The moment I became aware of my role as the "vicious female supporting character," the male lead—my childhood friend whom I had imprisoned and tortured—was kneeling at my feet, his teeth gritted against the pain, his body trembling. As I fumbled to untie him, my own hands were shaking. He let out a cold, sharp laugh. "Weren't you going to kill me, Miss Astor?" My hands froze. In the story, I imprison the male lead, Daniel Thorne, torturing him physically and emotionally, subjecting him to every kind of humiliation. In the end, he has me committed to a psychiatric hospital, where I jump to my death. I burst into tears. From my pocket, I pulled out a crumpled, worn-out piece of paper. I handed it to him. It was something Daniel had written for me when we were seven. "A voucher for complete and total forgiveness, no matter what Aria does." 1 The moment I became aware of my role as the vicious female supporting character, I was holding a blood-stained whip, frozen to the spot. The... the vicious female supporting character? My hand trembled as I pointed to myself. Me? A low groan pulled me back to reality. In front of me, a dark, brooding young man was kneeling on the floor. His black hair was a mess, his sharp jawline lost in the damp shadows. His arms were suspended by iron chains, his hands hanging limply. His breathing was shallow, faint. Daniel. The male lead of this redemption story. And the boy I had grown up with. My childhood friend. In the story, I had a secret crush on Daniel for ten years. I was supposed to be the pure, beautiful, innocent girl who followed him around like a shadow. Until the female lead appeared. Then, my "villainy" meter shot through the roof. I didn't just frame the female lead time and time again; I also kidnapped the male lead, imprisoned him, and subjected him to a litany of cruelties. Daniel became completely disillusioned with me, his disgust absolute. He personally had me committed to a psychiatric hospital. Not long after, I lost my mind and jumped from a window, ending my own life. And right now, Daniel, not yet the powerful tycoon he would become, was kneeling at my feet. The collar of his white shirt was torn open. The horrifying lash marks on his chest were a stark, bloody red. His pale face was slick with a cold sweat, his lips trembling. The moment our eyes met, I knew. My life was probably over. His eyes, like those of a cornered animal, were practically bursting with a raw, feral hatred, fixed on me. I wanted to cry. I, Aria Astor, had lived my life trying to be good, to be kind. I was a coward. I didn't know how to be a villain. But it wasn't too late to fix this. My hands shook as I reached for the iron shackles on Daniel's wrists. My gaze fell on the raw, red marks there. A flash of memory seared through my mind. When I locked him up, I had traced every inch of his skin with a sick fascination, my sharp nails leaving red scratches on his pale face. "Daniel, I'm going to lock you up by my side forever," I had said. "You can only look at me." A shiver ran down my spine. The Astor and Thorne families were old friends, our houses practically next door to each other. Our parents had even joked about arranging a marriage for us when we were kids. Daniel was a year older than me. In my memories, I was always trailing behind him, my voice a sweet, soft "Daniel..." He was a cool, reserved person, but he always treated me like a real little sister, spoiling me rotten. But as I grew older, my feelings changed. I was no longer content with being his "sister." And when the male and female leads started getting closer, I was consumed by jealousy. That's when I kidnapped him and tried to force him to love me. Clink— The shackle opened, the iron chain falling to the floor, the sound echoing in the dark, empty basement. I forced a placating smile, though I was on the verge of tears. "Dan-Daniel." "If I told you... I was possessed... would you believe me?" 2 A sharp, derisive laugh. The man's lips curled. Those beautiful, almond-shaped eyes were cold, merciless. His voice was a hoarse, mocking drawl. "Weren't you going to kill me, Miss Astor?" My body went rigid. Daniel... he really must hate me. He used to call me Aria. The man narrowed his eyes, a dangerous, angry glint in them. He moved closer, his shadow falling over me, creating an intense, suffocating pressure. "Aria Astor, what new game are you playing now?" Memories flooded in. Three days ago. I had gently tapped his cheek with the whip. I smiled and told him we were going to play a game. I unlocked his shackles. I tossed him a key. I told him that this basement was a maze, with seven secret rooms. But there was only one way out, only one door that led to the outside world. If he could find it, I would let him go. He searched every path of the maze, tried every single door, until he collapsed on the floor, utterly exhausted. Only then did I appear before him, my eyes red and wild. I had questioned him, my voice frantic. "You want to leave that badly? Isn't it better to just stay with me forever?" "Are you going to see Hannah again?" "Why! Why do you only have eyes for her now?" "Daniel, you're mine! You can only look at me!" "If you try to run again, I'll kill you." Hannah was the female lead of this story. After a falling out with his family in high school, Daniel had gone to a university in the city. In his junior year, he co-founded a company with the equally brilliant female lead. They were in and out of the lab together, competed in competitions together, built their company together. They were inseparable, their feelings for each other growing stronger every day. After overcoming a series of obstacles, they achieved their happy ending. And I... I was the biggest obstacle they were about to overcome. I didn't just target the female lead at every turn, creating trouble for them both. I also kidnapped Daniel right before he was about to lead his team in a crucial competition. I closed my eyes, wanting to cry but having no tears left. Aria Astor, oh, Aria Astor, you really are something else. You dared to treat the male lead like a dog. How did you end up with such a bold and reckless life? It was a classic "overbearing CEO" trope. Offend the male lead, and you will not have a good end. Seeing me lost in thought, Daniel's patience finally ran out. He grabbed my shoulders, the pain so sharp I thought I heard bone crack. "Aria Astor, speak." "What the hell are you trying to do?" "When are you going to let me go?!" Daniel's face was terrifyingly dark. He looked like he wanted to tear me to pieces, chew me up, and swallow me whole. I was on the verge of tears. After staring at him for two seconds with the resolve of a condemned woman, I took a deep breath. And buried my face in his chest. The wails came out, loud and unrestrained. "Daniel!" "I was wrong! I was so, so wrong!" "I was possessed by a demon!" Sincerity. Sincerity is always the ultimate weapon. If I grovel fast enough, the vicious female supporting character's ending can't catch up to me. I sniffled, my tear-filled eyes looking up at him pitifully. "Daniel, I'm only twenty. You have to allow me to make mistakes." 3 The air seemed to freeze. The man's body stiffened for a moment. Then, he must have been hit in his wounds. He let out a low gasp of pain. And then he shoved me away. "Aria Astor, you think a single 'sorry' can erase everything?" "Who the hell do you think you are?" His eyes were bloodshot. The way he looked at me, he wanted to skin me alive. It was over. It was all over. Daniel still wanted to kill me. Tears streamed down my face. I fumbled in the inner pocket of my dress and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. I carefully unfolded it and held it out to him. It was something Daniel had written for me when we were seven. So many years had passed that the paper had become soft and frayed. The pencil-written words were faded, but still legible. "Aria can do anything, and I'll still forgive her" voucher. It was over something so small. He had spilled my milk. But I was spoiled, and I cried and cried. Daniel, who was always so mature, panicked for the first time. To soothe me, he wrote this note. Actually, in my previous life, I had used this too. Right before he sent me to the psychiatric hospital. But by then, I had done too many terrible things. It was too late. To be honest, I didn't hate Daniel for that ending. After all, in the original story, my actions were truly unforgivable. But now, this was my last lifeline. Daniel stared at the crumpled piece of paper, stunned. He probably never thought I still had it. A childish promise, taken seriously in this moment. His cool lips were pressed into a thin, straight line. My tears were still falling. After a long moment, the ice in Daniel's eyes finally began to thaw. He let go of my shoulders. He stood up and left without a word. Before he walked out the door, he gave me one last, deep look. "Aria Astor," he said, "don't ever do anything that disgusts me again." Disgusts? Yes. This kind of twisted, obsessive emotion... it was disgusting. I collapsed to the floor, feeling like I'd just survived a near-death experience. Tears still clung to my eyelashes. But I quickly pulled out my phone— And let out a dolphin-like shriek. "Mom!" "Send me to study abroad! Now!" "Germany! I want to go to Germany!" Daniel belonged to the female lead. They were a perfect match. I would have to be insane to fight for him again. To get myself killed again. I believed that my three years of undergraduate studies in Germany would be the most unforgettable seven years of my life. And in seven years, the male and female leads would have already settled down. Naturally, I wouldn't repeat my mistakes. I wouldn't meet a tragic end. 4 Daniel's return was a shot of adrenaline for his leaderless team. The competition was a high-profile event. Countless investors had their eyes on it. Rising stars were all vying for a chance to stand out and secure funding. On the first day of the semi-finals, a news notification popped up on my phone. I glanced at it. He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit, his figure tall and straight, his features sharp. His rimless glasses gave him an air of calm intelligence. He was a world away from the battered, broken man in the basement. On the screen, he looked through the chaotic crowd and met the female lead's gaze. It was different from the hate-filled look he gave me. In front of her, his eyes were always confident and determined. As if to say, silently, I've got this. He was brilliant, invincible. I turned off the screen. In the novel, the basement imprisonment was just an appetizer. Later on, I would turn Daniel from a proud, noble young man into a dark, twisted psycho. I would break every bone of his pride. I would make him lose everything, so he could only look up at me from the gutter, clinging to me for survival. And in the end, my love would turn to hate, and I would try to run him and his family over with a car. I rubbed my throbbing temples. That wasn't love. That was pure, unadulterated torture. No wonder Daniel hated me. I clutched the study abroad application that needed the dean's signature, my legs pumping even faster. Daniel. Berlin is 5,300 miles from here, with a seven-hour time difference. That's the farthest I can get from you. 5 These past few days, I had been running around nonstop, trying to get my study abroad paperwork in order. I was walking down the street, my eyes glued to my phone as I replied to a message from my department head. So I walked right into someone. I rubbed my forehead, about to apologize. A soft chuckle came from in front of me. "Well, if it isn't Daniel's little childhood sweetheart." "What a coincidence, running into our 'Daniel' again, huh?" I looked up and met Daniel's cold, wary gaze. He frowned. His hand, hanging at his side, clenched into a fist. He studied me for a long moment. Besides the resistance and disgust in his eyes, there seemed to be a flicker of something else, something complex and unreadable. His tone was stiff. "What are you doing here?" My heart sank. I opened my mouth, but the name "Daniel" wouldn't come out. The person next to him hadn't noticed the change in atmosphere. "What do you mean, coincidence? The way Aria clings to Daniel, she's probably got a GPS tracker on him. Wherever we go, she follows." Everyone else took it as a joke. But I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles. The phone in my hand suddenly felt like a hot potato. I nearly threw it away. Because it really did have a tracking system linked to Daniel. Ever since the female lead appeared in his life, they had become partners, walking side-by-side, sharing a world I could never enter. It was like a barrier that shut me out. My anxiety grew stronger and stronger. Driven by a twisted possessiveness, I had installed a tracking app on his phone. I turned every instance of surveillance into a "coincidence." I stayed by his side, keeping him within my line of sight, a prisoner of my gaze. I even reveled in the teasing from those around me. I deliberately created false intimacy in front of the female lead. It wasn't just Daniel who was suffocating. I was too. "But how come you didn't come to watch our competition this time, Aria? Did you two have a fight? You guys can't hold a grudge overnight, can you?" The group's eyes, still clueless, continued to drift suggestively between me and Daniel. It was more than just a fight... It was practically attempted murder. I watched as Daniel's face grew darker and darker. I silently cursed my luck. My eyes instinctively flickered to the female lead. Hannah was as her name suggested: cool and captivating. She heard the teasing, but her expression didn't change. She even looked at me with a hint of amusement. As expected of the female lead. So calm and composed. She couldn't be bothered to stoop to my level. But outside of the script, I, Aria Astor, was just a coward. Just as I was wringing my hands, trying to figure out how to escape, a loud, arrogant voice suddenly cut through the air. "Where's Hannah?" 6 I turned toward the voice. And was nearly blinded by a 24-karat gold glare. The man's wild, untamed eyes held a fierce glint. He was holding an iron pipe, the veins on his hand bulging. Coupled with his outrageous hair color, he looked like the perfect image of a cool, vicious bully. A pity. I shook my head. Going up against the male and female leads would only lead to a cannon fodder's end. But this person... he looked a little familiar. Daniel subtly moved to stand in front of the female lead. His eyes were cold, his voice deep. "What do you want with her?" The bully raised a sharp eyebrow. He faced Daniel, not backing down an inch. "Someone asked me to give her a message." He tapped the iron pipe on the ground for emphasis. He curled his lip, his tone threatening. "Miss Thorne, be careful when you're walking alone. Watch out for..." Before he could finish, I sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. It was him! I stood on my tiptoes, wrapped my arm around the bully's neck, and clamped my hand over his mouth. I laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, this is my friend. He's got the wrong person!" "We're just going to... catch up." My laugh was hollow. I was about to make a run for it. But Daniel grabbed my wrist. His dark gaze rested for a moment on my arm, wrapped around the bully, then returned to my face. He didn't look happy. "I didn't know you had a friend like this." What was wrong with Daniel? After what I did to him, shouldn't he hate me? Why was he suddenly so concerned about who I was friends with? I blurted out a lie. "We just met. While you guys were at the competition." "I haven't been following you around lately, so you wouldn't know." "Daniel, you always used to tell me to make new friends." "I made a new friend. Aren't you happy?" I looked at him cautiously. Even Daniel, with his endless patience, could be annoyed. When he couldn't stand my constant pestering, he would rub his temples, swallow his frustration, and gently persuade me. "Aria, besides me, don't you think you should have some new friends?" I was leaving. In these last few moments with him, I wanted, more than anything, for him to be happy. Daniel wasn't happy. He wasn't angry either. He just pulled his hand from my wrist and let it fall to his side, clenching it into a fist. His dark eyes stared at me, deep and bottomless. Then, in silence, he watched me leave. 7 We were a good distance away before the bully finally broke free. He ruffled his messy hair. "Hey, what was that all about?" he demanded, his voice cold. I feigned composure. "Daniel was right there. I was just trying to keep you from blowing your cover." That's right. The bully threatening the female lead was named Cole. I had hired him. I paid, he did the work. He heard my explanation. His cold eyes narrowed, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Don't worry, I have professional ethics. I took your money, so I won't sell you out." He leaned in. His sharp eyes narrowed, studying me with a look of disdain. "What? Are you scared, Miss Astor?" I knew he was provoking me. The frown on his face betrayed his anxiety. He needed the money. Cole's parents had died young. He was raised by his grandmother in poverty. Now, his grandmother was sick, and the exorbitant medical bills had pushed him to the brink. In the original story, I exploited this. I turned him into my sharpest weapon. The enforcer for the vicious female supporting character. Naturally, he didn't have a good end either. Cole died on a rainy night. He kidnapped the female lead. During a standoff with the police, he used her as a hostage. He was shot and killed while trying to take her down with him. "I" had bought his morals, his future, and even his life. But in the end, "I" still didn't help him save his grandmother. A sharp pain shot through my chest. I felt like I had woken from a nightmare, my body weak. I was terrified of that "me." I pulled a card from my bag. "This is a million dollars." Cole's expression changed, a flicker of mockery in his eyes. But his gaze quickly darkened, his voice a low, hoarse whisper, suppressing a twisted, struggling madness. "A million dollars. That's enough to buy her life." I frowned, holding up two fingers. "No. Two lives." He frowned even more. "From now on, I want you to protect Hannah Thorne. Don't let a single hair on her head be harmed." As the female lead, Hannah had the standard tragic backstory—a gambling-addicted father, a mother who favored her son, a sick younger brother. A broken home. Consider it money well spent. A bodyguard for her. And a small compensation for all the times I had bullied her. I tucked the card into the pocket of his shirt. I stared at his face, my voice fierce. "As for you, from now on, you're going to be a good person. Every day, you will silently recite the core values of a decent human being three times." "Otherwise—" "I'll tell your grandma that you burn your classmates' butts with cigarettes at school!" "We'll see how long your 'good student' act lasts then!" I watched as Cole's arrogant, fierce face turned from red to white, then back again. It felt good. Being a good person felt so much better. I rubbed my chest, which still ached from the sharp pain. My eyes stung. How could I have done so many bad things? 8 The last rays of the setting sun. The afternoon in the city was still hot and humid. I was wearing a white sundress, walking through a remote barbecue street. The stalls had just been set up, with only a few tables occupied. Mostly shirtless men, boasting about politics, their conversations punctuated by crude jokes. I felt a pair of leering eyes following me. I frowned. I quickened my pace. After a few twists and turns into an alley, the sun had completely set. The alley was swallowed by the night. I heard the heavy thud of footsteps behind me, getting closer and closer. I unconsciously started to walk faster. Suddenly, a pair of rough hands landed on my shoulders. A greasy, slurred laugh sounded in my ear. "Hey, little lady, why don't you have a drink with your big brother?" I turned my head. A drunken, scarred face filled my vision. "Sir, sexual harassment is a crime," I said calmly. He laughed, the dark red flesh on his face wrinkling. "Don't be so harsh." "There are no cameras here." I curled my lip. "No cameras? That's great." "Get him!" A cloth bag descended from above, covering the man's head. After he was dragged to the ground, Cole's fists rained down on him without mercy. This was Hannah's biological father. He not only abused his wife and daughter from a young age, but he was also a gambling addict. He often lurked in this remote alley, preying on students. Pure social garbage. Recently, he had racked up a lot of gambling debt. Soon, he would be coming after the up-and-coming female lead. Forcing her to sell her body to pay off his debts. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I took advantage of the chaos and gave him a swift kick. "Scumbag." When the man on the ground was completely still, I clapped my hands. "Let's go," I said to Cole. Cole glanced at the man on the ground, his eyes cold and empty. He raised his sneaker and ground it into the man's right hand. This would probably just put him in bed for half a month. But if someone found him and called the police, and they found the drugs on him, then Mr. Thorne's good days would be over.
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