The Male Lead isn� Chapter 249: Edward

Chapter 249: Edward

The mont Adeline stepped into the grand banquet hall, she was overwheld by the sight before her. No wonder Victoria tries to escape every ti.

The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling bathed the room in a golden glow, reflecting off the polished marble floors.

Nobles dressed in their finest garnts moved about, engaging in polite conversation and laughter, the sound blending into a constant hum. The scent of expensive wine and delicacies filled the air, but none of it mattered to her.

She branched off from her friends and brother to go look for Benedict and Cassian. Maybe she was wrong. It was her trying to cope, but she still hoped that she was wrong and the fact that she lost her friends was just a dream but no...

Her eyes scanned the crowd, and then, she saw him.

Cassian stood at the centre of it all, surrounded by nobles, dignitaries, and admirers. His presence was undeniable, and his regal posture and confident expression made it clear why he was the Crown Prince.

And standing right next to him was...

Annora.

Adeline felt her heart clench painfully.

So it was true. They looked as close as the drunken Benedict described them to be.

So foolish part of her had held onto hope, however small and ridiculous, that maybe, just maybe, Cassian had stayed the sa.

But he hadn’t.

Her gaze lingered on the two of them. Annora’s brown hair flowed freely and was resting on her shoulders. Cassian turned and tucked her hair behind her ears.

Ugh.

She could not watch this. She stood beside Cassian, looking completely at ease, as if she belonged there. Her eyes were stinging.

It was so different from how things used to be.

Desperate to ground herself, she looked away, scanning the crowd. That was when she caught sight of Benedict.

He was engaged in conversation with a group of nobles, a small polite smile on his lips. But Adeline knew him well enough to see through it.

He wasn’t interested.

Not in the conversation, not in the people around him.

He was simply playing along.

And yet, even as he spoke to them, his gaze kept flickering toward Annora—as inconspicuous as possible, but still noticeable to her.

Adeline bit her lip.

Her stomach twisted into knots.

Then, suddenly, Benedict’s gaze shifted—and landed directly on her.

Adeline froze.

For a mont, she considered looking away, but she forced herself to hold his stare.

His eyes were... Cold.

There was no warmth, no familiarity.

Nothing.

As if they had never been close. As if there had never been anything between them.

And then—he nodded.

Just a simple acknowledgent, nothing more. A gesture that barely held any aning.

And then, he turned away.

Adeline felt her chest tighten, and suddenly, it was hard to breathe.

So cold.

So unfamiliar.

This was what the previous Adeline had experienced, wasn’t it?

She had been cast aside, ignored, and treated like a stranger by those she had once trusted.

Did it hurt this much?

Maybe it did.

Maybe it hurt even more. At least she had an explanation, she knew that they were under a spell... The previous Adeline could not figure out why her dear friends started to hate her.

The noise around her seed to blur, voices blending together until they were nothing more than a dull ringing in her ears. Her thoughts were scattered, emotions tangled together in a way she couldn’t even begin to process.

She wanted to leave.

So, without thinking, she turned away from the crowd and walked off, wandering aimlessly through the banquet hall.

The lights seed too bright, the space too crowded, the air too stifling.

Her breath quickened, and she stumbled slightly.

Her vision blurred for a split second.

Just as she thought she was about to lose her footing—

A hand steadied her.

Warm. Firm.

It was placed at the small of her back, stabilising her before she could fall.

Adeline’s breath hitched.

She whirled around to see who it was.

And the mont she did—she froze.

Stormy grey eyes t hers.

Eyes filled with sothing unreadable, sothing that made her chest tighten even further.

Adeline’s lips parted slightly, but no words ca out.

Her throat felt dry.

Her eyes stung.

She had told herself this was a problem she could solve.

That she could handle it.

That it didn’t matter.

But seeing them act like strangers—seeing them look at her as if she didn’t an anything...

It was still a punch to the gut.

"I did not think you were this fragile, Adeline. Should I find a better partner?"

Adeline’s brows furrowed at his words. His tone wasn’t mocking, yet the words themselves cut deep. She clenched her fists slightly, steadying herself.

"I am not fragile," she said, mustering as much strength as she could.

He smirked. "Fine. I’m wrong."

His expression, however, shifted almost instantly. His smirk faded, replaced by sothing more serious as his gaze flickered past her. Adeline instinctively followed his line of sight, and her heart clenched when she saw where he was looking.

Benedict.

He stood not too far away, his posture composed and his face unreadable. But his eyes- those cold, distant eyes—were locked onto them.

Adeline swallowed.

He looked at them as if they were enemies...

The man beside her let out a quiet breath, then spoke again.

"It does hurt when the person you love so much abandons you, doesn’t it?"

Adeline inhaled sharply.

For a mont, she couldn’t believe he had said that.

He sounded... Sincere.

So sincere that it left her stunned.

She turned to look at him, searching his face for any sign of mockery, but there was none. His expression was unreadable, yet the weight behind his words felt real.

It was strange.

Who was he really?

Of course, she knew nothing about his past. She didn’t know what experiences had led him to say sothing like that.

Edward shook his head and chuckled. Were they not in the sa position, the people they loved had thrown them away. He looked at Adeline who looked at him intently, she did not hide her surprise.