Thalia slumped deeper into her chair, the hard edge of it pressing against her spine as if it were trying futilely to anchor her thoughts. Her head tipped sideways, resting against the edge of the chair.
The cool surface grounding her just enough to keep her from spiraling completely. In front of her, her laptop glowed like an accusation.
The screen was filled with Novels. Dozens of them. Romance. Slave. Harem. Love at first sight.
Red flags everywhere.
She stared at the tags for a long moment before a short, humorless laugh slipped out of her throat. She didn't like any of them, but she continued scrolling like a lazy sloth.
She then left her laptop and rested her back on the chair, as she reminisced on her ridiculous relationship.
"Ugh… why do boys have to be such idiots?" she muttered, the thought of her life frustrated her, she wanted to live in romance novels with happy endings, because the love never ends.
"They are either Cheating. Lying. Using me…" Each word landed heavier than the last, sinking into her chest. She swallowed. "Honestly… is love just too much to ask?"
The question lingered unanswered, hanging in the air like something fragile. Something she was afraid to examine too closely.
With a tired sigh, Thalia lifted her hand and removed her glasses, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. The room blurred for a second before her vision refocused, this time revealing the sharp, striking blue of her eyes. They looked brighter without the lenses.
"None of them ever loved me," she said quietly, the confession slipping out before she could stop it. Saying it aloud made her chest ache.
"They all dumped me like I'm garbage." Her lips pressed together, trembling just slightly. "That's why I can't stop thinking about my favorite book… The Maddest Obsession, it just inspired my taste of wanting obsessed boys because I have never been in a relationship with a boy even having feelings for me."
The title alone softened something inside her. A small, reluctant smile curved her lips, not out of happiness, but familiarity like returning to a place that had once understood her when people hadn't.
"He was just so obsessed with the girl," she continued, her voice gentler now, almost fond. There was no one else in the room, yet she still felt the need to explain herself, as if someone might overhear her thoughts and judge them.
"I don't like too much obsession," she said quickly, defensive even to herself. Then she hesitated.
"But maybe…" Her voice dropped, turning inward. "Maybe I do want someone to be obsessed with me." she keeps talking to the void like a psychopath.
"Not like… possessive or controlling—ugh, no," she rushed, shaking her head, strands of hair slipping loose. "Just… someone who really wants me. Someone who wouldn't leave. Someone willing to do anything for me."
Her lips parted as the weight of those words settled in. "Is that so wrong?" she whispered.
She paused, then scoffed lightly. "Don't answer that. Yeah… it probably is."
Yet the thought refused to fade. It lingered, warm and dangerous, curling around her heart like a promise she knew better than to believe—but wanted anyway.
Her gaze drifted back to the laptop. That was when she saw it.
A new novel cover filled the screen, vivid and impossible to ignore. A girl named Caelith, with flaming red hair and icy blue eyes, head cranked up facing the taller guy.
The boy who held her jaw for her to stare at him like he owned her, a boy blond hair sharp against the background, red eyes burning with something that looked far too intense to be safe.
The tension between them crackled, almost alive.
Thalia straightened unconsciously. "Okay…" she murmured. "That's… kind of…" She leaned closer. "…wow."
Her finger hovered for only a second before clicking. The decision felt instinctive, inevitable.
As she read the synopsis, she rested her chin on her palm, eyes scanning faster with every tag. Possessive. Love at first sight. Dark romance. Vampire. Suspense.
"Wait—no, no," she muttered, frowning. "Love at first sight?" She wasn't a fan of love at first sight.
She exhaled.
But her pulse betrayed her, quickening as excitement crept in beneath her ribs. This story promised something thrilling—something forbidden. Something magnetic.
"Maybe this is what I've been looking for. Right?" she whispered, half to herself, half to the universe. "A story that makes my heart race… without being a total mess."
Her fingers tapped against the desk, restless, as anticipation bloomed. Losing herself in fiction felt safer than risking reality. Letting someone else's fictional romance consume her, even briefly, felt like relief.
Later, Thalia squinted at the synopsis again, rereading it properly this time. A vampire who loved the girl at first sight at the ball, she was with her evil stepmom and step sister.
With the help of the vampire Prince of Velkris whose name was Morvex, they discovered she was a Moonborn. Her brows knitted together as the pieces began to align in her head.
Then she read about him. The younger brother, Draven. Wicked. Ruthless. Determined to destroy everything tied to the Moonborn.
She started reading it. By the time she reached the fifth chapter, her curiosity had fully transformed into fascination.
The part where they fully described him, Grey hair. Piercing red eyes. Her lips twisted into a scowl.
"And of course," she muttered, leaning back and crossing her arms, "the dangerous one is hotter." She sighed, irritated with herself for noticing. "Classic."
Still, she couldn't stop thinking about him. She grabbed her phone, searching for a book in her audiobook app. When the cover appeared—just as striking, just as tempting—she rolled her eyes.
"Unbelievable," she muttered, but curiosity nudged her forward, wanting to see how the younger brother looked while they displayed the comics, she started reading chapter 5 again.
The narrator's voice flowed into her ears, smooth and commanding. Thalia slipped her earpieces in and left her dorm, the cool night air brushing against her skin as she wandered across campus.
Her eyes stayed glued to the screen of her phone as unique drawings and words blurred together, the story pulling her deeper with every step. The world around her faded.
Streetlights became streaks of color. Passing people dissolved into shadows. The sounds of movie cars muffled beneath the narrator's voice.
She was somewhere else entirely after being mesmerized by the drawing of the villain of the story, the male lead younger brother. She didn't notice the car until the headlights flooded her vision. The car hit her and she rolled on the car roof like a human sized toy.