Chapter 2

I massaged my temples.

Yeah, all because of some dumb misunderstanding, the lead couple spent the whole story making each other miserable, then forgave each other in the end.

Tobias glanced at Tricia. "Who said Kathy is your stand-in?"

My head hurt even more.

In the story, both Tobias and Tricia were ridiculously hard-headed. Tobias was the worst, barely ever saying what he really meant, preferring to pick fights with Tricia for the hell of it.

I glanced at the bodyguards on the shore, worried they might break Tobias's other leg. I forced a smile at Tricia. "Miss Emerson, look at Tobias. He's already in bad shape. Maybe... you could let it go?"

Tricia shot me a fierce glare. "Who asked you to butt in?"

As soon as she finished talking, I slapped her right across the face.

What the hell? Was the system controlling me? I wasn't the type to hit people.

Seeing her cheek start to swell, I hastily explained, "Miss Emerson, I swear I didn't mean to hit you. Do you believe me?"

Tobias looked at me with a pitying gaze, as if he was thinking, 'She's totally crazy. Guess I'll have to hustle even harder delivering takeout to cover her therapy bills.'

Tricia's eyes welled up with tears. "Mom, Dad, Kathy hit me. And she's my sister..."

"Wait a second," I cut her off. "Miss Emerson, watch your words. When I came home, you threatened to kill yourself, and because of that, the family disowned me.

"So, I'm not your sister. You can go on now, but make sure you choose your words carefully."

Tricia stood there, speechless.

Tobias gave my back a gentle pat. "Don't worry, you've still got me. I'll go around picking trash to keep you fed."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's a way to earn money. You can pick up bottles and sell them. Polyester can be turned into clothes."

"Huh, didn't know that," he said, scanning the area. "Looks like there's plenty around here. The stadium's got even more."

"You're the real pro at this," I said, genuinely impressed.

My birth mother, Victoria Emerson, was shaking with rage as she watched us. "Kathy, just look at yourself. What have you become?"

"Ma'am, who are you? What gives you the right to lecture me?" I kept my smile.

Victoria clenched her fists. "I gave birth to you!"

"Nope, not anymore. The day I left the Emerson family, you said you never had me as a daughter. So we're done."

My father, Duane Emerson's face turned stormy. "Kathy, from now on, you're breaking up with Tobias. I'll give you 3 thousand dollars a month. Figure out your own life."

I grinned. "Wow, acting all high and mighty. Remind me who are you to me again?"

The Emerson brothers behind him looked ready to chime in, but I pointed right at them. "Don't even start. Me and Tobias got nothing to lose, so we're not scared of you guys!"

I whipped a "gun" out of my canvas bag. "If it comes to this, we all go down together!"

Everyone jumped back, scared out of their wits that I might actually shoot. The Emerson brothers were furious.

"Alright, whatever. Kathy, go shack up under a bridge with Tobias for all I care."

"And don't you dare use the Emerson name for anything ever again."

"Kathy, Tricia's our only sister now. If you end up dead out there, that's your problem, not ours!"

They all backed way off, with the bodyguards scrambling to huddle around them for protection.

I snapped open the "gun," and a little flame popped out. "Come on, it's just a lighter. And you all freaked out over that?"

Their faces turned ashen.

Tobias leaned on his makeshift cane and whispered, "Next time, I'll get you a real one."

I patted his shoulder. "Let's not do illegal stuff, even if you used to be some big boss."

"Kathy!" Tricia snarled, grinding her teeth. "You guys, strip her!"

The bodyguards stared, wide-eyed. "Miss Emerson, forcing a woman against her will is illegal. That's not part of our job."

Tricia fumed even harder. "Fine, I'll pay you more."

The bodyguards shook their heads. "Still no. We're assigned by the company. If we take money on the side, we'll lose our performance bonus. Don't get us in trouble."

I shook my head. "Come on, it's 2026. Even the rich kids from the capital end up in jail if they break the law in the Eversea region. Don't make life harder for the regular folks."

I turned to Tobias. "Let's get out of here and pick up where we left off. No point wasting time on these nutjobs."

Tobias nodded.

Man, we really needed to find a cleaner bridge. This one was just way too grimy with all these cars going by.

"Tobias," Hector Bennett, Tobias's half-brother, who'd been quiet this whole time, finally spoke up. His face was cold and unreadable. "I didn't kill you. Consider this a favor from me. Don't waste it."

I glanced at him.

In the original story, he was head over heels for Tricia, but she never gave him the time of day. So he took it out on Tobias every chance he got.