Chapter 1: The Overlays Appear

Minutes after I became President, I was ready to let Jeff announce my divorce from the First Lady—Rachel would finally be my wife. Then, out of nowhere, weird comment bubbles popped up in the air.

The East Room buzzed with press chatter, the sharp aroma of Secret Service coffee cutting through the nerves. American flags hung heavy on every wall, and I could feel history pressing down. As I raised my hand to Jeff, my chief of staff, three glowing comment bubbles flickered at the edge of my vision—like social media pop-ups, but way too personal to be real.

[This clueless president is really blind. The First Lady is so capable, yet he doesn’t appreciate her and even ruins her entire family’s reputation. Let’s see who’ll defend the country for him when Canada invades next year.]

[Who told him to go for Rachel’s type? Oh right, at this point he still doesn’t know the baby she’s carrying isn’t even his, right?]

[Even though he’s a terrible supporting character, at least he made the main character’s son the next president. After he’s gone, even his legacy will be trashed by the real hero. Kind of sad, honestly.]

My hand froze mid-air, the pen nearly slipping from my fingers as I yanked the document back from Jeff. The room went dead silent, tension hanging as thick as molasses. Trying to hide my confusion, I forced out:

“I’m not feeling well. Cabinet meeting’s over for today.”