Chapter 567: Real Past
He swallowed hard. "And then everything crashed."
His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "All the money... gone."
He looked down, his expression filled with frustration. "My father had poured everything into those shares ..."
His fists tightened. "And now... we’re bankrupt."
A pause. "What’s worse ..."
His jaw clenched. "Someone leaked our family’s confidential information."
The café suddenly felt colder. Eleanor listened quietly, but inside...a storm was brewing.
’Future self...?’
Her eyes flickered slightly. ’ So that’s how it works ...’
A strange realization began forming in her mind. "These so-called ’chosen ones’... they’re just ordinary people with an advantage ...’
Her lips pressed together faintly. ’And without it... they fall apart.’
She glanced at Mateo. ’This is the male lead?’
A hint of disdain rose within her. ’He got scammed... and now he’s here acting pitiful ...’
Mateo, noticing her silence, misunderstood again. In fact ..."
He leaned forward slightly. "My future self told me something else."
Eleanor looked at him, her expression unreadable. "He said... you come from a rich family."
His eyes searched her face. "A very powerful one."
Before he could continue...
Eleanor raised her hand. "Stop."
Her voice was sharp enough to cut through the air. "If you’re going to talk nonsense ..."
Her gaze turned cold. "Find someone else."
Inside, her thoughts were clear. ’Rich family?’
A faint scoff echoed in her mind. ’I know exactly what kind of background Eleanor has. ...’
An abusive father. A timid mother. A tragic past.
There was nothing noble about it. ’ Even the original story was twisted ...’
Her expression darkened slightly. ’And now even that is changing ...’
She didn’t want to think about it anymore. "I’m leaving."
She stood up abruptly. "If I stay any longer ..."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "I might actually slap you."
Mateo was stunned. "What?"
He instinctively reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Why are you acting like this?"
His voice carried a mix of confusion and irritation.
"I’m talking to you properly...do you have to be so sarcastic?"
Eleanor let out a short, humorless laugh. "Yes."
Her lips curled slightly. "Because you’re being ridiculous."
Their eyes locked, tension crackling between them.
Voices began to rise.
"What’s your problem?"
"What’s yours?"
The argument escalated quickly, sharp words clashing one after another.
Around them, the café’s atmosphere shifted.
Conversations quieted.
People began glancing over, whispering among themselves, their eyes filled with curiosity and gossip.
But neither of them noticed. Or perhaps... They simply didn’t care.
At one point, Eleanor’s patience finally snapped.
She raised her hand and pointed directly at Mateo, her eyes blazing with a cold fury that made even the air around them feel sharp and suffocating.
"You know what you are?"
Her voice trembled slightly... not with fear, but with anger that had been buried for far too long.
"You’re a sore loser... and you’ll stay one for the rest of your life."
The words struck hard. Mateo’s expression stiffened, his jaw tightening.
Eleanor took a step closer, her gaze piercing straight through him.
"Do you really think you’re a good guy?"
She let out a dry, humorless laugh. "No."
Her voice dropped, colder than before. "You’re pathetic."
A pause. "You couldn’t even stand up for your own girlfriend when she was being accused and let her get expelled."
The café fell into a suffocating silence. Even the faint clinking of cups had stopped.
Mateo’s hands curled into fists, his knuckles turning white. "Women are really dangerous..."
His voice was low, strained, and laced with irritation. "I thought we had already moved past that."
He glared at her. "But you just had to bring it up again, didn’t you?"
Eleanor nodded slightly, her expression calm but her eyes still burning. "Easy for you to say."
She crossed her arms. "You were the one hiding in the corner."
Her words cut deeper than before. Something inside Mateo snapped.
In a sudden motion, he reached into his pocket... And pulled out a knife.
The metallic glint caught the light, sharp and threatening.
Gasps erupted from the surrounding tables. People instinctively leaned back, chairs scraping loudly against the floor.
Mateo pointed the knife straight at Eleanor, his hand trembling slightly, his breathing uneven.
"You’re going too far."
His voice shook with rage. "Shut up... right now."
By now, anger had completely clouded his mind.
Eleanor looked at the knife...and laughed.
A loud, unrestrained laugh that echoed unnervingly through the café.
"You’re going to kill me?"
She tilted her head slightly, her lips curling into a mocking smile. "Go ahead."
She took a small step forward instead of back. "Stab me."
Her eyes gleamed with something dangerous, almost fearless. "If you have the guts... I’ll show you what I can do."
Mateo’s grip tightened, his hand shaking more violently now. "Stop it!"
His voice cracked. "If you don’t shut up, you’ll regret it!"
The words came out rushed, desperate, as if he were trying to convince himself as much as her. "I’m not bluffing!"
Eleanor smirked. "Then prove it."
Her tone was calm, almost bored. "If you’re not bluffing... do it."
Mateo frowned deeply, confusion flickering through his rage. "Are you... provoking me on purpose?"
Eleanor’s smile widened slightly. "Do I really need to use my IQ to provoke someone like you?"
Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Don’t flatter yourself."
With that, she turned around dismissively. "The best thing I ever did ..."
She began walking away. "...was not giving a damn about someone like you."
Her footsteps were steady. Calm.
As if none of this mattered. "Don’t leave!"
Mateo shouted, panic creeping into his voice. "Don’t you dare walk away!"
But Eleanor didn’t stop. Instead, she spoke without turning back, her voice quiet yet cutting.
"You deserve this."
A brief pause. "I heard your father’s in the hospital ..."
Her tone hardened. "Maybe that’s exactly where someone like him belongs."
Those words... Broke whatever restraint Mateo had left.
Something inside him shattered completely. With a sudden burst of movement, he rushed forward, his footsteps loud and frantic.
Without hesitation... He drove the knife into her back.
The sound was sickeningly soft. A dull, horrifying thud. Eleanor’s body froze.
Her eyes widened slightly as she looked down, her breath catching.
But instead of any remorse, there was a strange smile on her face. For a moment, disbelief flickered across her face.
Then... a strange, almost triumphant smile appeared on her lips.
Her legs gave out slowly, and she collapsed onto the floor.
Warm blood began to spread beneath her, dark and thick, the metallic smell filling the air.
Mateo stood there, frozen. His hand was still gripping the knife. His mind was blank.
’What... did I just do...?’
Around them, chaos erupted. People screamed. Chairs toppled.
Some ran toward the exit, pushing past each other in panic. Others stood frozen, their faces pale with shock.
A few voices overlapped, frantic and confused.
"What happened?!"
"Call the police!"
"Is she breathing?!"
One person finally gathered the courage to step forward, kneeling beside Eleanor and trying to stop the bleeding with trembling hands.
Mateo didn’t move. He could only stare. The world around him felt distant, muffled, unreal.
Soon... The sound of sirens pierced through the chaos.
Police officers rushed in, their presence cutting through the crowd. Within moments, Mateo was surrounded.
Rough hands grabbed him, pulling the knife away, forcing his arms behind his back.
For the first time... A crack appeared in his arrogance. Fear. Raw, suffocating fear gripped him completely.
His body trembled uncontrollably as he struggled weakly. "I didn’t mean to!"
His voice broke, desperate and panicked. "It was an accident!"
His eyes darted wildly. "She provoked me! She kept pushing me!"
But his words sounded hollow. Empty.
And for the first time in his life... Mateo realized...
He was not the person he had always believed himself to be.
By the end of it all, Eleanor was being rushed into the emergency surgery unit, her stretcher rattling loudly against the cold.
Inside her mind, the system’s voice rang out repeatedly, frantic and disjointed.
[Warning... system instability detected... host condition worsening... survival probability critically low ...]
The mechanical tone glitched, as if even it were trembling.
[Protector charm activation failed... insufficient energy... defensive barrier collapsing... charm integrity compromised ...]
For a moment, the system seemed to spiral.
[Initiating panic protocol...]
Then, almost abruptly, it softened its tone.
[Host, please remain calm... do not worry... I will find a way to heal you!]
Eleanor only smiled faintly, her lips dry and trembling, yet carrying a strange sense of peace.
’So even you can panic ...’
That quiet, fragile smile made the system fall silent for a second.
Then it spoke again, this time more cautiously.
[Host... do you intend to deviate from the original plot? Unauthorized deviation will result in punishment.]
If even by now it didn’t understand that everything was Eleanor’s scheme... then it was nothing but stupidity.
Eleanor’s gaze remained unfocused as she stared at the ceiling, her voice barely a whisper.
"Punishment?"
Her smile deepened, though her breathing grew weaker.
"What is there left to punish?"
As the stretcher was pushed through the swinging doors of the ER, the metallic clang echoed like a final verdict.