[This world is completely broken…]
11:23 PM d
Jenna was cuffed and taken away, but she left me with Silas.
He didn’t run.
Throughout the chaos, he had stood on the edge of the crowd, his eyes never leaving me.
Only after the drama subsided and everyone else had left did he emerge from the corner.
“Calla, I… I have something to say.”
Mr. Graves and the family doctor were attending to Mrs. Graves, and Maximilian finally had a moment to spare. He saw Silas approach me and rushed over, planting himself between us like a bulldog.
His voice was dripping with acid.
“What could you possibly have to say to my girlfriend?”
Jenna had pulled at Silas during her struggle with the police.
His clothes were disheveled.
He looked rather pathetic.
He wore that pitiful expression as he looked at me, his eyes pleading.
I gently patted Maximilian’s arm.
“Max, just give me a few minutes to clear the air with him. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”
His protective arm relaxed slightly.
He let it fall to his side, but not without a final warning.
“I’ll be waiting. Calla, you promised you’d marry me.”
I nodded.
“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “I’m not going to back out.”
Silas led me into the garden.
The night air was thick with the scent of gardenias.
But he was in no mood to appreciate it.
He hung his head, his voice barely a whisper.
‘I know it’s probably meaningless to say this now, but I still want to say it. I’m sorry.”
It was utterly pointless.
But I let him finish.
“I was bought and sold my whole life, so I never learned how to connect with people. When you brought me home, you never taught me how to love someone. You were always so busy, All I remember is the back of your head as you rushed aff to work. Then Jenna came, and she told me that companionship was love. She told me she was the female lead and I was the male lead, that we were destined to be together. And I believed her. I chose her.”
“It wasn’t until you gave up on me that I realized something was wrong. Why weren’t you fighting for me? I guess there’s no such thing as unconditional love. Especially when you had Annie and Maximilian. I felt so empty inside. But I felt like I had no right to be sad. I told myself I loved Jenna. I almost convinced myself it was true. These past few months, I’ve seen so much. I’ve realized my way of interacting with people has always been wrong. My dependence on Jenna was just the result of her long–term manipulation and gaslighting…
11:24 PM
“Now… if I were to say that I’ve belatedly realized I have feelings for you, that I want to come back to you, would you believe me?”
It was the most I’d ever heard him say.
It sounded like an explanation, but it was really just shifting the blame.
He just wanted another wealthy owner.
His tail reached out, questing for something.
It was slapped away by a suddenly appearing Annie.
“You bad thing, don’t try to steal my mama! And what’s this ‘I don’t know how to connect with people‘ nonsense? That’s a pathetic excuse. Don’t you have a brain of your own?”
So she had been eavesdropping.
I sighed and looked towards the corner where Maximilian was hiding.
“Get out here.”
wwww
Like a guilty child, Maximilian emerged, his head bowed, not daring to make a sound.
I had no interest in being a saint.
And even less interest in forgiving those who had hurt me.
Silas, as Jenna’s legal property, was auctioned off.
I heard he was sold to someone on the other side of the world.
Where, exactly, I didn’t care.
It had nothing to do with me.
AS +
After Mrs. Graves recovered, Maximilian showed his parents the security footage from my living room.
Jenna’s “magical” commentary was on full display.
I saw that kaleidoscope of expressions on their faces again.
It was magnificent.
I loved it.
After a long silence, they finally dropped their objections to our marriage.
Some time later, they took their newly found daughter, Lyra, on a trip to Europe
Everything was getting better.
But I started having nightmares.
Nightmares of a fiery car crash.
I would wake up in a cold sweat, the System’s words echoing in my mind:
[The author made him too powerful. If he hadn’t been written out in that car crash, the FL would never have won.]
I was on high alert, but everything remained calm.
The day Jenna was sentenced, the System appeared one last time.
it’s a total mess!
11:24 PM
[It’s a total mess!]
【The FL is a felon, the ML is a caged pet, and the villainess and the villain get a happy ending.】
[Don’t forget, there’s still the car crash.]
An icy chill spread through my limbs.
Sitting in the courtroom, my heart began to sink.
But then, a crucial piece of information popped up.
I think it’s tomorrow morning. The intersection of People’s Road and South Ring Road.】
If I knew the time and place, I could prevent it.
I turned to Maximilian and smiled.
C
“Let’s go. I’m taking you to get our marriage license tomorrow morning.”
The composed expression he’d maintained throughout the trial shattered. He stammered, “I… I haven’t even proposed properly. The ring… it’s still being custom–made…”
I pulled out the diamond ring I’d had ready for weeks and placed it in his palm.
“Details, details. I’ve got it covered.”
When we took our marriage license photo, I was beaming.
On my phone, a message came in from my cousin, who was a
지
police officer.
[I’m risking a write–up from my boss to be at People’s and South Ring. This premonition dream of yours better be real.]
I texted back [It is.] and walked into the city hall with Maximilian.
When we walked out with our marriage certificate, the sun was shining brightly.
A new message from my cousin appeared.
[You were right. It’s a miracle. We just caught a guy drunk driving, going over a hundred. He ran the red light right where you said.]
Let them all get the hell out.
Beside me, Maximilian was still dazed with happiness.
I took his hand and started to run.
Running towards the future.
Running towards our happiness.
Later, I climbed to the highest echelons of Apex Corporation.
My success was a slap in the face to everyone who had called me a “corporate seductress.”
The System’s commentary appeared less and less frequently.
When it did, it was usually just fawning over Maximilian and me, and praising this great “Strong Female Lead” story.
I was shining in my own right, in my own field.
I was no villainess.
i was the main character of my own life
When it did, it was usually just fawning over Maximilian and–me, and praising this great “Strong Female Lead” story.
I was shining in my own right, in my own field.
Iwas no villainess.
I was the main character of my own life.
