"Forgive me, Lady Adaline."
“No, no need to apologize. And your husband...he shouldn’t die.”
Adaline couldn't figure out where things had gone wrong. [The main character married some knight, and the main character...]
[The real villain of the universe?]
[When Adaline left Delmez, everything went as planned in the book. There was a special connection between Shane and Genevieve back then, and the Crown Prince seemed fascinated by her. Everyone around admired Genevieve.]
[Except that she had to die first - everything else developed as it should.]
“At least you won't stay here long. I will try to talk to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Where are we anyway?”
“In one of His Lordship’s hideouts. I'm afraid I can't say more."
"..."
"He...at least he won't do anything too terrible to you."
Genevieve's voice clearly lacked confidence.
[Isn't kidnapping and holding considered terrible?]
For Adalyn, this was already too much.
In response to her silent look, Genevieve reluctantly added:
“Probably...”
[No, please, not like that...]
---[Adaline read everything when it came to romance novels. But she still had preferences. She loved light, warm stories. She also liked serious, epic stories, but not those where the heroine is locked up, tortured and forced to suffer. Dark romance is not for her.]
[Life is already hard, why suffer more while reading?]
[Although, of course...that doesn't mean she didn't read them. She scolded the authors for managing to turn suffering into pleasure, and still eagerly devoured the chapters one after another.]
[But still, this was not her favorite genre. Because the best thing in life is happiness.]
[Oh, I ended up in a story about imprisonment and madness?]
[How absurd. She has avoided such subjects so many times, and all in vain.]
[I apologize to all these vanilla novels...Please give me back my genre...]
“Adaline, ah...”
"..."
[Ah, you, return to the role of the hero, you are not a villain...]
Adaline cast a silent, withering look at Shane.
Genevieve left after changing Adaline into her lounge clothes. [The very concept of “lounge clothes” in a kidnapping situation sounded strange, but it was awkward to refuse Genevieve’s care. Adaline refused to swim, so at least she changed her clothes without a scandal.]
[After her, as if on schedule, Shane entered the room with steaming food. Adaline thought that he had gone to solve some important matters. And he...was just preparing dinner for her.]
"Ahh."
"I'm not hungry."
"Can't be. You haven't eaten anything all day."
“I said I wasn’t hungry. I don’t want to eat in this place.”
“Do you want me to force feed you?”
“Just let me go! I won’t touch anything while I’m here!”
Shane didn't answer. Adaline flushed:
“What, are you going to keep me here, fatten me up like a pet?!”
“...This is not a bad idea, actually.”
He looked at her regretfully, as if he was really considering it, but knew he couldn't.
"Locking you here and making you dependent on me...maybe there's something to it."
“When did you become such a pervert?”
Adaline winced.
“Are you serious right now?”
“Who knows.”
He sat down on a chair and again brought the spoon of soup to her lips. It was clear that he would not retreat until she had eaten. Adalyn sighed resignedly.
[Even in this darkness, you're still damn handsome, idiot...]
[Despite the oppressive environment, Shane Blanchard remained the epitome of charm. A little thinner, with sharp features, a look as cold as ice, and yet, the same Shane.]
[He once approached her like a puppy, doing stupid things just to make her laugh. He didn't belong to her, and she tried to keep him away from her heart. He begged to be told where he was wrong, he was ready to change for her sake.]
And even though she broke his heart, she sincerely wished him happiness.
Even though he seemed like a stranger now, it was still Shane Blanchard.
Softening her voice, she said:
"Shane..."
He didn’t answer, but his eyebrows twitched slightly.
[He even uses his eyebrows all the time, like the main character.]
Adaline said quietly:
“What should I do now?”