Chapter 4
"Esmond, so it's fine when you break the rules, but not when I do?" I shot back.
The air felt thick all of a sudden.
I thought he'd lose it and choke me right then.
But instead, he let go of me.
The pressure vanished instantly, and I leaned back against the wall, gulping air.
He stood right in front of me, silent as a statue.
Time dragged on so long that I almost thought he'd left.
Then, all of a sudden, he finally spoke, his voice laced with exhaustion and a trace of mockery.
"Honey, are you done playing games yet?"
I jerked my head up.
Esmond said, "Time to go home and put on a show."
I hadn't even figured out what he meant yet.
But before I could, he dropped an even bigger bombshell.
His voice was barely a whisper, but it exploded in my ear like thunder.
"Whitney, are you 'awake' too?"
I went completely stiff.
My blood felt like it stopped.
I couldn't believe what he said.
I wondered what he meant by "awake."
A wild, terrifying thought spiraled out of control in my mind.
I stared at him, eyes wide in utter disbelief.
In the darkness, his outline was a blur, but his eyes pierced right through it. They were shockingly bright.
It was like he could see right through me.
"What are you talking about? I don't get it," I stammered.
My voice was shaking.
Esmond let out a soft chuckle.
He reached out and flicked on the entryway light.
Warm orange light flooded the space in an instant.
Finally, I could see his face clearly.
He wasn't angry or sarcastic like I thought he would be.
All I could see on his face was a deep exhaustion and a sense of relief, like a weight had finally been lifted.
He leaned against the wall across from me, posture relaxed, meeting my gaze.
"You still want to keep pretending?" he asked.
He arched an eyebrow.
He said,"Whitney, your acting is so good that you almost had me fooled.
"That performance at the engagement party was award -worthy.
"All teary-eyed, playing the perfect victim, walking away like it was nothing, then hitting me with that backstab... That was impressive."
My heart kept sinking.
He really knew the truth.
He wasn't bluffing.
He knew I was only acting.
But I wondered how he knew about it.
"You..."
My voice came out rough and shaky, barely above a whisper.
"You too?"
Esmond's lips finally broke into a genuine smile, the first real one I'd ever seen from him.
It was nothing like his usual cold, practiced grin.
There was a spark of joy there, like he'd found a kindred spirit.
He retorted, "What else?
"You really think I'd want to stick around and act out some cringe romance with Kendall?
"If I wasn't trapped by this damn storyline, I would've tossed her out the very first day."
My eyes widened in shock.
So he was awake too.
Like me, he knew we were both stuck inside a story.
We were puppets, dancing on the plot's strings.
It was no wonder he was acting so strange at the engagement party today.
He said all those cutting words, but there was no love or apology in his eyes, only impatience and indifference.
It was no wonder he showed up here.
It was no wonder he asked if I was "awake" too.
It turned out that all that playing off each other was really our secret signal to see if the other was 'awake' too.
This twist hit me harder than anything in the book ever did.
I slumped against the wall, feeling like every bit of strength had been drained from my body.
"When did you wake up?" I asked.
Esmond replied, "A bit before you.
"Half a year ago.
"I tried to fight it, but it was pointless. Whenever I did anything that didn't fit the 'male lead' persona, I'd get a splitting headache. Sometimes I'd even lose consciousness.
"It's like being a puppet, pulled by invisible strings, controlled by some unseen hand."
His voice was steady, but I could hear the suppressed frustration and resentment underneath.
I got it.
I realized what was going on.
I had had that feeling of having no control, watching oneself get dragged toward a fate they couldn't escape.
"So you got engaged to me, the villainess, to see if you could break free from the script?" I asked.
Esmond nodded. "That's right.
"You're one of the biggest wildcards in this whole story. I wanted to take a chance.
"And you didn't disappoint me."
He looked at me, his eyes burning with intensity.
"The way you go off-script was how I knew you were like me.
"Welcome to the Resistance, Whitney."