The drawing room emptied, leaving only Seraphina and me amidst the fading chatter and the scent of cold tea.
"We don't have much time," she said, her voice low but steady. "If your timer is real, then you're racing fate itself."
I nodded. "And if I die as the villainess, I disappear from existence."
She swallowed hard, then met my gaze with surprising determination. "Then we should find the source of this... timeline instability. If it's threatening both our futures, we have to stop it."
For the first time, I felt like I wasn't just playing a part anymore—I was shaping my own story.
Together, we poured over the details of the upcoming chapters, dissecting every plot point, every betrayal, every secret.
"I know who's going to try to kill you," Seraphina said quietly. "And why."
My heart pounded. Information was power—and maybe the key to rewriting my fate.
"Then let's make sure they don't get the chance."
As we joined forces, the holographic timer flickered—less a countdown now and more a challenge.
The villainess might have a new role after all.