Chapter 2

I was about to transfer the money when my best friend, Logan Cooper, stopped me.

Logan said, "Lily, are you out of your mind? You're really going to send her money? Do you think cash grows on trees? If you're just handing it out, give it to me first.

"Mia, cut the act. Crying and begging over a few hundred bucks? Have you got no self-respect?

"I've never seen anyone beg a stranger for money. Even a panhandler has more dignity than you."

The comments section started calling people out.

[Lily, Logan, I'm keeping your names on Mia's behalf.]

[We're gonna make the author write you off.]

[Don't give up, Mia. No matter what happens, keep pushing toward the future you want, and do whatever it takes to get there.]

I shook my head at the viewers' moral compass once again.

Mia had already gotten to her feet.

She kept her head down to hide the humiliation on her face and said, "Forget it. Since none of you are willing to help me, I won't put you in a tough spot. I'll figure something out on my own."

I grabbed Mia's hand and asked in my most pitiful voice, "Really? But you won't go around telling people I refused to give you money, right? It's not that I don't want to. I'm seriously broke."

Mia frowned and brushed my hand away, clearly losing patience. "I won't tell anyone," she said. "Don't worry about it."

I put on my most grateful expression and said, "You're so sweet, Mia. You even helped me save money on food and tuition. You really are such a good person."

She had tried to guilt-trip me, but I could play that game even better.

A taste of her own medicine worked every single time, no matter the situation.

Mia stared at me for a moment, then said nothing and walked right past us out the door.

The other girls filed out of our dorm, whispering among themselves as they left.

My two roommates were still going on about Mia after everyone else had gone.

One of them scoffed, "She's got some nerve."

The other shook her head and said, "If that were me, I'd rather starve than beg for money in front of everyone."

"And it's not like Lily's family has money either, but has Lily ever gone around asking anyone for a cent?"

I sat down at my desk, and a flood of information suddenly rushed into my mind.

That was the moment I realized the world I lived in was a novel, and I was nothing more than the disposable side character meant to make the heroine look good.

The female lead was, of course, Mia.

This was a "villain heroine" story, the kind where the main character was unapologetically terrible and willing to sacrifice anything to get what she wanted.

Readers these days ate that up. They couldn't get enough of a ruthlessly ambitious woman who played by her own rules.

No wonder.

The comments section was blowing up.

[Lily is such a fake. She's playing the victim and everyone's falling for it.]

[But what about Mia? She can't even afford a designer bag. How's she supposed to go on a date with Jack?]

[Relax, Mia will figure it out. Never underestimate that girl's ambition.]

[Besides, this is just the beginning. If she married into money right now, the story would be over.]

[I can't wait to see Mia become the wife of the most powerful man. That's gonna be so good.]

The most powerful man? What did that mean?

Was Jack Hunter the most powerful man in this story? So Mia's whole plan was to use Jack to climb her way to the top.

[With Lily getting in the way, when is Mia ever going to get with Jack?]

[God, this side character is so annoying!]

Wait. Was I the side character? The throwaway nobody?

Fine, I came from nothing. I could deal with that and work my way up on my own.

But there was no way I was going to be cannon fodder for someone else's love story. I refused. If Mia could claw her way to the top, then so could I.