To My Eternal Love : Saving the Tragic Second Male Lead

does this thing came again

Olivia muttered, her eyes going wide. She rubbed them once, twice. But the thread was still there, right where it had been. Her heart thudded in her chest, her brows creasing like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

The sound of Ophilia and Celine chatting faded into nothing. Her eyes locked onto the long line like a thread ,on Ophilia’s wrist. The longer she stared, the clearer it became.

At first it was barely a shimmer at Ophilia’s wrist. But the longer she looked... the clearer it got. The light slowly spread from Ophilia’s wrist, stretching outward... passing through the air... like it was passing through the walls themselves.

But the color of the thread wasn’t even the most shocking part. Because right beside Ophilia’s thread, there was another one ,long, red, pulsing like a human heartbeat.

Olivia’s eyes went wide and she immediately turned toward Celine, who was standing right beside Ophilia.

"Yep!! That one’s Celine’s...."

She whispered, eyes moving between the threads on both their wrists.

One red?

And this one... what color even is this?

She whispered to herself, watching the thin, long thread shift between colors. Red then black then white. Her eyes stayed glued to Ophilia’s wrist.

"What does all of this MEAANNNN"

She cried internally.

Am I going crazy

She thought to herself.

She let herself fall back onto Ophilia’s bed.

"Maybe I’m just overthinking and seeing weird things"

She told herself, covering her face with both palms. Then, when she looked up at the ceiling of Ophilia’s room, she froze. Shocked. Trembling.

Because up there, from one corner to other corner, she could see hundreds of threads floating in the air. Spilling across the walls and the floor. Every color imaginable. She immediately sat up. She shut her eyes and shook her head.

"No, maybe this is just an illusion"

She whispered softly to herself.

Something clicked in her mind. She stood up and stepped outside. She runned towars the door. Then...

"Booommm"

Her head nearly exploded from the shock. The same thing she saw on Ophilia’s ceiling, it was here too.

The only difference was, the threads here were draped across the floor instead of floating. Her eyes drifted toward the knights standing guard. Sure enough, both knights beside Ophilia’s door had the threads too.

Her legs went weak, almost gave out but she forced herself to stay upright and stay calm. She drew in the deepest breath she could.

1

2

3

4

5

Breathe out....

She repeated it over and over before stepping back into Ophilia’s room. She practiced her smile on the way in.

"Okay! Maybe it’ll disappear on its own soon"

She told herself, trying to settle her own heart. Then she turned to face the both of them and walked over with a smile. But she couldn’t fool Celine or Ophilia who had been watching her this whole time.

"What’s wrong, Olivia?"

Celine asked as Olivia walked toward them. Her trembling legs were impossible to miss. Olivia just shook her head, her eyes exhausted.

She went quiet. Silent. Like her mouth had been locked shut.

She didn’t know what to say to them. She looked at Ophilia and Celine’s worried faces. She made up her mind and walked toward them to ask for a hug, for support. From them... but.

"Thud!!"

She tripped over something on the floor. The carpet. She fell. And when she landed, her hand was holding onto something.

Long. And thin.

She looked down. It was the thread ,the one tied to Ophilia’s wrist.

And then suddenly.....

She saw something flash inside her head...

And in the blink of an eye, her world changed.

Not dark. Not light either...

But..... a memory that wasn’t hers....

The memory belonged to Ophilia.

Olivia pressed her hands over her ears. Image after image came flooding in without stopping. Sounds of crying, emotions, feelings... all of it crashing together into one. Like her mind was being forced to swallow someone else’s entire life. Her eyes went wide. Her body shook.

"Ah!"

She stumbled backward, away from them.

Her breathing came fast. Her whole body was drenched in sweat.

"What... was that..."

She thought, completely lost. She didn’t understand any of what she’d just seen.

Her breathing was still fast and ragged. Her hands were cold and trembling, pressed against her head like she was trying to hold something from bursting out.

"Olivia?!"

Celine’s voice cut through, sharp with worry. Footsteps rushing toward her.

"Olivia, what happened?!"

Ophilia’s voice followed, slower but clearly full of concern. Olivia lifted her face slowly. Their eyes met. But this time... something was different.

The thread was still there, clear as ever. She swallowed and cleared her throat. The thread felt alive, living and pulsing.

Ophilia stepping closer only made Olivia more afraid. More unsettled at the thought of her getting any nearer.

"No no don’t touch me please!!"

She begged silently.

She took one step back. Her body’s reflex. Like her body itself was refusing to let them come close.

"What’s going on? You look pale..."

Celine tried to move closer again.

But Olivia quickly shook her head.

"Don’t...!"

Her voice came out louder than she meant it to.

Both of them went still. Celine’s face shifted startled. She looked hurt, but tried to smile anyway. Ophilia furrowed her brows, trying to understand.

Olivia caught herself and immediately covered her own mouth, eyes wide.

"...sorry."

Her voice was soft, barely audible. She breathed in deep, trying to pull herself together. But her eyes couldn’t look away.

The thread.

Still moving. Slowly... pulsing.

And now....

Her eyes were pulled to one spot. Ophilia’s wrist. That color... slowly changing.

From white... to red... then... black.

Olivia’s eyes went wide.

"What do all these colors even mean"

She thought. But she slowly started processing everything.

Normally, red probably means something good but black??... Does something happen to Ophilia?

She thought, staring at both their hands. And then ..

"maybe... death...."

No...

That can’t be...

Her body went cold. Like her blood had stopped moving. The memory she’d seen flashed back to her.

Those memories. Fragments, incomplete.

But enough to make her heart drop.

"...Ophilia."

She called out softly. Her voice starting to shake.

Ophilia paused for a moment before answering.

"Yes?"

Olivia opened her mouth. But no words came out. How was she supposed to explain?

That she had just seen something that wasn’t hers to see. She looked at Ophilia, her eyes already glassy. Her chest felt tight.

No, she’s still too young to know all of this

Her voice trembled inside her heart.

Her gaze fell back to Ophilia’s hand.

The thread... still pulsing. Still changing.

And that black color... still there. She slowly curled her hand into a fist.

Back then, I really did hate Ophilia so much because of what she did to Javien

She pressed her lips together.

But now, seeing all this...

It’s heavy. So starting today...

She lifted her face.

Her eyes were still red... but something had shifted. She wiped her tears and shook her head slowly.

Starting today, I will protect the people who matter most to me!!!

Both her hands balled into fists.

Even if she didn’t understand any of this...

Even if this is terrifying, I’ll find out the truth. I’ll protect her. No matter what happens.

But without her knowing, without her seeing...

On her own wrist, the thread changed. Darker. Deeper.

As if...

That choice was pulling her toward something unavoidable.