Revelations?

"She knew Oliver?"

Cece was at a point where all questions seemed irrelevant to her. She was still processing the fact that a woman was lying in front of her, whose body was fading quite literally. A woman who had her face. Her mind was still trying to grasp the last straws, before collapsing. Hearing Oliver's name brought back an emotion. She felt a knot in her throat. Oliver's memories brought her a feeling, very similar to the willingness to live. 

Regardless of how messed up it was, it was her life and she wanted to live. 

"Of course, she knew Oliver. He would follow her everywhere like a lost puppy. Honestly, he was charming in some ways, but in the end, she chose me." 

Gavin had an indecipherable expression on his face. He pulled an armchair closer to Ruby's bed and sat down. Gently, he took her hand in his. He held her as if she was providing him the oxygen he needed. Cece felt jealous. 

Very very jealous. 

"How do you know Oliver was her first choice?" Did Ruby tell him? If she had, it was a cruel thing to do. Especially to the man who was clearly obsessed with the woman. The jealousy in her mind morphed into anger now. 

"I read all these in her life story. I should have felt betrayed, but there was a bigger issue that bothered me." 

"Like what?" 

Gavin stayed quiet for a long time. He needed time to process the information he was going to divulge, the most suitable words that wouldn't make him sound crazy, and that would not terrify the other woman sitting beside him on the floor who had the same essence as his beloved. To his consolation, Cece did not pester him with another shower of questions. 

"Imagine you have a beautiful life. You have loving parents, a well-off family, a good life anybody would be envious of. You grew up happily, went to the most prestigious university, and met the girl of your dreams. And right at the moment when you are ready to take the next step in your life, the step that will define the rest of your life, shape it, you discover that nothing about your life is under your control. Every fucking thing, is predestined, written for you somewhere else."

Gavin huffed after saying the words in a single breath. It was not aggression, or anger anymore. It was not a regret or a complaint either. To Cece, it sounded like exhaustion. Pure exhaustion. 

"Isn't that the definition of 'fate'?" 

That was what everybody told her, about her, and about her parents. 

"The ill-fated family." 

"The unfortunate daughter of Grace Phillips."

"The poor, unfortunate woman." 

"Who knew she would give birth to a murderer? It's all fate."

Cece sighed at the memories. Gavin might have wounds too deep to heal, but her pain was no lesser than his. Maybe even more. 

Gavin did not respond to her comment. He continued at his own pace. "Ruby and I dated for a year. That was the happiest time of our lives. She may have had second thoughts before dating me, but with time she realised that I was, quite literally, made for her. One day, I dropped into her place unannounced. It was a silly adventure for both of us. That was the first time I saw you. I knew Ruby had no siblings. So, I thought you were my imagination, although the knot stayed in my mind."

Gavin stopped and faced Cece. His curious gaze fell on her face as if to measure her reactions. "You remember that night, don't you? It was the night when you saw me and Ruby making out in the hallways. You looked terrified like you had seen a ghost." 

Cece shook her head. She did not remember any such incident. She couldn't. The only memory she had was the night she saw Gavin at her place, which escalated into a crime scene. 

"I remember being scared of you. You followed me home, and it terrified me. You were literally stalking me. Next thing I knew, I saw you at home, getting along with my parents. I also remember kissing you but—"

Cece stopped abruptly. It was like an electric shock that left her spellbound. She fearfully looked at Gavin, only to find a pair of astonished eyes staring right back at her. 

"You kissed me?" 

"I don't know why, so don't ask me anything else. I will not be able to answer you." 

"We never kissed, Cece. It was Ruby whom I kissed." He sighed loudly, pushing all his disappointment onto her. "You know, you were supposed to be her lifeline. You were supposed to save her. The same face, same attributes, same characters… but you two are nothing alike. I just don't understand why she did it. Why would she mess up her own plot?" 

"Umm…" Cece asked in a trembling voice, "Who?" 

Gavin stood up. "Nothing. If it were Ruby, she would have made sense of everything by now. Well, she did figure out everything, which led her to this." He caressed Ruby's cheeks gently. "Just by asking this question, you proved it once again. You have her face, her name, her place even, but not her mind or brain. You are a completely different person." 

"That is why you keep behaving so weirdly towards me, yes?" Realisation dawned on her. She stood up too, and looked directly into his eyes. Everything added up to the conclusion. His soft tones after the shared dreams, and then his rudeness. His kindness led to more pain and fear. She nodded as if the next chapters of her story were unfolding in front of her, and she was able to make sense of them all. She was able to tie the loose ends, at least some of them. 

"You expect me to be her, like her. You are soft when you look at me, but when you talk to me you realise that I am a completely different person. You get angry, because you feel I am robbing her memories, your memories. You are cruel to me because you don't like my existence because you think I am the reason behind all this. And then, probably when your senses come back to you, you realise it again, that you have been cruel to me. So, you send Sandra to console me. You see me, and think you should apologise, but your head stops you because I am not her."

Tears wet her cheeks. "No matter how I feel about you, it will never affect you. I am not Ruby. I am just her copy, a faulty imitation. My feelings, my pains should not matter to you. Tell me, Gavin, all the things you just told me, was that your way to apologise? Or that was your way to make me understand that I don't matter to you?" 

Gavin stood lifelessly. If his chest hadn't moved on a steady rhythm, Cece would have mistaken him for another strange creature, like the woman lying on the bed. She felt tremendous hatred towards the woman. The fading Ruby, whose shine was still blinding both Gavin and her. Cece's fingers twitched. If only she could —

"You are not completely dumb then," Gavin said in a low whisper. 

"Oh no, I am dumb. I should have researched you and your company well before signing the contract. I should have left the country, not just the city. I shouldn't have agreed to write to you. I shouldn't have felt those things for you, knowing very well that those were triggered by those dreams. I mean, what sane person starts to like someone just because they are kind to them in dreams?" 

A spark played in his eyes. Cece noticed how they changed, even though only for a microsecond, she noticed it. She didn't want to think about it. It might have been pity or a hint of amusement at her being so vulnerable in front of him. 

"This is what you wanted, right? For me to suffer because you and your fucking girlfriend are miserable?" 

"I will stop you right there, Cece. don't say anything that will make you regret it," he hissed. 

"I am regretting a lot of things, Gavin. If you want me to write, I will write. If you want to dictate what I will write, I am fine with that too. From now on, emails are going to be the only mode of communication between us. We will not meet unless it is a life and death scenario." Cece was surprised by the cold threat in her own voice. She was still baffled, not knowing what triggered her in such a way. 

"If you have any little amount of self-respect left, you will drop me home. And after that, you will never show me your face again." She ignored the fact that she was wearing pajamas, and bare feet. She did not plan this outburst, but then, what did she think? She was not going to stay here forever, being his captive. 

"Before you leave, wouldn't you want to know the rest of the story? Or why do I want you to write a love story keeping Ruby in the centre?" Gavin asked her in an equally cold voice. He put his hands into his pocket and waited for her answer. 

"Let me guess, my writing will somehow, miraculously, heal her," Cece noted how his eyes brightened up. Her hands twitched again. If only she could slap him, or push a pillow down her throat with all her might. "And you don't want me to write about your old love story because you don't want me to steal her memories, however, the fuck is that possible. You were never happy with your own story, were you? You always wanted a different story." 

"You are partially right." Gavin opened his mouth to say something else, but Cece extended a hand to stop him midway. 

"I think I have heard enough for a night. Now, it is time you make a call to your driver, or whoever is around, so that I can leave this place." 

"Cece, the story—"

Once again, Cece stopped him midway. "I remember, Gavin. I have sold my love story to you. Don't worry, you will not regret hiring me."