After three years of playing the designated social outcast, I finally completed the mission. Before my scheduled "death," the System gave me one day to say goodbye to my targets. I’d been holding it in for three years. It was time to go scorched-earth on each and every one of them. To my moody, controlling adoptive brother: [You think you’re so deep and mysterious? You’re just a poser with a trust fund!] To my arrogant jock of a childhood friend: [Three years of tutoring and you still have the IQ of a golden retriever. Are you brain-damaged?] To my cold, older fiancé: [Who would be desperate enough to marry an old man like you? You’ve practically got one foot in the grave!] A moment later, my phone buzzed with replies. Moody Adoptive Brother: [? Is this a code? Are you in trouble? I’m on my way home now!] Arrogant Jock: [...I was just pretending to be dumb to make you feel like you were good at teaching, okay? God, you make me so mad. Just you wait!] Cold Fiancé: [Is someone trying to poach you? Let's meet and discuss this in person.] Just then, my doorbell started ringing like crazy. At the same time, the System’s voice screeched in my head: [HOST, I READ THE DATE WRONG!] [YOUR EXTRACTION ISN’T FOR ANOTHER SEVEN DAYS!] Me: "?" Part 2 It was my third year of being the girl everyone loved to hate. And I had finally, finally, finished the mission. For three years, I’d played the part of the timid, doormat protagonist perfectly. I was a ghost at school. At home, my adoptive brother, Julian, treated me like his personal assistant. I had no friends, and my family barely tolerated me. Then, a glimmer of hope: an arranged marriage to the powerful Pierce family. But, of course, on the day of our engagement party, the truth came out. I was the switched-at-birth fake heiress. The Sterlings’ real daughter had been found. Just like that, the world turned on me again. I was public enemy number one. Maybe that was the final straw the System was waiting for. After three years of radio silence, it finally reactivated. [Congratulations, Host! The 'Universal Scapegoat' mission is complete. A substantial reward is waiting for you.] [You will be returned to your original world tomorrow.] I blinked. "What about 'me' in this world?" I asked. The System chuckled. [Don't you worry about that. We'll arrange a little accident. A clean exit.] That easy? "Are you sure? It's really over? No more missions?" I had to be certain. The System puffed out its digital chest. [Absolutely! Tomorrow, you can cash your check and go home!] Relief washed over me. The System said I had one day to say my goodbyes. But as I thought about it, there was nothing and no one to say goodbye to. These people probably wouldn’t even flinch if they read my obituary. Bored, I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contacts. Right on cue, it vibrated. A message from a contact I’d saved as "Mr. Broody Poser." [I’m having a dress for the gala sent to the house tomorrow.] [For God's sake, don't wear one of your ugly ones. You're embarrassing me.] That was my brother, Julian Sterling. Or, I guess, my adoptive brother now. My parents’ golden child. From the moment I was dropped into this world, he’d treated me like something he’d stepped in. Moody, condescending, and a master of the backhanded compliment. He’d criticize my taste, my grades, my very existence. All I had to do was walk past him to earn a look of pure disgust. But he was the Sterling heir, and no one dared to challenge him. Not even my own mother, who just told me to keep my head down and endure it. I’d endured it for three years. I’d been his quiet, obedient little shadow. But I was leaving tomorrow. And today, I was done enduring. Me: [You think your taste is so great?] Me: [Attached Image] Me: [Is this supposed to be a dress or a designer garbage bag?] Me: [And that wasn't a typo.] Me: [You walk around like you’re some kind of fashion god. Honestly, even though you’re a miserable person with no real friends, literally 0 people care what you wear.] A long pause. Then, a single question mark appeared. I think I broke his brain. The "typing..." bubble appeared and disappeared for what felt like an eternity. Finally, a message came through. Julian: [What happened to you?] My fingers flew across the screen. Me: [Nothing happened.] Me: [I'm just sick of your act.] Me: [You poser.] My phone went silent. Julian had probably short-circuited from rage. But who cared? I put him on Do Not Disturb. A soft knock at my door. One of the housekeepers peeked in. "Miss Ava, the car is waiting." "It's taking you back to school for the event this afternoon." Even though I was now the "fake" Sterling, my parents, out of some lingering sense of duty, were letting me finish high school at the prestigious Northwood Prep. The ride to school was silent. Even the driver could probably sense the toxic atmosphere back at the house and didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire. The car hadn't even come to a complete stop when I opened the door to a furious voice. "Ava, do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you?" Part 3 I looked up. A guy was standing there, glaring at me, his chest heaving with anger. I gave him a once-over. "Why were you waiting for me?" Liam Prescott looked like he'd been slapped. "?! I felt sorry for you, okay?" he sputtered. "Nobody was going to ask you to prom. I was going to do you a favor and be your date, and this is the attitude I get?" The Prescotts and the Sterlings were old family friends. That made Liam, unfortunately, my childhood acquaintance. With his lazily handsome face and star athlete status, he was basically king of Northwood Prep. Our parents had once even tried to set up an arranged engagement between us. Liam had shut that down publicly. I can still remember the look of pure disgust on his face at the dinner party. "Her? An engagement with her?" he'd scoffed. "Are you insane? Are you actively trying to ruin my life?" His very public rejection had made me the laughingstock of our entire social circle for a year. But hey, his reaction had also netted me 100 experience points, a third of my total mission goal. So, I wasn’t planning on holding a grudge. But then his two cronies, who were flanking him, decided to chime in. "Yeah, Ava. Liam’s doing you a huge favor. You should be grateful." "What's with the attitude? You still playing hard to get or something?" Hearing that, Liam’s lips tightened into a thin line. He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a low growl. "Ava. I'm talking to you." I looked at him, genuinely confused. "You're in my way. I need to get to the main building." He let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Did you hear a single word I just said? Aren't you even going to apologize?" I blinked. "Apologize? To who?" "To you?" "As if." Liam froze. "You were waiting for me, but you never bothered to text me," I continued, ticking the points off on my fingers. "What, am I supposed to be a mind reader? And I never asked you to be my prom date. So who is this whole knight-in-shining-armor act for? Do you need a tissue? Maybe you can squeeze out a few tears to make it more believable." His two buddies looked scandalized and jumped to his defense. "He was just trying to be nice since you're pathetic and have no one else! You're so ungrateful!" "Why are you being such a bitch? You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" I shot them a bored look. "Duh, of course it's on purpose. Why else would I say it?" I gestured between them. "What are you guys, his personal cheerleading squad? Did you get a two-for-one deal on loyalty or something?" I then swept my gaze over all three of them. "Look, I know my words are harsh. But it’s not like any of you deserve a compliment." Liam was the first to snap out of it, reaching out to grab my arm. "Ava—" My bodyguard smoothly stepped between us. I glanced back at Liam over my shoulder. "Look, I'm in a surprisingly good mood today, so if you have something to say, spit it out before I change my mind." But the expression on his face wasn’t the rage I expected. It was... confusion. And a strange sort of panic. "Ava, today you're..." he stammered. "Are you sick or something?" I’d braced myself for an explosion, and that's all he had? Seriously? All this time, I'd been surrounded by the most pathetic bunch of posers and wannabes. I'd really overestimated them. Part 4 I didn't bother with Liam again and headed straight for the principal's office. I had more important things to do. Even though the whole school was buzzing about prom, it held zero appeal for me. It was just an excuse for the popular kids to dance and take pictures. As the resident ghost, I never had a date, so I hadn't even bothered to get a dress. I was just wearing a hoodie and jeans. When I came out of the principal’s office, the looks I got in the hallway were different. Sharper. More pitying. "So she's not a real Sterling..." "That explains so much. She has none of their class..." "Her and Julian are from two different worlds. Poor Julian, having to put up with an adoptive sister like that." The rumors about my parentage had finally made it to school. I pulled out my phone and saw twenty missed calls. All from Julian. A number that had been dormant for a decade was suddenly blowing up my phone. I half-wondered if he’d signed me up for some spam-call service online. I didn't bother calling back. I just opened his texts. There were too many to read, but the last one caught my eye. Julian: [I'm coming home tomorrow.] He was supposed to be on a business trip overseas. Staring at the message, I had no idea what to say. So I just locked my phone. Whatever. It was his house. He could come and go as he pleased. On my way out, I ran into Liam again. He was in a tux now, the boyish edges of his face sharpened into something more mature. When he saw me, his jaw tensed. "Ava, why haven't you changed yet?" he asked, his voice low and strained. "I'm not going to the dance," I said flatly. I don't know what was wrong with him. Usually, he’d be with Chloe Sanders, the most popular girl in our grade, by now. As Liam opened his mouth to say something else, my bodyguard politely blocked his path. "Mr. Prescott, Miss Ava is engaged to Mr. Pierce." Liam's face went cold. "I know that! You don't have to tell me!" I just rolled my eyes and nodded to my bodyguard. "Let's go home." As I got into the car, I saw a few of Liam's friends rush over to him. They were talking animatedly, gesturing towards my car. I watched Liam’s expression shift from confusion to shock. I could guess what they were telling him—the big, juicy gossip about my real identity. The car started to pull away. Suddenly, Liam shouted my name. "Ava—!" He was running after the car, his face desperate. The driver accelerated, and the tinted window slid shut. I watched in the rearview mirror as Liam's figure got smaller and smaller, until he was just a black dot in the distance. I turned to my bodyguard. "What's his deal?" He considered it for a moment. "Maybe he's getting his cardio in for the day."
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