The Lost Chronicles of a Villainess

Chapter 3

[ROWEN'S IMPRESSION: Why is she even here?! I thought I'd have the week for myself before she comes running, panting after me. But why is she here right now?! She always fucking does this! She's like a bitch in heat for me. Isn't she ashamed of her own actions? She's lucky I'm so generous to her. Otherwise, I would've kicked her out and made her wait at the front door just like the dog she is.]

Her chin trembled, her head lowering to her chest and her gaze falling to the ground. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to appear as small as possible. Yet, even with her submissive stance, there was an irrepressible flash of disdain across her eyes, concealed from everyone else.

What was up with his attitude? No—what was up with his impression of her?! How was he even a male lead at this point?

Naomi understood that Rowen immensely disliked the Original, as it was shown earlier in his character information, but what kind of treatment was this? If this was how he thought of the Original in a daily basis, then Naomi was both amazed and disgusted.

No one liked to be treated like this.

Noah never did this to me, Naomi couldn't help but think in the corner of her mind, voice quiet but ringing profoundly clear, and he wouldn't even think about treating me like this.

If he was here, he would've snapped Rowen's neck for his tone alone.

Naomi pursed her lips, catching her thoughts and putting it back where it belonged: in the dark, where it would not see the light of day, unless she was ready to face dawn. He wasn't here, and there was no point thinking about a person she chose to leave behind. She couldn't think of him right now, not when she had something else to take care of first.

"I just wanted to see you." The voice that came out of Naomi's mouth was meek, pitiful if one were to listen closely. She glanced at him through her lashes, gray eyes lined with a wet silver sheen. "Can't I?"

Rowen rolled his eyes, a stony expression forming over his face as he observed her appearance with a sneer. He was clearly unmoved and unimpressed by her pitiful act and fragile appearance.

[ROWEN'S IMPRESSION: Here comes the silly acting. She might've thought she had everyone fooled with her acts, but not me. Does she think I'll spare her some dignity just because she's crying like this in front of everyone? Ha! I'm not so easily swayed. I know what she is like, this fucking snake.]

Wow. What a hypocrite.

Naomi knew he thought everything she did was merely a calculated move to earn sympathy and pity from the crowd. It wasn't hard to guess since her words, actions, and looks brought him a number of glares and reprimanding glances from the crowd watching them.

Unlike everyone else in this circle, Rowen was well aware of the kind of woman the Original truly was. He believed she was a nasty person who hid her corrupted heart behind sweet smiles and kind words. It was likely the reason why he hated her and why he continued rejecting her.

But she also knew what he was truly like. Rowen had done enough shit to the Original in the novel—one that had even traumatized and broken her mind—all the while maintaining his so-called 'upstanding' character. He liked to accuse other people of being two-faced, when he was exactly the same. Just because he lacked self-awareness didn't mean it wasn't obvious to everyone else, more so to Naomi.

It was irrational to condemn someone of actions they hadn't done as of yet. She knew that with her intervention in the circles, some characters wouldn't take the route the author intended for them. Therefore, she shouldn't judge Rowen based solely on what he'd do in the future, when her interference at the moment could change his decisions and the directions his story would follow.