Ophelia/Odette's Pov
He promises to ruin my happiness after giving me reasons to be happy.
I am supposed to feel scared, anxious, angry—or just something that has nothing to do with the thrill, excitement, and dopamine hit I am having currently.
Because this is exactly the kind of relationship the hero and villainess are supposed to share.
When I read the novel, every time Kayros and Ophelia came face-to-face, one of them walked away wounded. The pure hatred between those two was intoxicating.
Fuck!!! I am excited.
I lean closer, a smirk playing on my lips, "Oh dear, I will make sure your desire ends as desire."
Kayros's eyes widen, the blue of his eyes catching the light of surprise.
This man is gorgeous! Even the small mole under his right eye is perfectly placed.
Kayros's eyes squint suspiciously, "Aren't you scared?"
I laugh softly, pulling back and running my fingers through my hair.
Scared? No, darling. I'm fucking thrilled.
"Kayros, you should actually try to do something to me, you know?" I wink at him, my confidence engraved in my bones, earned after 30 successful wins inside the Supreme Court of the United States. I have come to the understanding:
I have a few screws loose in my brain.
And Kayros is the perfect opponent.
Kayros stays silent for a while. Czar is no longer looking at us, given that nothing happening here is normal.
A small deep chuckle—rough and dangerous—echoes inside the limo. Kayros shakes his head, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
The air around him shifts subtly, yet the way his back relaxes against the leather seat makes my nerves stand on guard.
"Aren't you being too cute for someone who doesn't even have the bare minimum power to be considered beyond your family name?"
My eyes widen.
Fuck.
My jaw tightens, lips pressed tight because he is right.
Ophelia Blackwood is nothing without her family name. And that alone is dangerous and makes her extremely vulnerable. Unlike real me, Ophelia doesn't even have someone to catch her. At least I had two powerful men backing me in my life as Odette.
Ah. I never thought I would miss my dead mentors even in this new world.
Kayros waits for me to falter, but I don't give him that satisfaction—even as the car stops before the Blackwood mansion.
I turn my head to him with a smile, "Who knows? You never know if the most powerless one is hiding the most unhinged power."
He stiffens visibly, clearly not expecting such a comeback with a smile instead of getting defensive like real Ophelia would have at the mention of being helpless.
One of the guards of Blackwood Security opens the door. I carry my bag and give Kayros a final smirk, "Oh, and you are right. Being a Blackwood is my biggest power."
Czar chokes on the water he has been pretending to drink for the last five minutes.
Kayros blinks slowly, expression stoic, dark eyes shimmering with cold rage and annoyance.
I step out of the car, my chest puffed full of pride and satisfaction.
Goodness!
Nothing can override the feeling of power. Kayros's limo drives away smoothly; I watch it vanish into the long driveway of the vineyard surrounding the Blackwood mansion.
Cold wind kisses my cheek, but my body feels warm and buzzing. This world is a new place.
But I am still Odette Elizabeth's soul.
I return to the mansion. Servants and butlers bow on my way. Rhys hurriedly runs back to his room when he sees me, Ivy's body stiff and her eyes screaming envy.
But I ignore her as well. She has no value in this story. Just an older sister.
However, that thought turns out to be wrong when, two days later, while strolling around the mansion around 10 AM, I hear her talking to Raphael.
Her voice desperate, heavy sobs muffled. I get curious and shift closer to the closed wooden door.
"Dad, I love Kayros. Stop the wedding, please Dad."
My eyes widen.
My neck snaps toward the door like it has personally offended me.
I blink, shaking my head, pressing my ear to the door.
Blood runs cold, my throat wobbling under the pressure of the unexpected revelation.
Wasn't she supposed to be in love with Czar and go crazy after Ophelia kills him?
But hearing her sniff and raw whimpers, desperate pleading to her father, something clicks in my mind that makes my skin crawl.
The author never mentioned specifically that Ivy Blackwood was in love with Czar Volkov. And if I do the right calculation—
Ivy went crazy after Kayros and Jessica's marriage.
"Princess, is that what you want?" Raphael's soft fatherly tone feels like a stab in my chest, like a burning blade.
Is this real Ophelia's feeling again?
I possibly can't know because… just like Ophelia, I never got fatherly love in my life.
My eyes fall to the foot of the door. Hearing Raphael's soft assurance to Ivy, I push the door slightly. His arms wrapped around his daughter lovingly. Patting her head, holding her inside a soft protective cocoon.
My eyes sting. My lips wobble like… I am going to cry.
I feel shame and humiliation for even letting that thought cross my mind.
Yet… seeing how Ivy folds into the arms of her father like she always has a soft place to fall, my chest tightens, the air around me feels suffocating.
"If you want Kayros, you will get Kayros," Raphael assures Ivy.
I chuckle—slow and bitter—under my breath.
Of course…
…
…
Of course Ivy gets whatever she wants, while Ophelia—no, while I—get abandoned and tossed aside.
Real Ophelia would probably have accepted this, but despite the ache in my heart, the silent cry deep within my soul—
I know.
Be it as Odette or be it as Ophelia—I have to protect myself at any cost.
So I put on the mask of arrogance once again and kick open the door.
I clap my hands slowly, a smirk on my lips that catches both of them off guard.
"Oh gorgeous! A father promising his elder daughter that he will give her his youngest child's soon-to-be husband!" I clap, laughing. "So amazing!"
Ivy looks at him, shocked, her cheeks still flushed from crying. Raphael's soft expression hardens, "What kind of misbehavior is this, Ophelia?"
I match his coldness with my ruthlessness.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that, Daddy?" My eyes darken, a slow cruel smirk playing on my lips as I look between him and Ivy.
I can hear murmuring of the servants behind the door—enough witnesses to hear and spread rumors…
"You should have some shame, Daddy. I know sister Ivy looks like my dead mother… but you cannot share a bed with your own daughter."
Raphael's eyes widen.
Ivy gasps angrily, "OPHELIA! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!!!"
Her voice loud enough to rattle the air, but I just act like I pity them.
Raphael's eyes sharpen like a predator. He steps closer and pushes me against the wall, choking my throat, "How dare you state such a thing, Ophelia?"
I smirk darkly, "What else am I supposed to say, Daddy?" I lean more into his choking. "You were talking about breaking off my marriage for Ivy."
His eyes widen seeing my smirk, the glint of cruelty in my eyes. His fingers twitch.
"Who will marry your Ivy if such a scandal spreads, hmm?"
"You won't dare."
"Try me."
Ivy starts crying in the back, in fear and ashamed at the idea of being put in the same sentence as her dad in such a nasty way.
In High Society, reputation is everything for a woman whose main source of power is her family.
Raphael Blackwood's eyes redden, veins of his neck popping, fingers trembling around my neck.
For a man like Raphael, being cornered by his youngest daughter is humiliating. I just keep my evilish smirk.
"What do you say, Daddy? Anything you do to me will just confirm the scandalous comment."
Ivy sobs harder, "Dad, Ophelia has gone crazy."
Raphael ignores her cry. Something flips inside him as he keeps his daring eye contact.
"You will follow me to the gang meeting tonight at 7 PM sharp."
My smirk falters, and for the first time in a very fucking long time…
I am the one who is speechless.
Ivy's sobs subside.
And I just… process.
What.
The.
Actual.
Fuck!
EVEN RHYS BLACKWOOD NEVER ATTENDED ANY GANG MEETING WITH RAPHAEL BLACKWOOD AKA THE GANG BOSS!!!!