Chapter 1
My billionaire parents only brought me back home because they needed my kidney.
They thought I was some pushover wallflower, not realizing I'd bonded with the Self-Love System.
"Self-Love means you gotta count on yourself! Life and death? Who cares. If someone messes with you, fight back!"
I kept the system's mottos engraved in my mind at all times.
On my first day back, they tried to stick me in the basement just to keep Grace, the fake heiress, happy.
I trashed the entire bedroom instead!
On the second day, that fake heiress had the nerve to try and steal my man.
The system urged me, "Autumn, those who love themselves always come out on top. Go over there and destroy her!"
I nodded fiercely, lunged at her, and delivered a ten-slap combo to her face!
*****
"Help! Somebody, hurry! Get this psycho off me!" Grace shrieked.
My biological father, Marcus Stone, stood there with a face like thunder, wanting to pull me off but terrified of getting caught in the crossfire.
He could only watch as I pinned Grace down, my slaps falling on her face like I was handing out free samples.
"Stop fighting! Please, just stop!"
My biological mother, Ella Stone, was a puddle of tears, sobbing with pity yet frozen in place, too scared to lift a finger.
After a chaotic frenzy, the butler finally arrived with three servants just as I was worn out.
I let them pull me away, but I didn't forget to stay in character.
Crying, I wailed, "Nobody takes Nathan from me! I'd be dead if it weren't for him! Anyone who tries to steal him is a dead woman walking!"
Nathan Long was my "Mr. Handsome."
I'd been switched at birth on purpose, and my adoptive parents basically wished I'd died young. I barely survived until I knew better.
Then, they started coming up with every possible way to exploit me.
Doing laundry, cooking, and even fighting the dog for scraps was just part of my daily routine.
It wasn't until middle school, when I got into a prestigious high school, that my adoptive parents' faces turned sour.
"What's the point of a worthless girl like you studying? You'd be better off getting married early to help with the bills," they sneered.
They locked me in the house, intent on selling me to some decrepit old bachelor.
I jumped from the second floor and ran for my life, dragging my broken leg behind me.
Just as they were about to catch me, I ran into Nathan. He shielded me while they tried to extort him for cash.
Back then, Nathan asked me just one thing. "I can pay for your school. Will you come with me?" I grabbed his hand instantly. "Yes!"
I didn't know I wasn't their biological daughter yet, but I knew I had to escape that swamp of a family.
Education was my only ticket out of there.
Nathan handed them a thick bundle of bills and whisked me away from that hellhole.
Thanks to him, I was able to keep going with my studies.
Someone as good as Nathan—I won't let anyone else lay a finger on him!
The Self-Love System set off fireworks in my mind. 'Way to go, Autumn! Never rely on others—count on yourself! That's how you live!'
"Grace was just joking around! Why are you so petty?" Ella snapped, her eye twitching with rage.
"I don't care if it was a joke!"
Raising my voice, I shouted, "Her own fiance is a bridge troll, so she has to hunt for someone else's man? Has she no shame?"
Marcus and Ella looked like they were about to have a stroke, while Grace sat there crying with a hideous, swollen face.
In the end, Marcus put his foot down. "Enough! We're family. We need to keep the peace."
Yeah, right. As if I'd ever consider myself part of this family.
If it weren't for the system's mission, they could beg all they wanted—I'd never come back to this dump!
I grumbled internally.
After the scene I made, Marcus and Ella had a new room prepared for me and forced Grace to apologize.
I gave a satisfied nod and decided to drop it.
Back in my room, the system's notification pinged in my ear.
"Congratulations on fighting back! You followed the 'Hurt Them, Not Yourself' rule. Here is your reward: 150,000 dollars!"
My eyes lit up with greed.
"System, you're the only one who treats me like a princess."
That night, as I counted my cash, I talked to the system. "Give me more missions like this. I need to save enough so Nathan can get his surgery ASAP."
Two years ago, Nathan's dad passed away, and he, his mom, and I—the tag-along nobody wanted—were booted out.
On the way to his dad's funeral, Nathan got into a car crash and lost his sight.
"Autumn, you have to leave," he insisted. "Staying by my side will only get you hurt."
I squeezed his hand. "I'm not afraid! Nathan, you took me from them, so you're stuck with me. If nothing else, I'll be the one providing for you."
When the Stones finally tracked me down, they threw money at me and demanded my kidney.
I looked at Nathan lying in the hospital bed, about to agree to their deal.
Just then, the Self-Love System appeared.
It told me that as long as I fought back and made the bad guys suffer, I'd be rewarded.
With that money, there was finally a chance Nathan could see again.
I snapped the bank card Marcus had tossed at my face right in half.
"I've gotten used to the high life. This pocket change doesn't even catch my eye. If you want my kidney, you better show some real sincerity!"
Just to sweet-talk me into giving up a kidney, they dragged me back to this house.
"Sorry, kid, but I'm not a cash machine—however, you can definitely help you go crazy!" the system chimed.
I nodded fiercely. "Don't worry! If this family doesn't fall apart, my name isn't Autumn!"