Thought It Was ‘The End’, Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 204

“I didn’t plan on pretending to be dead in front of you. I wanted to deal with it while you were far away.”

“In the novel, was I such a bastard that I’d ignore my dying fiancée? That’s an unbearable type of guy.”

Hearing the disdain in Shane’s voice, Adeline realized her attempt to explain the novel had failed and shifted the subject.

“After that, as you know, I was found alive and brought back to you.”

“And you’re still with me now.”

Shane tightened his arms around her. It was slightly suffocating, but the pressure oddly made her feel secure, which she didn’t mind.

“When I came back, everything was completely different from the future I thought I knew. For example, Genevieve married someone she had never even met, and you—you completely lost it and resorted to kidnapping and confinement. I couldn’t figure out what genre this world had turned into.”

“Haha.”

The man responsible for turning a lighthearted romantic fantasy into a crime thriller laughed. Irritated, Adeline playfully bit his chin, though not hard enough to hurt.

“Don’t laugh. I was serious. I didn’t understand what was happening, and I was anxious about when the nightmares might start again. I even wondered if things were messed up because I didn’t die properly, and whether that meant I had to die this time.”

“No one can kill you. I won’t let that happen.”

“Sure, now I know that. But back then, I thought you hated me. And on top of that, the story had a villain—a proper antagonist who tormented the protagonists—but they hadn’t shown up. If that villain was still alive somewhere, how could I just ignore it?”

“……”

Shane’s silence conveyed his disagreement. His blue eyes held a cold detachment, as if he truly couldn’t understand why she couldn’t just ignore the villain.

“Then Genevieve was attacked, and they said the perpetrator was caught. That gave me some hope—that maybe, just as the story’s events had changed, so had the villain’s ending. Maybe they were gone for good. I just wanted to believe that.”

As Adeline explained, Shane began to understand her actions.

From the young Adeline who seemed to know their future to the Adeline who, upon reuniting, seemed shattered by the destruction of her imagined reality—it all made sense now.

“If the nightmares hadn’t started again, I would’ve told you everything when the culprit was caught.”

“……”

“I’ve died dozens, hundreds of times in those dreams. Sometimes you killed me. Other times, it was Lloyd, His Highness Edwin, sometimes Genevieve, or even Jeff or Patrick, looking down at me as I lay dying…”

“That’s enough.”

Shane brushed her hair aside and kissed her smooth forehead.

His kiss lingered, long and deliberate, as though to erase her words. Then, as if marking each spot, he kissed her eyes, the bridge of her nose, the corners of her lips, and the line of her jaw.

“I’m sorry, Shane.”

She hoped her voice, her words, and her expression conveyed her sincerity.

“It’s not a lie. I’ve always liked you. I wanted you to be happy. I didn’t want you to lose the happiness you could have had because of me. I know it’s only natural for you to doubt me. That’s why I couldn’t tell you. I was afraid even saying I liked you would be dismissed as a lie…”

“Even if it were a lie, I would’ve believed you.”

“It’s not a lie!”

Was this how Pinocchio or the boy who cried wolf must have felt? Adeline, filled with frustration, protested.

Shane chuckled.

“What I mean, Adeline, is that even if you were lying and told me you liked me, I wouldn’t have been able to help but believe it.”

And that lie would’ve become his truth.

She didn’t seem to realize that anything she gave him—even pity or lies—would become love for him.

Even hatred and anger.

As long as it came from her, even if it wasn’t real, it could become love.

Adeline grabbed his collar, exasperated.

“I’m serious. I really liked you. I’ve always liked you.”

Her voice trembled with emotion, as if she had been deeply wronged.

“Fine, I believe you. I love you, too.”

“…I said I liked you, not that I loved you.”

“Now that’s the lie.”

Shane spoke confidently, grinning as he said,

“You already love me, Adeline.”

It was clear he was determined to make her love him if she didn’t already.

Before she could respond, Shane leaned in and caught her lower lip, tugging it gently.

His lips were warm and soft, making her chest tighten. As if to quench his growing thirst, Shane ran his tongue over his lips and let his hand glide down to the curve of her waist.

“As long as you didn’t run away because you hated me, that’s all I need.”

“Well… I did hate you a little. You kept clinging to me, breaking down my resolve…”

Shane smirked, lowering his hand from her waist to grip her delicate ankle.

“I told you, don’t say things that’ll hurt me.”

Then, without warning, he bit the inside of her ankle.

“Take it back.”

“Wait! I’ll take it back! I’ll take it back!”

It was only when Adeline noticed her skirt had ridden up to her thighs that she shouted in panic.

Shane, who had lightly nibbled her ankle and kissed the spot, grinned mischievously at her flushed face.

“Too late.”