Chapter 9 - I Can't Lose You Again

Frustration. Anger. Pain.

They crashed through me like a violent tempest, each one ripping through my insides with the force of a hurricane. Were these Evelina's emotions?

I had to leave. Now. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

What happened a few hours before the ball? What twisted my characters so badly? How did they become… what I wrote them to be?

"Excuse me, Your Highness. I need to prepare for the ball," I said, my voice breaking the silence like a brittle twig snapping under pressure. "I'll give you a proper reply at the castle. My apologies for the commotion, Father."

I forced my words out like they were made of stone, my body moving on autopilot. I could feel the Duke's gaze, cold and assessing, tracking me with quiet concern, though his stoic expression barely cracked.

But then there was Kael.

Oh, God. His gaze was a different kind of animal... a wild, raw thing that was somehow tethered to me in a way I couldn't understand. It pierced me, desperate and relentless, as if I was his lifeline and walking away would rip him apart.

Would it, though?

I curtsied stiffly, the movement stiff and unnatural, and then spun on my heel, tearing myself away from him with every ounce of willpower I could muster.

The oak door shut with a quiet thud, and just like that, the suffocating tension that had lingered in the room fell over me like a heavy blanket. The silence was so thick it almost hurt.

My footsteps echoed down the corridor.

What the hell is going on?

As soon as I rounded the corner, I slammed my back against the cold stone wall, gasping for breath, my heart pounding so violently that it felt like it was trying to break free from my chest.

The Duke's concern. Kael's tenderness.

They weren't supposed to feel like this. Not for Evelina. Not for me.

What had happened? What had Evelina done to make them change so completely?

A sharp knock against the wall startled me, the sound so sudden that I nearly jumped out of my skin.

It was him.

Kael.

He was there, looming like a dark cloud, his presence enveloping me. His jaw was clenched, his eyes dark and stormy with an emotion I couldn't quite place.

"You're not fine," Kael said, his voice low, controlled, but full of an edge that could slice through steel.

It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

I straightened up, instantly defensive, crossing my arms like I could somehow shield myself from everything that was coming at me. "I told you, it's nothing. Why did you follow me? Why do you care?"

Kael took a step closer, his body closing the gap between us until the air itself seemed to tremble. His gaze, heavy and intense, locked with mine, as if he could read every secret I had buried deep inside me.

"Don't play coy with me, My Lady," Kael spoke, his voice a dangerous purr. "You're hiding something, and I don't like it. What's wrong?"

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, and panic exploded in my chest.

Did he know? Did he know what was going on?

No. It was impossible. He was just a character. A fictional character. He couldn't know.

I laughed, the sound bitter and harsh, as my fingers tightened painfully around the hem of my skirt.

"Changed?" I scoffed, my voice almost shaking with frustration. "You don't even know me well enough to say that, Your Highness. Why do you keep trying to get closer to me when you know I love your enemy?"

Kael's lips curled into a sardonic smile, his head tilting slightly as he took in my words, clearly enjoying the small amount of defiance I had left in me.

"What makes you think I care about that?" His voice softened, just a little. "I've always cared, Lina. It's you who changed... when you were ten, after you were kidnapped. That's when I stopped seeing the sweet Evelina I used to know. You became someone I didn't even recognize."

Wait… what? Kidnapped? Evelina was kidnapped? Lila said Evelina was 10 when she called Kael 'cursed prince'.

The words echoed in my mind like a bell ringing in a storm, but nothing in my thoughts could hold on long enough to understand. The shock was too much.

What kind of twist was this?

Before I could process any of it, Kael stepped closer, his voice dropping into something so quiet, so dangerous that it sent chills down my spine.

"But that's not the point," he murmured. "Do you love Adrian? Say the word, Lina. And I'll go. I'll leave. I'll go back to the North and never come near you again."

The words struck me like a physical blow, a spike of pain shooting through me, so sharp it left me gasping for air.

The ache was unbearable, worse than anything I'd felt in a long time.

My vision blurred, my body swaying as if it had forgotten how to stay upright.

And then, before I could stop myself, I stumbled straight into Kael's chest.

His warmth hit me like a jolt of electricity, but it only seemed to make the coldness inside me worse, gnawing at my bones, a deep, unrelenting chill.

"Lina!? Are you okay!?" Kael's voice was raw now, edged with panic and concern. The sharpness was still there, but there was something else now... something more desperate.

"It hurts..." The words came out in a whisper, barely audible, but they carried everything I couldn't say. The agony, the confusion, the fear.

Every part of me ached—the weight of my own body, the confusion in my heart, the questions swirling in my mind. It was like I was being torn apart from the inside.

Kael's muscular arms wrapped around me instantly, pulling me into him with a fierce grip, like he was trying to keep me from falling apart. His chest rumbled with a low curse, and I could feel his tears soaking into my hair.

He's crying?

Kael never cried in the original novel. He wasn't supposed to cry. He wasn't supposed to feel. But here he was, and I didn't know what the hell was happening anymore.

"I can't lose you," he whispered into my ear, his voice breaking with raw emotion. "Please not again."

Again?

I wanted to say something. Anything. But my consciousness was slipping away into darkness, and I couldn't hold on any longer.

Fuck… What the hell was wrong with this body?