The Hollow

Chapter 1. Awakening as the Villainess

Maxine jolted awake, her heart pounding. She found herself in an unfamiliar bedroom, lavishly decorated but with a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere. Disoriented, she looked around, trying to make sense of her surroundings. "Fuck! Where the hell I am?" It was then that the horrifying realization hit her when she came face to face with the person in the mirror - she had been reborn as Elera Winha, the much-despised villainess in a novel her best friend had loved, but which Maxine had always hated for its nonsensical plot and one-dimensional characters. "No, this can't be happening!" Maxine cried out, burying her face in her hands. She had always detested the way the original story portrayed Elera as a heartless, power-hungry schemer, when in reality the character was simply an unfortunate victim of circumstance. Maxine, now as Elera, paced back and forth in her room, her mind racing. She couldn't accept the reality that she had been reborn into a novel she had always despised. "This is a nightmare! How could this be happening to me?" Elera cried out in anguish, her voice carrying through the halls of the gloomy annex villa.

The sound of Elera's distressed screams soon reached the ears of the passing maids, who paused in their duties to listen. They exchanged scandalized glances, shocked by the audacity of the new Duchess. "Can you believe her nerve?" one maid whispered to another. "She's married to the Duke, and yet she acts as if it's a curse!" Another maid shook her head in disbelief. "It's unheard of! Most women would give anything to be in her position. What ungrateful behavior."

The maids quickly spread the word of Elera's outburst, their whispers turning into a steady stream of gossip throughout the Winha estate. They marveled at her audacity, unable to fathom why anyone would hate the opportunity to become a Duchess. "She must be mad!" one maid exclaimed. "To have such a chance and to act like that. It's simply unthinkable!" The maids clucked their tongues in disapproval, their opinions of Elera quickly souring. In their eyes, she had squandered a privilege that most could only dream of, and they had no sympathy for her distress.

Word soon reached the ears of the Duke himself, who frowned upon hearing of his new wife's ungrateful behavior."Can you believe her nerve?" one maid said to another. "She's married to the Duke, and yet she acts as if it's a curse!"Another maid shook her head in disbelief. "It's unheard of! Most women would give anything to be in her position. What an unthankful girl."

Duke Zachary Winha's brow furrowed as he listened to the maids' gossips of his wife. He had little patience for such ungratefulness, especially from a woman who had been given the privilege of becoming a Duchess."Unbelievable," Zachary muttered under his breath. He summoned a servant and ordered them to inform Elera that her allowances and provisions would be cut until she learned to appreciate her good fortune.

Despite his irritation with Elera's attitude, Zachary couldn't help but drifted to his memories of their wedding, specifically, her striking beauty. Unlike many noblewomen, Elera did not cake her face in layers of makeup or fuss over her appearance. Yet her natural loveliness shone through, captivating the Duke. Zachary found himself intrigued by this simple woman who had been thrust into a position of power but dislikes it. He resolved to keep a closer eye on his new wife.

Elera resented being forced into this marriage. The thought of being bound to Zachary filled her with distaste. As the gossip about her outburst reached her ears, Elera's dislike only grew. She seethed at the idea of being seen as ungrateful, when in truth she had never asked for this fate. Elera retreated further into herself, determined to keep her distance from both her husband and the trappings of her new life as a Duchess isolated into the abandoned annex in the estate.

Despite her initial rejection, Elera soon realized that she had no choice but to accept her new reality. Sighing heavily, she began to explore her surroundings, taking in the gloomy atmosphere of the annex villa where she was now residing, separate from the main Winha estate.