Chapter 1 – Will You… Break Off Our Engagement?

Prologue
 

It was a day that couldn’t have been more perfect. I had successfully given the graduation speech as the valedictorian, and the academy’s graduation ceremony had gone off without a hitch. After sharing a meal with my parents, the Duke and Duchess Valentino, and the most insufferable brat who’s even worse than an enemy, I spent a little more time out before heading home.

But then…

“Don’t you think this is a bit strange?”

Evelyn frowned slightly at the sight before her eyes. The carriage had stopped not at a marquis’ or duke’s residence, but at a secluded mansion in the middle of nowhere.

‘Where on earth are we?’

She glanced around with a sigh slipping past her lips. What bothered her even more was how calm and unconcerned her fiancé seemed about it all.

When she shot him a sharp glare, Axion just tilted his head and asked with his usual languid smile.

“What is?”

“This isn’t the marquis’s residence.”

Even after being engaged for over ten years, she still couldn’t figure out what was going on in her fiancé’s head.

‘Is this some new way to torment me?’

As she massaged her throbbing temples, Axion’s low, deep voice brushed against her ear.

“Obviously.”

“What…?”

Before she could even react to how abruptly he had closed the distance, the deep dimple on one side of his cheek became pronounced.

“Because this is our newlywed home.”

Evelyn’s face twisted instantly at his words. The words that had circled in her mouth countless times over the years slipped out without her meaning to.

“Crazy bastard.”

“That’s right, crazy bastard.”

Axion curled the corner of his lips into a loose smile. The moment her gaze met his red eyes that looked a bit dangerous and unhinged, her heart began to pound perilously.

‘Why is he looking at me like that?’

That obsessive glint in his eyes should’ve been directed at the female lead of the original story, not her. Evelyn gulped dryly and took a step back from her fiancé. Then, forcing her trembling voice to steady, she asked.

“What are you even talking about?”

“You know better than anyone, Evelyn.”

Even though she’d tried to pretend otherwise, maybe it was finally time to admit who his obsession was really directed toward now.

“Don’t tell me… you’re not seriously trying to start something with me now, are you?”

“Well, what do you think?”

Axion’s strong arm gently wrapped around her waist, and his faint scent tickled the tip of her nose.

Evelyn glanced up at him, her eyes darting nervously. His crimson eyes gleamed, fixed on her with the persistence of a predator eyeing its prey.

“Don’t worry, I don’t want you to hate me.”

Before she could even think about whether to believe him, his hot breath grazed the nape of her neck before vanishing.

“But I guess I was wrong about something.”

“…What do you mean?”

Axion, who had been gazing at her like a beast, suddenly softened his red eyes into a gentle curve. He ran his tongue over his lips, his voice dropping to something almost tender.

“Turns out, I’ve started wanting to lock you away like this.”

“….!”

Why do you want to lock me up, you crazy bastard?!
 

 
Chapter 1 — Will You… Break Off Our Engagement?
 

Inside a café bathed in warm sunlight, Evelyn stared at the man seated across from her with an indifferent expression. He had hair as dark as midnight, red eyes resembling pomegranate seeds, a sharp nose, a strong jawline, and an air of refined elegance that seemed to cascade over him.

‘God, he’s so annoying.’

Anyone who didn’t know what Axion was really like would easily be fooled by his looks.

“Doesn’t it feel like a halo is shining around him?”

“The young lord’s beauty is truly…”

‘See? They’re all fooled by that face!’

As if sensing her displeasure, he set down his teacup and spoke in a flat, uninterested voice.

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”

Every Sunday at three o’clock, like clockwork. It had been ten years of these tea times, forced on them by their families. No matter how long they’d known each other, she couldn’t imagine a relationship more awkward than theirs.

‘He actually used to be kind of cute when we were kids.’