I swallowed hard, my eyes still fixed on Sylas as his words hung in the air.
“So tell me,”
“Who are you?”
My throat tightened.
No.
No, no, no.
This wasn’t happening.
I forced myself to steady my breathing, lifting my chin slightly even though my hands were shaking.
“I am Seraphina Ravencroft,” I said quickly, too quickly.
“The villainess.”forced the words out before my mind could catch up.
“I am Seraphina Ravencroft,” I said again, firmer this time.
“The villainess.”
Silence.
Sylas didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
Just watched me like I had said something interesting, instead of something true.
My chest tightened.
Why is he not reacting?
Then his voice came, calm and cutting.
“Liar.”
My stomach dropped.
“I don’t know what game you’re playing,” he continued slowly, “but you are not her.”
Something inside me snapped.
Panic.
Frustration.
Fear.
All tangled together.
Before I could stop myself, I stepped forward.
And slapped him.
The sound echoed sharply through the library.
My hand stung instantly, but I didn’t care.
“What is wrong with you?” I snapped, my voice shaking.
“Why are you talking to me like that?”
Sylas stared at me for a long moment after the slap.
Then slowly,
He stepped closer.
Too close.
My breath caught instantly.
The space between us disappeared until I could feel the warmth of his breath against my skin.
If either of us moved even slightly, our lips would touch.
My heart started beating uncontrollably.
But Sylas looked completely calm.
Cold.
Dangerously calm.
Then he spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
His voice was low.
Deep.
Masculine.
The kind of voice that sent chills down my spine.
Before I could react, his fingers lifted to my chin gently, forcing me to look up at him.
My breath trembled.
What is he doing?
Then his other hand caught mine, the same hand I had used to slap him.
His touch was strangely warm.
But before anything else could happen,
The library doors suddenly opened.
“Lord Sylas.”
Another voice cut through the room.
Sylas let go of me instantly.
I looked up sharply.
Adrian Evernight stood at the entrance, his expression darkening the moment he saw how close Sylas was to me.
Without hesitation, Adrian walked over and pulled him away from me.
The tension in the room changed immediately.
Then Adrian turned toward me.
His expression softened slightly.
“Master,” he said carefully, “how are you feeling?”
I blinked.
Master?
Before I could answer, he continued.
“After your sister, Aurora Bellrose, poisoned you collapsed.”
My entire body froze.
“What?”
“And now,” Adrian continued slowly, “you are somehow completely fine.”
I stared at him in shock.
Aurora Bellrose?
Poisoned Seraphina?
No.
That didn’t make sense.
That was impossible.
Aurora was the heroine.
The good person.
She was kind.
Gentle.
Pure.
She would never poison anyone.
Especially not Seraphina.
My thoughts spiraled instantly.
Wait,
What is going on?
I don’t remember writing anything like this in my novel.
So how
And why,
Did this happen?, why on earth will she do something like this.
“Why on earth would Aurora do something like this?”
My voice came out barely above a whisper.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Not Aurora.
Not this world.
Not any of it.
Without waiting for another explanation, I turned and walked away quickly.
I could feel their eyes following me as I left the library, but I didn’t stop.
I just kept walking until I finally reached my room again.
The moment I stepped inside, I locked the door immediately.
Click.
Silence filled the room.
I slowly walked toward the bed before sitting down heavily, my hands trembling slightly against my lap.
“What is going on?”
Everything felt wrong.
Weird.
Unfamiliar.
Like something in this world had shifted when I entered it.
I pressed a hand against my forehead, trying to think clearly.
No matter how hard I tried, nothing added up.
Aurora Bellrose was supposed to be the heroine.
The kind one.
The gentle one.
She was never supposed to poison anyone.
Especially not Seraphina.
“I didn’t write this.
” I whispered slowly.
The realization sent chills through me.
It felt like,
It felt like someone else had written this story instead of me.
My breathing slowed.
A terrifying thought crossed my mind.
“Am I really trapped inside my own novel?”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“Or”,
My fingers tightened against the blanket beneath me.
“Am I inside someone else’s story?”
Silence answered me.
I looked toward the mirror across the room.
Black hair.
Pale skin.
Crimson eyes.
Seraphina Ravencroft.
Exactly how I had imagined her.
Exactly how I had described her.
Even everyone else looked the same.
Lucien Draven.
Kael Thornridge.
Sylas Nightmere.
Every single one of them looked exactly the way I had drawn and written them in my novel.
So why did everything feel so different?
Why did it feel like the story no longer belonged to me anymore?
Just then,
A knock sounded against the door before it slowly opened.
I immediately straightened.
Lucien Draven stepped inside first.
And beside him was another familiar face.
Cassian Vale.
My breath caught slightly.
Of course.
The Crown’s Sword.
Just like the others, he looked exactly the way I had imagined him while writing.
Sharp features.
Dark hair.
A calm but intimidating presence.
For a second, I just stared at them silently.
Then Lucien spoke.
“Have you already chosen the dress you’ll be wearing for tonight’s event?”
I blinked.
“Event?”
Cassian raised an eyebrow slightly at my response.
“The royal banquet,” he said slowly, like the answer should have been obvious.
“Did you forget?”
My stomach tightened instantly.
Royal banquet?
Wait,
No.
I knew this scene.
I remembered it.
This was the night everything between Aurora Bellrose and Seraphina Ravencroft started falling apart publicly.
The beginning of the villainess’ downfall.
My fingers curled slightly against the bedsheet.
No.
This was supposed to happen much later in the story.
The moment Cassian mentioned the royal banquet, everything came rushing back into my mind.
My expression almost changed instantly.
No.
I knew this event.
This wasn’t just some ordinary banquet.
This was the beginning of the royal selection.
The event where the kingdom would begin choosing its next future ruler.
And more importantly,
This was where everything started going wrong for Seraphina Ravencroft.
My stomach tightened.
I remembered writing this part of the story so clearly.
The tension.
The politics.
The hidden betrayals beneath elegant smiles.
And worst of all,
This was the night Lucien Draven was supposed to attempt to kill Seraphina.
My fingers curled tightly against the bedsheets.
No wonder everyone was acting strange.
No wonder the atmosphere felt so tense.
I slowly lifted my eyes toward Lucien.
He stood there calmly, watching me in silence.
Looking completely normal.
Completely harmless.
But I knew better.
Because I wrote him that way.
Dangerous people always looked calm before they destroyed someone.
A chill ran down my spine.
I needed to be careful.
Very careful.
Not just around Lucien.
Around all of them.
Especially during tonight’s event.
One wrong move and I could accidentally trigger the exact ending I had written for Seraphina myself.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to stay calm.
Stay alert, Aria.
Don’t panic.
If I wanted to survive inside this story
Then I had to make sure tonight went differently from the original novel.
Please let me know how much you like my story, and your honest opinion about it.
Your feedback, will help me in improve in my writing.