Chapter 1: The Main Girl Steals the Spotlight

After the nanny’s daughter dragged in a man covered in wounds, she suddenly declared he was the future prince of the Maple Heights elite and absolutely refused to let me take him to the hospital. Her voice cut through the sticky air, sharp as a slap, and for a second, even the cicadas outside seemed to pause.

It was one of those muggy Ohio afternoons, the kind where the AC can’t keep up and the cicadas scream like banshees outside. I stared at the spectacle before me—Natalie, breathless and wild-eyed, clutching the arm of a guy whose jeans were shredded and blood-soaked. My hands twitched toward my cell phone, itching to dial 911, but Natalie’s voice cut in, sharp as a siren in the night.

I was just about to ask what was going on when suddenly a barrage of comments flashed before my eyes:

[The main girl has been reborn! She can finally start her sweet romance with the main guy.]

[If the sidekick hadn’t butted in and sent him to the ER, how would he have missed his real savior and ended up with the wrong girl?]

[Our main guy may be the illegitimate son of the richest man in town, but he’s the only son. In three days, he’ll be recognized and brought home to inherit the family fortune. As expected of a main guy—his luck is unbeatable.]

[In the last life, the main guy destroyed the supporting character’s family for the sake of the main girl. It’s just too sweet, I’m dying from the sugar. Hope this time they’re locked in from the start.]

I blinked, chest tight with the kind of unease you get before a tornado warning. I glanced at Natalie, who was brimming with suspicion, and at the man who looked half dead.

Somehow, I laughed. It sounded brittle in the stuffy entryway.

The main girl who can only go to school because of my sponsorship, and the main guy who’s about to have a high-level amputation.

Mm, yes, they should absolutely be together.

1

After seeing the barrage, I watched coldly as Natalie dragged the wounded man into my suburban house.

Outside, thunder rattled the windowpanes. Natalie left wet footprints across the foyer’s cherrywood, muddying the white welcome mat my mom insisted on replacing every spring. Her mother works as a nanny in my house, and she’s grown up here since she was little.

Not just me—even my parents treat her like a goddaughter.

But I was too good to her, and now she really thinks she owns this place.

I was about to step forward when Natalie blocked me protectively.

"Rachel, Rachel Evans, I saved him. You’d better not interfere."

Her eyes darted, one arm thrown wide like she was shielding a baby deer. I could practically see the movie script running behind her eyes.

"If he wakes up and misunderstands, it’ll be hard to explain."

The barrage scrolled even faster before my eyes.

[The main girl is right. If the supporting character hadn’t stolen credit last time, how could the leads have missed each other for so many years?]

[So what if the main girl lives in the supporting character’s house and uses her money for school? A true main girl won’t bow to money.]

[Once the main guy falls for the main girl, she won’t need to depend on anyone anymore~ Not just tuition, even the supporting character’s whole family fortune will belong to the main girl.]

[The supporting character must be dumbfounded—this time the main girl is on guard, she doesn’t even have a chance to act.]

I frowned at Natalie’s defensive look, finally understanding what the barrage meant.

So, I’m the vicious supporting character, and Natalie and this man are the main couple?

Because I ignored Natalie’s objections and sent the main guy to the hospital, he thought I was his savior?

Then later he realizes Natalie is the real savior, so he ruins my family?

What a trash plot.

Seriously? Am I stuck in a daytime soap? This is the kind of plot where the villain’s always in heels, cackling in the corner, and the audience screams at the TV for someone to grow a brain. Am I supposed to twirl my mustache now or just wait for the next commercial break?

With his ruined lower limbs, not sending him to the hospital is just waiting for death.

If they want to die, I’ll help them along.

I walked straight up to Natalie. “Do you even know who he is? Just bringing random people into my house?”

“N-no, I don’t.”

Natalie’s stammer was half guilt, half desperation, her knuckles white on the guy’s sleeve.

[The main girl is smart—this time she doesn’t reveal the main guy’s identity. Our main guy Caleb is the richest man’s only son; in a few days he’ll inherit everything.]

[Exactly, so the supporting character won’t get jealous again.]

I laughed and opened the front door wide.

The rain hammered the porch. I could smell wet grass and ozone; the storm was in full swing, water pooling in the driveway, threatening to swallow the neighbor’s mailbox.

“You don’t know anything about him, yet you drag him into my house?”

“What if he’s a murderer? Who’s guaranteeing my safety?”

“Come on, either throw him out, or you go out with him. If not, I’ll just call the cops.”

Natalie froze, shock written all over her face.

“Rachel Evans, how can you be so heartless? He’s already hurt, and you still want to kick us out?”

Her voice cracked, hands trembling so badly she had to wipe her cheeks with the back of her sleeve. She looked ready to collapse right there, but held her ground, desperation raw in her eyes.

I sighed, feigning helplessness.

“We’re not related. Why should I let a stranger stay in my house?”

“You won’t send him to the hospital or call the cops, so I have no choice but to do this. You decide.”

Natalie opened her mouth, as if forcing herself to swallow her words.

“Fine, we’ll go.”

She squared her jaw, tugged Caleb upright, and glared at me with that righteous fury only a teenager can muster.

“What’s the use of money if you have no sympathy, only know how to throw money at people.”

[Worthy of a vicious supporting character. It’s still raining outside—how can she be so cold?]

[The main guy is so badly hurt, if they go out in the rain, his wounds will get infected.]

I looked at the stubborn Natalie and sneered, shaking my head.

With wounds like that, if you don’t go to the hospital, even if the ancestor of the richest family came, he’d either die or be crippled.