Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“I accepted his offer, and I woke up after the accident with no memories of my meeting with God. The weirdest thing was that I knew this world and the people in it, because it existed as a book in my previous life. I woke up truly believing I’d been transported to a fictional world where I had to pay attention to the storyline. The problem was that in that story, Alicia Vermillion was the antagonist who was destined to die for the attempted murder of the heroine.”
Kalon stilled, and even though his jaw ticked, he didn’t say anything.
“I made it my mission not to die. As far as I was concerned, this was my second chance at life, and I was going to escape that fate no matter what. You see, in that novel, Alicia Vermillion marries Grand Duke Kalon Stein in an arranged marriage and falls hopelessly in love with him.” I looked at him. “But he doesn’t share her feelings and instead falls in love at first sight with the heroine, just as his younger brother does.”
“What kind of—”
I reached out and covered his mouth with my hand to make him be quiet. “The main plot is a love triangle that ultimately ends with Alicia being accused of poisoning the heroine, Torin announcing he’s going to marry the heroine during Alicia’s trial, and Alicia being executed for the attempted murder of a member of the Imperial Family.” I dropped my gaze once again. “After that, Kalon goes insane, having lost everything, and incites a revolution against the empire that fails and ends in his death, while Torin and the heroine live happily ever after once they save the empire from monsters Kalon brought with him.”
“Sounds like a dreadful book,” he mumbled.
With the benefit of hindsight, yes.
Yes, it was.
The sweet heroine was actually a bitch in real life.
That was why they said you should never meet your heroes.
“If I was going to raise a rebellion against Eudocia and Torin, there’s no way I’d lose,” he grumbled.
I laughed lightly. “The weird thing is that it was a common plot in a form of storytelling I enjoyed in my past life, so I was truly stuck in the notion that I was living in a fantasy world. I couldn’t remember my discussion with God, but I was obsessed with not following the path set out for Alicia. I even sought out marriage partners in the hope that an engagement would deter you from proposing to me, but I wasn’t fast enough. Instead, I resolved that I would keep my distance and leave you once you met the heroine and fell in love with her.
“I came to Stein under duress with escape plans under my belt, but things didn’t work out the way I thought they would. You were so different to the way the book I read described you, and I was so confused. I knew that my mere existence could change things even without me trying, but at some point, it stopped being this fantasy world I’d ended up in and became a real place with real people that I cared about.”
Kalon reached out and brushed his thumb across my cheek. “Don’t cry, Allie.”
I choked back tears as I looked up at him. “I fell in love with Stein. With Ark, Ingrid, the knights, the maids—everyone. It felt like home. At Vermillion House I was stuck in a place where I wasn’t wanted, so even though I didn’t want to go to Stein, it was the escape I needed from the abuse Alicia was subjected to. I told myself it might be all right if I just pretended for the next few months until the heroine came into the picture. I told myself I’d be okay if you fell for her instead, but then we got close and I…”
“Is that why you asked to delay the wedding? Because you thought I would meet someone else and fall in love?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I thought it was the only way to protect myself at the time. If you fell in love with the heroine, then it would be easier for us to break off an engagement over a marriage.”
He took a deep breath before sighing it out. “Who is this mysterious heroine you were so sure I’d fall in love with?”
“Lillia de Armand,” I whispered.
Kalon’s grip on my hand tightened drastically. “Say that again.”
“Lillia.”
“You thought I’d fall in love with that woman? What do you take me for, Alicia?”
Alicia.
Why did that hurt so much?
He took his hand from mine and stood up, pressing his palm to his face. “I can’t believe you thought that. Fuck.”
No.
He was leaving.
He wasn’t listening to me.
“You said you’d listen to me! You promised!” I cupped my mouth as tears fell from my eyes in earnest. “That’s how it was in the world I thought I knew, and I…” My breath hitched on a sob as I pulled my knees to my chest and curled into myself. “I was so scared when we saw her at the ball. She wasn’t supposed to be there, and I cared about you, and I thought you’d fall for her, and I—”