Chapter 3

"Nothing." I let go of Olivia's wrist and took a step back. "I finally realized something."

"Realized what?" Olivia asked.

I fixed my collar she'd ruffled. "Some people aren't worth it."

Olivia's brows furrowed.

I didn't respond and walked toward the mouth of the alley.

"Andrew!" Olivia called out behind me.

I stopped in my tracks but didn't turn around.

"Are you... coming to the office tomorrow?" Olivia asked, her voice uncertain.

I froze for a second, then remembered how the original story was set up. Andrew was Olivia's manager, got into the business for her, worked his ass off to make her a superstar, and then she left him for Matthew.

Turned out, Andrew was nothing but a tool for her.

"Listen," I said, "I'm quitting."

Olivia's voice shot up. "What did you say?"

"I'm quitting," I repeated, finally turning to look at her. "I'm not doing this anymore."

Under the moonlight, Olivia looked pale as a ghost.

"What gives you the right to quit?" Olivia snapped, fists clenched. "Who do you think you are, Andrew? You think you can show up and leave whenever you—"

"I'm your fiancé," I cut her off.

She fell silent.

"In name only," I added.

Then I turned and walked away, vanishing from her sight for good.

As I stepped out of the alley, a cold wind swept over me.

I stood by the curb and took a deep breath.

That felt good.

That felt so damn good.

No wonder so many readers were always clamoring for a new male lead. Turned out, flipping all that suffocating drama felt insanely good.

But...

I pulled out my phone, opened my contacts, and stared at the name "Olivia" on the screen, lost in thought.

I'd already changed the original story, so what happened next?

According to the original timeline, the next scene should've been Andrew humbly begging for reconciliation, and Olivia shutting him down with a cold face. But there was no way I was groveling, so that whole angst arc was officially dead.

So, what was going to happen next?

My phone buzzed, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Caller ID: Mom.

I picked up, and before I could say anything, my mom's booming voice came through. "Andrew, I heard you argued with Olivia today?"

Damn, that news spread fast.

I said, "Mom, how did you know—"

"Matthew's mom called me," Mom said, barely containing her excitement. "She said her son got chewed out by some lunatic in an alley today. As soon as I heard her description, I knew it was you. Nice job."

Wait, that was not how she was supposed to react, was it?

In the original story, Andrew's mom was a typical high-society lady, always hoping her son would marry into the Sinclair family. She thought Olivia was perfect, and when the engagement got called off, she gave Andrew hell.

But now, she wasn't angry at all.

"Mom, you're not mad?" I asked.

"Mad? Seriously?" Mom snorted. "Why would I be mad? I've never liked that Olivia. She acts all high and mighty because her family's rich, always treating you like crap.

"And Matthew? He's always acting like Mr. Perfect, but I know all the shady stuff he does behind closed doors."

I went quiet for a couple of seconds.

"Mom, you never used to say stuff like this," I said.

"That was then," Mom replied with zero guilt. "I kept quiet because I didn't want you to feel bad. Now that you've finally come to your senses, you bet I'm gonna rub it in."

I couldn't help but laugh.

So that was what it was all along.

The original story was told from Andrew's point of view. He was so blinded by love he couldn't see the truth. But anyone on the sidelines could see right through Olivia and Matthew from day one.