Chapter 1

The campus golden boy was kneeling at my feet when the floating comments flashed across my eyes.

[This psycho villainess kidnapped the male lead. She’s dead meat.]

[Seriously. He’s going to lock her in a basement for the rest of her life.]

[She totally has it coming.]

The comments kept scrolling, glowing in mid-air.

I didn't lower the riding crop in my hand.

Pressing the tip against his chin, I tilted his face up.

"So, Julian. Are you going to love me, or not?"

The chat blew up with fury.

[As if! In your wildest dreams!]

[Julian will only ever love our pure, sweet angel Elena!]

I glanced at the glowing text and said nothing. But right then, he looked up at me with a lazy, mocking smirk.

"Sure. Why not?"

[Wait... WHAT? That’s not in the script!]

My hand trembled on the whip. Honestly, I had no clue what was happening either.

A dark, damp basement.

The novel’s golden boy was on his knees, hands and feet bound tight.

From the comments floating in front of me, I finally knew the truth: I was the evil, obsessed female rival in this book.

I was madly, self-destructively in love with him.

Desperate enough to kidnap him just to take his virginity.

And today was supposed to be the turning point.

I wouldn't just fail; I’d trigger his lifelong hatred, ending up trapped in a basement until the day I rotted away.

But even without the spoilers, I’d known for a long time that this world was broken.

Whenever I went more than two days without interacting with him, my entire reality faded into pitch-black nothingness.

I stared at him and delivered my scripted line.

Except he completely went off-script.

The whip slipped from my fingers, clattering onto the concrete floor.

Before I could turn and run, a strong hand shot out and dragged me back.

When had the ropes come undone?

His lips brushed against my ear, his breath burning hot. "Running already? Didn't you just ask me to love you?"

His skin was scolding. The drug had clearly kicked in.

"Julian... don't you love Elena? Why are you—"

He grabbed my jaw, forcing my face toward him.

"You talk too much."

Then his mouth crashed onto mine.

The chat went completely feral.

[THE PLOT BROKE?!]

[Why is Julian kissing the villainess?!]

[What happened to the cold, untouchable golden boy persona?!]

My mind was spinning.

He hauled me straight toward the mattress I had prepared in the corner.

My vision blurred. I couldn't even read the panicked comments flying across my sight anymore.

His palm came down, covering my eyes.

"You claim to want me, yet your mind is somewhere else?"

In total darkness, all I could register was his scorching breath.

And then, a sharp flare of pain.

A gasp slipped past my lips. Overcome with shame, I bit down hard on my lip, but a rough knuckle shoved between my teeth.

"Don't bite yourself."

That was when I felt it.

One of his fingers was missing half a joint.

Julian had flawless, piano-player hands. The only guy I knew with a severed finger was my childhood friend—Cole Adams.

I had kidnapped the wrong guy.

I shoved him back with all my strength.

"Get off me! Back off!"

His grip only tightened, his voice turning vicious. "What? You really love him that much?"

I buried my teeth into his shoulder until the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.

With a groan of pain, he finally pulled away.

I opened my eyes.

He reached up, ripped off the hyper-realistic silicone mask, and revealed his true face.

"Is he really that much better than me?"

"Yes," I snapped. "You don't compare to him. Not even close."

He let out a hollow, self-deprecating laugh, grabbed his clothes, and walked out.

I pulled my clothes back on, sitting alone on the edge of the mattress.

The floating text started scrolling again.

[Why did the screen go black? I'm an adult, let me watch!]

[Wait, what just happened?!]

[Why is the villainess alone? Where did Julian go?]

[Julian obviously rejected her and broke out, duh.]

[Wait... why do I feel like she was the one who got overpowered?]

[Same here...]

I was just as lost as the chat. Why on earth was Cole the one in this basement?

The basement door creaked open again.

Cole stood in the doorway, tossing a paper bag at me.

I caught it. Inside were tubes of antiseptic and bruise cream.

Remembering what had just happened, my temper flared. "Cole, you bastard! What the hell were you doing here?!"

The chat erupted again.

[Who the hell is that guy? Where’s my male lead?!]

[That’s the second lead! He doesn’t get much screen time early on, but later he’s the ultimate catalyst for the main couple.]

[Oh right, he’s also her childhood best friend.]

[Is nobody gonna mention he’s literally wearing Julian’s clothes?]

Cole leaned against the doorframe, a cocky smirk tugging at his lips.

"Who’s the real freak here? You’re the one who dragged me down here tied up."

"Then why were you wearing his face?!"

"Thought it’d be fun," he said without an ounce of shame. "Besides, you’re the one who drugged my drink."