The Villain's Life Is Now Mine

The Prince's Behavior

The walls of the estate had never felt so confining. The gardens were lush, the halls polished, and every corner of the estate whispered wealth and grace. Yet to Raven, it felt like a prison. A gilded cage, where truth fitted out just of reach, cloaked in shadows and silenced by fear.

She stood by the sunlit windows of the west wing, watching the servants bustle below. Her bruises were fading, but the ache in her chest only deepened. The crown prince. The obsession she couldn't remember. And now, the silence. Not just from him, but from everyone. She turned as her maid, Marin stepped into the room carrying a silver tray with tea and a small stack of letters. Raven waved off the tea. "Sit."

"M-milady?" Marin blinked.

"I said sit." With great hesitation, Marin perched on the edge of the nearby armchair. She looked like she expected to be yelled at. "I need to ask you something," Raven said gently, "and I want an honest answer."

Marin swallowed. "Yes, lady Raven."

"The crown prince. What do you know about him? About us?"

"I... I know you were engaged," she whispered. "Everyone knew."

"Did I seem in love with him?"

Marin didn't answer right away. Her eyes darted to the door.

"Marin."

"You... you used to talk about him constantly," she said in a small voice. "Even when he didn't respond to your letters. Even when he ignored you at banquets. You were always... Chasing him."

Raven's chest tightened. "And how did he treat me?"

"Colder than snow," Marin said, lowering her gaze.

Raven blinked. "Then why-'"

"I don't know!" Marin burst out suddenly, her voice trembling. "Everyone was afraid to ask. You got so angry whenever anyone spoke badly of him. You used to fire people who questioned it. Or worse..."

Raven flinched. "Did I hurt anyone?"

"You never struck us," Marin said, eyes wide. "But you had power. Influence. You'd spread rumors, sabotage futures. You were feared, Milady." Raven turned away, staring out the window again. Her hands clenched at her sides. She didn't know that version of Raven. But the world remembered her all too well.

Moments later, a knock came at the door. Her father entered without waiting for permission, clutching a rolled parchment sealed with the royal emblem. He looked grim. "Is that from the court? she asked, voice flat. He nodded and handed it to her. She cracked the wax seal and unrolled the letter with steady fingers.

She barely made it to the second line before the paper started trembling.

|The engagement will not be annulled. By royal decree, His Highness Crown Prince Temir Windsor, will proceed with the union to Lady Raven Thorne as planned. |

Her stomach twisted. "They refused," she said, looking up.

"Duke Thorne rubbed a hand over his face. "No reason given. No formal healing. Just refusal."

"Does he even want to marry me?" Raven whispered.

Her father hesitated again. "I don't think it's about want."

She narrowed her eyes. "Then what?"

He looked uncomfortable. "There are... disturbing rumors."

"What kind?"

"Servants who worked at the royal palace have come forward, quietly. The prince has been volatile lately. Especially towards the staff."

Raven's heart begun to pound. "What does that mean?"

"Three maids have been dismissed with injuries," he said softly. "Each one of them looked like you. Black hair. Pale skin. Blue eyes." Raven went cold. "It's as if..." Her father trailed off. "He's haunted."

Haunted. By her. Raven gripped the back of a chair to steady herself. "Why would he want to marry someone he's punishing others for resembling?"

"I don't know," he said. "But whatever it is. It isn't love."

Raven sat down slowly. Her mind raced with the fragments she'd gathered. The obsession, the accident. the prince's silence, and now... this violence. She didn't remember him. but she could feel it now, the weight of a story she'd fallen into halfway through. One she hadn't written but was now trapped inside.

A phantom girl had loved that prince. And maybe she had destroyed herself for it. But Raven, this Raven, would not be the same.