ODETTE/OPHELIA'S POV
My gaze lingers over the London skyline at night, unfocused and hollow. The penthouse is silent except for the crackle of the fireplace and the soft ripple of water from the pool.
Kayros left hours ago. Five guards stand outside the main door; twenty more patrol the building. His hoodie hangs loosely on me, soft against my skin, but it feels like a cage now.
I keep replaying the past few days, my finger tracing the rim of my coffee mug absently.
Exactly one hundred days ago, I woke up in this world. Eyes of Glacier, a bestselling novel, followed three main characters: Kayros Nathaniel, Jessica Black, and Ophelia Blackwood. The main story was supposed to start three years from now. I've already changed so much.
I underestimated the risks. Let my emotions take the front seat. That was my mistake.
My relationship with Raphael Blackwood is different from Ophelia's.
Rhys and Ivy are still side characters, holding little real weight.
Czar is Kayros's best friend—I'm not close to him.
Alexander remains a mystery, even in the novel.
Timofey Dimitri never appeared in the book but influences Vincent.
Vincent is an insignificant pawn.
Elosia… I haven't even spoken to her.
Blake Nathaniel is the overpowered, sly, and dangerous force in this world.
Thomas was Ophelia's right-hand man, but we aren't close yet.
Jessica appeared too early, and after our first encounter, it's clear we'll never be friends.
The Medicis aren't my enemies this time, thankfully.
And then there's Kayros.
I sigh, my shoulders heavy with a weight I haven't admitted aloud.
I've been emotionally manipulating him. My tears were half-true, but mostly exaggerated vulnerability—a calculated performance. My refusal to return to the Blackwood mansion wasn't really about fear. I'm not scared of being kidnapped again. I was born and raised in danger and misery.
If I went back, the marriage would be delayed by external factors. I need to marry Kayros as soon as possible to gain access to the Nathaniel family and Black Wolf. Because the real enemies—the masterminds behind Vincent—are still unknown to me. And I don't want to die.
Not now. Not yet. Never again at the hands of another person.
My expression hardens. I can still feel the echoes of my past life—the whip against my skin, the burn of cigarettes, the freezing water. I spent seventeen years being abused, tortured, treated like livestock. Not human.
I glance at the clock. 10 PM.
It would be a lie to say I'm not waiting for Kayros. After everything—how he saved me, held me, kissed me, promised to protect me—something inside me cracked open. Softly. Tenderly.
I still remember the different ending of Eyes of Glacier that I read in the Medici library. Maybe it was a dream. Maybe it was more.
I feel nervous, excited. I keep waiting. My lips twitch into a smile I quickly suppress.
But as the night grows colder and darker, the stars blinking silently above, Kayros doesn't return.
My chest feels heavy. I try to shake it off. He's busy. He promised he'd be back.
I repeat it in my mind, again and again.
Four more nights pass like this. Just… waiting.
Guards bring me clothes. A chef prepares meals. Maids clean in silence.
I try to act normal. But I'm not.
---
On the fifth night, I get the guard who's been hovering around me—Lev, a tall, muscular Italian who's been with Kayros for twenty years—drunk.
I laugh and talk with him as if I'm not planning to get him to spill Kayros's secrets.
By the tenth drink, Lev is swaying in his seat, slurring his words.
"Where's my fiancé, Leeevv?" I whine dramatically, playing the part of a lovesick fool.
Lev laughs, sloshing his vodka. "Young Boss is busy, Madam!"
"But where is he?" I pout. "I miss him. He said we'd get married in two weeks, but I've been locked in this penthouse for four nights."
Lev shakes his head, laughing harder. "Marriage in two weeks? Young Boss isn't marrying you, Madam!"
The world freezes.
Lev gulps another glass. "There's massive trouble within the gang. Things with government officials aren't good. Young Boss was called to the family house to smooth things over with the Dimitris…"
No. No, no, no.
Lev slurs on, oblivious. "The engagement between you and Young Boss has been nullified. Talks are happening for a marriage between him and Timofey Dimitri's adopted daughter."
Sometimes in life, you're faced with a moment where you don't know how to react.
Everything around me goes silent. Lev keeps rambling. I remain perfectly still.
"You're being kept here as a hostage," he mumbles. "Because of you, Young Boss attacked the Dimitris. They say unless he hands you over, it'll be a gang war. Boss says we can't afford that right now—not after the consigliere Julius died."
My hands go cold. My eyes burn from not blinking. My lungs feel like they're collapsing.
I don't know how I stand up. How my feet carry me to the pool. The echo of betrayal is deafening.
I trusted him.
A choked, broken sound escapes my throat. Winter air bites my skin. My knees give out.
I don't cry. No tears. No screaming.
Just a silent, animalistic scream in my head.
Kayros Nathaniel betrayed me.
Over and over.
My reflection in the water mocks me. What made you think you could trust anyone, Odette? You've never been protected. Stupid Odette. Delusional Odette.
I laugh under the wide, dark sky. The stars stare down as my heart bleeds invisibly.
My laughter carries the weight of two lifetimes of pain, abandonment, betrayal, and loneliness.
It feels like my body has finally given up. I lie at the edge of the pool, my laughter dying into a gut-twisting, silent scream.
Muscles ache. My throat burns as if I've been strangled and drowned.
"Why…" I whisper, broken. "Whyyyyyy!"
I slam my fist against the edge of the pool until my skin splits and blood drips—hot, metallic, mocking.
I sob hard, my tears hot and humiliating. What have I done?
"I trusted you, Kayros," I whisper to no one. "I really trusted you."
I close my eyes, letting tears stream down. My head feels heavy.
He broke our engagement after promising to marry me in two weeks. He left me, saying he was protecting me, while all along I was being kept as a hostage.
Like a fool, I was planning how to protect him—protect us—from the real enemies. All of it was wasted.
The man I wanted to protect… betrayed me.
I grit my teeth until they ache. My eyes burn with a rage I've never felt before.
I know myself. I could have forgiven anything. But betrayal?
No. I will never forgive it.
My blood boils. The softness in my heart hardens into something cold and unyielding. The memories of Kayros turn from something I thought I'd cherish into a curse.
I stand up, the ache in my chest igniting something I've tried so hard to keep buried.
My fingers dig into my palms, pain keeping me grounded, alive.
I will ruin everything.
Now, everything will burn in the fire of my vengeance. Be it the Dimitris or the Nathaniel family. Be it the hidden masterminds or the enemies in plain sight.
Enough of hoping for a happy ending.
Villains don't get happy endings. We burn the world with us.
Kayros Nathaniel… I trusted you. I wanted to save you. I wanted to be with you.
But you were the first to stab me in the back. So I won't hold back from being the monster I was raised to be.
I look back at the penthouse with red-rimmed eyes. This place is full of Kayros's mother's memories—pictures, clothes, accessories. The only place he considers home.
My lips curl into a twisted smile. I let my blood trail behind me as I walk inside.
The guards are drunk. Lev is passed out.
I hum softly, my skin warming with a cold, strategic fury.
There's something special about revenge. It's always hilarious how often it burns everything.
I take Lev's phone and access the CCTV feeds. As expected, there are no cameras inside the penthouse—only outside.
Twenty guards on each floor. Not just the twenty I thought—one hundred people.
I dial Raphael Nathaniel's number using Lev's phone.
Three rings. His voice cuts through the silence. "Hello."
"It's me."
Raphael goes quiet for two seconds before inhaling sharply, like a drowning man breaking the surface. "Ophelia." His voice is rough with emotion.
I blink blankly. "Kayros broke the engagement?"
He grits his teeth, anger palpable. "He did. Talks of a marriage between him and Timofey's adopted daughter are causing a buzz."
A low, rough laugh escapes me. So it's true.
"Where the fuck are you, Ophelia? I've been searching for you!"
Surprisingly, he sounds tired. Worried. Heavy.
I smirk. Good. He cares. I need him to care, because I'm about to start something that will require his resources—his support.
"Ophelia. Who took you?" he growls.
"The Medicis took me for Sarah. Kayros got me back, but it turns out I'm a hostage in negotiations between the Nathaniel and Dimitri families."
Something shatters on the other end.
Yes. Be angry, Daddy. Be angry enough that I can use you.
"Daddy…" My voice softens, laced with calculated vulnerability. "I need help."
"Ask for anything, Ophelia." His whisper is dangerous. "You're my daughter. No one touches you. Not even the heir of the biggest gang in the underworld."
My eyes widen. A chill runs down my spine. This… wasn't what I expected. But it works in my favor.
"Track this phone's location. Help me escape."
"I can blow up the entire city if you want."
It's oddly tempting, and I know he's serious.
I shake my head. "No need. I have something else in mind." My gaze sweeps the penthouse, a cruel smile touching my lips.
"What?"
"Burn the last remnants of Kayros's mother, Angelina Karzen Nathaniel. In twenty minutes, send Thomas and his team. Tell them to use the emergency gate the moment the fire alarm goes off."
For a moment, Raphael says nothing. I expect him to stop me.
Instead, he laughs—rough, cold, psychotic.
"You… you really are my daughter, aren't you? Here I thought you'd be crying. Not taking revenge."
I roll my eyes. "That's not a compliment, Daddy."
He doesn't correct me. "Thomas will be there in ten minutes. Do not step back once you ignite the fire, Ophelia."
I know what he means.
And I know this, too: to survive, to get my revenge…
I will do anything.