Mirror of the Past: The Villainess' True End

CHAPTER SEVEN: The Night of Severed Ties

As I stared at Keiran, my hands were curled tightly into fist, as I tried my best to process the most revolting thing I'd heard since I came to this world. A torrent of questions clouded my mind, reviving all the memories I got from the original Karina when I first woke up from this world. They never met. I am sure of that. I even saw Karina's drafts of all the characters she used, and Keiran was not a part of it. She wasn't even aware that Achilles has a twin named Keiran, and just used that name after scrolling through the web.

"Are you okay? You look pale." Keiran's soothing voice laced with worry, pierced my heart like a dagger. It felt both comforting and painfully ironic that this person who was once my other half, became someone else's twin. How could someone like him be tied to that heartless monster who took his life in my world? The sickening thought twisted my stomach, leaving me struggling with the conflict that my former world and this new world brought to my life.

Maybe everything that happened so far—the switching of souls, this world—isn't real. Perhaps I am truly dead, and this is a trial that I must endure before I can enter the afterlife.

I tried to convince myself, but the warmth of Keiran's hand, gently rubbing my back, the tightening of my chest while hyperventilating, and the worried expression of everyone in the club room, amplified the reality of it all.

My beloved twin is tied to him—the person who took his life—in this world, as if someone is playing a cruel prank on me. Or perhaps I am being punished for giving up on my life back then, for defying what ending that the original Karina wanted me to have?

My vision blurred with unshed tears before everything around me turned black, leaving only the memories of my worst nightmare—the night I lost my twin by the hands of that person—the night that extinguished the deep-rooted feelings I had for Achilles Dimitri.

--

The moon acts like a pale beacon in the starless sky, as I followed in haste behind my twin. My heart is racing wildly and my breath was caught in my throat as we made our way through the winding paths of the forest. Keiran, dressed in black with the mark of his secret guild, managed to sneak me out of the palace after Achilles locked me up in my room, together with his few trusted members from the Artisan's Den flanking us. Freedom felt so close, yet the fear of being caught clung to my skin like a chill. I wasn't scared for my own life, but for these people who convinced me to flee after our family were branded as traitor, orchestrated by my cousin and his secret lover, Lady Arabella—Achilles Dimitri's first love—planting all the evidence to frame me and my family, by trying to assassinate the king using the knights from our duchy that they planted meticulously, and at the same time make it appear that I was trying to poison Lady Arabella while having tea with me.

"Just a little further," Keiran whispered softly. Despite everything that has been happening to us, he remained calm as if he knew something that I don't. He removed his artifact, revealing his hair that is as dark as the night like mine. I could see the determination etched on his face as he guides me carefully in the dark forest, acting as my beacon of hope when I'm filled with hopelessness.

As much as I wanted to clear my name and stay in the capital until the trials ended, Keiran was right about one thing. Achilles won't save me because it involved the only woman he loves. Which is why I go with Keiran's plan of going to the North to take refuge for a while, as we planned to clear our names without compromising everyone's safety. However, I can't take off the fear as we continue maneuvering the forest, as if something foreboding was about to happen.

And I was right, when suddenly, I felt presence surrounding us in the darkness. My heart sank. "They've found us!" I hissed, panic rising in my chest, yet Keiran remained calm as he put back his earring to change his hair back to crimson red, underneath his hooded-cape.