Chapter 4: Bargaining with Power

Her voice was sharp, final. I looked at her, searching for any hint of love or understanding, but her eyes slid right past me, fixed on Savannah.

Dad slammed the table. “That’s enough! Somebody take Evelyn to her room.”

The sound reverberated through the room, making me jump. Two housekeepers appeared at the door, ready to escort me away. My legs felt like lead as I turned to go.

The barrage before my eyes was still lively:

[Just thinking about the side character trying to mess with Savannah and the lead makes my blood boil.]

[Don’t worry, the male lead later sends her to boot camp as punishment. She’s just here to make Savannah and the lead look good.]

[Savannah’s parents are the real MVPs. When they realized as kids that their family didn’t have the power and status of the side character’s family, they made the tough call to swap Savannah and the side character. Later, because the Clark family saved the lead, they got a title, and the Clarks took Savannah back.]

I felt invisible, erased by words I couldn’t control. I pressed my lips together, refusing to let them see me cry. My pride was all I had left.

On the way back to my room under escort, I finally understood.

The hallway stretched out before me, long and empty. The family portraits stared down from the walls, their painted eyes cold and judgmental. With every step, the truth settled deeper into my bones.

Turns out, the world I’m in is a book.

And I am the spiteful side character.

I whispered the words to myself, feeling their weight. My story had already been written, my fate sealed before I’d even had a chance.

Savannah Hamilton is the true heroine. My parents, to give her a good life, didn’t hesitate to swap her and me as infants.

The realization was a punch to the gut. All those years of feeling out of place, of wondering why I never quite fit—now it all made sense. My hands shook as I clutched the doorknob to my room.

Carter Blake is the undisputed male lead. As a child, after political upheaval, he was lost among commoners and saved by me when he fell into the water.

I remembered the stories whispered in the dark, the secrets kept from me. Carter had always been destined for greatness, and I was just a footnote in his journey.

So, after returning to the city, the governor rewarded our family and directly made my dad a mayor, bringing us to the state capital together.

It all fit now—the sudden rise, the new house, the invitations to parties I never wanted to attend. We’d been swept along in someone else’s story.

I grew up with Carter as childhood companions, so even after returning to the capital, Carter could still come and go freely from our house.

He’d been a fixture in our home, slipping in through the back door, sharing secrets over midnight snacks. I’d thought we were building a future together, but I’d been wrong.

Without my realizing it, Carter and Savannah fell for each other, and on the day of the proposal, the bride was switched.

It was like watching a play where I didn’t know my lines. The script had changed, and no one had bothered to tell me.

Staring at the tightly closed door, my hand clenched into a fist.

I pressed my forehead to the cool wood, fighting back tears. My chest ached with anger and betrayal.

Fine. Very well.

If this was how they wanted to play it, I would not go quietly. I’d find my own way, rewrite my story if I had to.

Thinking of the hardship I endured with my parents in the countryside as a child, I always envied Savannah most. She had so many dresses, and whatever she wanted to learn, Uncle and Aunt would spend a fortune to satisfy her.

I remembered the threadbare dresses, the secondhand books, the way I’d watched Savannah waltz through life with everything handed to her. My envy burned hot, but beneath it was something else—righteous anger.

But it turns out, all of this was supposed to be mine.

The injustice of it all threatened to choke me. My fists shook, nails digging into my palms.

And Carter—damn him. Before returning to the capital, he swore, “Evelyn, when I become the most powerful man in the state, I’ll make you the most powerful woman.”

His voice had been so earnest, his eyes shining with conviction. I’d believed him, trusted him with my heart.

His vow still echoed in my ears, yet now he wanted me to be a mistress.