"Why are you here? Isn't today your wedding day?" Adeline's heart was racing, she didn't understand what was happening, she used to have some hope that her friends would wake up and become their old selves again but with every event that transpired she had completely lost that hope.

But there he was, dressed so handsomely in his wedding clothes standing in front of her. Was this it? Did she get her friend back? There was darkness in his eyes which made her feel uneasy. 

She refused to go to his wedding, she could not see her childhood friend succumb to the plot and marry the so-called 'saintess'. 

"I've come for my bride."

"What?" 

His words made her stumble, just what was he talking about? Today was the grandest celebration in the Empire's history. The Crown Prince was marrying the Holy Saintess, a great way to show the unity between the two most important factions in the Empire!

"I said," He stepped closer and closer until there was no gap between the two, his hand reached for her cheek and adjusted her face as he leaned to kiss her, "I have come for my bride." 

Adeline was too stunned to respond, her mind was full of a million questions but no answers. Staring at the piercing blue eyes in front of her she didn't know what to say. There was no kindness in his eyes, there was only a raging madness that crept all the way to his heart.

She did not know who he was, this wasn't... Her friend. The man in front of her was very different from the Cassian she knew. With every step she took back, he took one forward. He wasn't letting her go that easy.

"Why are you so scared, Adeline?" 

Adeline wanted her friends to trail off the script but not this way!

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Adeline wouldn't call herself special in any way. In fact, the only word she would use to describe herself was ordinary. Her parents didn't want a child but she was conceived, and due to societal pressures they went through with it.

She had everything a child could ever need or want but it was clear to her that her parents never wanted her, and she eventually stopped bothering them. She spent her time getting lost in stories about fantastical worlds instead. 

One such book she encountered was 'Too many male leads to choose from!'. She would never admit it now but when she was just a teenager, cheesy romance novels like this were her favourite. Having to choose between four male leads, the saintess faced a true dilemma indeed.

The first time she read it she loved it, she read it thrice that year! 

Two years later, when she was cleaning her room she found this novel. Out of pure nostalgia, she decided to read it again but couldn't get through a third of the book. It was so... Illogical! She threw the book aside and later hid it.

Five years later, she was about to move out and was clearing out her room when she encountered this book again. She couldn't bring herself to throw it away, after all, this was a significant part of her teenage years.

'One last time,' she thought as she opened the book. She regretted it immediately and decided to throw it away for good this time. When she read it this time not only did she find it illogical, she HATED it. One of the reasons she hated it was that the villainess had the same name as her.

"If my friend was played by someone I would try to knock some sense into them too! Maybe I wouldn't use the same methods but I would definitely try!"

Adeline didn't dream about the idealistic kind of love, one where you take a single look at a person and know they were the one. However, she believed that when you are unsure, do not lead other people on and break their hearts!

And the female lead of that novel did exactly what she hated. Even after knowing they had feelings for her, she didn't give a direct answer or draw a clear boundary, she would string them along. 

When she was about to leave the room she felt a strong wind hit her back, but that wasn't right, her windows were closed. When she turned around she saw the pages of the story flutter in the wind and turn until they landed on that fateful page which described the villainess' execution. 

The pampered daughter of the Marquess was killed by Benedict, the newly appointed Northern Duke, while Cassian, the Crown prince watched on.

He held his princess, the saintess, close and didn't even care that his childhood friend was about to die. Benedict was no better than him, he cruelly thrust the sword into her heart hoping she would die soon.

"Huh-"

'Where am I? Who is this? What is happening?!'