Chapter 2

Tiffany and I are identical twins, and after a plane crash, we woke up as characters in this novel.

In the original plot, I was supposed to be the stand-in lover for the disabled CEO, Alexander.

He'd break me both physically and emotionally, and in the end, I'd die a miserable death, leaving him to regret it for the rest of his life.

Tiffany, on the other hand, was the vicious fiancée of the broke guy, Ethan.

She treated him like dirt, cheated on him with a rich heir, and made him a total laughingstock. In the end, she got sexually assaulted by a beggar.

The only way to earn our freedom—to truly start over in this world—was to finish all the system's missions and play through the whole plot.

But honestly, I was just in it for the hot guys. I couldn't stand the old, lame, and useless Alexander.

And Tiffany? All she cared about was money. The idea of a broke love interest made her sick.

We were totally on the same page and swapped identities.

She took my role—the tragic female lead—and started milking Alexander for every penny.

I took hers—the wicked supporting character—spending my days looking down on the male lead, Ethan, and my nights going wild with him.

I'd never even held a guy's hand before I died, so why shouldn't I have a little fun now that I was living in a novel?

*****

To move things along, I started causing trouble the second I woke up.

Ethan had just set the fried eggs on the table when I knocked them straight onto the floor.

Those were my favorite sunny-side-up eggs.

My heart ached, but I put on a sour face and snapped, "This is disgusting. All we ever eat is this crap. Why the hell did I ever pick you as my boyfriend?"

Then I opened up my show-off group chat—where everyone just posted their luxury hauls—and shoved my phone in his face.

I kept pushing it, sneering, "Look at other boyfriends. They shower their girlfriends with cars, designer bags, and mansions. And you? You fry eggs and make me live in a basement."

But honestly, only I knew that even though Ethan was broke, he never let me go without.

He'd buy me full sets of high-end skincare, the kind you'd find in a rich woman's bathroom.

And every month, he'd send over all kinds of gorgeous new clothes for me.

He always tried to give me the best, but he wore bargain bin clothes himself and washed himself with a single bar of discount soap.

Honestly, I was kind of being a jerk for calling him out like that.

But Ethan didn't get mad at all. He just looked all kinds of guilty.

He murmured, "Baby, I'm sorry. Just give me a little more time, okay? I swear I'll give you the life you want."

Feeling a pang of guilt, I shoved my phone in his face. A photo of a designer bag filled the screen.

With the system threatening to shock me, I barked, "Then buy me this bag. If you can't, we're done."

Ethan was in the middle of trying to start his own business, counting every cent. No way he could afford a luxury bag for me.

But that same afternoon, he dragged me to the store and actually bought it.

With the Hermès bag on my arm, I was freaking out inside. "System, this isn't how it's supposed to play out, is it?

"Wasn't I supposed to drag him to the store, force him to buy it, then show off with some rich guy's gift and dump Ethan in front of everyone?"

The system practically short-circuited. "How should I know? Seriously, where did he even get the cash?"

But the story had to keep rolling, so I swung the bag over my shoulder, spun around, and linked arms with the rich heir standing nearby.

"Baby?" Ethan clutched my wrist, his face frozen in disbelief.

I jerked my hand free, giving Ethan a mocking look. "Ethan, you blew everything you had on one bag. I'm not signing up for a life of poverty with you."

"Baby, what are you saying?" Ethan looked at me, his eyes rimmed red, his voice cracking with hurt.

I crushed his pride under my heel, sneering, "Seriously, you still don't get it? I'm dumping you. But, hey, thanks for the souvenir."

Just as I turned to walk away, Ethan suddenly rushed over and wrapped me up in his arms, clinging to me like he'd never let go, as if he wanted to press me into his own skin.

His voice shook as he begged, "Baby, let's just pretend you were kidding, okay? Let's go home. I'll get you anything you want."

I fought back the sting in my nose and slapped him hard across the face.

With Ethan's face twisted in a dark, scary look, I scrambled into the rich heir's car, desperate to get away.

"Drive. Now!" I yelled urgently.

Just thinking about how miserable the original role ended up made tears stream down my face.

"System, if I treat him this badly, am I really not gonna die?" I asked, my voice trembling.

No, I had to find Tiffany.

I knew the difference between acting and reality. I was not about to get myself actually killed.