Everything had been going according to her plan. If only Jules had died, she could have had everything she ever dread of. Now, all of it was ruined.
Just as she was drowning in her vicious thoughts, soone tapped her shoulder lightly.
She turned around, and her breath caught.
Lucas stood there.
He was strikingly handso, his fair skin glowing softly under the café lights, his neatly styled black hair framing his sharp features.
For a fleeting mont, Maya’s heart skipped a beat, and she felt a dizzy sensation, as if she had fallen in love all over again.
But the expression on his face was not warm or charming. His eyes were cold, edged with unmistakable disgust.
"If you keep thinking about ways to harm Jules," Lucas said calmly, his voice steady and lethal, "I’ll make sure you don’t have a place left in this industry."
Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving Maya standing there, her chest tight, the echo of his warning ringing painfully in her ears.
Maya stood rooted to the spot, utterly stunned.
’Who is he?’ Her mind spiraled. ’A director? Or so young master from a wealthy family?’
When she recalled his clothes, the clean tailoring, the effortless elegance, it was obvious that he did not belong to any ordinary background. Yet what she could not understand was why he, too, stood on Jules’ side.
Hatred surged violently in her chest as she thought about that handso man.
In truth, she had never even seen Jules’ current boyfriend before.
She did not have that kind of reach. All she knew was his na.
Earlier, she had only thrown that na out to threaten Jules.
If she had bothered to investigate properly, she would have realized that the very Lucas she used as a warning was the sa man who had just brushed past her without a second glance.
But right now, jealousy drowned out reason. There was only one thought echoing endlessly in her head. ’Jules must die.’
As long as Jules was gone, there was a high chance she could draw the attention of that man.
Even though her current boyfriend was rich and famous, he was painfully average to her eyes.
He was not handso at all, and that faint beard on his face disgusted her every ti she looked at him.
In comparison, the man who had just warned her was flawless. Handso. Fit. Commanding. It felt obvious to her that if she could get together with him, she would never have to worry about anything again.
’I’ll get all his information later,’ she decided silently. ’For now, I need to find a way to distract Nick.’
anwhile, far away from that chaos, Theodore let out a helpless sigh as he stared at the woman standing at his shootind location.
Eleanor.
Just seeing her made a dull ache form in his temples.
Ever since he discovered that she had gone as far as faking even sothing as trivial as making cookies, he no longer wanted anything to do with her.
Even her so-called sincerity had been false from the very beginning. He truly did not want to see her ever again.
And yet, here she was, persistently following him, refusing to give up, slowly driving him toward a headache.
At first, he had believed he would reject her decisively. But as ti passed, he realized how weak-hearted he truly was. He could not even bring himself to outright refuse her.
Taking a deep breath, Theodore looked at Eleanor seriously, forcing his voice to remain steady.
"I don’t have any feelings for you anymore," he said firmly. "It would be better for you to leave."
Eleanor, however, had dressed herself carefully today. Her makeup was delicate, her clothes chosen to perfection.
The mont she heard Theodore’s words, tears welled up in her eyes, making her look fragile and pitiful, heartbreakingly beautiful. Instantly, the n around them felt an instinctive urge to protect her, and several of them cast faintly disapproving glances toward Theodore.
Theodore ignored them all.
He rembered clearly how shattered he had been in the past, how deeply her actions had wounded him.
He had long since decided that he would only give his affection to soone truly worthy of it. As that thought settled in his mind, his resolve hardened.
Just then, Eleanor stepped forward abruptly, closing the distance between them.
Theodore lifted his hand, intending to push her away, but his body froze when he heard her soft, trembling voice.
"I understand you’re angry," she murmured. "You think I abandoned you for a few days. But I was really admitted to the hospital. I couldn’t reach you."
A sharp pang struck Theodore’s heart. For a fleeting second, doubt crept in. But then Aurora’s voice echoed clearly in his mind, reminding him not to be soft-hearted anymore.
’She isn’t worth it,’ he told himself firmly.
Without hesitation, he pushed Eleanor away, his expression cold.
"It’s better for both of us if you leave," he said sternly. "Otherwise, I won’t be able to control my anger."
Eleanor stumbled back, tears spilling freely now.
She stared at him in disbelief.
’Since when did he beco so strict?’ she wondered in shock. Before, even when he learned about her true intentions, he had always hesitated.
But now, he stood there unmoved, as if nothing in this world could sway him anymore.
And for the first ti, Eleanor felt a faint sense of panic creeping into her heart.
She imdiately called out to the system in her mind, her heartbeat still uneven.
"System."
A familiar chanical response echoed within her consciousness.
[What happened?]
Eleonora’s fingers curled slightly, nails biting into her palm. "Theodore has suddenly turned indifferent."
There was a brief pause, followed by the system’s calm reminder.
[You are originally part of a storyline where you are hopelessly devoted to the male lead. Only after the male lead regrets his decision does he begin to chase you.]
Eleonora froze. Her pupils shrank as the words sank in. "So... does that an I have to chase Theodore first now?"
The system fell silent.
That silence was answer enough.
Eleonora felt a surge of irritation rise from her chest to her throat.
’I’m really stuck in a shitty plot,’ she thought bitterly. ’Every single ti, I have to be the one chasing first. Only after that does the so-called male lead co crawling back.’
For the first ti, the realization struck her clearly just how awful this novel truly was.
In the beginning, she had enjoyed the thrill of being the female lead, the awareness that she was special, that the male lead would chase her all the way to the cetery if needed.
Back then, it had felt exciting, intoxicating even.
Now, it just felt ridiculous.
’Why do I have to chase him first?’ she questioned angrily. ’If he truly loved , he would have chosen from the start. I wouldn’t need to chase him like a mad dog.’
Her gaze drifted back to Theodore, and hesitation crept into her heart.
’Am I really going to chase him all over again, only for him to mistreat , regret it later, and then get a so-called redemption arc?’ The thought made her chest feel heavy. She truly did not feel like doing this anymore.
As if sensing her resistance, the system spoke again.
[You will not be mistreated. You only need to win Theodore’s heart. He is not soone who would abuse or exploit you. This chase is harmless.]
Eleonora frowned.
"If Theodore is such a good person, then why isn’t he the male lead?" she demanded. "Why is he painted as a villain instead?"
The system went silent once more.
Eleonora raised an eyebrow. "Is there sothing you’re not telling ?"
After a brief pause, the system replied in an emotionless tone.
[You are a task executor. Act like one. Do not ask unnecessary questions.]
With that, the connection cut off.
Eleonora stood there, her thoughts in turmoil, staring at Theodore’s back. Then, as if driven by impulse rather than reason, she suddenly rushed forward and hugged him tightly from behind.
"I’m not leaving," she muttered stubbornly. "If you don’t agree to be with , then I’ll keep making a scene here."
Theodore stiffened, completely at a loss. There had once been a ti when he desperately needed Eleonora to spare him even a glance.
Now, she was not only looking at him but openly asking for his love. And yet, instead of feeling moved, he felt conflicted and restrained.
’I can’t throw away my dignity again,’ he thought firmly.
Just as the two of them were locked in that awkward stalemate, soone called out loudly.
"Theodore! The director is looking for you!"
Theodore reacted as if hellhounds were chasing him. He imdiately pulled away and rushed off without looking back.
Eleonora did not follow.
Instead, she walked over and sat down on a nearby bench, the cold surface seeping through her clothes. She stared blankly at the space in front of her, her mind a tangled ss.
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