The reason she chose Hayes Hughes was simple. He was Mrs. Grant's nephew, which made him the real heiress's cousin.
'He was gentle, considerate, and emotionally stable. Simply put... he was the easiest to fool!'
"Miss Grant, it's your turn."
The nurse called for her to come in for her examination. Mia Grant got up and walked over. The moment she stepped into the doctor's office, the door was gently closed behind her.
Hearing the sound, Mia Grant turned her head, but the person behind her was faster. A hand reached around and clamped over her mouth and nose.
Immediately after, Mia Grant's body went limp, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness completely.
—
In a dim basement, a massive golden birdcage stood in the center. Inside it was a large bed.
On the bed, a young woman lay sleeping peacefully, her eyes tightly shut. She had been changed into a white gauze dress, and its voluminous skirt spread across the large bed like a waterfall of milk. From a distance, she looked like a water lily that had long slumbered in the depths of an ancient castle.
A half-open bed canopy cascaded from the top of the golden cage, draping down smoothly. It clung to the girl's slender, fair ankles, blocking the room's only sliver of light.
Mia Grant's head was groggy, and her eyelids felt heavy. She struggled to open them, only to be met with pitch-black darkness.
[Host, you're finally awake!]
Mia Grant propped her head up and tried to sit up. CLANG! It was the sharp sound of something crashing together.
She turned her head in confusion. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, she discovered that her hands and feet were bound by thin, custom-made chains. And the other end of the chains was attached to... a birdcage?!
"I've been kidnapped?!"
The thought popped into her head, but before Mia Grant had time to panic, she was struck by a sudden idea:
'Hey, this is a pretty good excuse! When the kidnappers go to my big brother Silas Grant to demand a ransom, I'll be able to "resurrect" myself smoothly!'
[That's not it, Host. You've been imprisoned by the male lead.]
"..."
'This damn imprisonment trope finally made its appearance!'
"Is it Hayes Hughes?"
'It's only been two months. Has her gentle-as-jade brother turned into a psycho?'
[It's Kian Keller! Host, you have to be careful. He's very dangerous right now!]
Mia Grant fell silent.
'When was he ever not dangerous?'
'Kian Keller... was a tough one to figure out.'
In the original book, his character was the "Buddha's Son" of the capital's elite circle. He had poor health as a child and grew up in a temple. As a result, he usually appeared as serene and respectable as a saint, but in reality, he was a paranoid, obsessive psycho.
She remembered how in the original book, in a mad attempt to win the heroine's attention, he'd stabbed himself. If it weren't for his male lead plot armor, Kian Keller would've been the one to have his ashes scattered to the winds!
"You're awake?"
A familiar voice suddenly sounded from beside the bed. It was low and husky. Mia Grant flinched, and alarm bells screamed in her head.
'What should I do?! Maybe I should fake amnesia? Say I hurt my brain when I jumped into the sea?'
'No, no.' Mia Grant frowned. 'Kian Keller isn't as easy to fool as Hayes Hughes.'
'Whatever, I'll stick to the old routine. Time to cry a little first.'
'As for whether I'll survive after this, I'll figure that out later!'
"Ethan? Is that you? Where is this...? It's so dark here. Mia is so scared..."
The young woman's voice was trembling.
As if on cue, the lights in the room flicked on. The piercing glare made Mia Grant's eyes ache, and she instinctively squeezed them shut.
After a few seconds, she opened her eyes. As she looked up, she immediately squeezed out a couple of tears and glanced over timidly.
On the single sofa directly across from the bed, Kian Keller sat ramrod straight in a dark, subtly patterned suit. A string of priceless Agarwood Buddha Beads was wrapped once around his pale wrist, and he used his thumb to gently roll through them, one by one.
The Buddha Beads knocked against each other, making a faint, dull sound. It was like the tolling of a temple bell, striking heavily against Mia Grant's heart.
He hadn't changed in two months. His features were cold and aloof, his eyes as placid as still water, as if he were free of all mortal passions. Yet, he carried an air of divinity. His elegant bearing made him seem like a son of Buddha seated high on a divine altar—inviolable and untouchable.
[Stop swooning, lady! Open your eyes and look at the important thing above his head!]
Jolted back to her senses, Mia Grant shifted her gaze upward. Only then did she notice something like a health bar floating above Kian Keller's head...
'This must be the "blackening value" the system was talking about.'
'It's only at ninety. The bar isn't even full yet.'
Mia Grant breathed a sigh of relief.
[His emotional state is extremely unstable right now!]
'Unstable? He doesn't look it.'
[...]
"Ethan, did you bring me here? How did you know I was at the hospital? I... I..." Mia Grant asked in a soft voice, broaching the subject.
'As long as he asks, I can seize the chance to burst into tears and play the victim!'
She waited and waited, but the man across from her just stared at her unblinkingly. His eyes were emotionless, like a pool of stagnant water.
'Dude, say something!'
As if hearing her inner plea, Kian Keller mercifully spoke: "You went to the hospital to find Hayes Hughes."
"Yes, I was s—"
Huh? Mia Grant's expression froze. 'Wait, what did he just say?'
"So you do like him. You rushed to see him the moment you returned." His tone was certain, yet tinged with a cold edge.
"That's not it! I don't! Stop making things up!"
'Mia Grant wasn't sure if the male leads had had a deep conversation while she was away. After all, she had told every single one of them, "You're my only good brother"!'
'At a time like this, all I can do is deny it.'
The moment the words left her mouth, she saw the value above Kian Keller's head shoot up to 99!
Mia Grant's pupils constricted.
[Host, watch your words!]
'Too late!'
The figure on the sofa was already on his feet. The man was tall and slender, and his shadow fell over her as he advanced, step by step. The very air around them seemed to thin.
'System, quick! Cough up blood, cough up blood!' Mia Grant sounded the alarm in her mind.
"Ethan... I... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."
As she spoke, she unexpectedly choked on the cold air. A tickle arose in her throat, and propping herself up on the bed, she began to cough violently.
Her fingers tightened, wrinkling the bedsheets in her grip.
Her head spun, and a coppery, sweet taste surged in her throat.
'Fuck! Wait... it really hurts!'
The next second, a warm liquid trickled from the corner of her lips. Stunned, Mia Grant reached up to touch it, but as she lifted her hand, the chain yanked it back.
DRIP, DROP. Crimson liquid fell, blooming like blood-red flowers on the bedsheets.
"Mia Grant!!!"