“Scarlett, I’m warning you. Stop pestering me. And don’t pull another one of your suicidal stunts trying to win me back. I’m not coming back,” the man said, his voice low and razor-sharp.

Scarlett’s head throbbed like it had been split in two. She blinked against the pain and slowly opened her eyes, only to be met with a figure standing over her—tall, cold, and disgustingly handsome.

But the words that just came out of his mouth? Absolutely insane.

Her thoughts spun. What the hell was going on? She was an A-list actress, a legend in the entertainment world with a fanbase that spanned continents. Men worshiped the ground she walked on—she didn’t chase anyone.

And yet, here she was, flat on the ground, with some arrogant jerk looking at her like she was crazy.

Then it hit her like a freight train.

He pushed her.

Scarlett shot up, rage flaring behind her eyes. “Are you insane? That’s assault! You know how many years you can get for laying a finger on me? Try that again, and I’ll drag you to court so fast, your PR team won’t know what hit them!”

The man scoffed, unbothered. “Cut the act. I’m only going to say this once more—we’re done. Whether I date Eva on that reality show or not, it’s none of your business. And if you keep targeting her? Say goodbye to your career.”

Scarlett stared at him, stunned. What dating show? What Eva?

Then her gaze swept the area. No cameras. No stage crew. Nothing.

And then—her stomach dropped.

Oh God...

She remembered those names. That plot. The nauseating love triangle.

She'd just read it. A trashy, over-the-top web novel called Summer Heartbeat. A fantasy where the sugary-sweet Eva, the female lead, was the pure-hearted Cinderella who stole the hearts of every powerful man around her—especially the obsessive CEO, Alexander Reed.

And Scarlett?

Scarlett was the villainess.

“The hell?” she whispered under her breath.

Tentatively, she asked, “You wouldn’t happen to be… Alexander Reed?”

The man narrowed his eyes, then gave a twisted smile. “From now on, let’s pretend we never met.”

Holy shit— It was real. This was the novel.

And worse, she wasn’t just in it—she was doomed in it.

The original Scarlett had it rough. She was beautiful, rich, and talented, sure—but every man who’d been close to her eventually ditched her for Eva. Even Alexander, who she'd been secretly dating, had started chasing Eva while they were still together.

Scarlett had tried to fight back. She joined the dating show to win him back, only to be turned into the internet’s favorite punching bag. After the show, she was blacklisted, bankrupt, and left for dead by loan sharks. Literally. Her end was so brutal, no one even remembered her name.

Well, screw that.

Scarlett felt the heat rising in her chest, a lifetime of betrayal and heartbreak bubbling under her skin.

She glanced at Alexander. The walking, talking red flag.

“You don’t have to worry about misunderstandings,” she said coolly. “You’ve already died in my heart. From now on, I’m Scarlett—unshakable.”

He frowned, confused by her sudden composure. Then, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a key and dropped it into her hand.

“The apartment key,” he muttered. “Yours now. We’re done.”

He walked away without looking back.

Scarlett stared at the key in her palm, her stomach sinking. That damn dating show—ten episodes. Just ten. And at the end of it? Bankruptcy. Scandal. Violence. Rock bottom.

Unless…

She jolted and pulled out her phone, tapping frantically to check the show's progress. The screen glitched, then finally flickered to life.

And the comments hit her like a tidal wave.

Over 200,000 comments. At least 170,000 were pure hate.

“Wow,” she whispered, almost laughing. “America’s sweetheart turned national punching bag.”

Still, part of her almost admired it. Hated or not, she was the buzz. The trending queen. She had single-handedly boosted the show’s ratings.

But just as she began to feel the flicker of hope, her gaze dropped to the next episode’s cast list.

Alexander was just the beginning.

There was her manipulative ex, the one who ghosted her after stealing from her. And then there was that two-faced idol who flirted with her in private, but smeared her name in public.

Three men. Three walking disasters.

Scarlett’s eye twitched. “If I make it out of this show without cracking someone’s skull, it’ll be a miracle.”

But now, everything had changed. She knew how the story went. She knew every trap, every betrayal, every twist.

And she wasn’t playing by the book anymore.

She was rewriting the story.

And this time?

The villainess wins.