It's been a week since her husband was murdered by someone, and Tiara can't do anything but shut herself in the house. The police still haven't found the killer, even though the whole country has been heavily guarded by police officers.

The whole house felt empty and dark. Tiara sat on the living room sofa hugging their wedding photo frame. In her heart, she wanted to find the killer as soon as possible so she could avenge him directly.

"Why does this have to happen to my family? Why can't I live a happy life? Does God have a grudge against me so I don't deserve a happy life?"

Drrt...drrt...

Suddenly, a text message appeared on the phone screen. The message was sent from an unknown number. Tiara quickly read the message silently until her eyes began to tear up.

"If you want to find out why your husband was killed, come to me! But on condition, you have to come alone!"

After reading the message, Tiara immediately roused herself to find a dagger to use as a weapon. Then, she changed her clothes into a black suit and covered her face with a mask. She was determined to kill the killer with her own hands, no matter if she ended up in jail.

*****

Their meeting place was on a bridge on the edge of town. The killer had deliberately arranged to meet at night to avoid being caught by the police.

Tiara arrived at this place first. This bridge is not traveled by anyone because it is known as a haunted bridge. She was not afraid to walk back and forth while fingering her pants pocket with a dagger to stab the killer.

"There you are."

Hearing the killer's voice as if he was mocking her, Tiara immediately turned around to see that the killer was a handsome young man. Her eyes were not easily seduced by the handsome face of the young man, although in fact this killer was more handsome than her husband.

"Who are you really? Why did you kill my husband, you asshole?!" Tiara screamed until her breath caught.

The assassin smiled sarcastically as he walked haughtily toward Tiara. "Don't you remember me?"

"Ha! Remember what! For all I know, you're a psycho psychopath who killed my innocent husband!"

"You still think your husband was innocent?" The assassin pointed an index finger at Tiara's head. "Should I make you realize that you're not blinded by love?"

"What do you know about my husband? Why did you kill him?"

The assassin tugged at Tiara's collar. "Your husband was an asshole. He deserved to die. Don't you know he's been deceiving everyone all this time?"

"Cheating? He's actually the cleanest man I know. He can't even drink alcohol and never goes to clubs to play with women. All this time he's always focused on me compared to anyone else, even his best friend. He is the best husband and you have no right to accuse him."

"He wears a mask in front of you so that you believe him! I know his personality better than everyone else and I actually pity you the most for misjudging people."

Tiara released the assassin's grip on her hand and pulled out a dagger from her pants pocket. Unexpectedly, the assassin moved faster. The dagger was grabbed by the assassin and thrown into the river.

Without further ado, Tiara put all her strength into punching the killer's body. However, her strength was still not enough, considering her small body and the killer's body was bigger and taller. The killer immediately lifted Tiara's body by pulling her shirt collar, then led her to the back of the bridge pillar.

Tiara's gaze was blank as she stared up at the beautiful night sky dotted with stars.

"Do you have any last words to say before following your husband? I can still save you as long as you don't defend your husband at this last moment."

"It's beautiful," Tiara said softly.

"What did you say?"

"The sky is beautiful today. If only my husband were still alive, he and I would have seen the stars together by now."

Seeing that this woman was still devoted to her husband, the killer raged and groaned in frustration. His right hand vigorously pushed the woman into the river.

BYUR

In the last moments of the woman's drowning, the young man wept bitterly while bowing his head.

*****

As Tiara lost consciousness in the water, she imagined the last time she and her husband wanted to go on a date. Tiara was getting ready to put on her makeup for a date with her husband at an elite hotel. Her husband had promised to come home early so they could go to the hotel together.

Tiara had been waiting for her husband's arrival at her residence for hours. She tried to call him many times, but there was no response. It was unusual for her husband not to give her news if he had to go home late or cancel a date. Tiara tried to think positively, maybe her husband's cell phone was dead, so she couldn't contact him.

Speaking of dead cell phones, at the same time a phone call from her husband appeared on her cell phone screen. Tiara quickly picked up the phone.

At first she wanted to hear her husband's voice, but it was the police who responded. The police reported that the owner of this cell phone was found dead in a hit-and-run accident. Tiara immediately moved quickly to the scene to confirm that the dead man was her husband.

Upon arriving at the scene, Tiara ran to a body covered in a shroud being transported. Tears flooded her face as she saw that the body was her husband. Her hands were clenched tightly, for her it was impossible that this was an ordinary accident because the crime scene was a public road. She looked around her vigilantly, assuming that her husband had been deliberately run over by someone.

Tiara suddenly woke up in an empty corridor. Still in a completely unharmed condition, it made her confused about what was happening to her at this time. She still remembered the last thing that happened to her was being killed by that young man on the bridge until she drowned in the river. Then, now how did she survive? Is there anyone to save her now?

Besides there was no one here, this corridor was only lit by a few lights. Tiara was still trying to figure out what this place was and how she could escape death? Could this place be hell?

She slowly raised her body and walked along the corridor. While walking, she strangely did not feel her head dizzy or her body exhausted.

"What is this place exactly?"

The appearance of a light at the end of the corridor made Tiara want to be free from this strange place immediately. She ran full speed toward the source of the light, eventually ending up in a server room.

Tiara looked around the server room with a glaring gaze. Especially reading an inscription written on a big screen in front of her.

"If you want to return to the original world, then you must conquer the heart of the antagonist character. Make that character a good character."

What did this mean? An antagonistic character? Why did he feel like he was in another world? Was this just a dream? I wanted to wake up quickly from this strange dream world and choose to end up in hell instead. Tiara tried to feel all the tools in the server room to free her.

*****

"Wake up, my daughter!"

Tiara quickly opened her eyes wide at the sound of someone shouting in her ear. However, what was this place? While the surroundings looked much more luxurious than her room, this place was very unfamiliar.

Her eyes then fell on a middle-aged woman who looked like her biological mother. However, his biological mother had actually died several years ago, so who was the woman who woke him up now? Why could there be a middle-aged woman figure very similar to his mother? Is it true that this place is heaven or hell?

"Mom?" asked Tiara nervously.

The middle-aged woman rolled her eyes and ruffled her waist. "Yes, I am your mother!"

Tiara's eyes glazed over knowing that her biological mother was still alive. Her right hand stroked her mother's soft cheek, still warm, even though the last time it was cold and stiff when she died.

"It turns out that mom is still alive. Thank goodness."

"Apparently you're still dreaming! Of course I'm alive! This is because you slept too long!" The mother hit her daughter's hand.

"But... how can you be alive? Then, where is this? When did my room become this luxurious?"

"You'd better wash your face first. You should be taught a lesson for waking up late today. You have to meet your fiancé later."

Tiara raised her right eyebrow. "My fiancé? Who?" For a moment Tiara thought, if her biological mother was still alive, would her husband also be alive in this world? "Linnon is still alive?"

Hearing that name made her mother frown. "Who is Linnon? Are you having a strange dream again?"

"In that case, who is my fiancé, ma'am?"

"Who else but Duke Harris!"

Wait a minute! Wasn't that the name of the main protagonist in the novel she was reading? Before her husband died, Tiara liked to read online novels written by her own husband. However, since he died, she couldn't finish the novel. If so, is she really out of her mind now? How could she enter a novel that had not yet been finished?

The mother narrowed her eyes. "But, why did you suddenly bring up that I'm dead? Could it be that your dream was that I was dead?"

It was more likely that it was true that her mother had died. However, it was impossible for Tiara to tell her mother the truth in this world. Maybe she would be locked up in a mental hospital forever.

"It's okay, Mom. It was just a dream. People usually say that dreams are the opposite of reality." Claudia hugged her mother's body affectionately. "You will definitely live a long life in this world."

"Come on, I don't want to bother you anymore. You should just rest today before you really go crazy."

When her mother left her alone, Tiara moved quickly to find out what kind of place this was. She tried to find a cell phone in the drawer of the bedside table. Then, she finally found a cell phone and opened the one that didn't have a password.

The first thing she did was look at the list of contact names on her cell phone. At the sight of these names, Tiara gasped and the phone almost fell to the floor. Especially when reading all the chats on this phone, everyone calls her by a familiar name.

"I'm really trapped in that novel world. I'm... Lady Claudia?"

Knock...knock...

A maid entered the luxurious room carrying a tray with a glass of water. Tiara's reaction was stunned to see that the maid was her best friend in real life. She tried to remember whose name her best friend was in the novel. Was the woman's name Sarah who was Claudia's housekeeper and personal secretary?

"You're... Sarah, right?"

With a worried look, Sarah touched her employer's forehead. "Your mother said you weren't feeling well. Are you really sick? Why were you questioning my name just now?"

Claudia pushed Sarah's palm away from her forehead. "I'm not sick. It's just... I had a nightmare just now. That's why I'm still in shock."

"You don't usually have nightmares. What exactly happened?"

"Now I want to ask you. Is my name really Claudia Amberlynn?"

Sarah laughed awkwardly while shaking her head. "It's definitely true. There's only one name in the world. You are really strange now."

If she thought about it for too long, she might go completely crazy. Was it true that he was now trapped in the world of novels? What's more, she was now living in the body of a novel character. Was this impossible?

Claudia slapped her pretty face so many times that the assistant immediately stopped her before her pretty face became a real bruise. The assistant was even confused as to why her employer's attitude had changed so drastically overnight when in reality nothing had happened.

"Lady, stop it! What exactly happened to you? You've been behaving very strangely!"

"Now I want to ask you. Are we in the city of Edenburgh right now?"

The assistant immediately laid her employer's body on the bed. "I think I should tell the Duke that you are indeed sick."

She was right. The city of Edenburgh was the name of a city invented by her husband, derived from the name of the city of Edinburgh in the real world. When her husband was writing this novel, Tiara always scolded him for using the name of a real city in the real world as if there was no creativity.

Now she's back in the role of Claudia in the novel world. Claudia is still curious about what this house is like. The house that would become her residence during her stay in this world until she returned to the original world. She raised her body and ran out of the room. Just stepping out of the room, she was greeted by the luxurious interior of this house decorated with classical ornaments.

Without caring about being called insane by the janitors of this house, he ran down the stairs then explored the living room where his parents were watching the news. Seeing his father still healthy also surprised him so much that he almost screamed. However, he just remembered that in the novel, his father was quite a perfectionist, so he abandoned his intention to act like a villager.

Satisfied with the adventure of the entire mansion, Claudia finally entered her room and locked the door tightly. Having made sure she was in the world of her ex-husband's novels, she now wanted to confirm one more important thing with her assistant Sarah.

"Sarah, can I ask you something?"

"By the way, are you really okay? Your behavior from earlier was very strange."

Claudia nodded. "I was just a little surprised because I had a bad dream last night." For a moment, massaging her temples was painful.

Sarah lowered her eyebrows while patting Claudia's shoulder. "If you're not feeling well, it's best not to exert yourself. Don't make Duke worry about you."

"In that case, you must not report my strange behavior to the duke. I would hate for others to know about my condition. It's very troublesome!"

"Isn't it good to report to the Duke? Your relationship will become intimate. Gosh, I'm so jealous of having a boyfriend!"

Claudia tried to recall the plot of the novel her husband had created. Based on the original storyline, Claudia and Harris' relationship was so sweet that she was even jealous every time she read the romantic scenes. When creating the romantic scenes between Claudia and Harris, her husband told her that he wrote the scenes inspired by what they did in real life. That's from the husband's point of view in real life, but in the world of novels, is it really like that?

"Speaking of Duke, does he really love me?"

"What do you mean? Of course he must love you very much. Duke Harris who is known as a soft-hearted duke, it's impossible for him not to love you."

However, there was still one thing that bothered Claudia. Why did she have to conquer the heart of the antagonist in this novel? Was the antagonist really the key to the novel's resolution?

Claudia understood that the antagonist was Duke Harry, the older brother of Duke Harris, whose attitude was the exact opposite. Duke Harry was known to be merciless towards anyone and he would not hesitate to kill anyone who got in his way.

"Sarah, for today's meeting is Duke Harry also present?"

Sarah knitted her eyebrows. "Why are you suddenly bringing up the duke you hate so much? Do you want to avoid him?"

With a confident look Claudia raised her body while walking towards the walk in closet. "I also want to meet the duke Harry."

"But, isn't today the scheduled date between you and Duke Harris?"

"That matter can be done at another time. Anyway, later please tell the duke's assistant to arrange a meeting with Duke Harry as well. Because there is something I want to ask in person."

Sarah was actually still confused by her employer's drastic change in attitude. As far as she knew, her employer had always tried every way to avoid Duke Harry because every time he saw Duke Harry's face, she felt disgusted.

*****

The meeting between Claudia and the two duke brothers was held in the garden gazebo of the Harperwood family residence. Claudia was ready to face the cruel duke, because she might be destined to marry Duke Harry during her life in this novel. Although Duke Harry is an antagonistic character, she still can't hate him because Duke Harry is known to be very handsome and favored by many noble women in this country.

Claudia slowly approached the two dukes who were enjoying tea. However, for some reason she had a hunch that the two dukes were two people she knew in the real world. Moreover, the posture of Duke Harris when viewed from a distance is very similar to her ex-husband who was killed. Then, who is Duke Harry in the real world? It feels like she just met Duke Harry yesterday, but who exactly is he?

Claudia's eyeballs rounded as the two dukes turned around simultaneously to face her. Her guess was right, Duke Harris was her ex-husband who died in the real world. Then, to make matters worse, Duke Harry was the murderer who killed her and Linnon.