She had finally calmed down- well calm enough to stop nervously walking around like a lost child - and that was when the truth hit her like a spotlight ticking on in a dark room:
She was inside a web novel.
It sounds absurd even to her, but the signs had been there since yesterday, since she had been returning home from work, phone in hand, ready to call her mother.... Except her mother called her first - as usual.
"Leeka, when are you coming home?" Her mother's demand, that's the first thing she said.
Leeka sighed. She already knew this tone. It was the same tone her mother used whenever she was about to bring up that topic- marriage. The thing Leeka wanted as much as she wanted a mouth full of dirt.
Apparently Leeka stays silent too long.
"Hello? Why aren't you saying anything?" Her mother's voice sharpened.
"Oh! I'll come... But not right now. By the way, how are you all?" Leeka replied quickly, attempting to change the topic.
"We are good. Actually, the reason I am calling ... You know Auntie Marena, she found a man who is just perfect for you." And there it was. The cursed prophecy she heard every time.
"Mom! I already told you- i don't want to marry anyone right now... I'm hanging up.
"Wait! Listen to me first, Leeka!-"
But Leeka had already ended the call within the speed of the startled rabbit. She hated this. She didn't want to get married. Not now. Not when she wanted to focus on her work... Definitely not, when she was deeply attached to someone- with a fictional man.
She unlocked her phone and opened her favourite web-novel: Flower That Blooms In Darkness.
Her heart softened instantly. Because she loved TheodoreWhitepearl, the second male lead. The man who is destined to suffer at the end, because the novel, Flower That Blooms In Darkness was not just any fantasy story. It was dramatic, dangerous, utterly addictive... and well- technically an eighteen plus- adult novel. But Leeka insisted she only read it for the plot.
Sure. Leeka. Sure.
The story contains the tale of the crown prince- a man cursed by his own uncle. ( Yes, his father's younger brother. Family gatherings must be amazing)
The uncle wanted to be the king so that's why he used dark magic on the prince. But the curse backfired in the worst possible way. Under its influence, the crown prince lost all control and ended up killing his own father, mother, sister... And even the uncle who cursed him.
A royal tragedy wrapped in monstrous magic.
Terrified, the royal mage creates a massive barrier around the palace, sealing the prince inside. To the world, it looked like he could never step outside again, but there was one exception. On the full moon the curse weakened, for that once the prince returned to being a normal human being with no power, no madness, no danger.
And on one particular full moon, fate placed them face to face. For him, it was destiny. For her, the beginning of ruin.
The moment he saw her, he understood she was the one who could change anything.
He wasn't supposed to be outside.
She wasn't supposed to see him.
But destiny was something else.
That's how the story, the real story began with romance, tension, close call moments where male lead caged her against a wall because "the curse was acting up."
(Leeka, absolutely did NOT re-read those scenes five times. Nope.)
In the middle of all this chaos stood Theodore Whitepearl, the second male lead - loyal, noble, heartbreakingly soft. He did everything for the female lead. He fought the cursed prince, threw himself into danger. Taking an arrow that nearly killed him.
And when she rushed to his side, holding his face tremblingly close- for a moment, for a heart beat she almost felt for him.
But destiny...
She ended up with the crown prince and Theodore stepped back.
He respects her choice. He wished her happiness and supported her with a smile.
But Leeka knew that kind of smile, the kind that hid fire, heartbreak and a love that never had the chance to bloom.
Leeka didn't hate the male lead- she actually likes him also.
But still....
If only the author could have given him a happy ending too.
If only someone could rewrite his fate.
She didn't know then...
That fate was already rewriting itself.
Leeka had just stepped out of the bus, her eyes glued to the final chapter of Flowers That Blooms In Darkness, on the screen.
In that chapter, the ML and FL celebrate their child's birthday. Theodore as usual attended the birthday party... Smiling... Congratulating... Pretending he was fine - as the story ended.
"And that's it?" Leeka muttered under her breath, stopping right in the middle of the sidewalk. The novel was beautiful indeed but still she felt a pang for Theodore.
"He deserves better... The best!"
The people walking behind her gave her that look, but she didn't care. She took a step forward, still staring at her phone, thinking, if somehow she was there...
Then suddenly -
Her vision blurred. A strange warmth crawled up her spine, like someone had lit a lantern inside her chest.The air around her thickened, humming softly—almost like a whisper brushing her ears.
Her phone screen flickered, the words warping, twisting into glowing threads.
"Huh...?"
Her head spun violently, the world tilting like a broken carousel. Her leg went completely numb. Before she could even gasp, her leg gave away. She fell - right there on the street. Her eyelids grew heavy, impossibly heavy, as voices around her warped and stretched like distant echoes.
"Miss? What happened?!"
"Are you okay? Hey!"
"Quick, someone call-!"
But everything was slipping away. Her last conscious thought was a dramatic scream inside her skull:
Don't tell me i fainted because of heartbreak over a fictional character - HOW pathetic can I be?!
And then-
Light burst.
Sound vanished.
And everything turned to shimmering, star-dusted darkness.
To be continued~