"Hey... be careful there, you're going to hurt yourself," Michael said softly, his hands gently wrapping around Liliana's as concern flickered across his features.
And just like that, he had fallen completely under her spell.
The story was unfolding exactly as it should, it seemed. Liliana had turned her attention to Michael, and from what I'd just witnessed, her plan was working perfectly. Perhaps a little too perfectly, actually.
This felt rushed compared to how things were supposed to go in the novel. Don't get me wrong—Liliana was definitely capable of this kind of manipulation. But the timing was all wrong. She should have been working her way through other noble students first, building her reputation and securing her position among the elite circles. Only after that groundwork was laid, sometime after the grading exams but before the first major story arc, was she supposed to set her sights on Michael.
Something had shifted from the original timeline.
