The halls of the imperial palace were silent after the morning's chaos.
But my mind… was anything but.
Every step I took echoed like a drumbeat reminding me that fate had not forgotten me.
I could still feel his grip on my wrist.
The heat of his hand lingered in my memory.
Not just warm… insistent. Unyielding.
Why does it feel like he's always a step ahead of me?
I shook my head. Stop thinking. Survive first. Love later.
By the afternoon, I had retreated to my chambers, a small sanctuary of silk curtains and candlelight.
I allowed myself a single glance in the mirror.
Seraphina Valmont.
The villainess of a story I had memorized in another life.
The woman everyone loved to hate.
And yet…
I did not recognize her.
Not fully.
The eyes staring back at me were wary, calculating… but alive.
No longer a pawn, no longer a shadow in someone else's story.
Footsteps approached.
Soft. Measured.
My heart froze before my mind could warn me.
A knock.
A deep, controlled voice followed:
"Lady Seraphina… may I enter?"
I tensed. He's already here. Again.
I didn't answer immediately, my heart betraying me despite my best efforts.
The door opened.
He entered.
Tall. Regal. Dangerous. And… undeniably alive.
The Crown Prince.
He did not bow.
He did not speak formalities.
He simply looked at me.
And I felt… exposed.
"You accepted it," he said quietly, almost a whisper.
"Yes," I replied, steadying my voice. "The Empire deserves a Crown Princess chosen by Your Highness's heart."
A shadow crossed his eyes. Pain? Regret? Or something else entirely?
I could not tell.
I did not want to.
Do not trust him. Do not hope. Do not fall.
And yet… my chest ached in a way I hadn't felt in years.
He moved closer, just enough that the scent of his cologne—the one I remembered from the novel—reached me.
It was intoxicating. Dangerous. Wrong.
"You are… different," he murmured.
His eyes searched mine as if trying to unravel a puzzle.
"I am exactly who I was meant to be," I said softly, keeping my thoughts hidden. Do not let him know you remember everything.
He studied me for a long moment.
Then, deliberately, he tilted his head.
"You're hiding something."
I forced a smile. "And you should mind your own secrets, Your Highness."
A small smirk tugged at his lips. A smirk that was almost… playful.
Not something a prince would show to anyone, let alone a woman he publicly scorned.
For the first time, I realized…
This game of survival was no longer just about me.
It was about him too.
The man who haunted every line of the story I had lived before.
The man I swore I would never love.
And yet, here he was.
Standing so close,
Looking at me like I was the only thing that mattered.
My thoughts betrayed me again.
Do not hope.
Do not fall.
Do not let him see you care.
But as he turned to leave, his hand brushed mine—a touch so fleeting, yet it lingered in my soul.
A spark. A warning. A promise.
I closed my eyes.
And whispered to myself: I will survive this story… no matter the cost.
End of Chapter 2