The last thing he remembered was how he slept peacefully in Browns arm, but now the light pouring through the penthouse windows was soft, too soft for the confusion tightening Joshua's chest. The sheets beside him were cold. He sat up slowly, rubbing his face, heart still pounding from dreams he couldn't remember and touches he couldn't forget.
Julian was gone. Or… Mr. Caldwell. Whoever he was now. Besides, he was also late for work, very late, he had to do fast and run off to the office and act cool. Joshua stood up from the bed and walked through the apartment, barefoot, cautious. The silence pressed against him like guilt. There was no note. No message. Just the empty echo of last night's heat, now chilling fast. In the mirror by the hallway, Joshua stared at himself. "Why does it feel like I've known you before…" he murmured to the air. He opened his phone. No texts.
'Was it a mistake? Did he regret it? He paused and thought to himself. His fingers hovered over the screen, then dropped.
"Something's not right," he whispered. "Something's off…"
Julian (in Brown's body) sat in the back of the Amira De Fernandez boardroom, staring blankly at his notes while a presentation droned on. He couldn't focus. He couldn't even breathe. Every time he blinked, he saw Joshua's face.
The way he had gasped. Held him. Kissed him as he knew him. Julian excused himself halfway through the meeting. And went straight to the bathroom. In the bathroom, he locked the door and leaned over the sink. His reflection stared back, a powerful, sharp, and masculine face stared back.
Brown Caldwell's perfect shell.
But not me. Not me. Not me.
He slammed the sink. Glasses on the counter rattled. Tears welled in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. "I can't do this anymore," he said aloud. "I want my name back. I want my face and everything back", he lamented, his voice held fury in it. He was frustrated with living the life of Mr Brown Caldwell, a life he had dreamed about. He loved Joshua, but Joshua still sees him as MMrBrown, maybe.
Brown (in Julian's body) strolled through the fifth floor of the building, sipping black coffee, watching people work. He spotted Joshua by the printer, all alone, looking dazed.
Perfect. He approached slowly, casually. "Morning," he said with that fake-Julian softness. "You look tired." Joshua glanced at him, confused. "Didn't sleep well," he muttered. "Weird dreams," Joshua responded.
Brown (in Julian's body) smiled. "Dreams are just memories trying to find their way back." Joshua blinked. "What?" "Nothing," Brown shrugged. "You hungry? I was thinking of lunch later. Just us." Joshua hesitated.
"I… guess that could be good." Brown turned away, smiling to himself. Jasmine stood by the office window, arms crossed, eyes locked on Julian (in Brown's body) across the floor. He hadn't looked at her once today, but rather his eyes were somewhere else, and she couldn't tell the right person. No kiss. No hand brush. Not even a glance. He had changed. Not just cooled off, it's like he transformed into a different person entirely. And then she saw it. Julian ststaredcross the room, not at her… but at Joshua, "his intern", she said in her mind. Sheew Brown Caldwell very well; he doesn't give a single staff member more than 5 seconds stare, but this time on Joshua was way too long, like a 5-minute stare. Her throat tightened. After some while, a buzz came from her phone; it was a message from her mother:
"Still locked in for the engagement party this weekend?"
She started to reply: Yes. Everything's fine. But all of a sudden, her finger stopped. She erased the words. Typed nothing. Then whispered to herself:
"Something's ending." And deep down, she already knew what.