Thought It Was ‘The End’, Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 201

His expression shifted instantly as he grabbed Adeline’s arm and asked in a low, threatening tone.

“When?”

As expected, Shane had significant trauma regarding Adeline’s death.

“How? By whom?”

“……”

“Adeline. I’m not angry.”

Liar.

Starting with ‘I died’ sounded harsh and dramatic, but there was no way to tell this story without beginning with death.

Since she had already thrown the stone, Adeline decided to just say whatever came to her.

The more she tried to refine the story, the more its truth would wear thin—raw and unpolished was better.

“A long time ago. Before I was even born.”

“……”

“Shane, I’ve known you since then.”

The way she phrased it sounded surprisingly romantic.

But despite how sweet it might sound at a glance, Shane’s sharp eyes, laced with suspicion, didn’t soften at all. He remained silent, waiting, as if determined not to miss a single word, nuance, or flicker of emotion.

His serious demeanor helped Adeline cling to the grounding reality that was threatening to fade away.

“You were the protagonist of a novel in the world I once lived in. When I woke up after dying, I realized I was in the story I had read… you have no idea how shocked I was.”

“……”

“I first remembered my past life when I was very young. Back then, I had no idea this world was the same as the one from the novel I knew. Everything here was so different from my previous life—it felt new and exciting.”

At the time, she had been thrilled to be born the youngest daughter of a wealthy family, imagining she could indulge herself.

“Then one day, I realized it. You were the protagonist—the protagonist of the story I had read.”

“That day. The day you said we should break off our engagement.”

“……”

“So it was that day.”

Is he a mind reader?

Adeline looked at Shane with wide, startled eyes. How had he figured out so much from just a few words?

Shane gave a bitter smile and said,

“From that day on, you tried to leave me.”

“…I’m sorry. In the novel, you abandoned ‘Adeline’ and ended up with the female lead.”

“Keep talking.”

Shane released the wrist he had been gripping tightly, his lips curling into a crooked smile. Then he interlocked their fingers, slowly entwining them as his thumb pressed against hers, as if to secure his hold on her. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

His sharp blue eyes, which now held unmistakable possessiveness and mischief, were different from just moments ago.

Adeline suddenly realized how close they were and leaned her upper body back slightly. But given that they were already sitting side by side on a narrow sofa, there was only so much distance she could create.

“You’re going to fall over.”

“Oh, uh… okay.”

“So, who was the female lead?”

His voice, low and lingering, brushed against her ear.

“It wasn’t you, I assume.”

“Well, no… I was the villainess.”

Adeline hadn’t even noticed how close Shane had drawn until she found herself practically leaning into him.

Her legs, neatly folded beneath the flowing fabric of her dress, rested atop his muscular thighs, while his arm wrapped around her waist and shoulders.

‘We were just sitting side by side earlier… weren’t we?’

Long fingers lightly grazed the bare skin at the nape of her neck, and goosebumps rose unbidden.

Unlike the familiar, comforting touches they’d shared before, this one carried an unmistakable undertone of sensuality.

Adeline shot Shane a look filled with betrayal. For someone who had always used her as a pillow or a stuffed toy, this was unprecedented behavior.

Until now, Shane’s physical affection had been limited to occasional kisses—nothing more than a deep kiss once—and touches that conveyed either comfort or fondness.

At first, Adeline had been tense, but over time she’d grown used to it, even relying on those gestures. She had become so accustomed to his touch that being apart from him now felt odd.

‘But who knew he could do this?’

Looking at this large, muscular man, she couldn’t understand how she had never been conscious of him before—not his body heat, nor his weight, nor the unguarded desire in his sapphire-blue eyes.

When their eyes met, Shane smiled, but it wasn’t the pretty smile she had always thought it was. Now, it looked more like the smile of a predator satisfied to have its prey cornered. It wasn’t pretty at all.

“Keep talking, my love.”

“Oh, uh, okay…”

The clinging physical closeness felt like a deliberate reminder—an insistence that she focus entirely on him, without any hesitation or distraction, and recognize exactly who was in front of her.

“From what you’re saying, the female lead must’ve been the Saintess. And I was the trash who cheated on my childhood fiancée with her, wasn’t I?”

“You weren’t trash…”

Adeline tried desperately not to focus on the hand trailing over her nape and behind her ear. Between ignoring his touch and trying to speak, she was overwhelmed.

“It was an arranged marriage decided by the adults. You can’t blame the male lead for that.”