I walked as quietly and quickly as I could through the marble hallway, heels clicking despite my efforts to sneak like a cat burglar.
What were they whispering about back there?
"The real heir might've gone missing…"
That wasn't in the novel. At least, not in Reborn of the Vicious Heiress. No mention of lost heirs, secret rivalries between three families, or—wait—a missing person?
Something about that phrase gave me chills.
Was the story changing… or was it never quite what I thought it was?
I shook my head and reached for the glass doors to the garden—when suddenly, the entire room froze.
Well… I froze. Everyone else gasped.
The man who walked into the gala looked like he'd stepped off a drama poster: tall, cold expression, sharp jawline, and eyes that could slice glass. He was wearing a custom black tux, his every movement radiating the effortless confidence of someone used to being the center of gravity.
And he was walking straight toward me.
The Male Lead.
Huo Yichen.
CEO. Young master. Ruthless. Dangerous. Romantic psychopath in disguise.
I panicked and turned away, pretending to study a flower arrangement.
If I don't look at him, he won't look at me.If I become one with the wallpaper, he won't see me.Blend, Xinya. Blend!
I heard footsteps behind me. I held my breath.
"Found you," a cold voice said softly.
Nope. Nope, nope, nope.
I turned around, giving him my best polite-smile-meets-total-indifference look. "I'm sorry. Were you… looking for someone?"
He stared at me, those icy eyes narrowing. "Don't play games, Suna."
My soul left my body for a second. Did he just call me Suna?!
"Uh—no. I'm not Suna. I think you're mistaken."
He looked stunned for the briefest moment, like I'd slapped him across the face.
"…What?"
"I'm Xiao Xinya," I said, trying not to sound like I was shaking in my fancy heels. "I'm a friend. Acquaintance. Or actually, we've never met. So… goodbye."
I tried to walk away.
He caught my wrist. "Stop. Why are you pretending you don't know me?"
Okay, he's officially insane. This man was supposed to be possessive of Li Suna, not me!
"I'm not pretending anything," I said, trying to pull away. "You clearly have the wrong person—"
"What happened to you?" he interrupted, his voice low, almost… vulnerable. "Just last week, you said you'd never leave me again."
I stared at him.
'Wait… last week?'
That couldn't be right. Suna and Huo Yichen weren't supposed to be romantically involved yet. In the novel, they didn't even meet until Chapter 15!
So how—
"Wait," I said out loud. "What chapter am I in?!"
Huo Yichen blinked. "What?"
"Never mind," I muttered, yanking my arm free. "I need a drink. And possibly therapy."
I walked away again, this time managing to escape his laser-focused gaze.
My heart was pounding. Something was seriously wrong.
This isn't the novel I read.
Or maybe… I entered a version of the novel that already started to go off track before I arrived?
Back inside, I found Li Suna chatting politely with a small group of elites. She noticed me and waved, motioning for me to join her.
I hesitated. Was I supposed to be close to her? Could I afford to be?
Before I could decide, she excused herself and walked over.
"I wanted to thank you again for earlier," she said, her voice warm and open. "You handled it gracefully."
"The spilled drink?" I laughed nervously. "I've had worse."
"I'd like to get to know you better," she said. "Honestly, I thought you'd be… different. Cold. But you're not like they say."
I smiled faintly. "I'm starting to think… I'm not like I used to be at all."
She tilted her head at that, curious but not pressing.
Then she said, "Do you want to get some air?"
We walked together through the terrace, the moonlight draping everything in soft silver. It felt surreal.
Me, walking beside the protagonist of a story I once adored.
And yet, something in her eyes looked… tired. Like she was carrying more than just plot armor.
"Suna," I asked suddenly, "do you ever feel like… things aren't going the way they're supposed to?"
She turned to me slowly, thoughtful. "All the time."
Before I could say anything else, a voice echoed from inside the garden entrance.
"Suna. You can't escape from me."
Huo Yichen.
He was back.
Suna tensed beside me.
I stepped forward instinctively. "You're not supposed to be here."
He stared at me, eyes hard. "And you're not supposed to exist."
My blood ran cold.