1 The news of John Jiang and Aurora White’s engagement went viral, met with a chorus of blessings from the entire internet. Everyone expected me to have a public meltdown. After all, I’d spent the last ten years chasing John, a pathetic, devoted puppy at his heels. They all thought I was hopelessly in love with him. What no one knew was that I had been waiting for this day for a decade. I wanted them to get married more than anyone. The wedding was a spectacle, with hundreds of cameras and a live stream hosted by a major influencer. [I can’t be the only one crying rn. Finally seeing Mr. Jiang and Aurora get their happy ending. That other woman must be absolutely fuming, LOL.] [It wasn’t an easy road for them. So happy my girl Aurora is finally getting married!] [If it wasn’t for that toxic witch, Mr. Jiang would have married my goddess years ago. But I guess we have her to thank for making Aurora realize her true feelings.] [I’m so emotional! Mr. Jiang, you have to treat her like the queen she is!] [Really hope that crazy woman doesn’t try to ruin things today.] The comments flew by. After a few, I lost interest. It was all either fawning over the happy couple or trashing me. The old me would have fired back, but ten years of this had built up an immunity to the hate. I hid in a quiet corner, my eyes scanning the venue. Please, please let this wedding go off without a hitch. To minimize my presence, I’d chosen an outfit completely out of character for me—tasteful, elegant, understated. For today, I was playing the part of a lady. The venue was buzzing. I could see John’s parents up front, alongside Aurora’s, and my own father with his new wife. Familiar faces from our social circle dotted the crowd. A massive screen overhead cycled through John and Aurora’s engagement photos, filled with the kind of radiant smiles he’d never once given me, no matter how much I’d begged. Finally, the officiant took the stage. The ceremony was beginning. It’s no exaggeration to say I was more nervous than the bride and groom. My entire future hinged on this. I was so done with being the universally despised, obsessive stalker. Call me toxic, fine, I could live with that. But the obsessive stalker label? Unbearable. John, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, stood at the altar, his eyes fixed on his approaching bride with a look of profound adoration. “Look at the way he’s looking at her. He’s so in love.” “OMG, that look is killing me.” “The goddess is so beautiful.” Aurora White was a beloved, award-winning actress, the nation’s sweetheart. John, in a grand gesture, had given away 100 tickets to her fan club, allowing them to witness the wedding in person. The girls whispering beside me were probably some of them. “Look, they’re exchanging rings!” My attention snapped back to the stage. John had just slipped the wedding band onto Aurora’s finger. Now it was her turn. My breath caught in my throat as I watched her move in slow motion. But just as the ring was about to slide onto his finger, she stopped. Her eyes found mine across the crowded room. She’d spotted me. I never expected her to let me off the hook, not even on a day as important as this. Sure enough, she raised the microphone to her lips. 2 “Thank you all so much for coming to celebrate with me and John,” she began, her voice smooth as silk. “But there’s one person I especially want to thank. Someone you all know.” Every head in the room followed her gaze, turning towards my corner. For a moment, they didn’t recognize me. “As many of you are aware, the road for John and me has been a long and difficult one, filled with obstacles.” Yes, obstacles I had personally created. It was part of my mission, but there was a healthy dose of personal satisfaction in it, too. “Jasmine,” she said, her voice dripping with faux sympathy. “I know this must be hard for you. But I want to say that true love doesn’t follow a timeline. You were by John’s side for a long time, but what he felt for you was sisterly affection, not romantic love. I truly hope you can find someone who will cherish you.” She turned back to John. “And thank you, my love, for always standing by me.” I could feel the hostile glares, the heat of their judgment. A few people even moved closer, surrounding me, their faces contorted with anger. This was exactly what Aurora wanted. To drag me into the spotlight and publicly shame me one last time. Finally satisfied, she picked up the ring again and, without another moment’s hesitation, slid it onto John’s finger. Seeing that, a weight I’d been carrying for ten years finally lifted from my shoulders. “They’re married now,” one of the fans next to me sneered. “If you try to cause any more trouble, Mr. Jiang won’t be so lenient.” I turned to her and nodded earnestly. “Don’t worry. I hope they’re locked together forever.” Ding— [Congratulations, Host! Aurora White and John Jiang are successfully married. Mission complete. Grand Finale achieved!] [Confetti! Party time!] [Host, your mission is over. It’s time for me to go.] [Where will you go now?] The voice, which only I could hear, belonged to the system that had appeared ten years ago. A system whose host was Aurora White. It was through this system that I learned my role in this story: the toxic female side character. I tried to change my fate, but it was useless. So, if I couldn't beat them, I’d join them. I would play my part to perfection. All to reach this moment. All to see the system leave. [I’m off to a new world!] [Okay, 1807. Thank you… for giving me a new life.] [No problem, Host! Take care of yourself. I won’t be back.] [Okay!] The voice faded. 1807 was gone. And with it gone, I could finally become the truly toxic side character. As I turned to leave, my eyes met Aurora’s on the stage. I gave her a small, knowing smile. Your fairy tale is officially over. 3 The first thing I did when I got home was throw out everything from my past life. Then I called the movers. After that, I sent a single text to the contact pinned at the top of my chat list. By the time I was done, it was past midnight. For ten long years, I’d diligently played my part. If the main couple’s romance needed a little conflict to heat things up, I was their go-to tool. But now the story was over. The plot’s control over me was gone. Who knew what could happen after the final chapter? Everything I’d been forced to give away as a plot device, I was going to take back, piece by piece. Starting with John’s position at the company. Three days passed, and the buzz around the wedding of the century was still going strong. Aurora was already leveraging the publicity to break into international markets. Then came the day for the newlyweds’ traditional visit to the bride’s family. I went too. I could hear the laughter from outside. I didn’t need to go in to picture the happy family scene. But I was here to spoil the mood. Aurora was the first to see me. “Jasmine, you’re here! We were just talking about you. It’s been so long since we all had dinner together.” She smiled sweetly. “Come, join us.” “I’d love to,” I said, my own smile genuine. Seeing their forced happiness made me feel so much better, like the air itself was sweeter. “Now that you’re here,” my father, David Shen, said sternly, “try to get along with your sister. And don’t pull any of your usual stunts. They’re legally married now. If you interfere, you’ll be nothing but a homewrecker.” I looked at my biological father, truly looked at him, and found it hard to believe a parent could say such things to their child. But I’d heard worse from him. Now that I no longer cared, the words couldn’t hurt me. “Of course. I would never do something so degrading as to pursue a married man.” The color drained from my father's face. Luckily, the housekeeper announced that dinner was ready, breaking the awkward tension. But as soon as I sat down, Aurora spoke up again. “Oh, that’s where Mom usually sits. If you like that spot, Jasmine, I’m sure she won’t mind moving.” I gave her a half-smile. She returned it with one of her signature gentle expressions, but I knew the ugliness that lay beneath. My stepmother, Clara, just waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fine. Let Jasmine have the seat if she wants it.” Even John chimed in, his voice laced with disapproval. “Jasmine, you’re still so stubborn.” 4 SMACK! My palm hit the table, the sharp sound silencing the room. “This is my house. Since when do I need an outsider’s permission to sit at my own dinner table? If you want to eat, eat. If not, get out.” The sudden outburst stunned everyone. No one, least of all John, expected me to fight back. Everyone knew I was hopelessly in love with him. In the past, I was rebellious with everyone but him. He used to gloat about it, how the spoiled heiress would do anything he said. They all thought I was incapable of defiance. But they seemed to have forgotten the person I was before. I still had my edges; I’d just hidden them for ten years. Now that I was free, I was going to be comfortable, no matter what. “Jasmine, you’ve lost your mind!” My father slammed his own hand on the table, the sound even louder than mine, making my palm sting. “Do you want me to throw you out?” I discreetly rubbed my hand under the table. The dramatic gesture was satisfying, but painful. The old me, the one from the script, would have been terrified, her eyes welling with tears. The toxic side character’s primary motivation was a desperate need for her father’s love. He’d always used that against me. But the script was over. “Dad, you seem to be forgetting one small detail,” I said sweetly. “This villa is in my name. Jasmine Shen.” He looked like I’d struck him. Clara, sensing the shift, quickly interjected. “Jasmine, don’t joke like that. The deed is locked in the safe. Your father can’t handle these kinds of games.” My father seemed to recover, his hand tapping the table again. “You ungrateful brat!” Fine, if they didn’t believe me, I wouldn’t waste my breath. “Martha, serve the food!” “Right away, Miss Shen!” “Don’t call her Miss Shen, call her the second miss!” But Martha was already on her way to the kitchen. The food was, as always, delicious. Aurora’s face was pale. The title “Miss Shen” had clearly struck a nerve. “Are you planning to add Aurora to the family registry, Dad?” I asked conversationally. Aurora was my father and Clara’s daughter, born three months before me. “I should probably remind you that the ‘Shen’ in the Shen Corporation comes from Serena Shen, not David Shen.” Serena Shen. A gentle, brilliant woman who made the fatal mistake of falling for a man from a humble background who saw her as a stepping stone. Her story, of course, did not have a happy ending. 5 Since they didn’t believe the villa was mine, I decided to give them a little surprise. I called a realtor and had them evicted. Then I called a cleaning service to scrub the entire house from top to bottom. The meticulously manicured flower gardens were torn up and replaced with a vegetable patch. The old Jasmine Shen could never have been the owner. But Jasmine Shen, at eighteen, could be. While they were busy living their lavish lives, I was quietly biding my time, waiting for the right moment to strike. When my phone rang again, I simply turned it off. As much as I wanted to gloat, villains always die from monologuing. The priority now was to bring down the main characters. Aurora had just started filming a new movie. John was busy trying to establish his authority as the new CEO. I decided to give him a little push from behind. Let them tear each other apart for a while, and then I’d swoop in and pick up the pieces. My father and Clara eventually tracked me down. All those years as a CEO hadn’t been for nothing. He tried to slap me the moment he saw me, but I blocked his arm and redirected the blow to Clara’s face. I’d wanted to do that for a very long time. She was the one who broke my mother. She had shown up at our house while my mother was bedridden, Aurora in tow, and presented a paternity test, declaring herself the new mistress of the house. The shock had literally killed my mother. And then, Clara had the audacity to say, “I didn’t know she was that sick.” Three months after my mother’s death, Clara moved in. That was the first time I met Aurora, and the first time I heard the system’s voice. I refused to believe it. I leaked the story of my father’s affair to the press. It caused a scandal, but then Aurora went on a live stream, crying about her parents’ tragic love story. She painted them as childhood sweethearts torn apart by a wealthy heiress—my mother—who forced my father into a loveless marriage. She spun a tale that not only exonerated them but also turned my dead mother into a villain. That was when Aurora’s career took off, transforming her from the nation’s daughter to the nation’s goddess. And I, unknowingly, had helped her get there.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "394112", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel