You have beautiful eyes, Amelia Swan Henderson.

Because you remind me of someone, someone I've been trying to forget all this while.

You've unleashed something in me, something that I lost a long time ago.

You know she's not her, right.

All those words rang in my head with each step I took towards the painting. My eyes were unwavering from the ones looking back at me, so lifeless yet so intriguing. Everything made sense all of a sudden. I could feel Jake's harsh breathing against the back of my neck.

He had covered the distance between us as if his presence would stop the anxiety creeping into my soul. I ran my trembling fingers over the hazel eyes. It was painted with such beautiful precision that I could almost see the emotions reflecting through them. And that's what shattered my heart even more. It was love. Vanessa's eyes held so much love in them.

The shock was replaced with something more intense, a burning sensation in my heart. I bit down on my knuckles to suppress the sob erupting from me. It was pain, hurt, and anger all at once. For a crazy moment, I considered smearing the painting with a bucket of black color. I wouldn't do that. I couldn't do that because I had never seen a more beautiful portrait of human eyes before. It was Jake's art. I was in love with his art, and as much as it burnt that it wasn't me on his canvas, it also mesmerized me.

I didn't want to believe what appeared to be the obvious truth. It had to the insanity of my mind, treacherous and ugly contemplation. My shoulders slumped as I looked back at the painting. Jake didn't step away. His irregular breathing still reverberated near my ear. I needed to get away from everything that was about to unfold.

"Amy-"

"No," I whirled around and distanced myself from him. "You need to explain this to me, Jacob."

He was staring right back at me, panting and eyes wild with so many emotions. My heart hammered against my chest, knowing that my suspicion might very well be true. His face was very still, but his eyes reflected the conflicts in his mind. I took a step closer to him, touching his clenched fist. His dark eyes never left mine, and I could see through the vulnerability in them.

Could it be that everything we had, every moment, every touch, every feeling was just a reminiscence of someone else's memory? The fury of being played overtook the form of angry tears. "Please tell me it's not what it looks. Tell me that this is just some weird coincidence, and it means nothing."

Jake took an exasperated breath and brushed away my tears before bending down for a feathery kiss.

I jerked away from him with a frown. "Whom did you kiss just now? Was it me or her?"

He remained frozen, closing his eyes for the briefest second, and then he said in a low voice. "You, Amy. I kissed you."

That should have settled the dread in my heart, but it only ignited the fire within me. "Vanessa was your Muse, the one you have been searching, wasn't she?"

He nodded, smiling without humor. Jake looked at the painting, tracing every detail of it with his eyes. "Vanessa was my Muse. And it's a coincidence, yes. But it's so much more than that."

The ground shifted under my feet. Jake had once admitted that I reminded him of someone, someone he couldn't forget. It never really meant anything before, but now I couldn't stand being a mere reminder of someone. I wished deep in my heart that he would deny any possibility of it.

"Jacob, all this time-" my voice broke in between as another drop of tear fell from my eyes. "Were you only there with me because I reminded you of Vanessa? The moments that we spent, those kisses, and the way you held me in your arms, all that time did you imagine Vanessa? What if I had black or brown or any other color of eyes? Would you still look at me the same way? Or was it just my Hazel green eyes that you sought in me?"

Each of my words crumbled my heart a little. One part of me wanted to escape from Jake's response and live in its fantasy. While the other part, the one more reliable, yearned the truth. He wasn't looking at me anymore. Maybe he was running from reality just like me. My patience was on the verge of exploding when Jake's admittance came in a low mumble.

"Yes," he replied with a simple yes, three words that were all he said. But those three words weighed heavier than anything I had ever heard.

Every single cell in my body refused to believe in what he confirmed. Someone said that feelings speak louder than words, and I had felt his emotions. Maybe he tried to convince me otherwise, but I knew what we both felt when we were together. It couldn't be a mere imagination of my lovesick mind, our souls connected, and I had sensed it.

"I don't believe you," I spat back, searching his face for anything other than despair. There wasn't. "Say that again, looking into my eyes. Did you always searched Vanessa in me?"

There was a long moment of silence between us, with me holding on to that last thread of hope and him letting me hold it for a while. He turned his head towards me, and my eyes rest over the tattoo on his neck. He traveled the steps between us, making me nervous and anxious for his response. His hands reached for my face but stopped an inch away from my skin, and then he pulled them back.

I finally looked into his dark eyes. They were back to being cold as if he had put on his shield again, blocking me and everyone away.

"Yes, Amy," he breathed.

I gasped, covering my mouth with my palm. Jake and I stared at each other, and I could feel tears gathering in my eyes. I took a step back and then another. It had to be a joke, my heart didn't believe him, but he said it out loud. He invalidated everything we had and turned them into a sore wound. I whirled around and ran. I had to run away from his messed-up life. His chaos was not for me to settle.

"Amy!" Jake's voice followed behind, but I didn't turn back. I stepped into the elevator fast and punched on the ground floor with my shaking fingers. And there outside the closing doors, I saw his disheveled figure staggering towards the elevator. I caught a glimpse of his pleading eyes before the doors closed on his face, and his fist made hard contact with them. The moment I reached the ground floor, I stormed out of the high-rise running faster than I ever had.

I crossed the busy street without even caring for the traffic signals towards the underground station. I Relaxed, only when I was inside the subway wagon.

I settled on one of the vacant seats and released a shaky breath. What was I running from anyway? The emotions, the feelings, or the truth that it could have been my first heartbreak.

My mobile rang, hauling me out of my reverie, and it was my mom. I took a few deep breathes before answering her. "Mom."

"Where are you, Amy?" She asked, probably catching the station announcements over the speaker. If she asked where I was heading, I wouldn't be able to answer her.

"I came out for shopping, but now I'm heading back to the campus. Is everything fine?" I tried sounding as calm as possible. I got down at the next station and decided to hail a cab back to the campus.

"You don't sound fine. Were you crying?" Her supermom mode activated, and I didn't want her to worry about me behaving as an angsty teenager.

"I'm fine. And I wasn't crying. It must be the noise."

"Oh, it's already late. You should be back to the campus before dark." She wasn't convinced but didn't pry further. I looked at the grey sky, slowly turning black like my mood. "I just wanted to check if Sebastian will be coming with you for Thanksgiving?"

I almost forget my mother still had the wrong idea about me dating Seb. The only possibility of her inviting Seb was to scrutinize my choice of dates. It wasn't for no reason. The guys my sister dated had always been a disappointment, and she feared I would end up following Molly's footsteps. In some ways, I might have made the same mistake.

"Mom, I'm not dating Seb, and no one is coming for Thanksgiving except me." I clipped.

"That's not what your roommate said. Leah sounded pretty convincing when she was talking about Sebastian." She fell silent when I snorted at her words. "Never mind, sweetheart, all I want is you. Forget about the guys."

She was right. I needed to forget about one guy in particular. I sighed, aimlessly walking on the sidewalk. I could feel some of my tension easing out due to the soothing voice of my mom.

"I should get a cab now. I will text you as soon as I reach my dorm. Bye, mom. Love you."

"Be careful, sweetheart," she said before cutting the call. I noticed there were texts from Jake, asking about my whereabouts as if he wasn't the reason himself. My mobile started ringing again, but the name flashing on the screen had me crushing it in my palm. It was Jake. I declined and switched it off.

I spent another few hours walking down as far as I could until my legs gave up. The walking therapy wasn't working anymore, and every time Vanessa's face flashed before my eyes, my chest tightened.

A little after the city fell in the dark, I hailed a taxi and returned to my dorm. I stepped into the room in search of peace but froze when I found Jess sitting restlessly on my bed. She had her cellphone against her ear, and I knew who it might with the look of relief on her face. Very nice! Jake sent her to check on me.

"Yeah, she's back," Jess said over the phone before putting it away.

"That was Jake, I suppose. Did he ask you to vouch on his behalf?" I slammed the door shut after me then took a side look at Leah. She was practically surprised by my sudden outburst and gave me a once-over. Her face was very still as if she was calculating the scene unfolding in front of her. If Jess's presence wasn't clear enough, my words were. I didn't want to explain the cause behind my pathetic state, at least not before I processed it. I needed to be alone, away from Jake, away from Jess and Leah.

She walked towards me with a deep sigh. "No, Jake was searching for you. He wouldn't tell me what happened, but I guess he fucked up again."

"You would know," I said bitterly, not knowing why I was venting my anger on her. "If you're here to clear out things on Jake's behalf, then I'll ask you to leave. Nothing you say can make me feel any better. And please, please, I don't want to talk about him."

She frowned. "I'm not here to defend Jake's sorry ass. I'm here because I care for you."

Maybe, she cared, but I didn't want her to. The only person who should have shown that emotion was clueless about the impact of his actions. Why did I let my guards down for him? Was he the only one to blame?

"I'm going to take a shower and wash over the memories of the day. That's the only thing I need at the moment. Please, Jess, I want to be alone for the moment. I'm sorry if I'm rude, but the last thing I want is people pitying me." She didn't say anything. Her eyes followed me as I grabbed my towel and a pair of pajamas before heading for the bathroom.

It was my fault too. I broke the barrier between my fantasy and reality by falling for the guy I wasn't supposed to. My obsession for seeking his story had left me in that emotional mess. And no matter how much I wanted to detest it, but it hurt every time I imagined my existence as some else's shadow in Jake's life.