Chapter 1

I stared at my father, my voice steady, cutting through the tense silence of the living room.

"I want to marry Blake Harrison."

My father' s teacup clattered against its saucer.

"Blake Harrison? The heir to the Harrison family?"

He looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

"Sarah, you can' t be serious. He was in a car accident years ago. He' s been in a coma ever since. The rumors say he' s not just a vegetable, he' s… infertile. Marrying him means a lifetime of loneliness. You' d be a widow before you were ever truly a wife."

My mother grabbed my hand, her face etched with worry. "Honey, we know you' re upset with Ethan, but this is too drastic. What about David? He' s always been so good to you."

David. The name was acid on my tongue.

I pulled my hand away gently. "I want him. Dad, Mom, please. Just arrange it for me."

I didn' t care if Blake Harrison was a living dead man. I just wanted to survive.

Just hours before, I had awakened to a terrifying truth. My life wasn't my own. It was a story, and I was not the main character.

The protagonist was Chloe Davis, the daughter of our family' s housekeeper. She was the one blessed by fate, the girl every man was destined to fall for.

And I, Sarah Miller, was just the villainous side character, the foil meant to be sacrificed to showcase her charm.

My brother, Mark, who had sworn to protect me forever, became obsessed with her, his eyes turning cold whenever I was in the same room as Chloe.

My childhood crush, David, the boy I' d shared all my secrets with, now saw me as a nuisance. The love letters I found in his desk, the ones I thought were for me, were all addressed to Chloe.

And Ethan, my fiancé, the man who once looked at me as if I were the only person in the world, now only had eyes for her.

The world' s script had a tragic ending for me. Mark would disown me and kick me out of the family home for Chloe. David would forge a psychiatric evaluation, claiming I was unstable. And Ethan, my loving fiancé, would use that evaluation to have me committed to a mental institution.

There, I would be forgotten, the first casualty in their twisted game of love for Chloe. Those three men, the closest men in my life, would then turn on each other, tearing each other apart for the right to possess her.

I refused to accept that fate. I had to get out.

"I don't love Ethan anymore," I had told my parents when they pushed for the wedding. That was the only way to break the engagement, to derail the first step of my prescribed downfall.

Then they suggested David. I refused him, too.

When my mother jokingly mentioned my adopted brother, Mark, a wave of nausea hit me.

That's when Blake Harrison' s name came to my lips. He was the only powerful man I could think of who wasn't on Chloe' s list of conquests. The cold, ruthless tycoon who became a tragic figure after his accident. Marrying a comatose man was my only escape route.

My parents, seeing my unyielding determination, reluctantly agreed. They flew to San Francisco to negotiate this absurd marriage with the Harrison family, who were likely desperate to find anyone willing to care for their comatose heir.

I was in my room, packing the few things I wanted to keep, when I heard her voice.

"Sarah! We' re back!"

Chloe' s voice was as sweet as honey, but to me, it was the sound of a death knell.

She breezed into my room, her face glowing. Behind her, like loyal puppies, were Ethan, David, and Mark.

"We went to Hawaii and brought you something!" Chloe beamed, holding out a brightly wrapped box.

My heart went cold. A business trip, Ethan had said. A project deadline, David had claimed. An academic conference, Mark had lied.

Their "busyness" was a group vacation to Hawaii. With Chloe.

Ethan had the decency to look slightly uncomfortable. "The business in Hawaii wrapped up early. We decided to take Chloe to relax for a few days. You weren't feeling well, so we didn't want to bother you. We' ll take you next time."

'Not feeling well'. A bitter laugh almost escaped my lips.

I remembered what really happened. Chloe had "accidentally" locked both of us in a walk-in freezer at a ski resort. When the men found us, they had rushed to save her, bundling her in their coats and forgetting I was even there. Chloe, in the hospital, had to "remind" them about me. I had nearly frozen to death.

And now, they claimed I wasn't invited because I "wasn't feeling well"?

"I don't need a trip, and I don't need a gift," I said, my voice flat. I walked past them, heading downstairs.

Chloe' s face fell, her eyes immediately welling up with tears. It was a masterful performance she had perfected over the years.

"Sarah, I… I know you're still mad about the freezer. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen."

I didn't turn around. I kept walking.

She followed me, her voice trembling. "I told them not to go, that we should stay and take care of you, but they insisted."

Behind me, I heard Mark' s voice, sharp and cold. "Sarah, stop being so difficult. Chloe was just trying to be nice."

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, turning to face them. All three of them were looking at me with disapproval, while Chloe hid behind Ethan, looking like a scared little rabbit.

"Nice?" I asked. "Is that what you call it?"

Chloe' s eyes widened. She took a step back, as if I had threatened her.

Then, she let out a small, sharp cry.

"Oh!"

She stumbled, her hand flying to her other arm. A thin line of red appeared on her sleeve.

"Sarah, what did you do?" Ethan shouted, rushing to Chloe' s side.

I stood frozen. I was ten feet away from her. I hadn't moved.

David knelt, examining her arm. "It's a cut! Did you have something sharp in your hand?"

My hands were empty. I stared at Chloe. She was looking at me, and for a split second, I saw a flash of triumph in her tear-filled eyes before she buried her face in Ethan's chest, sobbing.

"I don't know what happened," she cried. "Maybe I just bumped into something. It's not Sarah's fault. Please don't be mad at her."

Her words only made it worse.

"Not your fault?" Mark sneered, his face a mask of fury. "We all saw it. You were arguing with her, and suddenly she's bleeding. What else could it be?"

I looked at their faces. Ethan' s rage. David' s disappointment. Mark' s cold hatred.

In that moment, I saw my future laid out before me. It didn't matter what I said. It didn't matter what I did. In their world, Chloe was the victim, and I was the villain. The script was written.

And I was done playing my part.