Not This Time

When my family was at its poorest, a wealthy family found me and claimed that I was their real daughter.

The school heartthrob I crushed on? He was my fiancé all along!

Still reeling from all these surprises, a mysterious message suddenly popped up in front of me.

"This is where everything changes. The cannon fodder is taken home by the female lead's parents, forced to drop out of school, and then gets pregnant by her fiancé. In the end, everyone thinks she's a harbringer of misfortune, and she's beaten to death."

My hand froze as I held the paternity test results.

My mom's eyes filled with tears as she took the report from me.

"My poor child, you've suffered enough all these years! Don't worry. Just come home with us and rest. You're our daughter now. The family business is enough for you to live comfortably forever. You don't even need to take the SAT if you don't want to."

The school heartthrob lowered his head and whispered sensually into my ear, "Listen to me, Lucia. Studying is hard. I'll take care of you from now on."

"This is so hilarious! The female lead's whole family is putting on such a show just so they can trick the female side character into thinking that she's a rich girl and give up on herself, all so their real princess can shine."

"When you think about it, the side character's life is so tragic. She grew up in a family that only valued sons, got beaten, and even starved. When she finally got into a top high school with grades good enough for MIT or Harvard University and change her fate, these scammers had to ruin everything!"

"She deserved it! This is all because she kept ranking top of the grade. Because of her, our beautiful, proud female lead can only ever be a runner-up. The male lead and the female lead's family just love the female lead more, that's all!"

"Exactly! She's just a side character meant to be a stepping stone. How dare she try to steal our female lead's spotlight? She's just getting what she deserves!"

Lines of comments flashed by in my eyes.

I looked at my hands. The paternity test certificate had already been taken away, and my nails dug deep into my palm.

So that was how it was.

Everything finally made sense.

Just a week ago, a well-dressed couple suddenly appeared at my home, claiming to be my real parents and crying about how I was switched at birth. To make up for it, they bought me designer clothes and moved me into a fancy villa.

They kept on whispering into my ears every day, saying the same thing over and over.

"You're the only daughter of the Walker Group. Even if you don't study or take any exams, you'll live in luxury for the rest of your life!"

Ever since the reveal, the school heartthrob I had a crush on, Scott Flores, started