Saving the Second Male Lead

Chapter Four

         "Pfft," I spat the soggy pill into my hand, the violet coloring running off it and seeping through the lines in my skin.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted him," I muttered as Ryia looked on in fear.

"Why did you do that?!" she cried out, "I know it's only a vitamin, but don't you want to get better quickly?"

"It's not a vitamin," I said matter of fact, "it's a sleeping aid, but at this concentration, it might as well be a poison."

"How can you tell?"

"The flavor, it tastes like the one I would take at home but stronger. It has an unforgettable taste of rotting grapes."

"I'm sure there must have been a mistake. There is no way they would try to poison you, there is nothing to gain from it," Ryia shook her head, certain with her words. She was partially right, I could see why Sawyer was mad at me, considering I knowingly pulled Ryia away from him, but why go as far as to poison me?

"I'll go get the doctor so that he can fix the mix-up," she began to walk towards the door, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"There is no use. I caught the mistake and spat it out, so there was no harm or foul. It'll just stir up trouble."

"But-" Ryia tried to contest, but I just shook my head. I laid back down on the bed and started at the ceiling. Three hours in and I almost got myself killed; this doesn't bode well for the future. I saw tiny flashes of my reflection in the crystal shards on the chandelier, and it came to my attention that I still had no clue what I now looked like. I rolled onto my side and hopped out of bed. I walked over to the vanity and sat down in the white velvet chair and stared into the circle mirror adorned with gold and gemstones.

"Wow," I whispered to myself, gently touching my new features. I was always okay looking in the real world, enough to get by with a compliment here and there when I put on makeup, but nothing special. June's face, on the other hand, was special, it was beautiful. June was pretty, really pretty. The author never really described her in the novel, so I have no idea what to expect, but this was much better than I could've asked for.

Smooth, beige skin without a single blemish, soft round lips the color of cherries sat below a slim nose, perfectly arched eyebrows, and wavy, dirty blonde hair that fell halfway down my back. The only thing that looked the same about me was my eyes. More specifically my eye color. Though they now sat in big, almond-shaped eyes with long, fluttering lashes, my cornflower blue irises were the same. Even the brown speck in the middle of my right eye remained.

"Weird," I said, standing up and walking back to the bed. I sat down, and Ryia joined me.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said, looking at me with honey-colored eyes that were complemented by the golden hour sunlight pouring into the room, "when we go back home, we should visit the duke's mansion to thank Oliver for helping you. It's a big relief that he was there."

I turned my head to face hers but just nodded instead of saying anything. After a few more minutes of awkward silence, a second knock hit the door.

"Come in," Ryia called. A maid with a trolley of food pushed through the door and stopped at the wooden table in the center of the room. There, she put down two lace placemats, placing shiny cutlery and a set of pink and golden patterned china on top of them. She pulled back the chairs, beckoning the two girls over. Once Ryia and I sat down, she whipped the tops off two silver trays and placed steaming plates of food on the table. In front of me was flaky, pan-seared fish with lemon slices, sticky rice pilaf, and roasted potatoes covered in what looked like dill seasoning. In front of Ryia was a thin steak with a pad of butter and garlic melting atop it, grilled asparagus, and garlic mushrooms. Looking at my plate versus hers, I couldn't help but be envious. I had hated fish since I was a kid, and the fact that the one sitting in front of me was on the bone, its head still attached, made me gag.