The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan) novel Chapter 534

Cordelia was riveted as the old man's tale unfolded, his voice weaving the past into the present. The protagonist, Alana, was more than just a character in a story; she was flesh and blood, and her life's drama was spilling out in raw, vivid detail. Cordelia's heart pounded as she urged him on, "And then? What happened next? The actor, was his name August?"

She vaguely recalled Tristi mentioning that Alana's counterpart, a handsome and talented actor, was named August. "What next...?" the old man murmured, drifting into memories once more.

Alana had confided in August that upon her return to England, a fortune-teller had ominously pointed out a mole behind her ear as a bad omen for her father, so she had it removed.

August didn't give the mole much thought but couldn't shake the feeling that Alana had changed. She used to have a child-like charm paired with the grace of a lady, a combination that men found irresistible. But back in England, she seemed to have become more calculating, her gaze distant. Even as Alana tried to seduce him, August felt a growing disillusionment, considering an escape from what felt like a whirlwind romance turned sour.

Alana sensed August's restlessness. Love, after all, was about mutual affection, not a transactional exchange of effort for affection. The tighter she held on, the more he seemed to slip through her fingers like grains of sand.

While Alana and August played out their downstairs drama, the real Alana was trapped upstairs, her days stretching long and torturous. Unlike her sister, who had grown up in the attic, oblivious to the world, Alana had tasted life's splendors. Her imprisonment was especially cruel, compounded by the fact that she was pregnant and living a daily hell.

The fake Alana reveled in her sister's suffering, intent on multiplying her pain tenfold. She had no wish for her sister to terminate the pregnancy; she wanted the baby born and raised by her sister, only to be cruelly taken away later. To Alana, this plan was sheer brilliance.