The Villianess's Redemption (HYUNJIN ff) ✓

10.Shadows of Fate

Chapter 10: Shadows of Fate
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Y/N's POV

The ballroom, once filled with the sounds of laughter and celebration, had descended into chaos. Guests, dressed in their finest attire, were now panicked and confused, their faces pale with fear as they watched Eliza being rushed out of the room. The sight of her, so vibrant and full of life just moments before, now lying unconscious and gasping for breath, was more than I could bear.

I stumbled through the crowd, my mind reeling. How had it come to this? Despite everything I’d done, despite all my efforts to change the course of the story, the plot was still unfolding just as it had in the original novel. It was as if the story had a life of its own, forcing us all to play out our roles regardless of our intentions.

“Eliza!” I called out, my voice trembling with fear and guilt. Seungmin and Hyunjin were already by her side, their faces etched with worry as they tried to stabilize her. Seungmin was giving rapid orders to the staff, instructing them to fetch the best doctors immediately. Hyunjin’s hands were shaking as he held Eliza’s limp hand, his eyes filled with a mix of devastation and helplessness.

“Why isn’t she waking up?” Hyunjin muttered under his breath, his voice thick with anguish. “She needs to wake up...”

I wanted to comfort him, to tell him that everything would be okay, but the words caught in my throat. How could I reassure him when I wasn’t even sure myself? The scene before me was too familiar—Eliza collapsing, the panic, the desperation—it was all happening exactly as it had in the novel. I had tried so hard to change things, to save her from this fate, but nothing I did seemed to matter.

“Hyunjin, we need to stay focused,” Seungmin said, his voice strained but firm. “She needs help right now, and we can’t afford to lose our heads.”

Hyunjin nodded, though his hands still shook as he released Eliza’s hand and stood up. “We need to find out what caused this,” he said, his voice hardening with determination. “Someone did this to her.”

I glanced down at the perfume bottle still lying on the floor, the cap unscrewed and the contents spilled. A chill ran down my spine as I remembered the scene from the novel where Isabella had been responsible for this very incident. The guilt gnawed at me, even though I knew I hadn’t done anything. The story was forcing itself back on track, and I felt powerless to stop it.

“We’ll find out who did this,” I promised, my voice barely above a whisper. “We have to.”

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Hyunjin's POV

Eliza’s unconscious face was a sight I would never forget. The image was burned into my mind, fueling a fire of rage and helplessness within me. I had promised to protect her, to keep her safe from harm, yet here she was, fighting for her life because I had failed.

As Seungmin and the staff moved Eliza to a nearby room, I forced myself to think clearly. There had to be a reason for this, a cause that we could trace back to someone who had deliberately harmed her. I needed to focus on that, to find the person responsible and make sure they paid for what they had done.

“Isabella,” I called out as I approached her, my voice steadier than I felt. “We need to question the guests, find out if anyone saw who left that bottle.”

She nodded, though her eyes were filled with a deep sadness that mirrored my own. “I agree. We can’t let this happen again.”

The three of us—Isabella, Seungmin, and I—began questioning the guests, trying to piece together what had happened. But no one seemed to have seen anything out of the ordinary. The guests we spoke to were either too caught up in their own conversations or had left the gift table long before the incident occurred.