I Met the Male Lead in Prison

The first time I met the male lead, he was chained up in a prison cell. I knew him only as the tragic, doomed protagonist of a 19+ novel, a figure destined for suffering. But the man—if he could even be called that—who snarled and barked from the shadows was a far cry from the tormented romantic hero I expected. Afflicted by a curse that had reduced him to a feral beast, he was more a threat than a man. I let out a breath of relief, convinced that romance, fate, or any meaningful connection would never find me in this place. Freedom came for me first, a full year before his sentence was set to end. On the day I walked out of those gates, I made a fleeting promise to meet him again—a promise I never imagined would matter. But I barely had time to process my release before a man with a disarming smile approached me, calling me his beloved little sister. The truth hit me like a physical blow: I was the villain's sister, the cherished sibling of the very man who was the male lead's greatest enemy. Three years slipped by, and when our paths finally crossed again, the beast I remembered was gone. In his place stood a man with a composed, chilling smile and a look of absolute possession in his eyes. "Hello, Iyana," he said, his voice a silken threat. "I'm going to kidnap you from now on." The careful distance I had once maintained had collapsed, leaving me to face a male lead who had shed his curse and was ready to take everything he wanted.