Chapter 10 Obedience
Rafael
I played a video. The building was burning. Flames were pouring from the windows. People were screaming, running into the street.
Flora's face drained of color. "No. No, what did you do?"
I turned off the tablet. "Every time you refuse to be Eva, someone else would pay the price."
"You're a monster!" She screamed. "Those people did nothing wrong!"
"Yes." I paused at the door. "I'm a monster who loves you. And I'll burn this entire city to the ground if that's what it takes to bring you back.”
Flora
I couldn't stop staring at the stranger in the mirror.
Black hair. Green eyes.
Eva's face.
He'd erased me. In one morning, he'd erased everything that made me look like Flora Rossi.
My hands shook as I touched my hair. It felt the same. But the color was wrong.
"I'm Flora," I whispered to the stranger in the mirror. "I'm still Flora."
But the stranger staring back looked like she didn't believe me.
The door opened. The gray-haired woman entered with lunch. She stopped when she saw me. Her face went pale.
"Santa Maria," she breathed. "You look exactly like her."
"I'm not her," I said desperately. "I'm not Eva. I'm Flora."
The woman set down the tray with shaking hands. "It doesn't matter what you call yourself, signorina. You look like Signora Eva now. And that's all that matters to him."
She left quickly, like she couldn't bear to look at me.
I walked back to the mirror. The green contacts made my eyes look cold and dead. Like Eva's eyes in the photos.
The video flashed across my mind. The burning building. Twenty families had become homeless because of me. Because I refused to pretend to be someone I wasn't.
The guilt crashed over me like a wave. I sank to the floor, still wearing Eva's blue dress, and pulled my knees to my chest.
This was impossible. If I fought him, innocent people would suffer. If I gave in, I would lose myself completely.
There was no way to win.
"I'm sorry," I whispered to the empty room. "I'm so sorry."
Hours passed. The light outside changed from afternoon to evening. I didn't move from my spot on the floor.
The door opened again. I didn't look up. I knew it was him. I could feel his presence like a cold wind.
"Eva."
I didn't respond. I didn't move.
"Look at me, Eva." He said softly.
"My name is Flora," I said quietly.
Everywhere became silent. Then he walked over and knelt down in front of me.
"Look at me." He said softly.
I lifted my head. His ice-blue eyes studied my face. A smile crossed his lips.
"There she is. There's my Eva."
"I'm not…"
He pressed a finger to my lips. "Shh. No more of that name. That person never existed. There's only Eva. Only you."
I wanted to argue. To scream. To fight. But the image of that burning building stopped me.
He saw my hesitation and his smile grew. "You're starting to understand. Good." He stood and held out his hand. "Now, stand up. We have more work to do."
"More work?" My stomach dropped.
"You need to learn how Eva moved. How she spoke. How she carried herself." He pulled me to my feet.
He turned on the television again. More videos of Eva played. But this time, he made me watch her walk. How she held her shoulders. How she placed her feet. The small gestures she made with her hands.
"See how she moves?" He said. "Like a dancer. Graceful and elegant. You need to move exactly like that."
"But I can't."
"You can. You used to dance, didn't you?"
My heart stopped. How did he know that?
"I did research on Flora Rossi." He smiled coldly. "I know everything about the life you think you lived."
"It's not a life I think I lived. It's my real life." I said angrily.
"No, it's a backstory your mind created to explain your existence. But I'm going to replace it with the truth." He gestured to the screen. "Now, practice Eva's walk. I want to see you move across this room exactly like she did."
I looked at him. At the madman who had ended my life. He wore a small smile on his lips. He has the perfect features. But to me, he was a monster.
I couldn't fight him. If I did, more people would die.
I took a shaky breath. Then I stood and tried to copy Eva's walk from the video.
"No, no, wrong." He stopped me. His voice was cold and deadly. I could see the anger in his eyes."Your shoulders are too tense. Eva was relaxed. Do it again."
I tried again. And again. And again.
Each time, he corrected something. My posture. My foot placement. The angle of my head.
Hours passed. My feet ached. My whole body hurts. But he didn't stop. He made me practice until I could walk across the room like Eva.
"Better," he finally said. "We'll work on it more tomorrow. Now, dinner."
The gray-haired woman entered with a tray. The food smelled good. My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten all day.
"Eat," Rafael commanded.
I sat down and picked up the fork.
But he stopped me.
"Not like that. Eva held her fork differently. Watch."
He showed me another video of Eva eating dinner. He made me watch how she held her utensils. How she chewed. How she dabbed her mouth with a napkin.
"Do it like that."
I wanted to throw the food at him. Instead, I forced myself to copy Eva's movements.
I was trapped in the cruelest cage imaginable.
When I finished eating, he had me practice speaking. He made me repeat phrases Eva used in the videos. Made me match her tone. Her inflection. Her laugh.
"Say it again. You're not emphasizing the right syllable." He corrected.
"I love you, Rafael." The words tasted like poison in my mouth.
"Again. With more warmth."
I frowned. How could I say such sentence with warmth. But I tried.
"I love you, Rafael."
"Better. Again."
"I love you, Rafael."
I said it over and over until the words lost all meaning. Until they were just mere sounds
Finally, he seemed satisfied. "Enough for today. Tomorrow, we'll continue. You're making progress."
He walked to the door. "Sleep well, Eva."
"My name…"
"Is Eva." His voice turned cold. "And if you say otherwise again, I'll burn down the orphanage across your old apartment."
The words hit me like a punch. He was threatening children now.
"You wouldn't." I glared at him.
"Test me." His voice was ice cold.
He left, locking the door behind him.
I stood alone in the room, looking at the stranger in the mirror. Black hair, and green eyes.
I looked like Eva. I was starting to move like her and speak like her.
How long before I started thinking like her? Before I forgot Flora completely?