Chapter 1

When William Goodwin and I were registering for marriage, the clerk got my name wrong.

I was about to correct her.

Suddenly, rows of comments appeared before me.

[Poor Moira, she still doesn't know William deliberately gave the wrong name, all so he could marry Renee.]

[William wrote Renee's name. Too bad Moira drowned and lost her mind. Now she can't even read.]

I looked down at the marriage registration form in confusion.

There, in bold letters, was Renee Rivers' name.

*****

[So she's the heroine who ended up with a tragic fate twice, all because of a name mix-up?]

[Yep, this is the moment where her misfortune begins. She tries to fix it, and everything goes downhill from here. The second time, she was too scared of William to speak up. She missed her only chance to save herself.]

[Hey, no spoilers. What's the point if you spoil everything?]

[Wait, why isn't Moira saying anything? The clerk's waiting for her answer.]

[Just watch. William will whisper in her ear and remind her to say the lines they practiced.]

When I read this, my thoughts scattered again. My mind had just started to clear, but now it was in chaos.

Just then, William leaned in close, his voice low, threatening.

"Answer the clerk. Say you're Renee Rivers. Hurry up, or you won't get any candy," he whispered.

[Seriously? He's bullying a girl who can't even think straight? What a jerk.]

[Can a bad guy really be the male lead? Moira, whatever you do, don't fix your name. If you really marry William, your life will be hell. Poor girl, I feel so bad for her.]

"Miss? Excuse me, miss? Are you Renee Rivers?" The clerk pressed.

What the hell was going on?

Wait, so I was the heroine? And I was... a fool?

Renee was a supporting character?

And William was the male lead?

He didn't want to marry me, so he was making me pretend to be Renee.

And the comments said my life would be hell if I disobeyed him.

Seeing the creepy, sinister look in William's eyes, I couldn't help but shiver.

All I wanted was to get away from him. As far as possible.

"I'm Renee Rivers. That's right, I'm Renee Rivers," I forced myself to say, even though every word felt wrong.

The moment I spoke, a smug smile crept across his face.

"That's right, she's Renee Rivers," he chimed in, sounding way too pleased.

[WTF just happened?]

[Wait, isn't Moira supposed to lose it and start screaming her real name was Moira Foster?]

[Did the author change the script? Or is Moira not out of it anymore? Or... did she come back from the future?]

After the clerk verified my identity, she stamped the marriage license with Renee's name on it.

With that final thud, William visibly relaxed.

He happily put away the license, then fished a half-melted candy out of his pocket and shoved it into my palm.

He patted my head, his tone full of praise. "Good girl," he said.

William was drop-dead gorgeous, with those striking, model-like looks that made him impossible to ignore. A guy like him turned heads everywhere.

If it weren't for all those floating comments warning me I'd be doomed if I crossed him, I'd honestly be thrilled to marry him.

As soon as we walked out of the city hall, a crowd instantly swarmed us.

A middle-aged man and woman stood right at the front.

The man called out eagerly, "So, did you get the license?"

Under their expectant gazes, William flashed the marriage license. "All done. Are you happy now?"

The middle-aged couple instantly lit up. "Good. That's all we wanted."

[Those two have got to be William's parents, right? And the crowd behind them is probably relatives they brought to stop him from backing out.]

[Yep, they still have no clue their son just registered his marriage with another woman right under their noses. LOL.]

[Having parents who force their son to marry someone who's not all there? Poor William. That's just a tough break.]

[Hmph. If Moira hadn't risked her life and jumped in to save William's parents, they'd be fish food by now. But she pushed herself way too hard, stayed underwater too long, and ended up with brain damage. That's why she's like this now.]

[So, William's parents are repaying her like this? Really grateful.]

[Yeah, grateful? If they were really grateful, why throw their own son into this mess? They're after the money. Moira's adoptive parents left her a decent inheritance.]

[They want to snatch it all, but they're scared of the villagers calling them out, so they force their son to marry a girl who's not even all there. And that's how they wrecked Moira's whole life.]

[Ugh, this world is seriously twisted.]