'I can say with all certainty I've only been in love with one person inmy entire life, and that person is Marianne Ridley. How can I not fall in love with her? She is easy to love and hard to forget. And with countless bastardssurrounding her, prowling around like a lion in heat, I know I have to make mymove. I can't afford to lose her. More importantly, I can't afford losing toothers.'
- An Excerpt from Don't Blame a Daydreamer, Rowen's POV
Truly, the villainess in this novel was just too pitiful. The author certainly didn't spare any kind feelings for her, in order to make Marianne stand out even more. Seeing the male lead barely able to suppress his anger and annoyance in front of her, made her all too aware of what they were capable of. She had to take care and be careful, for one wrong move could unravel every plan she made for this circle.
"What do you want?" Rowen asked quite rudely after seeing that she called for him, his lips twisted faintly into a sneer.
She didn't need to read his thoughts to know what he felt about her. His impression of her was reflected clearly in his eyes as he looked down at her.
The different treatment between a person who had a high favorability with her and a person who had a low favorability with her was still fascinating to witness. Rowen was also the first character she met who held a negative favorability with an Original.
Still, it was rather harsh, considering she hadn't done anything yet to earn his ire like this.
Naomi stopped short from touching him and stepped back with a shy tilt to her head, a healthy flush blossoming across her cheeks, looking much like a sunflower in a spring field. She knew she was a lovely vision of sun-stained skin and storm-like eyes, with sleek dark hair contrasting nicely against her pink petal-like lips. Other people certainly thought so. Rowen? Not so much.
"I..." She hesitated, before resolve urged her to continue, "I just missed you..."
Rowen sighed harshly at hearing her answer, shaking his head at her. "Unbelievable. You mean to say you're ruining my day just for your selfish reasons?" He didn't give her the time to retort. "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be at your class right now? Why don't you go do that instead of bothering me and wasting my goddamn time?"
[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.
But call her biased—she was on the villainess side.
Rowen might not have done any of those things yet, but there was no mistaking the hints of darkness laced around his thoughts and his behavior towards her. Like poison seeping slowly into the skin and killing from within, he casted a silent but deadly strike. All Naomi had to do now was dodge his attacks and live through.
"Since you've seen me, you can leave," he scoffed. "Stop wasting my goddamn time."
He waved his hand dismissively, pivoting on his heel to return to his private space at the back of the club, not even waiting for Naomi's response or to see her off after going here to speak to him. Naomi's shoulders dropped, her lips trembling as her eyes trailed after his retreating back.
"I..." She closed her eyes and said as loudly as she could, her voice ringing in the entire room, "I love you, Rowen! Will you go out with me?!"
Stunned silence.
Naomi opened her eyes to catch the sight of Rowen's pause, back rigid and shoulders stiff. He slowly faced her, brows raised and mouth slightly agape. A few beats of silence, of anticipation lingering in the air, and then he scoffed loudly, shredding the tension with a derisively harsh sound.
[ROWEN'S FAVORABILITY: -8/100]
Oof. She resisted the impulse to grimace. He really hated that, huh?
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Rowen exclaimed, scowling darkly, the anger in his eyes like coals in a raging fire.
His fury ignited an uncomfortably scalding atmosphere in the room, making everyone shift on their feet and avert their gaze to the side. They might as well left Naomi to burn at the stake.
[ROWEN'S IMPRESSION: She just can't take a fucking hint, can she?! God, she is so fucking pathetic. She must know by now I will never love her, but the goddamn idiot just has to push me.]
"Hey, Naomi," Rowen chuckled sarcastically, "you're really bold, huh? God, how much stupider can you get? Do I have to repeat myself again, and again, just to get in that useless brain of yours that I don't like you? How many times do I have to say it? I don't like you! I never have and I never will!
"Don't fucking push my limits. The only reason why I bothered to show up right now is because I've known you since we were children, but that's it. Don't expect me to be so lenient with you just because we grew up together. What? You think you're so special to me to act this way, is that it? Is that why you're doing this? How much more selfish can you get, huh, Naomi?"
Naomi flinched at every question aimed at her, her fingers tightly grasping her red pleated skirt, her knuckles whitening at the force of her actions.
As if she even wanted to confess in the first place! The audacity this man had for humiliating her like this as if he hadn't led the Original on for years, as if he hadn't coaxed her whenever he felt like her feelings were waning!
Screw the side mission! Naomi was all too happy to shove him down Marianne's throat. The female lead and him could enjoy each other and live happily-ever-after for all she cared!
"Listen to me, Naomi Cunningham," Rowen said loudly, looking at her down his nose. The disgust in his eyes mirrored the one Naomi was feeling. "I don't love you. Get it in your head already! So, give up, and leave me alone, for fuck's sake!"
Naomi lowered her gaze to the floor, biting on her bottom lip. She understood her role as a villainess in Rowen and Marianne's love story, but she still couldn't get past the fact that the Original loved a man like this to the point of obsession and abandon. Even knowing what he did to her in the end, even knowing her life went to hell because of him, the Original never blamed him.
Was it worth it to love someone who treated her like shit?
"Fine!" Naomi couldn't help but snap loudly, lifting her head to stare at him with tear-stained cheeks.
He seemed startled by her loud declaration, wincing and jerking his head back. He quickly composed himself, pressing his lips together and crossing his arms.
Naomi continued, her voice breaking, "Rowen Kade, I have loved you since I was eight years old. I loved you so much I endured your harsh words and your unkind treatment towards me. But no more—I can no longer put up with your attitude. As much as I love you, I also can't do this to myself anymore. I understand now you won't love me the way I love you. So, from now on... from now on, I'm letting you go."
Naomi then turned her head to the side and said softly, a single tear rolling down her left cheek, "Now I know loving you and asking for your love has been futile. Always has been. I should've known from the start, but I was too stupidly in love with you to even notice it. I shouldn't have loved you if it's going to hurt me so much like this."
Naomi spun and stormed out of the clubhouse, ignoring Louisa's frantic calls of her name following behind her back. Tears remained falling from her eyes, sobs hitching her voice as she tried to wipe them away. Some people stared and whispered when they saw her, and she knew by now a lot of people found out about what happened at the clubhouse.
With social media and eye witnesses, it was no wonder how the news spread so fast.
Her legs eventually led her to a bench in the middle of the school garden. She sat on the bench, gaze listlessly drilling holes on the ground. The tears still had no signs of stopping but she didn't bother to wipe it away. Instead, she let it fall.
Her trembling lips swiftly flashed into a soft smirk before it was replaced with a dejected frown. And just like that, Naomi had finally cut ties with the male lead.
Who knew it would be so freeing to finally cut him off? Just the thought of not seeing him again was improving her mood.
She planned before coming to school to severe her connection with the male lead, since half of the reason why the Original had a tragic ending was because of her love for him. If she continued to prolong the act of being in love with him, she was going to die by the end, she was certain of it.
Naomi simply couldn't believe—nor accept—that he was the male lead. He was such a piece of work!
In the previous circles, the male leads were nothing like Rowen. They were decent enough people who treated her with respect and adoration, even when she was trying to get in between them and the female leads. They had been understanding and supportive—so easy to manipulate.
Honestly, the only redeeming factor Rowen had was his good looks. The rest simply belonged to the trash can. He was that despicable.
Certainly, cutting off the male lead wasn't the only thing she could do to avoid her tragic ending and to live through her bad fate. In fact, she had dozens of other plans in her head that could produce effective results without having to leave the male lead behind. However, she found the act of pretending to be in love with Rowen a bit off-putting—no, it was distasteful.
She knew what love was.
She felt what love was.
She could not taint that encompassing emotion her husband taught her, by pretending to be in love with someone who didn't deserve an ounce of it.
Her lips quirked into a bittersweet smile as thoughts of him slithered to the front of her mind, unwilling to desist, unwilling to be forgotten. For once, since coming into this circle, Naomi allowed herself to fully embrace the memories she had of him.
Noah was simply the epitome of a perfect boyfriend and husband. He was everyone's dream man—but even better, because he was real.
While she also did not have a great start with Noah, he never tried to humiliate her nor did he ever treat her with disrespect. He was always so sweet and gentle, so resolute and decisive. He'd been so considerate and good to her, even during the tumultuous times when Naomi acted on her own for the sake of completing her missions. He protected her and never made her feel as small as the Original had felt with Rowen.
Comparing him to Rowen was simply comparing a high-quality brand to a trash can. It would even be disrespectful to Noah to start a comparison between him and that scum of a male lead.
And she...
She missed him.
Eyes slipping shut, she let the sunlight warm her face, one hand cradled to her chest. This warmth reminded her of their last embrace before she ultimately made the choice to leave him. It reminded her of his calming, pinewood scent, the strength in his arms as it wrapped around her waist, and the gentle way he simply held her, treating her body like a delicate figurine that needed the most soothing hands to be worthy of her.
She thought of the way he used to kiss her and the look in his eyes whenever he saw her. He always stared at her as if looking away would cause him physical pain. It was a strange look of scorching heat, casting ripples to the still lake in his eyes and sending a hot flash of shivers down her spine.
Naomi sucked in a shuddered breath, fists balling up so tight she was nearly surprised her nails hadn't punctured her palms. A blow to the stomach—that was what it felt like when she recalled that look and realized she was never going to see it again.
This... this was what she was most afraid of: to be reminded of him constantly no matter what she did, even with her new identity and new life; to have her steps be haunted, for her past continued calling her back.
The tiniest slip of Noah could create a downright spiral in her head, pulling her down under a current of torn memories and searing images. The longing she tried to ignore was more obvious and insistent whenever she thought of him, weighing heavily on her chest like an anvil.
It was just...
She wished she said 'I love you' more often. She wished she told him how much she appreciated him. She wished she kissed him even one last time before she left.
Did he know his unfaltering strength had been her support? Did he know his resolute belief in her had been the reason why she could get out of bed and face the morning? Did he know his strong trust had been the reason why her walls broke down in the first place?
There were so many things they could've done, so many things left to do, but Naomi never gave them the chance.
It was a love doomed from the very start.
She never wanted to be married and she never expected to marry him. They were forced into a situation neither of them wanted—into a situation Naomi had executed, but never expected to turn against her in the end. She only wanted to split the main couple, but she never planned to marry the male protagonist to do so.
It wasn't a big deal for Naomi to separate the Duke and the princess. Noah and Aurora hadn't even been the first main couples she had done so, having been to different circles before. To prevent thousands of deaths and avoid a future full of bloodshed and senseless wars, she did that with unwavering conviction.
But Noah was the first person she married.
The first and the last.
Noah ruined her for everyone else, she could finally admit that, and Naomi was all too happy to bask in the ruin she made for herself. It was a bed she made and no matter how beaten and wrecked it was, she would lie on it regardless.
"Excuse me, Miss." A soft voice startled her out of her thoughts. Suddenly, a neat white handkerchief was offered in front of her face, making her jerk her head back. "Here. It looks like you need it."
She sniffled and slowly lifted her gaze, as she accepted the handkerchief. The first thing she noticed were large, bright blue eyes—like the sky in a cloudless day—and golden spun hair artistically styled messily on a slim head.
He looked at her with those gentle blues, a pout of sympathy on his mouth, making his soft-looking cheeks slightly swell. He looked quite adorable as he waited for her tears to stop and start to acknowledge him.
Naomi held the cotton fabric of the handkerchief in a tighter grip. She knew he would come here.
[CHARACTER INFO: LEVI LEE
OCCUPATION: Student at Ignus Academy / Idol
AGE: 17 years old
PERSONALITY: Childish, Cheerful, Down to Earth
FAVORABILITY: 45/100
IMPRESSION: Isn't she Naomi, the school Belle? Oh my, why is she crying here all alone? She looks so sad! What happened? Nevermind that, I have to comfort her first!
AVAILABLE QUEST: 1
STATUS: Love Interest]
Levi Lee, a talented musician, was this novel's famous idol. Right now, he was at a semi-hiatus in his career as he chose to study his last year in high school, all with the intention to seriously pursue a singing career in the future. He had quite a supportive fanbase and they were all eager for his comeback.
Just like what the status stated, he was one of Marianne's love interests, one of the men in her harem.
Sorry, Marianne, but Levi is going to be mine.
"I'm sorry," Naomi apologized, dabbing the handkerchief to the corner of her swollen eyes. "You're seeing such an ugly sight so early in the morning."
"You're not ugly!" Levi immediately assured her with a puppy-like shake of his head, wide eyes looking earnest. "You're beautiful! But you'll be even more beautiful if you smile!"
Naomi couldn't help the genial laughter trickling out of her mouth in response to his rather bold compliment, her eyes now dry.
Levi was quite a character in the novel. While he had a cute and harmless appearance with an aura of a golden retriever, in truth, he was the most ruthless when it came to protecting Marianne.
When the Original began targeting Marianne, Levi was the one who slandered and exposed the Original's true personality online, ruining her reputation and making it impossible for her to leave her house without being attacked. He was also the one who brought the downfall of the Cunningham family, using his vast connections with the entertainment industry and business circles.
As if that wasn't enough, he even suggested to Rowen to torture the Original in the mental asylum.
Cute and harmless? Ha! More like a sleeping lion awaiting to pounce the unsuspecting. That was precisely why Naomi needed him on her side.
Naomi's laughter eventually faded, leaving a tiny trail of a genuine smile over her rosy lips.
"Thank you," she said softly, bringing the handkerchief to her chest, a touch of sweetness to her demure movements.
Levi stared at her in a daze, before he immediately snapped out of it. "Ah, uh, y-you're welcome," he stammered, diverting his attention to the side as a red blush bloomed across his cheeks.
[LEVI'S IMPRESSION: It's the first time I've ever looked at Naomi this closely. Wow, they really weren't kidding when they said she was very pretty, huh? No wonder she always won as the school Belle in the academy.]
"I was having such a bad morning as well," Naomi told him, sniffling as she looked to the side, eyes seemingly watching something in the distance. "I confessed my love to someone, and in the end, I only received his hate. It made me wonder why... why did my love turn out to be so useless? Why... am I so useless?"
[LEVI'S FAVORABILITY: 55/100]
She was inwardly surprised by the swift jump of favorability, but she supposed it was because Levi tended to lower his guard when it came to women, especially crying women.
The first time he'd met Marianne, she had been crying quietly in the same spot as Naomi's. It turned out that she had been bullied by a few rich kids who grew jealous of the attention she was receiving. Levi—call it his savior complex—comforted her and promised to protect her from her more malicious enemies. He endeavored to fulfill that promise ever since, more so when he fell in love with Marianne.
If Naomi had not come here at this moment, Marianne would've been here instead. Now, instead of Marianne, it was her that Levi was comforting. If she hadn't been here, they would've met like one of those chance encounters that made people believe in fate.
It was funny how fate worked sometimes.
No, rather—it was funny how one could work against fate, if they had the right tools to fight it. Naomi just so happened to have the perfect tools to get the job right.