Chapter 1

I suddenly became aware of myself, right in the middle of my own wedding.

Turned out, I was the doomed fiancée in a fantasy webnovel, the one who went out of her way to humiliate the fallen male lead, Lucas Reed, only to end up as fish food in the ocean.

According to the original plot, today was the day I disgraced Lucas.

Before I could wrap my head around it, a Self-Preservation System appeared in my mind.

The Self-Preservation System made it simple: "Keep your distance from Lucas if you want to make it to old age."

So I began my peaceful, low-profile married life.

Until one day, Lucas showed up with a brand new agreement.

He said, "All my assets are yours. And I'm yours, too.

"Can we not get a divorce?"

*****

I was standing at the altar when, out of nowhere, my mind got hit with the entire plot of a million-word webnovel.

Turned out, I was the throwaway fiancée in the male lead's power fantasy novel. Today, I was supposed to humiliate Lucas at our wedding, and three years later, after he made his big comeback, he'd toss me into the ocean to feed the fish.

According to the storyline I had downloaded, in thirty seconds, I'd fling the ring to the floor and say, "You think I'd wear something this cheap?"

Then, with all the city's elite watching, Lucas would have to stoop down and pick it up, and I'd stomp down on his hand with my stiletto.

"Ms. Sutton?" the priest's voice snapped me back to reality.

I looked up and met Lucas's eyes.

"Do you, Ms. Sutton, take Mr. Reed to be your lawfully wedded husband, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health..." The priest recited those timeless wedding vows, unchanged for centuries.

"I—" just as I wanted to say something, a voice rang out in my mind. The system said, "Detected conscious awakening. Forced binding of Self-Preservation System."

I fell silent.

It added, "Binding complete. Hello, host. My mission is simple: keep your distance from Lucas and survive until you're old. The core rules are: no emotional attachment, don't get involved in the main storyline, and never set any goals.

"Your beginner task: get through the wedding ceremony smoothly.

"Reward: 30 days added to your lifespan.

"Failure penalty: Trigger the humiliation plot and get tossed into the ocean three years ahead of schedule."

"Ms. Sutton?" the priest urged me again.

I took a deep breath and replied, "I do, I do, I do! Hurry up, let's move to the next part."

Laughter rippled through the guests.

My mom muttered, "What's with her? Why is she in such a rush?"

The priest looked a bit flustered, stumbling over his words before turning to Lucas.

He asked, "M-Mr. Reed, do you..."

"I do," Lucas said coolly.

As the ring was placed on my finger, the system said, "Beginner task accomplished.

"Nice going, host! Our goal is to make it to ninety-nine, retire after outliving Lucas."

I was left speechless.

The ceremony ended in a perfunctory manner.

I grabbed the hem of my wedding dress and bolted out of the church.

My bridesmaid called after me, "Emily, the bouquet! You haven't thrown it yet."

Without even looking back, I yanked open the car door and replied, "It's yours! Hope you land yourself a bossy CEO next year."

The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror, asking, "Mrs. Reed, are we heading back to the villa or...?"

"Back to the villa, back to the villa," I replied.

I slumped into the back seat, finally feeling how weak my legs were.

The car window slid up slowly.

I caught a glimpse of a few of Reed's family elders gathered around him, talking.

Suddenly, he turned his head, and our eyes met.

My heart gave a jolt.

Then, another robotic voice chimed in, "Warning. Story event not triggered. Supporting character acting out of the script. Running risk assessment."

I jerked upright, realizing the window was already shut tight.

That night, according to the original storyline, I'd lock Lucas out of the master bedroom, leave him to spend the night in the hallway, and say the classic line, "You think you're worthy of even touching my bed?"

He'd silently grab a blanket and head to the study, quietly keeping track of the insult for payback someday.

Three years later, he'd make me pay for it.

Now, I watched as Lucas stepped out of the bathroom.

His hair was still damp, water droplets sliding down his neck and disappearing into his collar.

"Is there something you need?" he asked.

I put on my best smile and said, "Master bedroom's all yours. I'll crash in the guest room. Fresh sheets, and I cleared out the left side of the closet for you."

Three steps out, I paused and glanced back, adding, "Sweet dreams, goodnight. Hope you have a great night."

Out of nowhere, a voice rang out, "Emily gave up the master bedroom on her own. It appears to be a high-level tactic. She is playing the long game. Host, stay alert; romance arc might kick off early."

My system said, "Host, Lucas's system just did a stealth scan on you."

Right, Lucas's got a system of his own.

I realized the other voice belonged to Lucas's system.

Looked like it was a face-off between two systems now.

This was all a bit surreal.

Yesterday, I was the Sutton family heiress; my biggest worries were which designer bag to buy and who to invite for coffee.

Now, I was the cannon fodder who had suddenly woken up, and my newlywed husband was the male lead destined to toss me into the sea someday.