Chapter 1 · Return Of The A-List Heartbreaker

Logan staged his own kidnapping. He was the "victim."

The ransom asked me for 3 million, or he would die.

In my previous life, I wired the money in a heartbeat, then stayed awake three straight days waiting for him.

At the after-party, someone toasted his luck for having an A-list girlfriend and all.

I overheard him sneer, "A-list? She's just a pretty face on a screen. Without her family's cash, she wouldn't be fit to carry my shoes."

He rode my connections to the top, then bragged it was pure hustle.

Later, he locked me in a mountain lodge; while I was dying, he told the press, "My heart's always belonged to my first love, Daisy..."

This time, I woke up before the trap closed.

I yanked every gift, every door I ever opened, and offered the seat to Daisy.

Now it was Logan who was sweating.

*****

"Ashley, get to the suburban villa. If you're not here in twenty minutes, we're through."

When I got the call from my boyfriend, Logan Mosley, I was momentarily stunned, but he hung up impatiently without another word.

I had my driver, Lewis, take me to the suburbs.

Once I was given a second chance at life, I finally saw through everything.

Turns out, I was the villainess in a novel, the mega-famous actress Ashley Larson. I had a net worth of hundreds of millions and a powerful CEO fiancé, the kind of match every family dreams of. But for some reason, I went crazy over Logan, the dirt-poor male lead.

As the spoiled heiress, my style of wooing someone was blunt and simple, just splash the cash. Houses, cars, even a horse ranch, I bought them all for him.

I just wanted to shower him with the best of everything, anything the world had to offer.

But Logan always looked down on me, constantly proclaiming his integrity and telling me not to think my "filthy money" could buy his noble character.

In reality, every single one of his breakups and makeups with the story's heroine, Nathalie Williams, was just a scheme to extort more money from me.

In the end, I, the villainess, was torn apart. My family was left in ruins, while those two smug lovebirds rode off into their blissful happily ever after.

Checking the timeline, this should be around the time Nathalie would pretend to study abroad to level up her status and try to squeeze one million dollars out of me.

In my previous life, Nathalie came to me crying her eyes out. "Ashley, I never wanted to fight with you, and I'd never try to break you and Logan up. I just need one million dollars. Once I have it, I'll disappear from your lives forever."

Logan, playing the part of the anguished friend, had chimed in, "Ashley, I've told you, I only see Nathalie as a little sister. If it weren't for your ridiculous jealousy, she wouldn't be forced to leave the country like this."

Back then, all I could do was cave in.

Thinking that if Nathalie went abroad, she would be completely out of Logan's life for good, I transferred the million to her without hesitation.

But on the very day she was supposed to leave, Logan's mother, Donna, suddenly fell ill.

She was burning up in bed, desperately calling Nathalie's name over and over.

When Nathalie heard about it at the airport, she dropped everything and rushed back to care for Donna.

And the moment Nathalie walked in, Donna miraculously recovered.

Later, when I tried to confront Nathalie, Logan looked me dead in the eye and said earnestly, "Nathalie's just too good-hearted. She gave up her shot at going abroad for my mom, so as compensation, just give her the one million."

He said it like it was his cash to hand out, not mine.

But that was just how things played out in the book. I blindly went along with it.

But now, I was wide awake. I'd finally snapped out of it. This time, I just wanted to see how their show would play out.

I told Lewis to park the car out front and walked into the suburban villa alone.

In the living room, Nathalie and Logan were locked in an embrace on the couch, totally oblivious to everything around them.

They were giving each other those steamy, longing looks, teetering right on the edge of losing control.

I cleared my throat.

Logan snapped out of it when he heard me come in, quickly getting up and trying to play it cool. He shot me a frown. "Ashley, why didn't you knock before coming in?"

How laughable. The entire house belonged to me, and now I was supposed to announce myself before stepping into my own place? Give me a break.

Chapter 1

Logan staged his own kidnapping. He was the "victim."

The ransom asked me for 3 million, or he would die.

In my previous life, I wired the money in a heartbeat, then stayed awake three straight days waiting for him.

At the after-party, someone toasted his luck for having an A-list girlfriend and all.

I overheard him sneer, "A-list? She's just a pretty face on a screen. Without her family's cash, she wouldn't be fit to carry my shoes."

He rode my connections to the top, then bragged it was pure hustle.

Later, he locked me in a mountain lodge; while I was dying, he told the press, "My heart's always belonged to my first love, Daisy..."

This time, I woke up before the trap closed.

I yanked every gift, every door I ever opened, and offered the seat to Daisy.

Now it was Logan who was sweating.

*****

"Ashley, get to the suburban villa. If you're not here in twenty minutes, we're through."

When I got the call from my boyfriend, Logan Mosley, I was momentarily stunned, but he hung up impatiently without another word.

I had my driver, Lewis, take me to the suburbs.

Once I was given a second chance at life, I finally saw through everything.

As the spoiled heiress, my style of wooing someone was blunt and simple, just splash the cash. Houses, cars, even a horse ranch, I bought them all for him.

I just wanted to shower him with the best of everything, anything the world had to offer.

But Logan always looked down on me, constantly proclaiming his integrity and telling me not to think my "filthy money" could buy his noble character.

In reality, every single one of his breakups and makeups with the story's heroine, Nathalie Williams, was just a scheme to extort more money from me.

In the end, I, the villainess, was torn apart. My family was left in ruins, while those two smug lovebirds rode off into their blissful happily ever after.

Checking the timeline, this should be around the time Nathalie would pretend to study abroad to level up her status and try to squeeze one million dollars out of me.

Back then, all I could do was cave in.

Thinking that if Nathalie went abroad, she would be completely out of Logan's life for good, I transferred the million to her without hesitation.

But on the very day she was supposed to leave, Logan's mother, Donna, suddenly fell ill.

She was burning up in bed, desperately calling Nathalie's name over and over.

When Nathalie heard about it at the airport, she dropped everything and rushed back to care for Donna.

And the moment Nathalie walked in, Donna miraculously recovered.

He said it like it was his cash to hand out, not mine.

But that was just how things played out in the book. I blindly went along with it.

But now, I was wide awake. I'd finally snapped out of it. This time, I just wanted to see how their show would play out.

I told Lewis to park the car out front and walked into the suburban villa alone.

In the living room, Nathalie and Logan were locked in an embrace on the couch, totally oblivious to everything around them.

They were giving each other those steamy, longing looks, teetering right on the edge of losing control.

I cleared my throat.

Logan snapped out of it when he heard me come in, quickly getting up and trying to play it cool. He shot me a frown. "Ashley, why didn't you knock before coming in?"

How laughable. The entire house belonged to me, and now I was supposed to announce myself before stepping into my own place? Give me a break.