It was supposed to be just another Tuesday.Rain tapped lazily against my apartment window while I sat hunched over my laptop, debugging the same stubborn line of code for the third hour in a row. My life wasn't glamorous, but it was mine — predictable, ordinary, safe.
Then came the screech of tires.And the blinding flash of headlights.And… nothing.
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer sitting at my desk.I was lying on something soft, the scent of lavender and roses filling my nose. My vision swam, but when it cleared, I froze. Above me hung a crystal chandelier, sparkling with warm candlelight. My hands… delicate, pale, and decorated with ruby rings… were not mine.
No.No, no, no, this was—
"Lady Livianna," a voice called softly. I turned my head and saw a maid — dressed in a frilly black-and-white uniform straight out of a period drama — bowing at me. "The carriage is ready. His Highness awaits you at the royal palace for tonight's ball."
My blood ran cold.I knew that name.I knew this scene.
Because I'd read it before.
In my previous life, The Crown's Desire had been my guilty pleasure — a romance novel about the beautiful yet cruel Lady Livianna De Ardent, the villainess who relentlessly pursued the Crown Prince… until he destroyed her family and sent her to the gallows. This scene… the ball… was where everything began to unravel for her.
And now I was her.Just hours away from her first big mistake — publicly insulting the Crown Prince, sealing her own fate.
My mouth went dry. I had no idea how or why I'd ended up here, but one thing was certain:If I didn't change the story… I'd die. Again.
The maid's voice pulled me back. "My lady? Shall we depart?"
I forced my lips into a calm smile. "Yes. Let's go."Inside, my thoughts were anything but calm.
This time, I wasn't going to chase the Crown Prince.I was going to survive.
Even if it meant turning my back on the most dangerous man in the kingdom.