"Another day, another fictional man making me question my life choices, not bad tho at least I got something interesting to hold unto".
Andrea flopped onto his bed, hugging his favorite pillow like it owed him rent. Sunday evenings were sacred for snacks, peace, and BL novels.
And today, he was finally opening The Crimson Throne, the book every corner of the internet couldn't shut up about.
As he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, he couldn't help but blushed at the shirtless night and mid night confession from the trio to Reniel.
He held unto his pillow as Alaric was about to kiss Reniel
"If he kisses Reniel, I will throw away my phone" Andrea said while squeezing the living hell out of his pillow.
He was joking about it cause his phone has met the same fate repeatedly in the pass couple of hours he has spent reading the novel
And yet... here he was. Grinning. Blushing.
"And why is Reniel so dense?" he asked the air, tilting his head. "They're LITERALLY trying to fight to the death over him and this man is like, 'Oh no, I just make tea in the palace.'"
Truth be told, he loved the trio's madness. The calm, deadly general Sebathine, the soft but twisted Crown Prince Alaric, and his little brother, the unpredictable Alistair who is dangerously possessive, secretly unhinged, but hot enough to get away with anything . And then Reniel, caught between them like a delicate ornament during a knife fight.
Andrea was even starting to root for the polyship. "You know what," he declared, pointing at the screen. "All three of you should marry him. Just build a castle and go feral together."
He giggled to himself, then froze as the chapter ended with a dramatic cliffhanger:
"Wait, this can't be happening!!, They didn't just kill off Reniel, he was just at the balcony"
How did it happen so soon, I didn't spend my last damn allowance money to get this kind of ending"
Andrea said sitting up as if his world was about to crumble for good.
Andrea quickly went online to know if he can get any kind of explanation to the heartbreak he just received minutes ago but he couldn't find any.
Reniel was killed, he was brutally erase from the novel.
""Oh no, no, no, no, no. Trash novel, TRASH ENDING!"
Andrea threw himself back onto his bed, hand on his forehead like a widow. "Reniel did not survive three men with daddy issues and a poisoned teacup just to fall off a BALCONY like a badly parked slipper!"
He sighed dramatically. "What a waste of time."
Andrea was burning with rage because of the unexpected turn of events in the novel.
He angrily stromed out of house without minding if it's night time.
Murmuring to himself, he said...
"That's why I like spoiler, at least I would have had heads up to what I was about to get myself involved with"
As Andrea was lamenting over the turn of event, a car was honking at him from a distance but he couldn't hear it as the car got closer thats when Andrea looked and before he could react or do anything
BOOM!!
The car run over Andrea
The only thing Andrea was able to hear was the voices of people and sounds of cars and suddenly everything went dark, everywhere fall into absolute tranquility.
****************
Darkness. Stillness. Silence.
Then... pain.
Andrea's head throbbed like a marching band was doing warm-ups inside his skull. His body ached, heavy and unfamiliar. Something cold pressed against his back, and the scent of damp earth filled his nostrils.
Groaning, he cracked one eye open to see wall adorned with paintings of Cupid and statues of Greek gods. A sweet, almost heavenly scent lingered in the air, soft and romantic, wrapping around him like a warm whisper.
"Where... am I?" Andrea muttered, pushing himself up with trembling arms from the silk clothed bed he was in .
His clothes were different , no longer his baggy hoodie and shorts, but something lighter, tighter, with golden embroidery on the waist and... was that lace?
He blinked.
"Wait. Wait wait wait. This isn't my hoodie. And this isn't my room. Did I die? no I can't die, I still have a lot to accomplish in life".
Andrea said with a trembling voice showing his fear.
Andrea was still thinking about what in the hell happened when Suddenly, a sharp but meek voice rang out behind him.
"Lord Lucian, you are finally awake"
Andrea turned to see who was speaking and saw a young man probably in his mid thirties standing beside the door with an attire which he hasn't seen in his 21 years of living.
Andrea raised his hands slowly. "Uhhh. Hi? I... think I'm lost, do you know where am I?".
"Lord Lucian, you are in your chambers, you were unconscious when I found you near the edge of the Blackthorn River. We feared you wouldn't make it."
Andrea stared at him. "Blackthorn what now?"
The servant tilted his head. "Forgive me… you must still be dazed. Do you recall your name, my lord?"
"My name is—" Andrea paused, then blinked again. "Wait… what do you mean my lord?"
The servant looked even more confused, staring at his lord he said "You are Lord Lucian, the royal tutor assigned under Lord Reniel . I was told to tend to your chambers while you recovered."
Andrea's brain glitched for a moment
"Wait, did u just said royal tutor and lord Reniel plus you said my name was Lucian right?". Andrea said
"Yes, my lord" the young servant replied.
"No. No no no," he whispered, scrambling off the bed. He nearly tripped on the long, embroidered robe he was wearing. "This isn't happening. This is cosplay with a god complex."
He rushed to the mirror, the final nail in his mental coffin was the reflection.
It wasn't his face.
Not entirely.
He looked older. Sharper. More… regal?
"What the actual hell," Andrea breathed.
"What's wrong my lord, did I say anything offensive" servant asked with a confused mind and a worried face.
"You guys gat to be kidding, I just had an accident.
How in the hell did I just entered the novel I was reading few minutes ago" Andrea said standing and looking at his facial structure in the mirror, he couldn't believe it.
Andrea stop for a while and look back at the confused servant and look back again to the curved mirror standing in front of him and muttered
"Oh, I'm so screwed".