CHAPTER 1
AMY
Anlon steps closer, his piercing blue eyes locked onto hers. His fingers brush against the simple maid’s dress she wears, reverence in his touch.
“You are all I have ever wanted, Celandine. All I will ever need.”
“OH MY GOD, PRINCE ANLON!”
My fingers freeze on the keyboard. My heart slams against my ribs. I whip around, praying no one has a directline of sight to my screen.The Chronicles of Persefiafan fiction isn’t exactly work-appropriate material but hey, it’s my lunch break. I can do whatever I want, and making sure I give my favorite couple in literature history the happy ending they deserve is worth it.
I clamp my lips shut, swallowing the panic clawing its way up my throat. No way they know what I’m doing. The office colleagues aren't mind readers.
A weary sigh drifts from the desk beside mine. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s happening this time, Jolene?” Maggie, our head accountant and resident no-nonsense grandmother, mutters without looking up.
“Jake Hollander!” Jolene, our new accounting trainee, squeals, jabbing a neon-pink fingernail at her screen.
I roll my eyes. Of course. Hollywood’s favorite abs-and-stuntman combo. This has nothing to do withThe Chronicles of Persefia. I probably just heard what I wanted to hear.
“The Hollywood actor?” I ask, only half-interested.
“Yeah! He’s up for the role of a prince…” She squints at her screen, lips pursed. “Prince Anlon something?”
My stomach drops.
“Prince Anlon ofPersefia?” I try, willing her to say no.
She nods eagerly. “Yeah! You know it?”
“Yes, I’ve heard of it.”
Heard of it?I am obsessed with the series. Twelve books of pure escapism. A world that kept me afloat when my fibro flared and I was too exhausted to get out of bed. A series that kept me entertained on days when my joints hurt so much that they brought me to tears. A world that letme dream, that made me believe even a weak, ordinary girl could become a hero in the eyes of a beautiful prince.
A world that did not deserve to be sullied by Hollywood’s favorite abs-for-brains action star.
“Jake as a hot prince.” Jolene sighs, placing a hand on her chest, eyes glazing over in a dreamy haze. “I hope he’s naked a lot.”
I physically flinch.This! This is the problem right here. Anlon is so much more than his abs.He’s about emotions, bravery, self-sacrifice—not mindless, shirtless fight sequences. Any Hollywood action hero would be a terrible choice.
I have to do something.
“Have you read the books?” I ask the room, scanning for a kindred spirit. Someone,anyone, who understands.
The three women just blink at me, not used to me engaging in conversation. I usually reply politely without engaging much in anything. Maybe my manager had a point during my annual review. I might need to work on my social skills.
“I tried with all the hype, but fantasy’s not really my thing,” Genna admits. She’s the one closest to me in age. “You?” she asks tentatively.
“Some,” I say, somehow managing to sound completely detached as I glance at my screen—where my latestPersefiafanfic is waiting for me.
Some.
I’m one of the stars ofAO3 - Archive of Our Own, the biggest fanfiction site on the internet, with thousands of reviews on my fanfictions. And the one I’m working onnow? My own version of the final book, the one that won’t hit bookstores for another eighteen months.
Four years between books should be a crime.
“Jake Hollander is averyversatile actor,” Jolene chimes in, her tone defensive. “Everyone in the industry says so.”
I don’t have the time—or the willpower—to argue. I shrug and turn back toward my screen. “If you say so. I don’t care anyway.”
