Aveline woke up, but the thought of opening her eyes scared the living hell out of her. She'd already woken up to an unfamiliar surrounding once, believing it was some kind of messed-up dream where she had the face of the person she despised the most in the entire world.
She was a kind person who'd never hated anyone—well, anyone but her disgusting family—but she hated Victoria Harris to the core and bones.
She would rather believe that what had happened so far was a cruel dream and keep her eyes closed until a doctor or her manager walked in to check on her, rather than open her eyes and see that she hadn't been dreaming.
If what she'd experienced earlier wasn't a dream, then someone had done something to her face while she was unconscious and turned her into Victoria, or, the other possibility, which she so much wanted to deny even after seeing the evidence herself: she'd been transmigrated or reincarnated into another era.
If that was the case, then the heavens must be cruel to have taken her away from her era when things were finally falling into place for her after many years of trying to make her way up in the entertainment industry.
After many years of walking through dark tunnels looking for brightness.
Her life had been like a modern-day Cinderella story, where her stepmother and three stepsisters made her go through everyday hell in her own father's house. He'd married another woman the moment her mother died.
They turned her into their servant and made her do everything while depriving her of her right to her father's luxury until she'd finally made the decision to leave at the age of seventeen, to be free, to experience the real world and pursue her big dream of becoming an A-list actress.
However, life had never been easy for her outside the walls of her father's house. She'd had to work in a restaurant as a kitchen help and then go for martial arts classes as she'd heard somewhere that getting the role of a stunt double was easier than getting the role of an actress.
Aveline had trained and worked hard from the age of seventeen, dropping out of school and attending acting lessons online instead.
Not once had she thought her first-ever role as a stunt double would get her the chance to play the main character in a big project movie after years of training.
Victoria Harris was the woman playing the main character. However, she was a spoiled little princess with no strength whatsoever to fit the role. She'd even injured herself a few times just by trying to ride the horse.
Aveline had done it swiftly and easily, stunning the director when she was asked to play a few parts meant for Victoria and did it better than her.
The director had immediately gathered the crew and announced that Aveline would be playing the role because she seemed to fit well with the main description of the character, and that with her, they wouldn't need a stunt double.
That day had been the happiest day of Aveline's life, but because she didn't want to come off as a backstabber, she'd rejected the offer as she'd seen how Victoria, the world-renowned actress, had not seemed to like the changes.
Being the kind person she was, she'd approached Victoria and told her that she would not take her place if she wasn't okay with it, but Victoria had smiled that forced, bitchy smile of hers and said,
"It's okay. I don't mind. It's not like you'd be able to outshine me in the entertainment industry even if you played the female lead. Duh! You are just some poor young woman from the slum. I don't like the role anyway; you can go ahead and take it."
Of course, what else was she expecting from a spoiled princess like Victoria who had started her acting career at ten years old? Arrogance—and she'd gotten that from the bitch!
Aveline had not let Victoria's remarks get to her and accepted the role. To her and everyone else's surprise, the movie had been a huge success. Not only did it smash box office records, but it also swept the awards season. The film won multiple accolades, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.
Aveline herself was awarded Best Actress of the Year. However, on the day of the award was when her unfortunate "accident" happened.
Before the day of that award, she'd been offered many proposals to star in many movies, and Aveline had known immediately that her life had changed and that her dreams were finally coming to reality.
However, after taking her award on a stage Aveline had initially thought was too high up and had even had a few troubles climbing up in her heels, she'd smiled down at her happy supporters and given a heartwarming speech she'd known would put her fans to tears and make her earn their sympathy.
She'd even been so eager to go back home and see her social media accounts where she was sure people would be praising her and sending her gifts. However, Victoria had walked up to her with her bitchy smile and pretended she wanted to congratulate her.
Unfortunately, she had been standing at the edge of the stage thanking the clapping audience when Victoria had walked up to her and pretended she wanted to kiss her cheek and instead whispered, "How dare you steal my spotlight? I will be dead before I let you take my place." And then she'd pushed her off the high stage.
Imagine falling in slow motion while looking into your enemy's smiling blue eyes. Imagine the anger and fear Aveline had felt before finally hitting the unforgiving ground and blacking out and then waking up immediately in a weird place and finding out her face had changed into the person she hated the most.
Oh, she was going to kill Victoria even if it meant killing herself in this strange world, but then she still refused to believe that she'd been thrown into another world or era.
Perhaps someone had kidnapped her away from the hospital, done some surgery to change her face, and then brought her to some village where they still lived like they were in an ancient era!
With those thoughts, she opened her eyes.
The strange ceiling and the throbbing pain in her head immediately reminded her of her ordeal and her being in an era she didn't belong to, and she immediately closed her eyes again as if that would take her back.
Perhaps she was still dreaming in a dream because her resentment towards Victoria made her so unwilling to accept she wasn't in her era and that she wasn't going to get back at the bitch.
This couldn't be real. It could never be because she wasn't going to accept defeat. Never!
Aveline took a deep breath, the smell of incense filling her lungs, and she swore under her breath and opened her eyes in anger.
"Why do I keep waking up in this strange place with damned scents?" she muttered in distress, her vision slowly clearing.
As her eyes focused, she saw a tall, imposing man standing by her bed. With long dark hair pouring down his shoulders like that of a woman, but his features were nothing like a woman's.
His face was as hard as stone, his eyes... she'd never seen eyes in that color before. They were the color of amber, and they glimmered in the dim room like a predator preparing to attack his prey.
His eyes were so intense she felt an involuntary shiver run down her spine. Though the room wasn't that bright, it was bright enough for her to decide he was one of the most handsome men she'd ever set eyes on.
However, his presence screamed authority, and the fact that he was scowling down at her like he'd make her disappear made her scowl back at him, just so she wouldn't be intimidated or outshined by some arrogant man who couldn't tell she wasn't in a mood to play around here if they didn't take her back home.
'Who is this angry guy now? And why the hell did he look like he wants to strangle me?' she thought, feeling a mix of fear and curiosity.
"You've finally decided to wake up. How fortunate for you, 'Your Highness'," he said.
His voice was smooth and so deep she felt like her heart would fall into it. However, it was cold and filled with... resentment. And the way he said 'Your Highness' felt like he was mocking her.
He was handsome, yeah, she got it, but she hated it when men talked down on her, especially one who had barged into Her Highness' room without permission. Weren't they taught to knock before entering someone's room? And why the hell was she considering this ancient joke her room?!
She sat up, displeasure evident on her face as she asked, "Who are you? And why are you in my room? If you are not here to explain to me what I'm doing here with Victoria's face, get out. I'm not in the mood to talk." She said dismissively while massaging her throbbing head.
This damn headache!
The man's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stepped closer at her remarks, his anger barely contained.
After everything she'd done, she still had the guts to speak to him with disrespect?!
"You've got the nerve. You are finally showing your true colors in my presence, Selene. Don't you dare pretend you don't know who I am. Your games won't work this time," he warned in a dangerously low voice that sent a shiver down Aveline's spine and made her note two things about the man.
He was dangerous, and he seemed to hate this ancient Victoria as much as she hated the modern one.
"Mister Amber Eyes, I understand your resentment towards this vixen of a woman, because I'm feeling the same way. However, hold your anger and resentment until the real owner of this Victoria body comes back and I'm gone before you lash out. Right now, I'd appreciate it if you tell me who you are. But unless you're a famous model whose name is popular, how do you expect me to know you?" she remarked good-naturedly while smiling nervously as her eighth sense told her this man wasn't the kind she would want to mess with.
When he continued to scowl down at her from his standing position and his face seemed like it had been dipped in ice, she stood up on the bed.
Perhaps she should make him understand she wasn't the person he hated?
How do people here even make friends? She had no idea what era she was in and if all this was even real. Thus, she held out her hand to the angry man and smiled.
"Hi, I'm Aveline Eamon, aka Emon!"
The man looked from her face to the hand she held out to him, and his anger flared like wildfire. In a swift movement, he caught her hand; however, he didn't shake it but twisted it behind her back, pressing her against his solid body, and then his other hand came around her neck and roughly grabbed her chin.
Aveline winced as pain shot through the arm he twisted and the way he grabbed her chin. She tried to move away from him, but his grip only tightened.
"Let go of me, you—"
"I will not fall for your foolish games again this time around, Selene. If you think for a moment that your life would be peaceful in the palace after what you've done, then you're mistaken. I will make every single day of your life so miserable you'd wish you hadn't survived that fall," he hissed, his hold tightening dangerously around her wrist until Aveline could hear her bones creaking.
"You are mistaken, I have no—ah, that's too tight. Can you release me a little so we can talk this out?" she winced as she tried to move away, but his hold only tightened the more she struggled.
"Talk this out, you say?" He chuckled darkly and swirled her around to face him while his hands gripped both her arms. Aveline swallowed hard as she realized she would rather have her back to him than face those hateful eyes boring holes into her. What was his relationship with this Victoria?
"We can never talk this out. I came here to give you my warning: if a word of what you claim you know two days ago reaches the Empress..." A crooked smile graced his hard, handsome face as he leaned down to whisper, "I will behead you with my own two hands and then kill your entire remaining family."
"...!" Aveline's eyes widened at the mention of beheading. What sort of mess had she gotten into now?
"C-can you at least tell me what I did? My memories are a bit hazy after the accident. I can't seem to remember anything you're talking about," she said, swallowing hard and then looking up at him with large, confused blue eyes that seemed to make the man frown down at her.
"You can't fool me with another lie. Acting pitiful won't work on me again!" he growled angrily. His hold on her arm tightened for a moment longer before he abruptly released her, shoving her away from him like the mere sight of her disgusted him.
He turned his back to her, his shoulders tense with controlled rage.
"Stay out of my way from now on, and perhaps I'll feel less repulsed by having to see your face," he said tightly, storming out of the room without another word.
"Great. Just what I needed. An angry man after my head in a strange world," she muttered to herself as he left the room, slamming the door behind him so hard it made her jump. She rubbed her sore arms and fell back on the bed, her body trembling with leftover adrenaline.
Well, that angry man is another big reason why she'd have to find her way back home. No way in hell would she stay and get beheaded for something she didn't do or even know about!