Chapter 2

In the story, I, Emily, was the fake heiress who took over Sophia's life for eighteen years. I was the textbook evil supporting character, the kind everyone loved to hate.

Sophia, on the other hand, was the real heiress and the true female lead. She was sweet, tough, and basically everyone's favorite.

Nathan was the main villain of the whole book.

At first, he totally ignored Sophia, but later, when he realized he couldn't have her, he turned into a total psycho. He was obsessed and crazier by the day.

According to the story, Nathan would end up hopelessly in love with Sophia.

To please her, he'd torment me in every way possible, and in the end, he'd make sure there wasn't a trace of me left.

Thinking about that fate made my hand tremble, and the glass slipped from my fingers, shattering on the floor with a sharp crash.

No. I didn't want to die.

Nathan was startled by the crash and whipped around, a dangerous look flashing in his eyes. "Do you want to die?"

He thought, 'That startled me. Is Emily alright? Did something happen to her?

'Did the broken glass cut her foot? I can't let that happen. I need to clean this up, fast.'

He came at me fast, and I instinctively backed away, right onto a piece of broken glass. Pain shot through my foot.

The sharp sting made me cry out.

"Emily!" Nathan's roar nearly shook the whole house.

He rushed over, scooped me up from the floor, and dumped me onto the bed without a hint of gentleness. "You idiot. Are you blind?"

His words were rough, but I could hear he was freaking out inside. 'She's bleeding. Jesus, there's so much blood.

'Get a doctor. No, an ambulance. Or a helicopter. Immediately. Right now.

'This is all my fault. Why did I give her that glass? I should've handled it myself.

'Man, this hurts way more than if I were the one bleeding.'

I watched as Nathan scowled, fumbling for the first aid kit. He crouched in front of me and awkwardly lifted my foot.

His movements were clumsy, almost rough.

When he tried to pick out the glass shards with tweezers, it made the pain worse.

But inside, he was all guilt and concern. 'Easy... Don't let her get hurt.

'I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to...'

I bit my lip, holding back both the pain and a laugh.

The Nathan I saw, and the Nathan inside, were like night and day.

One was the ruthless killer from the story. The other was this clumsy, big guy, so nervous patching me up that he was practically shaking more than I was.

If I wanted to survive, I had to make a choice.

Clinging to this villain for dear life was the only way I'd make it out alive.

"It hurts..." I whimpered, squeezing out a few tears and giving him my most pathetic look.

Nathan froze, his head dropping so low he couldn't look at me. "Shut up."

He thought, 'Crap, she said it hurts. What should I do? I really should've been more gentle.

'Is she gonna hate me now? She definitely will. I snapped at her and hurt her again. I'm such a screw-up.'

Listening to his defeated inner monologue, I felt my heart soften. Without thinking, I reached out and gently tugged at the hem of his shirt.

"Nathan," I called out, my voice quivering and thick with tears, "please don't be mad, okay?"

He stiffened up instantly. His mind was going absolutely wild. 'Wait, she actually called me by my name.

'Her voice is so freaking sweet, like cotton candy.

'She's grabbing my shirt. Does this mean she doesn't hate me anymore?

'My heart's beating so fast. It's gonna explode for real.'

He shot up, quickly wrapped my foot in gauze, and practically bolted for the bathroom without looking back. "I'm going to take a shower."

He looked like he was fleeing the scene, desperate to escape.

I stared at the closed bathroom door, hearing his heartbeat thundering from inside. 'Calm down, Nathan. Get it together.

'If she figures out what I'm thinking, she'll think I'm a total creep and bolt.

'God, she's so cute. I wanna hug her. Kiss her.'

Lying in bed, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

My so-called villain husband wasn't nearly as terrifying as the book made him out to be. He was actually kind of adorable.

Maybe there was still hope for me to turn things around.

From that night on, I would be taking control of the plot.