Chapter One
The smell of coffee was stronger than usual, and the living room looked like a small disaster zone. Cushions were strewn across the sofa, Sophie's oversized polo hung off one shoulder, and a half-read book lay open on the coffee table, held down by her mug.
Sophie tugged at her messy hair and groaned. "Why do I even live like this?"
Not that anyone needed to know. Or rather… not that anyone should know. Because the secret she carried was ridiculous. Stupidly, impossibly, utterly embarrassing. She was in love. With a character. From a book.
And not just any character. Alexander Vale. The tall, impossibly charming protagonist of The Star-Crossed Promise. The one who made her sigh during lectures, skip meals, and doodle his face in the margins of her
notebooks. I wish he was real, she said.
Then a sudden whoosh of air made her spin — and freeze.
He was there.
Standing awkwardly in the middle of her living room. Hair tousled, jacket slightly rumpled, hands brushing through his dark waves. And those eyes… those impossibly blue eyes looked around as if he'd been dropped here by fate itself.
"Where… am I?" His voice was calm, but confused, and somehow it sent a shiver through her.
Sophie's mug wobbled in her hands. "I… you… I mean…" She tripped over the edge of the rug, cheeks flaming. "You're… not supposed to be real!"
Alexander tilted his head, brow furrowed. "I'm… not?"
Of course he wasn't supposed to be real. He was fictional. He belonged to pages and imagination, not this cozy apartment with fairy lights and leftover snacks. And yet, here he was, standing right in front of her, looking more real than anything she'd ever seen.
"Okay," Sophie muttered under her breath
"Sophie… you are not losing your mind. You are not losing your mind. You are not losing your mind…"
And then he smiled.
A little crooked, utterly charming, entirely impossible.
Sophie realized, with terrifying clarity, that her wish was fulfilled and her life had officially rewritten itself.
The next morning, sunlight spilled through the curtains like it had something to prove. Sophie sat cross-legged on the couch, clutching her mug like a lifeline. Her messy hair framed her face, and the oversized polo hung just so — giving her the appearance of a girl who had survived a small storm… which, in a way, she had.
Alexander sat opposite her at the small kitchen table, staring blankly at the cereal boxes as if they held the secrets of the universe. His brow furrowed, lips pursed, and every now and then he tilted his head like a curious puppy.
"You… you live here?" he asked, pointing at the apartment as if the walls themselves were a revelation.
"Yes," Sophie said slowly. "I… live here. And yes, I've been staring at you like a crazy person since you appeared in my living room last night, but I swear I'm normal."
Alexander blinked. "Normal?"
Sophie shivered. "Yes. Completely normal. Totally."
He leaned back, still puzzled. "You're… very… intense."
Sophie's cheeks flamed. "I am not intense. I just… I mean, I've been… reading about you… for a long time. You're… you."
"Ah," he said, as if that explained everything, which it clearly didn't. "So… you know me?"
"Yes!" Sophie said before she could stop herself. "I mean… yes. But not… in a creepy way. I just… know your story. And you shouldn't be here."
Alexander tilted his head again, eyes narrowing slightly. "I shouldn't?"
"You're fictional!" Sophie blurted. Then she immediately clapped a hand over her mouth. "I mean… you're… supposed to be fictional. In a book. Not… real."
He leaned back in his chair, scratching his head. "I… see."
That didn't help.
Sophie stood abruptly, sending the chair scraping backward. "So! This is my plan. We… we figure out why you're here, and then… we fix this."
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Fix… me?"
"Yes!" Sophie waved her hands frantically. "Fix you! Because, obviously, you weren't supposed to appear in my apartment at 9 PM. That's… very inconvenient."
He blinked, looking more confused than ever. "So… I'm… a problem?"
"No!" Sophie said, throwing her hands up. "You're… not a problem! You're just… well, you're confusing. And very real. And… and I'm scared I might faint if you smile at me again like that."
Alexander tilted his head once more, a tiny smirk tugging at his lips. "I… I'll try not to smile, then."
Sophie groaned and collapsed back onto the couch, burying her face in the cushions. Her heart was pounding, her brain was fried, and somehow, she knew this was only the beginning.
Because living with your fictional crush… was going to be a lot more chaotic than any book could ever describe.