You’re more pathetic than I thought.

I stared at the screen. My fingers trembled slightly.

Then came another beep.

Manager: A short movie shoot today at 5PM. Don’t be late, Elena. We already gave them our word. Please.

And then another:

Ayla: A reminder, miss—One-hour business class at your father’s office immediately after school.

I let out a soft, bitter laugh.
My schedule—or should I say Elena’s—was full: murder, blackmail, a movie shoot, and a business class.

I stared at the screen, the weight of it all pressing down like wet concrete. 

I wasn’t just tired—I was drowning.

Welcome to Elena’s world.