Selene's POV

I wake up with a strange feeling.

Something is wrong.

I slowly open my eyes and stare at the unfamiliar ceiling above me.

For a few seconds, I don't move.

I don't even breathe properly.

Where am I?

I sit up slowly and look around.

The room is huge.

Far too huge to be mine.

The curtains are long and elegant, the furniture looks expensive, and everything around me looks like it belongs in some kind of royal palace.

I look down at myself.

A long dress covers my body.

I freeze.

“What?”

I touch the fabric.

This isn't my clothes.

None of this is mine.

I quickly get out of bed and rush towards the mirror.

The moment I see my reflection, I stop.

A woman is staring back at me.

She has long dark hair, sharp features and a face that looks strangely familiar.

I touch my face.

The woman in the mirror does the same.

My heart starts beating faster.

“No”

I step back.

“No, no, no.”

I know this face.

I have seen this face before.

But that shouldn't be possible.

I was just reading a novel.

I remember sitting there with my book.

I remember turning the pages.

I remember reading about a woman everyone hated.

A woman who was arrogant, cruel and obsessed with the Crown Prince.

A woman who eventually lost everything.

A woman who died.

I stare at the mirror again.

My stomach twists.

“Selene

The name leaves my mouth before I can stop it.

My name is Selene.

But not my Selene.

The Selene from the novel.

The villainess.

I turn away from the mirror and begin pacing around the room.

“This isn't happening.”

Maybe I'm dreaming.

Maybe I fell asleep while reading.

Maybe I'll wake up soon.

I close my eyes tightly.

Then open them.

Nothing changes.

I pinch my arm.

“Ouch!”

I stare at my arm.

That hurt.

“This is real.”

My breathing becomes faster.

I don't know how this happened.

I don't know why I'm here.

But one thing is becoming painfully clear.

I have somehow entered the novel.

And I'm not the heroine.

I'm the woman who was supposed to die.

A knock suddenly comes from the door.

I freeze.

“Lady Selene?”

I look towards the door.

A woman's voice.

“Lady Selene, you need to get ready. The royal gathering will begin soon.”

Royal gathering?

My heart drops.

I know what this means.

The annual royal gathering.

The most important gathering of the year.

The exact gathering where the original Selene's life begins to fall apart.

I swallow.

“How much time do I have?”

There is silence outside.

“Lady Selene?”

I don't answer.

I start remembering.

The novel.

The scenes.

The characters.

The Crown Prince.

Kael Arvantis.

My supposed fiancé.

The man who hated Selene more than anyone.

And then I remember the ending.

My ending.

I die six months from now.

My hands begin shaking.

“No.”

I shake my head.

“No, I am not dying.”

I refuse to accept it.

I have just woken up in another world, and somehow I am already on a countdown.

Six months.

That's all I have.

Unless I change the story.

I quickly get dressed with the help of the servants.

I barely listen to what they say.

My mind is too busy.

I need to remember everything.

Who betrayed Selene?

Who killed her?

What happened before her death?

But the more I try to remember, the more confused I become.

There are gaps.

Important ones.

I remember the novel, but some parts of Selene's life don't make sense.

Especially her relationship with Kael.

I remember that she was obsessed with him.

I remember her constantly trying to get his attention.

But there is something I can't remember.

Why was she engaged to him?

I frown.

That wasn't supposed to be important in the novel.

At least, not the version I remember.

A servant opens the door.

“Lady Selene, we must leave.”

I nod.

I have no choice.

I follow them out.

As I walk through the palace corridors, everything feels unreal.

People bow when I pass.

Nobles whisper.

Some stare at me with disgust.

Others simply look away.

So this is what it feels like to be the most hated woman in the kingdom.

I lower my eyes.

Not because I'm afraid of them.

Because I'm trying to think.

I need a plan.

If the original Selene dies in six months, then I have six months to prevent it.

I don't care what I have to do.

I will not follow the story.

I will not become the woman they expect me to be.

And most importantly,

I will not die.

The doors to the royal gathering open.

I step inside.

Immediately, hundreds of eyes turn towards me.

My stomach twists.

Everyone is dressed beautifully.

Nobles from every powerful family are gathered together.

The atmosphere is elegant, but I can feel the tension underneath it.

Then I see him.

Crown Prince Kael.

He stands near the centre of the gathering, surrounded by important nobles.

He is tall.

Cold.

Commanding.

The kind of man who doesn't need to raise his voice for everyone to listen.

His eyes move across the room.

Then they land on me.

His expression changes.

Not surprise.

Not curiosity.

Disdain.

Pure disdain.

I stare at him.

So this is Kael.

The man the original Selene loved enough to destroy herself for.

He looks at me as though my existence irritates him.

Then he speaks.

“Why is she here?”

The room becomes quiet.

My face burns.

A few nobles exchange amused looks.

Someone whispers something behind me.

I don't need to hear it.

I already know.

This is exactly how the story began.

Kael looks directly at me.

“Did no one tell her she wasn't wanted here?”

A few people laugh quietly.

My fingers curl into my dress.

The original Selene would have cried.

She would have begged.

She would have tried to prove herself to him.

But I am not the original Selene.

I take a slow breath.

I look straight at him.

And something inside my head suddenly clicks.

The memories come rushing back.

The royal gathering.

The Crown Prince.

The engagement.

The betrayals.

The execution.

My death.

I stumble backwards.

My breathing becomes difficult.

No.

No, no, no.

I know this story.

I know what happens to her.

I know what happens to me.

I am Selene Vale.

The villainess.

The woman everyone hates.

The woman destined to lose everything.

And six months from now...

I am supposed to die.

I stare at Kael.

He is still looking at me with that same cold expression.

But this time, I don't feel like crying.

I feel angry.

If this world expects me to follow the story,

then it has chosen the wrong woman.

Because I have already read my ending.

And I refuse to let it happen.

I have six months to change my fate.