The Villainess Wants to Resign From Love

I had convinced myself—honestly, with the most scientific rigor—that I could handle Ronan Ardent.

Step 1: Keep emotions under control.
Step 2: Maintain professionalism.
Step 3: Do not collapse into a puddle when he smiles.

Step 3 failed spectacularly.

Millie barged in first thing, waving a scroll like a victory flag.

"Lady Viera! Guess what?" she squealed. "The king wants to formalize your engagement with the Duke. Today. Right now. He's even picked out the—"

I stopped listening. My pulse jumped to unsafe levels. "Wait. Wait. WAIT. Formalize?! Today?!"

"Yes! Isn't it exciting?" Millie clapped. "Or terrifying. Mostly terrifying. But you love that part."

"I... I need a moment!" I shouted, bolting for the balcony.

Ronan was already outside, arms crossed, calm, brooding, infuriatingly perfect.

"You look... startled," he said softly, the words cutting straight through every rational thought I had.

"Startled?! I'm... ecstatic," I lied, voice cracking. "Completely professional-level ecstatic."

"You mean terrified," he said with a smirk.

"No. Ecstatic. Definitely ecstatic."

Millie popped up behind a pillar like a mischievous sprite. "Phase Six: Emotional Siege initiated. Probability of survival: 0%."

I glared at her. "I hate you."

She grinned. "And you love me."

The royal chamber was filled with noble guests, advisors, and a very smug officiant who clearly thought he was witnessing history.

I clutched Ronan's hand, my pulse thundering. He squeezed back. Calm. Steady. Infuriatingly so.

The officiant cleared his throat. "We are gathered here to—"

"Stop talking," I muttered under my breath.

Ronan leaned closer. "Shh. Focus on me."

Focus on him? My brain short-circuited. Focused on him meant noticing the way his eyes softened when they landed on me. Focused on him meant feeling every brush of his fingers. Focused on him meant... oh gods, my heart.

Millie whispered in my ear: "Remember Phase Five? Surrender."

I groaned. "Surrender? More like spontaneous combustion."

The officiant continued. "Do you, Lady Viera, take Duke Ronan Ardent—"

"Yes," I blurted before thinking. Oh no.

"Do you, Duke Ronan Ardent, take Lady Viera—"

"Yes," he said calmly, perfectly, devastatingly.

And then. Chaos.

A slight stumble on my part. My foot caught on my dress. I swayed dangerously.
Ronan's arm shot out, catching me effortlessly.
Close enough that I could feel the warmth of his chest.
Close enough that my face turned red-hot.
Close enough that I forgot how to breathe.

"Careful," he murmured softly.

"I—uh—I'm fine," I stammered.

"You're trembling," he said, voice low.

"Not trembling!" I hissed. "It's... scientific reaction to fabric tension!"

Millie groaned audibly somewhere behind a pillar. "Yep. Confirmed. Emotional collapse imminent."

After the ceremony, we walked through the palace gardens. Snowflakes drifted lazily around us, but I barely noticed.

"Ronan," I said finally, voice shaky, "this... all of this... is happening so fast."

He tilted his head. "Fast?"

"Yes. Engagements, feelings, your infuriating charm, the—"

He grabbed my hands, cutting me off. "Viera. Stop. Look at me."

I did. And my carefully constructed walls melted completely.

"I... care about you," he said softly. "I've cared since the beginning. I don't want to wait. I don't want anything else."

I wanted to protest. I wanted to rationalize. I wanted to run screaming into a broom closet.

Instead... I kissed him.

It was messy, flustered, completely unscientific. And yet... perfect.

Millie cheered somewhere in the distance. "Finally! Emotional surrender achieved! Phase Seven complete!"

I groaned, burying my face in his chest. "I... can't. I'm too—"

"Too in love?" he whispered.

"Yes," I admitted.

He laughed softly. "Good. Then we're even."

Somehow, despite chaos, memes, and my internal organs staging a rebellion, I realized I didn't care about control anymore.

Because in that moment, all that mattered was him.

And maybe... just maybe... I was happy to be utterly, catastrophically, irreversibly doomed.