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But what could possibly happen?
He closed the car door, and I realized I needed to think fast.
“Raymond, I’m…”
“Wait, love.” He stroked my hair while pressing a few buttons on his wrist. At the same time, the car started up, and he called out to his wrist, “Johanna, I couldn’t finish the job. Send someone else to clean up. One of the clones escaped here, I’m taking her home.”
My eyes widened. I snapped my head up, staring at him in horror.
It couldn’t be possible. I must’ve heard wrong.
“Raymond…” I whispered again, stirring in his arms, but his strong arms were tightly wrapped around my hips. “Raymond, listen to me, I’m Mina. I’m really Mina. We haven’t seen each other in years, I…”
“Shh,” Despite all this absurdity, his voice was as soothing as a lullaby. “It’s over, you’re safe now. We’ll go home and you’ll sleep soundly.”
“Raymo—”
“No, my Mina would never call me that. We need to fix this.”
He checked my neck, searching for something. A button, perhaps. For a moment, I stood speechless I stood there, speechless. Then I came back to myself. I pressed my hands to his chest and pushed him away.
“What do you think I am? You… What have you been doing all these years?”
“Such strange questions.”
His eyes narrowed. As he peered at me with suspicion, I realized I didn’t recognize this face. My Remi always gave sincere smiles. But right now, he was… I didn’t know this new Raymond. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to know him at all.
No, I shouldn’t give up. I came here to face him, after all. I took a deep breath, my brows knitting as I tried to make sense of what was happening.
“Raymond… I mean, Remi…” He smiled. So he really still wants to play this stupid game. “Who do you think I am?”
“You’re my Mina, of course.”
“Yes. Yes, I’m Mina, the real Mina, the original Mina…”
He didn’t pay attention to me, only stroked my hair, then my brows. He reached my lashes, carefully caressing them. I closed my eyes involuntarily. His calmness was so genuine and contagious that I began to fear it would make everything feel normal.
“Impossible. Mina would never come to Lesse. She’s been running away from me for years. She’d never come here.”
My eyes snapped open. How do you know that?
“I came!” I shouted. “I really came, Raymond, I’m here! Please listen to me, please believe me, I’m the real Mina! Can we talk?”
Let’s talk about what happened to you.
Raymond was still angry, still frowning when the car stopped. I’d said something he didn’t want to hear. Damn. He hated that possibility. He didn’t want me to be the real Mina. But why? As he scooped me like an abandoned puppet again, walking toward the house, my voice rose with fury.
“Put me down! Listen to me! You made a mistake, I’m Mina, I’m a journalist, and… your ex! The real one!”
My anger flared at his silence. He climbed the stairs with a maddening calm, and I began to rain blows down on his back.
“Let me go! I’m not…” The words stuck in my throat, dissolving into stammer. “I’m not like that!”
This couldn’t be happening. Raymond Loxton—the most dignified, most revered scientist on Mars—couldn’t possibly be doing this.
The moment he crossed the threshold of the charcoal-gray room, he released me. I recoiled as if he were a leper, stumbling back several steps. But he didn’t even glance at me. He calmly hung his long black coat, loosened his tie, and undid the top buttons of his shirt. Then he swung toward me, like a man who’d just remembered he had company.
“It’s been a long day. Let’s go rest.”
