*CHAPTER 1: THE VILLAIN WITH MY NAME*

Aurora Veyl💜

I was curled up on the living-room carpet with a blanket over my legs and a bowl of popcorn balanced on my knee when the villainess on screen made her next terrible decision.

Aurora Veyl—yes, that was actually her name—stood in the shadows of the academy courtyard, silver eyes fixed on the vampire prince as he smiled down at the heroine. Soft lantern light made the whole scene look unfairly romantic. Evelina Rose, the sweet and beautiful lead, laughed at something he said. He looked at her like she was the only person in the world worth looking at.

And the other Aurora?

She looked ready to burn the courtyard to the ground.

I shoved a handful of popcorn into my mouth and muttered, “Girl, just walk away.”

Ethan, my younger brother, was stretched out on the couch with his phone in one hand and the other hand already reaching for my popcorn. “You’re talking to the TV again.”

“I’m offering free life advice. Someone has to.”

Mom came in from the kitchen carrying a bowl of cut fruit like she was trying to balance out the junk food. “What are we watching tonight?”

“Supernatural academy drama,” I said. “Vampires. Werewolves. One very unhinged hybrid who needs serious therapy.”

Dad followed a second later, still in his work shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He glanced at the screen just as the original Aurora deliberately stepped into the prince’s path and forced a conversation he clearly didn’t want. Her smile was perfect. Her eyes were pure possession.

“She’s the villain, right?” Dad asked.

“Unfortunately,” I said. “And somehow she keeps getting worse. She’s rich, she’s powerful, she could literally have anyone, and instead she’s out here sabotaging another girl because the vampire prince smiled at someone else.”

Ethan finally looked up from his phone, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Wait. Her name is Aurora Veyl. *Your* name is Aurora Veyl.” He pointed between me and the television. “Are we sure you’re not secretly a villain?”

I turned my head so fast my ponytail swung. “Excuse me?”

“I’m just saying. Beautiful name. Questionable energy. The resemblance is uncanny.” He leaned forward, eyes sparkling with pure sibling malice. “Maybe you’ll grow up to become a terrifying hybrid queen who ruins innocent girls’ lives because some handsome prince refuses to marry you.”

Mom snorted into her fruit. Dad tried and failed to hide a smile.

I grabbed the nearest cushion and launched it at Ethan’s face. It hit with a soft *thump*. He only laughed harder, catching it and hugging it like a prize.

“Shut up,” I said. “If I ever become that dramatic over a man, you have my permission to slap some sense into me.”

“I’m writing that down,” Ethan announced. “Legal permission granted.”

On screen, the original Aurora’s jealousy got uglier. She spread rumors through the academy halls. She used her family’s influence to make Evelina’s life harder. She cornered the vampire prince in empty corridors and acted like his rejection was a personal insult instead of a clear boundary. Every time the camera cut back to her face I felt a weird mix of irritation and fascination.

She was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her. And so determined to destroy herself that I couldn’t look away.

“I don’t get it,” I said out loud. “She has everything. Power. Money. Status. Why is she throwing it all away over someone who doesn’t even want her?”

Mom sat down on the arm of the couch. “Some people don’t know how to walk away.”

“Well, they should learn. It’s a basic life skill.” I pointed at the screen with a piece of popcorn. “If a man doesn’t like you, you move on. You don’t humiliate another woman and then act shocked when people call you the villain. Have some self-respect.”

Ethan grinned. “You’re really taking this personally.”

“Because it’s *personal*. We share a name. I refuse to be associated with someone this dramatic.”

That made everyone laugh. Even me.

The movie rolled on. The hybrid villainess kept making worse choices. The vampire prince kept choosing Evelina. And I kept shaking my head like the characters could somehow hear me through the screen.

Dad eventually stretched and checked the time. “We’re still going to your aunt’s place tomorrow, right? She wants us there by six.”

I blinked, pulling myself out of the story. “Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Mom confirmed. “Traffic’s been bad lately, so we’re leaving a little early. No arguments.”

Ethan groaned like someone had personally canceled his weekend. “Do we have to?”

“Yes,” Mom and Dad said at the same time.

I glanced back at the television one last time. The original Aurora Veyl was standing alone in the rain outside the academy, watching the vampire prince walk away with Evelina. Her expression was pure heartbreak wrapped in rage.

I shook my head and stood up, brushing popcorn off my shirt.

“Fine,” I said. “But if Aunt Maren tries to set me up with another ‘nice boy’ again, I’m blaming all of you.”

Dad laughed and ruffled my hair on his way past. “Deal.”

I paused in the doorway and looked back at the screen. The hybrid villainess was still standing in the rain, beautiful and furious and completely alone.

“Get it together, Aurora,” I muttered under my breath. “You’re better than this.”

Then I turned off the light and went to pack for tomorrow’s dinner, completely unaware that fate had already started writing a very different story under my name.

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