Chapter 1
Ryan Brooks was trapped in the burning house.
I drenched myself with water, ready to rush in and save him.
But just then, some comments appeared before my eyes.
[The second female lead is so clueless. The male lead shouldn't even be in the fire. He only got stuck because he tried to save the female lead.]
[Man, the male lead only married her to pay back a favor, and the real female lead had to wait five years before he finally divorced her.]
[The second female lead got paralyzed for life after messing up her spine. She totally deserved it.]
My heart pounded wildly, and I slowly pulled my foot back.
*****
Wait... Were these words really describing what was going to happen to me?
"Edith! What are you doing?" Joanna's shrill voice cut through the chaos behind me. "Ryan's still in there!"
I didn't turn around, and my eyes locked on those comments.
The fire suddenly intensified. A burning beam came crashing down, and Ryan's screams were abruptly silenced.
The comments popped up again.
[Plot deviation: 10%]
[The female lead escaped safely, but the male lead is seriously injured.]
[Seriously? The second female lead didn't go in to save him?]
I stumbled back a couple of steps, watching the flames devour Ryan, and my whole body went cold.
Ryan wasn't rescued until an hour later.
The village officials and firefighters managed to put out most of the fire, and then hauled Ryan out of the ruins. He was barely clinging to life.
His right leg was twisted at a sickening angle, a broken piece of rebar sticking out of his calf, blood soaking through half his pant leg.
"Hurry! Get him to the county hospital!" the village chief shouted, directing everyone.
I stood on the outskirts of the crowd, watching as the villagers scrambled to load Ryan onto the truck.
Just then, Ryan suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze cutting through the chaos and locking onto me.
"Edith..." His voice was barely a rasp. "Why didn't you save me?" His words landed like a knife, and the whole place went dead silent.
Everyone turned to look at me, their eyes full of silent blame.
"Edith and Ryan grew up together. How could she just stand there and do nothing?" Martha's murmur cut through the quiet, sharp as a knife.
"How can someone so young be so heartless?" John shook his head and sighed.
"Ryan's about to take the SATs. Now what's he supposed to do..." The guy got elbowed by his friend and shut up.
I clenched the wet hem of my shirt, ignoring the stares full of blame and confusion, and walked up to the stretcher.
Ryan's face was as pale as paper, and his lips tinged blue from blood loss, but his eyes burned with fury.
"The county hospital isn't equipped for this," I said calmly, reaching out to gently touch the exposed rebar. "The wound's too deep. He needs specialized equipment. Take him straight to the city hospital."
It only took fifteen minutes to get to the county hospital from the village, but an hour to reach the city hospital.
It was a risky call, but with Ryan's injuries, the county hospital's old equipment probably wouldn't be enough.
"No way!" A sharp female voice cut through my thoughts.
Joanna shoved her way through the crowd, her white dress smeared with ash. "The city hospital's way too far. What if we waste time and his condition gets worse? I won't let you hurt Ryan again!"
She threw herself at the stretcher, gently cradling Ryan's hand, tears streaming down her face. "Ryan, don't be scared. I'll go with you to the county hospital."
[Aww, Ryan and Joanna are such a pitiful pair.]
[Blame Edith. She should be the one suffering instead.]
[How's Ryan supposed to take SATs with a busted leg? He's the sports prodigy!]
As I read the comments, I squinted, and a chilling realization hit me. My whole world was just a novel called "The Heroine's Badass Journey", with Ryan and Joanna as the main leads.
And me? I was the villainess, the second female lead, destined to be the one who got thrown under the bus.
According to the original plot, I'd throw myself into the flames to save Ryan, only to end up with a spinal injury that left me paralyzed for the rest of my life.
Ryan would marry me out of guilt, but five years later, he'd secretly tamper with my medication so he could get rid of me and finally be with Joanna.
"Let's go," the village chief told the driver. "Just like Joanna said, take him to the county hospital."
Joanna shot me a smug, victorious look, and then climbed into the van right after the stretcher.
Ryan's parents, Fred and Megan, rushed after them, but before leaving, Megan turned and gave me a cold, accusing glare, like I was some kind of criminal.