The days passed uneventfully. Nothing really changed.

  Well—except for the way Claire treated me.

  She still acted like a wife in many ways, but there was a difference now. Her movements were more careful, her words more measured, as if she were constantly checking herself before speaking. It wasn’t distance exactly—just caution.

  During those dull days, a few small things happened. Claire would sometimes still call me Rey before correcting herself. And I realized that I hadn’t left the house in nearly two weeks.

  In that time, I focused on my diary. I organized my notes, rewrote messy thoughts, added details I hadn’t noticed before. The pages became fuller, heavier with observations.

  Yet something about all of it felt wrong.

  I hadn’t seen the mysterious thing in the mirror again.

  Not once.

  No matter how long I stared, nothing appeared.

  Could it be that I really had hallucinated that day? That there had never been anything in the mirror at all?

  Pushing those thoughts aside, I turned toward Claire. She was sitting beside me on the couch, scrolling through her phone absentmindedly.

  “Hey, Claire,” I said.

  “What is it, Kai?” After some time, she had gotten used to calling me by my new name.

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  “Did I—no… did Rey have any friends?”

  “What?” She looked up at me, completely dumbfounded.

  Then, suddenly, she burst out laughing.

  “Friends?” she repeated, struggling to breathe. “R-Rey… and friends?”“Bahahahaha!”

  Her reaction caught me off guard. She laughed so hard it almost felt unnatural.

  “So… did Rey not have any friends?” I asked once she finally calmed down.

  “Of course not,” she said, wiping her eyes. “He was a complete loner. Honestly, he was lucky to have met me.” She paused, then added, “Even the people he used to call friends were all introduced by me. It took a long time to get him to socialize at all.”

  “Really?” I said. It wasn’t shocking—but I had expected at least one or two.

  “Well,” I said after a moment, “that works out for me. Since Rey didn’t have any, I can just make friends now.”

  I had been thinking about that during these two weeks of doing nothing but staying inside with Claire. I wanted connections as Kai. And the fact that Rey hadn’t left any behind made it easier.

  “Why would you want friends?” Claire said quietly. “You have me.”

  Her tone sounded… hurt.

  “Well, why wouldn’t I?” I replied honestly. “It was pretty boring staying home with you for two weeks. We didn’t even go outside after the date.”

  “That’s because I couldn’t trust you,” she said. “After you suddenly changed your name—and your identity.”

  “I’m sure you don’t need me to remind you,” I said calmly, “but I’m not Rey anymore. So stop treating me like him.”

  “I’m not,” she replied quickly. “But do you know how hard it is for me when you look exactly like my husband?”

  I hesitated.

  “I mean… even if I’m a different person now,” I said slowly, “I could still be your husband.”

  Since I woke up, Claire had been the only person I saw. Even though I wasn’t Rey, she treated me with kindness. She was the only person I felt safe with.

  How could I not feel something toward her?

  “Y-you… you mean that?” Claire asked, turning her face away.

  “Of course,” I said.