The clock struck 10 PM. Outside, the city of Melur was still very much alive, its streets illuminated by the neon glow of passing cars and motorcycles.
"RINGGGG! RINGGGG!"
Olivia rubbed her weary eyes, fumbling in the dark for her phone before glancing at the wall clock. She dragged her feet toward the living room and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Olivia, dear... Your father and I won't be able to make it home tonight. The rain is just too heavy," her mother's voice crackled through the line.
Still half-asleep, Olivia gave a brief reply. "Okay, Mom. Please be careful."
The line went dead. Olivia checked her messages and a small smile tugged at her lips as she replied to her boyfriend, Kile. She decided to call him.
"Kile, are you busy tomorrow? If not, let's hang out. I'm on a one-week break from university," she said, her voice trailing off into a playful, sweet tone.
"Sorry, Via. I'm tied up tomorrow. There's a family gathering," Kile replied, sounding exhausted.
"What about the day after?" Olivia's voice dipped with disappointment.
"Busy then, too. I'm sorry, Via. My schedule is just packed this week," he replied softly, his voice tinged with a hint of guilt.
"Hmm... it's alright. Maybe next time, then," Olivia muttered, pouting her lips even though he couldn't see her. Kile chuckled and spent a few minutes coaxing her out of her sour mood, promising to make it up to her once his work was done.
After hanging up, a notification lit up her screen:
[My Beloved Ophlia: Chapter 49 has been released].
Olivia's excitement returned instantly. She tapped the notification and began devouring the novel, her cheeks flushing red as she squealed into her pillow, unable to contain her thrill over the story.
Morning came before she knew it. Enjoying her solitude, she lounged around watching K-dramas.
"This is the life," she mused, thinking back to her mother's lectures when she was ten. She walked out to the balcony, watching the parents downstairs playing and chasing their children.
A sudden pang of loneliness hit her. "I wonder when Mom and Dad will be back?" she whispered.
She dialed their numbers.
"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable..."
Olivia frowned. Her parents never turned off their phones, especially when they knew she was waiting.
She called her uncle, who confirmed they had left her grandmother's house hours ago a treacherous four-hour drive through steep, winding roads.
Night fell again. Olivia was back at her desk, reading her fantasy novels to drown out the growing anxiety. By 10 PM, there was still no sign of them.
"Where are they? It's been over five hours since they left," she paced the floor, her heart racing.
THUD. THUD.
The sound of footsteps outside made her breathe a sigh of relief. But when she swung the door open, it wasn't her parents standing there. It was the police.
"Good evening, we are a police. Your parent got an accident.come with us." One of the police speak up.
That night, the colors of Olivia's world faded into gray. Her parents were gone—killed in a tragic accident.
Misery didn't come alone. Days later, she discovered that Kile had been cheating on her with her best friend—the girl she had looked up to as an older sister. Left with no one, her greedy relatives swooped in like vultures, claiming her parents' assets for themselves and leaving her with nothing but insults.
To survive and fund her university education, Olivia took on every part-time job she could find.
Fast forward to the age of 24. Olivia threw herself onto her bed in her modest apartment, staring up at the rotating ceiling fan.
PING.
[My Beloved Ophlia: Chapter 53 has been released]
"Huh? It's been five years, and only now they release Chapter 53?" she muttered, bewildered. For years, she had been too busy surviving to touch her old hobbies. But in her darkest moments, this novel had been her only solace.
She began to read, but her calm was short-lived.
THUD! Her phone slipped from her hands, hitting the floor.
"My Javien! No!" she screamed, clutching her head as if it were about to explode. "What kind of ending is this?! Why does the Second Male Lead have to die just to satisfy the Main Leads? I won't accept this!"
"Author, please! Bring Javien back! Give him the happiness he deserves!" she sobbed into her pillow, typing out a desperate comment before her eyes grew heavy with exhaustion.
" I would give anything to be by his side... no matter what role I play..."
She drifted off, unaware that the next morning, her wish would become her reality.
TO BE CONTINUED...