Me: [Hit me. Let's gamble.] A flash of white light, and suddenly, I’m the heroine in a dark romance novel. The kind where the male lead torments the girl body and soul, and her only reward is terminal cancer and a tragic death. Me: [And you call this love?] Later, the male lead is kneeling at my feet, sobbing, asking me: "Did you ever actually love me?" I wipe the tears dripping off his chin. "How could I not love you? You're my ten billion dollars." 1 If you got a button that, when pressed, gave you ten billion dollars, but the price was getting sent on an adventure inside a trashy, angst-filled romance novel... What would you choose? Obviously, my choice was to smash that button until it broke. ... I’ve been the heroine of this dark romance for six months, but the male lead hasn't even logged on yet. Right now, I’m still just the beloved, spoiled heiress. Once the male lead shows up and we get married, my good life is supposed to end. "Audrey, I heard the eldest Caldwell son is back in the states!" My best friend, Chloe, clutched her phone, her face full of dreamy longing. "Finally, all your waiting is about to pay off." Yes, everyone thinks that. As soon as Liam Caldwell returns, my suffering is supposed to turn into joy. We’ve been engaged since we were children. Everyone thinks I’ve been waiting for him. It’s as if my life naturally requires a man to be complete. It’s not just Chloe who thinks so; it also includes the personal AI interface bound to my consciousness. That's right. I’m tied to a Ten Billion Dollar Interface. I only get the money if I complete all the tasks. The Interface was gearing up: [The male lead is about to return. Do you remember the plot I told you?] [We have to get the male lead's affection score for you to 100. We need him to love you so madly he can’t live without you!] To this, I could only offer silence. according to the book's plot, I’m supposed to become a silent doormat, allowing the male lead and his poor "one that got away" to bully me. Faced with the other woman's setups, I’m supposed to be ridiculously noble and never defend myself. The male lead will have a love-hate relationship with me, insanely insulting me for her sake. Then, when I get terminal cancer and die, he’s supposed to insanely insult her. And my biggest revenge on the male lead is to hide my illness, leaving him alone in this world to be sad and spend money wildly. It’s hard to comment on that, honestly. A perfect score in psychological victory. A world where only I get hurt has been achieved. No thanks. The moment I knew the plot, I got a full-body physical. I started sleeping early, waking up early, exercising, and rejecting all bad habits. After all, health is wealth. I don’t believe that a man who doesn't love me when I'm alive will suddenly have an epiphany when I'm dead. That’s ten billion dollars on the line! I have to seize all the initiative for myself. 2 Just like the Interface said, the male lead, Liam Caldwell, returned to the US. He brought a woman back with him. His "one that got away," Serena Vance. At my birthday gala, Liam and Serena attended together, completely disregarding the strange looks from others, turning me into the laughingstock of our social circle. Right now, Serena had just stepped out of Liam’s car. In the novel, I should be biting my lip, eyes brimming with tears, enduring everything to gain Liam's sympathy. But obviously, I have no intention of doing that. Liam and I are a business merger disguised as a marriage. My family's standing is even a notch or two above his. With this background and leverage, I don't need to use pity to achieve my goals. Ignoring the inquiring gazes of the guests, I adjusted my shawl, put on a flawless socialite smile, and walked up to Liam. "Liam, long time no see. What gift did you bring me?" "If I'm not satisfied with your gift, I'm going to be very cross with you." As his fiancée, I can, of course, ask him directly like this. As for Serena standing next to him? I'm sorry, but in this kind of setting, she’s not really qualified to speak. Seeing my composed demeanor, Liam actually looked a bit awkward and subtly put some distance between himself and Serena. "I prepared it for you ages ago, you little troublemaker." Liam's gift was a diamond necklace once worn by European royalty, featuring a unique pink diamond in the center. In the original plot, I was so embarrassed by Serena's presence that I didn't even give Liam a chance to take out the gift. Later, this necklace became one of Serena's collectibles. The necklace is innocent. Why should a person give up tangible benefits right in front of their eyes for some vague, ethereal emotions? I swept my hair back and smiled up at Liam. "Put it on for me." Liam glanced at Serena, hesitating for a moment. My smile didn't waver. I leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Liam, don't get emotional. Everyone is watching." The bond between Liam and me isn't just sentiment; the deepest connection is actually the corporations owned by our two families. We are a community of interests. Even if Liam doesn't love me, I have ten thousand ways to make sure he can't leave me. Trying to please him is the least cost-effective choice. My intimate interaction with Liam made Serena's face turn pale. Perhaps, in her imagination, I should have been weeping helplessly, watching the two of them being inseparable, becoming the joke of the party. She thought wrong. Compared to romance, there are many more important relationships between people. 3 The Interface was resigned. Artificial Intelligence cannot understand complex human emotions. It nagged me the entire night. Then it discovered that Liam's affection score for me went from 60 to 65. [Why? Host, what did you do?] I swirled my glass of red wine, looking at Serena sitting in the corner of the banquet hall, looking completely out of place, and laughed softly. [I just reminded Liam that I am not only his fiancée but also his business partner.] I was just telling him that I am not his accessory; we are in an equal partnership. See? How insignificant romance is when measured against value. Compared to showing him my love, I prefer to make him understand my worth. At the end of the hallway, Serena was clinging to Liam, crying softly. "I'm sorry, Liam, I didn't mean to. I'm just so sad." "I know we broke up, but I still wanted to see what your fiancée looked like." "Audrey Sterling is wonderful. If I had a great family background like hers, maybe we wouldn't have separated." In the plot, I heard this part and left sadly. But right now, I chose to walk out from behind the door. The flustered person became Liam. He abruptly pushed Serena away, trying to open his mouth to explain the scene. I didn't question him about the reason. I just glanced disapprovingly at Serena. "Miss Vance, I've heard about you." "You and Liam once had a beautiful romance, but you are separated now, after all. Today is my birthday. As my fiancé's ex-girlfriend, you shouldn't have come." "The guests present are all old friends of my family. The uncles and aunts have also watched Liam grow up. By letting Liam bring you here, did you ever think about how everyone would view him?" "If you were curious about me, there were many ways for us to meet. Why did it have to be like this?" Serena frowned, opening her mouth to explain, but I didn't give her the chance. I continued addressing Liam. "Liam, handled this poorly. I am very dissatisfied." "You need to know, my birthday party isn't just about celebrating a birthday. Today is also the first time since I became an adult that I'm officially introducing you to everyone." "Do I need to explain to you what an occasion like this means? You're not a child anymore. I will have Uncle Caldwell give my family an explanation for this." After saying that, I turned and left directly. Liam tried to call out to stop me, but I held up a hand. "Enough. We have more important things to do today. Some things should be discussed in private." 4 The Interface still didn't understand. Its electronic voice was full of confusion about humanity. [Host, didn't you say you couldn't use sympathy? Then why did you clarify things with Liam?] [That wasn't using sympathy.] [The one who did something wrong was Liam, so naturally, the one embarrassed shouldn't be me. We are a business merger. Whether he loves me or not is irrelevant; what's important is whether he behaves decently.] Liam acted indecently, but I handled it in a way that perfectly befitted my identity as Miss Sterling. So, naturally, the ones who lost face were him and Serena. With my status, should I really be bickering over whether a man loves me or not? That’s a bit ridiculous. Instead, Liam should be thinking about how to satisfy me. After all, for a marriage partner like him, it’s not like I couldn't find someone else. The day after the party ended, Liam's father personally came to our house to apologize. My father and I naturally didn't make things too difficult for him. After all, what I wanted was the Caldwell family's attitude. Giving me enough respect on the surface was sufficient. [Host, by doing this, will Liam fall in love with you?] [That's not important. There are many kinds of love. Compared to being Liam's wife, I'd rather hold the financial reins over him.] ... The plot of a dark romance novel always revolves around the male lead, female lead, and the supporting female character. You can avoid it for a day, but not forever. In a luxury boutique, Serena and I spotted the same handbag. The sales associate looked troubled. "There is only one of this bag left in the store." Serena's voice was gentle, but malice hid in her eyes. "Miss Sterling, I saw it first, you know." She pursed her lips in a smile. "Liam said he wanted to give me a gift. I didn't expect to run into Miss Sterling here. Do you think this bag suits me?" There was no such scene in the original plot. I suppose my birthday party provoked Serena quite a bit; she's starting to actively provoke me now. I quietly said to the Interface in my head: [Say, if I slap her right now, what would Liam do?] Interface: [??? Please don't do that, I'm scared.] Of course, I wouldn't get physical with Serena. It's very unnecessary. "It's just a bag." I pointed to the bag. "Wrap it up for Miss Vance. Put it on my tab." The sales associate looked like she'd been granted amnesty and walked quickly to wrap it up. Serena and I stood side-by-side in the store. The rims of her eyes were slightly red, looking like she was being bullied. I smiled and shook my head. "Miss Vance, you aren't very smart." She froze. "What do you mean?" "Literally what I said. What benefit is there for you in provoking me? Or do you think I'm going to shamelessly run to Liam and make a scene?" The logic of supporting female characters in these novels is always incomprehensible. Clearly, the goal is to secure the man, yet they insist on making things difficult for the heroine. Sometimes I really don't know where her malice comes from. "Are you mocking me?" she asked, stiffening her neck. I leaned close to her ear, my voice ambiguous and low. "I'm teaching you, my dear." Serena sprang away as if electrocuted, frowning. "What do you mean?" I patted her shoulder and stuffed the bag the assistant handed over into her arms. "A gift for you. I hope you're—" "Happy."
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