OPHELIA/ODETTE'S POV
Kayros Nathaniel. Twenty-eight years old. Firstborn son of the Nathaniel family, which rules the underworld of Europe and the United States. Grandson of the revered Godfather. In this world, he's basically the overpowered male lead with the most twisted mind.
And I could sense it all over my body the moment he descended from the second floor. Vincent was bleeding, Elosia was freaking out, and Czar looked like he was watching the most boring soap opera—a man getting jealous because his mistress looked at another man.
It wasn't his beauty that made my blood run cold, though as a twenty-six-year-old woman with her own share of experience with men, Kayros was beyond what I'd expected.
Gorgeous blonde hair caught the light, shimmering strands resembling the molten gold hue of a full moon. Glacier-blue eyes colder than a Serbian winter, framed by long lashes. High cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and—*damn*—that visible Adam's apple and the veins along his neck.
If there was a real ice prince of some northern Grand Duchy, it would have been Kayros. But his aura was more dangerous than his face.
The room changed according to his mood almost unknowingly. Women stole glances at the man who stood tall, his muscular form hidden underneath an oversized shirt.
Our conversation continued. My body reacted before my mind could. I had no idea how Ophelia could just look at this man and think that sad case Vincent was worthy enough for her to dump him.
Listen, don't get me wrong.
All men are complicated creatures. You should choose the richest and most handsome one. Imagine getting cheated on by an ugly pig of a guy—doesn't it sound horrible?
For me, it does. Because when I looked at Vincent as a person, I doubted that someone as sticky and bony as him, with the eyes of a coward pretending to be a bad boss, could manipulate top mafia families and oligarchs like pawns.
Unless the author of the novel hid some great mastermind…
And suddenly, it clicked. Ahh… *Eyes of Glacier* was supposed to get a second book.
Tsk. Tsk. I got transmigrated before the second one got published. So, whatever.
I was going to change the story anyway.
Kayros Nathaniel is the reason why God took pity on me and sent my soul into this other universe where the novel is reality.
Vincent suddenly grabbed my arm the moment Kayros agreed to my marriage proposal—after a good two minutes of calculation in that pretty brain of his.
Vincent looked at me as if he would blast into rage and humiliation at any moment. I narrowed my eyes. "Let go of my arm, you little pig!"
He gasped, cheeks turning crimson. "Ophelia!" he growled lowly… Nah, he was really just a twenty-year-old kid.
I nodded to myself, reminding myself that I was actually twenty-five, extremely successful, and currently—on top of that—an extremely beautiful, rich, and smart woman. And ladies don't argue with little pigs.
Vincent gritted his teeth, his fingers digging into my soft flesh.
"Are you openly cheating on me? Marriage? Seriously?" His tone rose higher than I could accept on a regular basis.
My eyes darkened. Fury burned in my chest. He was the one for whom Ophelia became a villainess. She killed for him. She destroyed for him. Yet in return, all she got was betrayal.
Elosia stood behind him like some innocent white lily, as if she wasn't spreading her legs for her best friend's boyfriend.
My right hand flexed at my side. My spine straightened.
*No violence.*
*No violence before your soon-to-be husband and your biggest crush, Odette… No, it's Ophelia…*
"You are mine, Ophelia. Apologize, and I'll rethin—"
**THUD!!!**
**CRASH!!!**
"Ahhhhhhh!"
***GASPS***
Vincent lay flat on the floor, his head hitting the wall and crashing into the painting behind him. Elosia screamed in terror, followed by the gasps of customers and staff.
Czar's mouth fell open. Kayros, next to me, stood perfectly still, but shock was written all over his face.
All I felt was pure ecstasy down to my core…
I had flipped Vincent and shoved him against the wall… wounding him both physically and emotionally.
"Did she just… flip Vincent like a sack of wheat?" Czar murmured in disbelief, blinking too slowly.
"She did…" Kayros shared Czar's speechlessness.
Of course they would. Nobody would expect a 5'5", cute-looking girl to be able to flip a whole man of 6'2" with ease…
But what nobody knew was that Ophelia Blackwood was actually an expert in boxing and Arnis—also known as Eskrima or Kali—a Filipino martial art that specifically utilizes the knife as its primary weapon. Her lean body had actually been trained to survive the battlefield of the underground.
Ophelia had only ever wanted to be loved and seen. At the age of seven, she joined the elite training scout for fighters. She was beaten, pushed to her limits. She cried from wounds on missions, surviving on dry bread during closed-door training on dangerous islands.
She didn't manage to flip over the invincible Nathaniel family just like that.
*Poor Ophelia… I will use your power in a better way, to serve justice to everyone who caused you suffering.*
Vincent's face went pale as I put my foot on his shoulder. His eyes widened, and before he could react, I shoved his back harder against the floor and dislocated his shoulder, making him scream so painfully that everyone in the shop shivered and quivered in fear.
"Cheating?" I laughed darkly. "You're the one who's cheating on me, you little ugly rat."
His eyes shook with fear. "No, no, Ophy, you're misunderstanding! I never cheated on you. Elosia and I are just friends."
My face contorted in hatred. Coldness made my mind sharper. "Oh? I never even mentioned the name of your little side chick. How did you know I doubted you and Elosia?"
Elosia started stepping back, fear making her body tremble.
And when Vincent saw her retreating, something in him broke.
His lips parted, his throat wobbled, his eyes welled up… Betrayal made him wince in pain as Elosia took another step back and started crying. "Ophy! I-I'm sorr-ry. I didn't-t want that, but Vincent forced me-e."
Vincent said painfully, "I never forced you." His voice crecks visibly.
I removed my foot from his shoulder and watched him crawl toward Elosia, who kept stepping back from him while blaming him for seducing her.
Everyone watched. By tomorrow, it would make headlines.
But the irony was, I felt… a rush of pain in my chest. My eyes twitched, my fingers trembled, and my breath stopped for a moment.
I gulped down a painful lump in my throat. Everything I felt inside… I had no way of explaining the agony.
Vincent crawled toward Elosia as if his life depended on it, even after she threw him under the bus.
Yet…
He never blinked twice before using Ophelia's heart and betraying her when she finally thought she was getting the happiness she'd always prayed for.
I clenched my fist tight, fingers digging into my own flesh.
I shouldn't be feeling this.
Yet a small whisper at the back of my mind made my body go still:
("Why didn't he choose me, even after I did everything for him? Why… does nobody ever choose me?")
My eyes grew blurry against my will. Then, a small realization made sense of the chaos in my mind.
It was Ophelia's remnant inside this body, feeling it all. The pain of abandonment and the question…
Why not her?