My fiancé adopted a little girl, claiming she was the orphaned daughter of his older brother, and begged me to treat her as my own after we were married. I was about to nod in agreement when a line of text materialized in the air before me. [Genius baby online! A big thank you to the supporting female lead for her wholehearted devotion to raising Yoyo. Even though Yoyo is the daughter of the male lead and his one true love (his sister-in-law), we’re still grateful to the SFL for being such a great adoptive mom.] [The SFL is actually a great person. She saves the male lead from bankruptcy and leaves her entire family fortune to Yoyo before she dies.] [Yep, that’s why after the SFL dies, Yoyo brings her real mom home for a happy family reunion!] [As soon as the male lead’s brother kicks the bucket in three days, and the SFL marries the male lead, the plot can officially begin!] Me: “…” Hold on, big brother, don’t you die on me. I’m coming to save you! 1 Before I could even process what I’d just read, George walked over, a little girl in his arms. “Anna, I want to adopt Yoyo.” “She’s my brother’s only daughter. You know the doctors have already told him he doesn't have long. Yoyo can’t be without a father. Can we raise her as our own after we’re married?” I had thought the floating words were a fluke, but George’s actions mirrored them exactly. George was the male lead, which meant I was the so-called supporting female lead? Yoyo was the daughter of George and his sister-in-law. And I was destined to die? My mind went blank. Seeing my silence, George pushed the child into my arms. “Get to know her. I don’t want people saying her stepmother is abusing her.” [Haha, don’t worry, the SFL is super good to the female lead’s daughter. She pours all of the Kim family resources into raising her. That’s why I don’t hate the SFL! She does a really great job.] [Seriously, the SFL is the living embodiment of ‘love me, love my dog.’] A shiver went down my spine. This was all feeling chillingly real. George looked down at me, his patience wearing thin. “What’s with the silence? Either you accept Yoyo, or we call off the wedding. There’s no room for negotiation.” I forced down the fear rising in my throat and asked tentatively, “What about your sister-in-law? Can she bear to be separated from Yoyo?” It was an innocent enough question, but George’s reaction was explosive. “You want a woman to raise a child all by herself? How can you even say something like that? From now on, you’ll be raising Yoyo.” “And another thing,” he added, his voice cold, “I don’t plan on having any more children after we’re married. Yoyo is enough.” I stared at him, dumbfounded, at a loss for words. [Wow, the male lead is so deeply in love with his one true love, the female lead. He only wants one child his entire life.] [I kind of feel bad for the SFL. She’s such a simp. Because of their childhood engagement, she’s dedicated her entire life to the male lead.] [Yeah, and with the male lead’s brother about to die, the Parker family is facing a crisis. If the SFL hadn’t proposed marriage, their company would have gone under.] [The brother’s cause of death is actually pretty lame. The doctor misdiagnosed him. They missed that a blood vessel in his heart was blocked. All they had to do was clear it, no heart transplant needed.] [And the transplant surgery had complications, leading to his early death. The whole Parker family empire was just handed over to the male lead.] I frowned, a thousand questions racing through my mind. So, the tragic, early death of Liam Parker, a man known for his brilliance, was just as much a contrived plot point as my own? A strange urge to laugh bubbled up inside me. Well, if that’s the case… Hold on, big brother. Don’t you die yet. I’m on my way. 2 I pushed Yoyo back into George’s arms. “This is a huge decision. I need to think about it. I have to go.” Liam Parker was on his deathbed. Time was of the essence. I turned to leave, but as I opened the door, I collided with Maya. She had already regained her balance, but when she saw George in the living room, she let out a dramatic “Oh!” and stumbled backward into the wall. George heard the commotion and immediately put the child down, rushing over. “Maya!” I had just steadied myself when George grabbed my arm, his grip like iron. “If you have a problem with me, take it out on me! Don’t you dare touch Maya! She injured her back during childbirth, she can’t take any kind of impact!” George’s eyes were cold, his jaw clenched so tight I thought he might shatter his teeth. He looked like he wanted to tear me apart. I winced, trying to pull away. “George, let go!” He scoffed, letting go of me only to stride over to Maya. As he did, he gave my arm a sharp, warning tug backward. I was in high heels. I lost my balance and stumbled, landing hard on the floor. My wrist took the brunt of the fall, and a sharp pain shot up my arm. When I looked up, George was carefully helping Maya to her feet. “Are you okay? Is your back alright?” Maya frowned, putting on a brave face. “Anna probably didn't mean it, George, don't…” For once, George cut her off. “You’re too kind, always defending her. This isn't the first time Anna has used her family’s status to do whatever she wants.” He wrapped an arm around Maya’s waist. With Liam on death's door, it seemed they had thrown all caution to the wind. “Anna, apologize!” he commanded. I pushed myself up, using the wall for support, my teeth gritted. “I didn’t push her. Neither of you has the right to demand an apology from me.” “If you had a brain in your head, you’d check the security cameras. I’ll be waiting for your apology.” With that, I turned and walked away. I didn’t have time for their drama. To save Liam Parker, every second counted. 3 “Take me to the hospital where Liam Parker is staying.” My driver, Mr. Davies, glanced at my swollen wrist and sighed, looking like he wanted to say something but was holding back. “Miss, were you bothering young Mr. Parker again? You’re injured. We should get that looked at.” He then handed me a contract. “This is the partnership agreement between the Parker Group and our subsidiary. It needs your signature.” I let out a bitter laugh and held up my red, swollen wrist for him to see. “Mr. Davies, George injured me, and you want me to sign a contract with him? Have you ever seen such a spineless business partner?” Mr. Davies said nothing, just gave me a look in the rearview mirror. [LMAO, the driver is totally rolling his eyes. His internal monologue must be: ‘My dear young miss, you have the nerve to say that?!’] [Anna has been George’s biggest simp since they were kids. The driver is used to it.] I was furious. I threw the contract back onto the passenger seat. [Oh? Is the SFL upset?] [She’ll get over it. Remember that time the male lead ditched her in the middle of nowhere to go pick up the female lead? The SFL cried for two hours, then wiped her tears and went to bring him dinner.] Reading that, I froze. A flood of humiliating memories washed over me. Because of our childhood engagement, I had shamelessly chased after George my whole life. In elementary school, I was his loyal servant. In middle school, his most reliable wingman. By high school and college, I had become a laughingstock, the girl who would do anything for him. And now, with the Parker family in crisis, I had stepped up, offering a huge portion of my own shares to bail them out. Our wedding had been fast-tracked, but George and Maya’s affair had only become more blatant. Every time I confronted him, he would look at me with disgust, as if I had committed some terrible crime. “She’s my sister-in-law. Don’t be so filthy-minded.” I could only tell myself, over and over, that she was his sister-in-law, that it was his duty to take care of her. My entire life felt like a cycle of heartbreak and self-delusion. But this time… I looked at the floating text, then at my injured wrist. Suddenly, everything became clear. I loved George, but I loved my own life more. “Cancel all of our company’s partnerships with the Parker Group. Phase them out, starting now.” Mr. Davies slammed on the brakes, pulling over to the side of the road. He turned around, his eyes wide with shock. “Miss, if you do that, young Mr. Parker will be furious. What if you regret it later?” “I won’t regret it. Cancel them now. Any contracts that aren’t signed, scrap them. Any that are, we will not renew them upon completion.” When Mr. Davies turned back around, he actually wiped a tear from his eye. According to the text, Liam Parker and I were two of a kind. I used my money and influence to summon the top cardiac specialists from all over the country. The reason the Parker Group was on the verge of collapse was that everyone knew Liam, the brilliant elder son, was dying, and George, the younger son, was a worthless playboy. If Liam didn’t die, George would never have his chance. 4 Soon, doctors from all over were arriving by private jet. In the hospital room, Liam Parker was a shadow of his former self, gaunt and frail, kept alive only by the rhythmic hiss of a ventilator. [Aah, the big brother is so handsome. Can’t he not die?] [No can do. He’s too brilliant. If he doesn’t die, the male lead can’t have his character development.] [Sob, it’s just one tiny blocked blood vessel. It’s just really hard to find. But what is the SFL doing here? And with all these doctors?] [See? I told you she’d get over it! She must regret how she acted earlier and is trying to win points with the male lead by saving his brother.] [Nooo, don’t do it! Doesn’t the SFL see that the male lead is terrified of his brother? Big brother dying is a good thing for him! Don’t be stupid, SFL!] [It’s fine. They won’t be able to find the real cause of his illness anyway.] A faint smile touched my lips. I called over Liam’s attending physician. “These are some of the most renowned cardiac specialists in the country. They’re here to examine Mr. Parker.” The attending physician hesitated. “But… Mr. Parker’s wife said… she wants him to pass with dignity, without any more medical intervention.” I shot him a sharp look. If it weren’t for the floating text, I would have suspected that Liam was the victim of a plot by that despicable pair. “Dr. Chen, I believe my family, the Kim family, recently acquired this hospital, did we not? That makes me the majority shareholder.” That was all it took. The hospital administration immediately scrambled to assist the specialists with another round of examinations. They were thorough, but the diagnosis remained the same: he needed a heart transplant. [SFL, don’t waste your energy. This is how the book is written.] [Even if the Grim Reaper himself showed up, he wouldn’t be able to find the real cause of Liam Parker’s illness.] “Ms. Kim, it would be best to start preparing for the inevitable,” one of the specialists said, rising to leave. I stopped him. “Is it possible that he doesn’t need a transplant? That it’s just a single blocked blood vessel in his heart, one that’s been overlooked?” The specialists stared at me, stunned. Finally, an elderly professor with a shock of white hair put on his glasses and ordered a new series of advanced CT scans and ultrasounds. When he emerged from the imaging room, his face was flushed with excitement. “Ms. Kim, you were right! Mr. Parker can be saved! Prep the OR, now!” I let out a long breath, my entire body relaxing. At the same time, the floating text went wild. [Wait, why has the plot deviated? This isn’t how it’s written in the book!] [If big brother doesn’t die, then even if the SFL dies from overwork and a stress-induced heart attack, the female lead can’t come back to the family! What is going on? How did the SFL save him?] I gritted my teeth, a vein throbbing in my temple. So they really were just going to use me as cannon fodder. Die from overwork and a stress-induced heart attack? In their dreams! 5 Liam Parker’s surgery took four hours, but it was a success. I had just checked my social media and learned that George had taken Maya and their daughter on a little getaway. His caption was particularly nauseating: An older brother is like a father. With my brother gone, I will shoulder the responsibility of taking care of this family. He had also sent me two messages. I’m taking the kid out for a while. You should do some self-reflection. If you don’t want to accept Yoyo, there are plenty of women who would love to be her stepmother. I felt a strange sense of calm, almost nostalgia. To think that a love I had harbored for so many years could be extinguished in just a few moments. I replied with a single word. Okay. It took him four hours to send me a voice message. Even through the phone, I could imagine his sneering face. “Here we go again. Anna, you’d better have some backbone this time.” Oh, I will. To make sure there were no complications, I stayed at the hospital with Liam for two days and a night. When I saw his eyes flutter open, my exhaustion vanished. I grabbed his hand excitedly. “You’re awake!” [Oh no, the plot has really gone off the rails.] [What’s so bad about that? It’s more fun to read when you don’t know what’s going to happen.] The confusion in Liam’s eyes slowly faded. After the doctors had examined him, they were overjoyed. “Mr. Parker, your recovery is nothing short of a miracle! It’s all thanks to Ms. Kim!” Liam’s gaze shifted to me, his eyes filled with a flicker of uncertainty. For as long as they had been on their little trip, I had been by Liam’s side. A week later, some color finally returned to his face. I had always been a little afraid of Liam. He was three years older than me, and even when we were kids, he never smiled. But now, as I scrolled through George and Maya’s cutesy posts, and thought about the metaphorical horns he and I now shared, I felt a sense of camaraderie. I helped him sit up and brought the medicine to his lips. “Here, time for your pills.” He didn’t take them, just looked at me. “Not chasing after George anymore? A rare sight to see you here with me.” “George’s busy,” I said casually. “Doesn’t need me around. Open up.”
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