Chapter 2

Once upon a time, Naomi and I were recognized across Avenport as the twin prodigies of the elite.

She was vibrant and outspoken, while I was gentle and modest.

We were supposed to be the perfect match.

When we were young, our mothers were best friends, so Mom would constantly take me over to the Dudley residence to play.

Back then, Naomi's father, Jared Dudley, rarely came home, and Bella would take out all her frustration on a young Naomi.

When I was seven, I followed Mom to the Dudley residence and wandered into their backyard.

There, I found Naomi kneeling by the edge of the pool, soaking wet and looking exactly like an abandoned kitten.

Feeling a pang of sympathy, I pulled her to her feet and hid her in my home.

Mom used to tease me about it, laughing that I had learned how to hide a pretty girl away at such a young age.

From that moment on, protecting Naomi became my mission.

After that, she became my shadow, completely inseparable from me.

Our parents' marriages were both business arrangements, but Bella had been in love with Jared for years. She couldn't handle his infidelity.

When Jared brought home yet another woman, Bella snapped, and a violent fight broke out as she attacked the mistress.

The three-way clash was incredibly chaotic, and Naomi got caught in the crossfire.

By the time I rushed over, shattered porcelain shards were flying straight toward her.

Without a second thought, I pulled Naomi into my arms, letting the flying shards bury themselves into my back.

Naomi was a crybaby back then. That day, her tears fell on me like a faucet that couldn't be turned off.

Despite the agonizing pain, I forced a grin and held her face, looking her straight in the eyes. "It doesn't hurt, Naomi."

She threw her arms around me tightly, and her voice trembled through her sobs. "Kenneth, don't be so stupid ever again."

Once I drifted off to sleep, Naomi went home, brought out her grandmother, and smashed a roomful of things, threatening to kill herself if they didn't stop.

Only then did Bella and Jared quiet down for a bit.

Later, I had to undergo several surgeries to completely clean the porcelain shards from my back. Naomi took care of me the entire time.

In my half-awake moments, I would see her curled up in a tiny ball on the chair. Looking at her, I felt a deep ache in my chest and an overwhelming urge to protect her for the rest of my life.

Years later, we officially started dating in college. But because of an accident, we accidentally figured out the existence of the will of the world.

Through various tests, we proved that Naomi was the female lead and that I was probably not the male lead.

My consciousness awakened. I was just the devoted second male lead, existing purely to serve as a foil for the main couple's love story.

When I refused to accept this and tried everything to stay close to Naomi, and when Naomi's world was entirely consumed by me, the world gave us a warning.

It used every method possible to try and erase me, attempting to force the plot back on track.

At my coming-of-age birthday party, the venue's heavy ceiling fixture broke free and plummeted toward me.

It was Naomi who recklessly shoved me out of the way. The sharp diamond chandelier shattered, slicing open her eyebrow.

My ears roared, rendering me deaf to everything. I could only instinctively clutch Naomi's hand.

She comforted me over and over. "Kenneth, I'm here. Kenneth, it's okay. Kenneth, look at me. Look at me."

From that point on, Naomi became obsessive, like a maniac who would do absolutely anything to love me.

Yet the male lead destined for Naomi still appeared in her life right on schedule.

I couldn't stop it.

During Naomi's graduate studies, a guy named Bryson joined her research group.

The first time I saw him, I knew he was the male lead.

Perhaps out of pure jealousy, I hated him for no reason at all.

But he was too gentle. So gentle that I could never find a valid reason to pick a fight with him or demand he leave Naomi alone.

Naomi began to spend a lot of time with him, but they kept a proper distance between them.

Besides a rising panic in my chest, I was entirely powerless.

One day, while Naomi and I were spending time together, she casually brought up Bryson again. A warm, gentle smile lit up her eyes.

The panic in my heart surged like a tsunami, drowning me and making me lose control.