"We should call off the engagement."

Vivienne Hartwell heard the man’s impatient tone and simply lifted a brow, neither agreeing nor denying, like his words barely grazed her.

Christopher Kingsley sat across from her in a custom suit, posture rigid, features annoyingly delicate. His brows were squeezed so tight they could crush a fly, disgust simmering in his eyes. Only when the woman beside him finally spoke did his expression loosen a little.

"Christopher, don’t make things too hard for Ms. Hartwell. It’s normal she can’t accept it right away. How about giving her a bit more time?"

The irritation in his eyes melted the second he turned toward Athena Chambers. He clutched her hand like it was some priceless treasure and murmured, "Athena, you know you’re the one I actually love. Vivienne is just the third wheel here. Our engagement was nothing but a business deal our families forced on us."

Vivienne casually picked up her cup, sipped her coffee like it was tea at a drama club meeting, watching their little duet with the calm of someone scrolling for gossip at midnight. Inside, not a single wave—she was even in the mood to crack sunflower seeds and enjoy the show.

After all, she wasn’t the real Vivienne Hartwell.

An hour earlier, the actual Vivienne had been just another overworked office drone suffering through overtime. Her stingy boss refused to turn on the AC in the middle of summer, insisting a wobbly ceiling fan was more than enough.

The fan creaked and rattled like it was singing its last note—then it literally fell off and smacked Vivienne on the head. Lights out. Zero consciousness.

And the moment she blacked out, she was dumped straight into her first assignment from the so‑called quick‑transmigration bureau, complete with a system named "Reform the Villainess."

And the villainess… was none other than the Vivienne she was now playing.

The original Vivienne Hartwell had been fierce since birth, a true alpha heiress of the Hartwell Group.

She’d been engaged to Christopher Kingsley, second young master of Kingsley Group, basically since the moment both of them blinked at the world for the first time. Once they hit marriageable age, the two families practically sprinted to push the wedding forward.

But right then Christopher met new employee Athena Chambers at work, and bam—instant love at first sight.

Naturally, having found his "true love," he needed to ditch the engagement. So he dragged Athena along to meet Vivienne, fully expecting to humiliate her, to make sure she understood he only loved Athena.

Vivienne couldn’t stand such degradation. She’d been pampered since childhood—anything she wanted, she got. How could she lose to some average woman?

Humiliation turned into fury, and she began crashing their relationship in every way she could. Except her plans always backfired, somehow making their love story even more rock‑solid.

Her anger snowballed into madness, and the internet roasted her alive when the broken engagement went public. Under endless mockery, the original Vivienne snapped—she kidnapped Athena, even forbade anyone from giving her water. Athena nearly died, saved only when Christopher swooped in like a hero, conveniently dragging along reporters.

By the next morning, the entire internet was plastered with headlines about Vivienne Hartwell, the "vicious heiress blinded by love," her cruelty exposed for all to see.

The Hartwell Group had become the city’s favorite punching bag after their daughter’s scandal blew up. Their reputation tanked so fast that calling off the engagement didn’t even matter anymore. With the Hartwell Group in this state, they were nowhere near good enough for the Kingsley Group.

Vivienne Hartwell’s mission was simple on paper: wipe out the original Vivienne’s malice value. Once it hit zero, she’d be done.

Her current malice value: 80.

But after listening to the system recite the so-called “plot,” Vivienne immediately felt something was off.

For starters, Christopher Kingsley could’ve ended the engagement privately. He didn’t need to put on a whole show just to poke the original Vivienne into losing her temper.

On top of that, their arranged marriage was basically the city’s worst-kept secret. Athena Chambers, as a Kingsley Group employee, couldn’t possibly be clueless.

So yeah, the original Vivienne might’ve been a certified troublemaker, but these two? Definitely not saints either.

Christopher’s palm was sweating as he held Athena’s hand. Across from them, Vivienne sat quietly, not giving them anything—not a word, not a reaction. Christopher gritted his teeth, already convinced that Vivienne was about to latch onto him again.

After all, back in their school days, she used to blush whenever she saw him. He didn’t even need to guess what she was thinking.

Instead of letting go, Christopher squeezed Athena’s hand even tighter, patting it as if soothing a frightened kitten.

Athena shrank into her seat, shoulders curling in, pretending she was terrified of Vivienne’s gaze.

Seeing his beloved girl looking so pitiful, Christopher instantly slipped into “protective hero mode.” He freed one hand just to wrap it around Athena’s shoulders and said coldly, “Vivienne Hartwell, don’t even think about ruining—”

Vivienne, who had been silent the whole time, finally parted her lips. “Sure. I agree.”

Christopher froze. He hadn’t expected her to cave that fast. Athena looked just as stunned.

Christopher even let go of Athena’s hand because of how shocked he was, staring at the calm, unbothered woman sitting across from him.

“Vivienne Hartwell, what are you playing at?”

Vivienne rubbed her ear as if his voice were giving her a headache. “I’m agreeing to end the engagement. What else?”

Before coming here, Christopher had already made up his mind. If Vivienne made a scene or dared to hurt Athena, he’d go all out to fight back.

But things were spiraling in a completely different direction, and everything he’d prepared was suddenly useless.

Christopher took a sharp breath, shot to his feet, and grabbed Athena’s wrist. “I hope you stick to your word.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Athena Chambers pushed herself up as well. She and Christopher Kingsley slid out of the booth, ready to leave, when a cool, almost lazy female voice drifted from behind them. “Hold on.”

Christopher froze. The corner of his lips tugged upward in a mocking arc.

Of course Vivienne Hartwell wouldn’t just let it go. That earlier “sure, whatever” was nothing more than her trying to save face as the princess of the Hartwell Group.

So now she regretted it, huh?

He turned around, and Athena followed suit, both of them facing Vivienne.

Vivienne held a coffee cup in her hands. The instant their gazes met, she lifted the cup, angled it toward their faces, and flicked her wrist. A splash of dark brown liquid arced through the air and landed squarely on them.

Christopher felt the warm, sticky coffee dribble from the bridge of his nose down to his chin. His tailored suit was instantly soaked, completely ruined.

Athena’s pale blue dress wasn’t spared either—deep brown stains spread across the fabric, darkening it in messy patches.

For a moment, the air went dead silent. Not only were Christopher and Athena stunned speechless, even the system tucked in Vivienne’s consciousness seemed to short‑circuit.

Vivienne set the now‑empty cup back on the table, clapped her hands lightly as if dusting them off, and smiled—a soft, unhurried curve of her lips. “I’ll congratulate you two in advance. Think of this as a little wedding gift.”

Christopher stood rooted to the spot. His fingers tightened sharply around Athena’s hand, squeezing her wrist until it flushed red.

He finally exploded. “Vivienne Hartwell, are you out of your mind?!”

Athena’s arm went numb from the pressure. She was furious about the coffee but didn’t dare show it; instead she tried to soothe him quietly. “Christopher… let’s just go.”

Christopher shot Vivienne a murderous glare before yanking Athena along, practically storming out of the café like he couldn’t stand being there for another second.

Once their figures vanished, Vivienne strolled back to the booth, waved down a waiter, and ordered another cup of coffee as if nothing had happened.

Resting her chin in her palm, she watched the pair retreat through the café window, a half‑smile playing on her lips.

Reforming the so‑called villainess?

Heh. This might be fun after all.