The Villains Must Win-Chapter 147: Reid Graves 27

College life was supposed to be a fresh start—a chance for Tabitha to leave behind the chaos of high school and the unpredictable twists of hormonal teenagers.

She had survived the drama of highschool life. Now, with Reid by her side, she was determined to keep things normal.

But "normal" had a different definition in college.

Reid, with his sharp intellect and unassuming charm, quickly became the center of attention. Apparently, college women had a thing for intelligent men who could discuss quantum physics and recite poetry in the same breath.

Who knew, right?

Despite settling into college life with Reid, Tabitha never truly let her guard down.

Sure, things were going well. Reid was her boyfriend (officially!), she hadn’t been killed or publicly humiliated in over a year, and she was finally rewriting the script of her tragic high school life.

But still—she was a woman of experience now. Traumatized experience, but experience nonetheless. And that experience told her one thing: the lead characters always come back when you least expect them.

So every time someone opened the door too quickly, every time she passed a perfume that smelled faintly like Gwendolyn’s, or saw a tall silhouette from afar, her muscles tensed and her mind screamed, It’s happening again!

She checked over her shoulder so often that Reid once asked if she had a neck spasm.

"No," Tabitha replied, eyes scanning the campus cafe. "Just . . . residual trauma. And a healthy sense of caution."

Still, for all her paranoia, the leads never showed up.

The last she’d heard of Gwendolyn, the girl had packed her bags and flown off to a completely different country. Italy? Ireland? Iceland? Who knew? The group chat said she was doing fine—thriving, even.

Word was she’d started a blog about self-discovery, hiking, and fermented goat milk or something. She even posted a soft-filtered photo of a mountain with a long caption about inner peace and personal boundaries. Very #healing energy. Very don’t call me, I’m off the grid in a linen dress with no bra.

Tabitha wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved . . . or terrified.

Because if she were the heroine of a story and her love interest had emotionally betrayed her, she too would disappear for a while, meditate with sheep on a hillside, and then return more beautiful and emotionally elusive than ever. It was just how these things worked.

And Roman? Roman had gone ghost. No texts. No social media updates. No vague black-and-white Instagram stories with quotes like "what’s meant for you won’t miss you." Nothing.

For a hot minute, Tabitha thought maybe he got abducted by aliens or joined a monk cult in the mountains to repent. But deep down, she had a feeling he was chasing after Gwendolyn—like some tragic, brooding male lead who couldn’t admit his feelings until it was too late.

That would be good. It would be good if both Roman and Gwendolyn found happiness in each other and wouldn’t disturb her and Reid, ever.

Because if Roman wasn’t chasing Gwendolyn, then somewhere out there was a ticking bomb of unresolved romantic tension. And if that exploded, it could blow her entire carefully rebuilt life to smithereens.

Every now and then, she would turn to Reid in the middle of some completely unrelated moment—like studying for finals or folding laundry—and whisper, "You’d tell me if Roman was back in the country, right?"

Reid, used to this by now, would nod without even looking up. "Of course. I have a ’Roman proximity alert’ app running 24/7."

She didn’t know if he was joking. Honestly, she didn’t care.

And it wasn’t jealousy—not really. She trusted Reid. But she also remembered the last time she underestimated the plot. Just when she thought she’d secured a happy ending, the narrative body-slammed her like a twist from a third-rate soap opera.

So now, she kept watch.

She joined clubs—not to make friends, but to collect information. She volunteered for student government—not to help, but to stay in the know. She even befriended a barista who worked at the busiest cafe on campus because coffee shop gossip travels faster than light.

And still, no sign of Roman.

No charming smirk. No inappropriate confidence. No slow clap from the back of the room.

Tabitha should’ve been happy. She should’ve felt safe.

But the absence of chaos only made her more anxious. If Roman was chasing after Gwendolyn, then that would be the best outcome.

The stubborn male lead finally realized what he lost, hunted her down across continents, proved himself by doing something stupidly grand (like scaling a mountain or learning to make goat cheese from scratch), and then swept her off her feet just in time for graduation.

Which would be romantic . . . if Roman was actually doing that.

So yeah, she was still wary.

Still sleeping with one eye open.

Still texting her few informants from high school like: "Any news? Anyone spotted our favorite emotionally constipated duo? Pls confirm."

But Reid? Sweet, oblivious Reid? He just went on with life like he hadn’t once been caught in a web of tragic love triangles and reincarnated trauma. He was thriving in college. Smarter than ever. Smoother than ever. And now with an actual girlfriend who may or may not have stalker tendencies depending on the angle.

Tabitha often stared at him while he was scribbling formulas or adjusting his glasses and wondered if he even remembered Gwendolyn at all.

Probably not. Which was just as well.

She’d carry the paranoia for the both of them. After all, someone had to stay sane enough to make sure their love story didn’t get hijacked again.

This time, she was determined to stay alive and have that happy ending with Reid.

Then, Tabitha noticed the lingering glances, the flirtatious giggles, and the not-so-subtle attempts to get Reid’s attention. She wasn’t having any of it.

Despite her vigilance, Tabitha couldn’t help but feel a pang of insecurity. She had fought hard for her happiness, and she wasn’t about to let it slip away.