“I fell in love with the broken parts of you—each piece that crumbled under my touch. Now, as I stand in the ashes of our love, I wonder if I was your ruin.”

Lina jolted out of sleep, touching her face. There it was again. The same dream, same pain, same tears. That line alone should’ve foresaw a love story heading towards a doomed ending. ​​

This single line from her nightmares that made her eyes water and her throat tighten, but she didn’t know why.

Lina rubbed her chest, where a familiar ache was felt.

But then she looked at her surroundings where everyone was staring at her like she was crazy. It made Lina want to stare right back at them. What? Never seen a young woman cry on a bus before? You should check out the college campus bus then!

Lina didn’t dare to say it out loud, especially when some people had red eyes and small fangs.

“Shoot, this is my stop,” Lina groaned to herself, quickly grabbing her bag and fleeing out of the bus doors before it closed.

Once Lina got off, she caught her breath and quickly walked into the museum and realized she missed the tour.

It was a good thing Lina was a daydreamer. She placed her earpods in and wandered through the museum, until she stumbled across a specific time era where she knew the story behind each and every antique.

Line began to scroll through different song playlists, but bumped into a hard wall. She was thankful their skin didn’t come in contact, or else it would’ve been awkward.

“Watch your step,” the man coldly said.

“My apologies…” Lina’s heart stirred when she glanced up. He was so handsome she forgot how to breathe.

The man’s dark, brooding eyes narrowed down at her in displeasure. He resembled the kind of man your mother warned you to stay away from.

Despite that, Lina’s chest grew heavy with recognization. Her eyes began to water from the pain, as if she had went through the worst heartbreak of her entire life. It felt like the world would crumble under her feet and all hope was lost.

The man was astonishingly familiar.

The stranger said nothing at her words. He brushed past her as if she was dirt on his shoes. He looked like a walking red flag, and she was a colorblind fool.

Lina began to browse through the History of Ritan, the name of her country, but halted. Now, she realized why she recognized him. On the white wall was a portrait of the man from earlier, except he was wearing different clothes. of the Second King of Ritan. The man haunting her nightmares.

Her eyes trembled with recognization, her breath stuck in her throat.

“The Second King of Ritan,” Lina read out loud. The man haunting her dreams. She stared at the white sign underneath the portrait, displaying his name and infamous lines.

Lina briefly glanced at the white sign near his name, displaying his infamous line. It was quoted everywhere, especially movies. But she knew it wasn’t his line, and this fact didn’t come from history books.

“I am the reason you’ll never win this battle,” Lina repeated the words.

“This battle has already been won, your kingdom is mine,” Someone responded.

At the continued line, Lina spun around. She was a literature student and didn’t think someone could recite the words that were never recorded in history books. No one knew of this second phrase, except for the Second King and the woman he shared it with.

“They have the lines all wrong,” the man scoffed, surprising her further.

“Your Highness?” Lina muttered, causing him to stiffen. He narrowed his eyes, like a hawk observing his prey.

The man towered over her, intimidating and large. He was studying her, but she looked at him like she had seen a ghost.

“You—h-huh, how?” Lina tried to formulate a full sentence, glancing from the portrait back to the man. The painting was old and yellowed, but the defining features were there. His daunt brows, serious gaze, and solemn lips.

“Am I so handsome you’re at a loss for words?” The man scoffed, continuing to watch the little bunny dart left and right, an action that felt all too familiar to him. Immediately, his mood darkened. He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to stop giving him a whiplash.

“Y-you, how are you still alive?” Lina asked.

His expression grew cold. The air around them turned chilly.

Lina naively blinked, not realizing how insulting she sounded.

“What did you just say?” He taunted, his lips tilting downwards.

“You should’ve been dead,” Lina muttered, her heart racing thousands of miles per minute.

Now, Lina realized why he was so familiar. He resembled the Second King of Ritan, who was once her childhood friend turned lover turned enemy… and then, stranger.

“You need to get your head checked in the nearest hospital,” The man returned, staring at her like she was a fascinating animal.

“I know you,” Lina said. “I once—”

Lina clamped her mouth shut. Gosh, she sounded like a crazy woman. And insulting too.

Lina was terrified that she had offended him.

In a modern world where vampires took supreme positions, humans were prey, and werewolves lurked in the shadows, Lina couldn’t afford to go around offending strangers. What if he was one of them? A Pure-Blood vampire. Or worst, an Alpha.

“You once what?” The man demanded, looking at her carefully. He saw the resemblance and was floored. What the hell?

“You…” The man reached out to grab her chin. His longer finger barely brushed her soft skin before she suddenly blinked.

All he did was touch her skin, just once, for a brief moment. But that was enough for her body to go limp.

Her knees gave out and she hit the floor, motionless. The last thing Lina felt was his warm arms, and the last thing she heard was his feint voice repeating the exact words from her dream, in a soft, painful tone.

“…I wonder if I was your ruin.”