Why is this different?
627 Words
The room fell quiet again after his words.
The candles flickered softly between us, shadows shifting across the walls while my thoughts tangled themselves into knots.
You look at me like you’re frightened.
Because I was.
Or at least I thought I was.
But the longer I looked at Malakai sitting beside my bed, the harder it became to connect him to the man from the final chapter.
This version of him looked exhausted.
Concerned.
Human.
That frightened me in an entirely different way.
Because if I started believing the story was wrong about him too—
Then what exactly had I reincarnated into?
Malakai stood after a moment, breaking the silence before it could suffocate me completely.
“You need rest.”
I blinked slightly, almost surprised he was leaving.
For some reason, I had expected coldness.
Distance.
Something closer to the novel.
Instead, he walked toward the bedside table and picked up the untouched glass of water waiting there before handing it to me quietly.
Our fingers brushed briefly.
Warm.
I looked away first.
“The physician said your shoulder needs a few days to heal properly,” he said. “Avoid unnecessary movement.”
I nodded slowly, holding the glass carefully in both hands.
He watched me for another second before speaking again.
“You missed the festival tonight.”
The reminder made my chest tighten unexpectedly.
Right.
The Moon Festival.
The beginning of Seraphina’s downfall.
Except somehow—
none of it happened the way it was supposed to.
I frowned slightly. “But the festival ends tonight.”
Malakai looked almost confused by the statement.
“No.”
I stared at him.
He loosened the dark gloves around his wrists slowly, silver eyes meeting mine again.
“This year’s Moon Festival lasts three days.”
My brain stopped for a second.
Three days?
No.
That wasn’t right.
In the novel, the festival only lasted one night.
I remembered it clearly because everything important happened during that single evening.
Isabella’s arrival.
The dance.
The humiliation.
The beginning of the rumors.
So why was this different?
A cold feeling settled slowly in my stomach.
The story was changing.
Or maybe—
The novel had never told the full truth to begin with.
Malakai noticed my silence immediately.
“You seem surprised.”
Because the original story lied.
The thought came dangerously close to slipping out loud.
I forced myself to shake my head lightly instead.
“I’m just tired.”
That answer, at least, wasn’t a lie.
He studied me quietly like he was trying to solve something.
Then finally nodded once.
“The main celebration continues tomorrow night. If you feel better by then, we’ll attend together.”
Together.
The word sounded strangely intimate coming from him.
Not cold duty.
Not obligation.
Something softer.
I didn’t know what to do with that.
Malakai moved toward the door after that, but paused before leaving completely.
“Sheryl will stay outside if you need anything.”
I looked up instinctively.
“Why?”
The question left my mouth before I could stop it.
He glanced back slightly.
“You nearly died tonight, Seraphina.”
His voice remained calm, but something unreadable flickered briefly across his face.
“I’d rather not repeat the experience.”
Then he left.
The door closed softly behind him.
And suddenly the room felt too quiet again.
I stared down at the glass in my hands, my thoughts spiraling faster by the second.
The festival changed.
The story changed.
Malakai changed.
Or maybe—
I was the thing changing everything just by surviving differently.
Outside the palace windows, distant lanterns still glowed beneath the night sky.
Three days.
For some reason, that terrified me more than if the festival had already ended.
- Writer
