Chapter 2

Back in my room, I locked the door behind me and flopped onto the bed.

The comments were still floating across the screen.

[She's so calm, I love it.]

[Lucy, did you slip into the book? If yes, blink twice.]

[Can anyone tell me what's happening right now?]

I stared at the words on the screen and asked in my mind, "Can you guys hear me?"

The comments paused for a second, then went wild.

[Holy crap, she can see us!]

[Did she talk to us in her mind?]

[Lucy! You slipped into the novel, right?]

I let out a relieved sigh.

As long as we could communicate, that was good enough.

[We're your readers. OG fans here!]

[Please don't stick to the original storyline. Lucy had it way too rough in the book.]

[In the end, Alex sent her to prison himself, and she ended up dying there.]

[We don't want you to die!]

I watched the live comments and slowly sat up.

"So," I said, since the room was empty, "are you guys watching me right now?"

[Yes, yes, yes!]

[We're your omniscient perspective.]

[We'll give you a heads-up when something important happens!]

[But you gotta step up your game.]

I thought for a second. "I remember some of the main plot, but the details are kinda blurry. What other pitfalls are waiting for me down the line?"

The comments started flooding the screen.

[Next week at the company party, Emily's gonna accidentally fall right into Alex's arms, and you'll totally lose it and try to tear her clothes off.]

[A month later, at Alex's birthday party, you'll have to apologize to Emily publicly.]

[Two months from now, you'll try to have Emily kidnapped, but Alex will catch you red-handed.]

[And after that, you get thrown straight into jail.]

I froze.

What kind of insane plot was this?

"I'm supposed to have her kidnapped? Where am I gonna find people for that?" I questioned.

[You're the standard villain toolkit, girl, loaded, clueless, and a bunch of diehard minions ready to do your bidding.]

I was silent for three seconds.

Then I rolled off the bed and opened the closet.

It was packed with designer clothes, tags still on. In the drawer, I found a bank card. I checked the balance on my phone.

Seven figures in dollars.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Girls," I said to the air, "from now on, I'm setting three rules for myself."

[We're all ears!]

"First, I'm steering clear of all those death flags you mentioned. If the plot wants me to push someone, I won't. If it wants me to kidnap someone, that's a hard no."

[Makes sense.]

"Second, I'm not gonna go around hurting people on purpose. But don't expect me to be some Mother Teresa either. If Emily walks right into my line of fire, that's her problem, not mine."

[Even more reasonable.]

"Third." I picked up the bank card and held it up to the light. "As soon as I've got enough cash, I'm outta here. Whoever wants to stick around in this dump, be my guest. I'm not here anyway."

The comments froze for half a second, then exploded.

[Lol, that's the spirit.]

[Love this clear-headed attitude.]

[Now that's the kind of mindset every modern woman should have.]

[Alex, keep playing games; don't come whining when you lose everything.]

I flopped back onto the bed and started scrolling through my phone.

First, I needed to figure out the basics of this world, where the company was, where the house was, and how to transfer my money out. Once I'd got it all sorted, I would choose the perfect time to make my getaway.

A comment floated by.

[You seriously don't like Alex at all? In the original story, Lucy was totally obsessed with him.]

I stared at the comment and gave it some serious thought.

"Like him?" I asked. "I'm not into pain. My back's still sore from when he pushed me. Why would I like a guy like that? What am I supposed to like, his cluelessness? Or the way he says stuff like you're coming down with her?"

[LMAO!]

[That's spot-on.]

[Girl, you really know how to clap back!]

I laughed, too.

Liked him? Hell no.

I was a working type, keeping myself alive was priority number one, and making money was even more important.

*****

A week later, the company party rolled around.

I didn't want to go, but the comments insisted: [You have to show up for this plot point, or you'll trigger even more traps.]

The worker's hustle, right? Let's get it over with.

I put on the plainest black dress, went with barely-there makeup, and stood quietly in the corner, sipping orange juice.

Emily was dressed to impress, in a white chiffon gown, pearl earrings, and her hair elegantly pinned up to reveal her swan-like neck. She stood at the center of the crowd, smiling with poise and gentleness, drawing everyone's attention.

Alex was right beside her, never taking his eyes off her the entire night.

The comments were flying:

[Not gonna lie, those two actually look kinda good together.]

[Good together? Come on, one's clueless, and the other's all fake sweetness.]

[Emily's about to pull something any minute now.]

I stood in the corner with my orange juice, watching the show.

Called it.

Emily walked over holding a glass of red wine, then accidentally tripped and splashed the whole thing all over me.

Wine ran down the hem as my dress turned red in seconds.

"Oh no!" Emily gasped, covering her mouth as tears instantly sprang to her eyes. "Lucy, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. I twisted my ankle."

The whole room went dead silent.

Everyone's eyes bounced between her and me, with all kinds of reactions.

Alex walked over.

I watched him come closer, thinking, 'Showtime, Alex.'

He shot me a quick look and then looked down at Emily's foot.

"Is your ankle okay?" Alex asked.

Emily shook her head. "I'm fine, but Lucy's dress..."

"It's just a dress," Alex replied.

The comments went wild.

[What happened?]

[It's just a dress? Are you kidding me?]

[Emily spilled wine all over Lucy, and he's worried about Emily's ankle?]

[Dude, are you for real?]

I glanced down at my dress.

Red wine trickled down the hem,one drop, two drops, three drops...

Honestly, the wine color looked kinda nice. Staining my dress, it almost turned it into an abstract painting or something.

I took some tissues from a waiter and started blotting at my dress. Obviously, the stain wasn't going anywhere, but I had to at least go through the motions.

"It's fine." I looked up and smiled at everyone. "As long as Ms. Lane's ankle is okay, that's all that matters. I'll go to the restroom and try to clean this up."

Emily stared at me, clearly surprised by how calm I was. "Aren't you mad?"

"Why would I be?" I replied. "You said it was an accident, right?"

Emily was caught off guard.

Alex glanced at me; was that a flicker of surprise in his eyes? It vanished almost instantly, replaced by his usual indifference.

"Go change," he said. "Put it on the company tab."

I nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Kingston."

I walked off toward the restroom.

Behind me, I could hear people whispering.

"What's up with Lucy today? Normally, she'd be causing a scene by now."

"Yeah, I thought she'd tear into Emily right here in front of everyone."

"Did she suddenly turn over a new leaf or something?"

I walked into the restroom and looked myself over in the mirror.

My dress was toast, but at least my makeup hadn't smudged. I grabbed a wet wipe from my purse and wiped my hands clean.

The stream of comments started flooding in.

[Lucy, you're so unfazed.]

[I'm so mad right now. Seriously, she did that on purpose!]

[Why didn't you go off on her?]

I looked at myself in the mirror. "Why rush? The story's only begun."

[What do you mean?]

"The more she gloats now, the harder she'll fall later," I said, tossing the wet wipe into the trash. "I'm not her mom; why should I spoil her? Just wait and see."

[Good point!]

[So you're holding back for a big move?]

[Looking forward to it.]

I straightened out my ruined dress and took a look in the mirror. "Honestly, she knew how to aim; this wine color actually flatters my complexion."

The comments were flying.

[LMAO.]

[Lucy, what kind of optimism is this?]

[That's legendary.]

[Count me in as a fan, Lucy.]

I laughed, too.

Seriously, it made my skin look brighter.

As for everything else?

Let Alex fuss over her ankle if he wanted; he was not talking to me anyway.

Once I'd stacked up enough cash, I would floor it out of this city. After that, he could ask whoever he wanted.

When Alex finally remembered someone named Lucy, it would be, "Oh, that girl with the wine incident."

Worked for me.

I'd rather he forget I ever existed.