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Chapter 3

Auteur: South Twig
The location Vivian sent me led to a private restaurant in the city center.

By the time I arrived, the door to the private dining room was slightly ajar.

Voices drifted out from inside.

"Vivian, who would've thought we studied under the same professor? What a small world."

Nathan's tone was warm and friendly, completely different from the man who had called me a crazy woman in front of his friends the night before.

"I've been working on a new university project lately, and we're looking for promising young talent. Would you like to hear more about it?"

Vivian's voice remained calm.

"Tell me more about it, Nathan."

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Nathan's eyes as he began describing the project's prospects and resources in detail.

Vivian nodded along politely the entire time.

A few minutes later, once the discussion was over, she picked up her bag and stood.

"Nathan, I'll think about the project and get back to you."

Nathan clearly hadn't expected her to leave so soon.

"The food hasn't even arrived yet. I said I'd treat you to dinner. Why don't you stay and eat first?"

Vivian slowly shook her head.

"You and Ms. Hart are married. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to spend so much time alone with you."

Nathan's expression stiffened for a brief moment.

Then he let out a long sigh.

"Vivian, it's not what you think."

His voice turned bitter, as though years of suppressed frustration had finally found an outlet.

"My marriage to Quinn was arranged by our families from the very beginning. I never had a choice."

He paused, as if gathering his courage.

"She's... an extremely controlling person. Unreasonable. She flies off the handle over the smallest things. Everyone thinks we're happily married, but the truth is, I haven't had a single peaceful day since the day we got married."

I leaned against the wall and tightened my grip on the recorder in my hand.

The floating comments completely lost their minds.

[Okay, the male lead really is kind of a jerk. Yesterday he was trash-talking Quinn to his friends, and today he's playing the victim in front of Vivian.]

[Hold on. The villainess already derailed the original plot. Since he couldn't save the damsel in distress, he's trying a different way to win the female lead over.]

As he spoke, Nathan slowly rolled up the sleeve of his left arm.

Several shocking red marks on the inside of his forearm were exposed beneath the light.

"Her moods change without warning. In her eyes, everyone around her is just an outlet for her anger."

I stared at the marks on his arm and almost laughed.

Those injuries came from him getting drunk and crashing into a glass liquor cabinet the week before.

I was the one who treated them.

Vivian fell silent for a moment before slowly sitting back down.

Nathan's eyes lit up.

He thought his sob story had worked.

The floating comments exploded.

[The male lead is seriously disgusting. He blames everything on the villainess! Those injuries were obviously his own fault!]

[Forget the romance. I just want to watch these two women team up and destroy this scumbag.]

[+1! I'd watch a hundred episodes of two girls taking down a cheating loser together!]

I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The atmosphere in the room instantly froze.

Nathan shot to his feet.

His legs nearly gave out beneath him, and he looked seconds away from dropping to his knees.

"H-Honey... what are you doing here?"

I didn't answer.

I simply looked at him in silence.

Vivian spoke before I could.

"Ms. Hart, please don't misunderstand. Nathan was telling me about a project at the university. Since we studied under the same professor, we ended up talking a little longer than expected."

A flash of delight crossed Nathan's eyes.

He probably thought Vivian had genuinely been moved by his story and was now helping him cover his tracks.

"That's right. We were just talking about the project. Vivian's my junior from school, and I thought she'd be a great fit, so I recommended her."

The words tumbled out of his mouth as he plastered an eager, ingratiating smile across his face and looked at me.

I looked at his smug, two-faced expression and suddenly smiled.

"If you're discussing a project, then by all means, keep talking.

"I'll head home first. I'll make something nourishing for dinner tonight."

With that, I turned and walked out without looking back.

Behind me, Nathan let out a long breath of relief.

Maybe he was too busy celebrating his narrow escape to notice.

With her back still turned to him, Vivian gave me a small nod.

The floating comments flooded my vision.

[THEY MADE EYE CONTACT!!! IT'S OFFICIAL—THEY'VE JOINED FORCES!!!]

[I've only got one question now: when does this jerk finally get taken down???]

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  • The Villainess's Reckoning   Chapter 9

    I ended the call, my fingertips cold against the phone.On the other end, the correctional officer sounded genuinely shaken."Ms. Hart, he's completely lost his mind. One minute he's talking about killing you, the next he's begging for your forgiveness. Yesterday he even attacked one of the guards.""Handle him according to procedure. There's no need for special treatment."I was about to hang up when he hurriedly added, "We just got word from the infirmary. His condition took a sudden turn for the worse. They've transferred him to the hospital."He's demanding to see you one last time. If you refuse..."I leaned against the cold wall and suddenly laughed."Why wouldn't I go?"The floating comments exploded.[WAIT, I'M STILL PROCESSING THIS. What kind of insane plot twist is this? Did the scumbag actually castrate himself?!][Karma. Pure karma. Everything he did to Quinn came right back around.][He wants to see Quinn? Please tell me he's not planning to disgust her one last time.][Oh

  • The Villainess's Reckoning   Chapter 8

    That bastard Nathan wasn't even behind bars yet, and he was already throwing one last bucket of dirt my way.The top trending topic exploded overnight.#TheTruthBehindTheHeiressWhoDroveHerHusbandCrazy#In the video, I was screaming hysterically and throwing a glass at him.Nathan was kneeling on the floor, blood running down his forehead, his eyes filled with despair.The footage was maliciously edited.Everything leading up to it—his lies, deception, and broken promises—had been cut out.All that remained was a version of me that looked completely unhinged.Then a second trending topic shot up the rankings.#VivianReedBrokeUpTheCarterMarriage#The online trolls Nathan hired flooded the comments.They painted Vivian as a scheming homewrecker willing to do anything to climb the social ladder.According to them, my revenge was nothing more than the reaction of a jealous wife who discovered their affair.Nathan even managed to cast himself as the victim.He claimed he'd contracted HIV aft

  • The Villainess's Reckoning   Chapter 7

    Nathan's mother's voice came through the phone, sharp with hatred, every word laced with a threat."You've done so many terrible things. Aren't you afraid at all? Do you really think the Hart family can protect you forever?"A soft laugh escaped me.I leaned against the wall and replied in a tone devoid of emotion."Actually, they can. Not only can they protect me for the rest of my life, they can bankrupt your entire family too."Mrs. Carter, your son is rotting away in a hospital bed, and you're still digging up the past? If you have that much free time, you should be thinking about how to salvage what's left of your family's reputation."I thought you were smarter than this. Do you know what happened to the last person who threatened me? Let's just say death would've been the easier outcome.""You—!"She was so furious she could barely get the words out.I couldn't be bothered listening any longer.I hung up.The so-called shameful thing she was referring to was nothing more than wh

  • The Villainess's Reckoning   Chapter 6

    In that split second, only one thought flashed through my mind.I couldn't let anything happen to Vivian.The instant Nathan lunged forward, I lifted my six-inch heel and drove it into his wrist with all the strength I had.Clang!The folding knife flew from his hand and skidded across the polished marble floor with a harsh screech.[HOLY CRAP! Quinn just kicked that knife straight out of his hand!][THAT WAS SO BADASS! Since when is the rich heiress this deadly?!][This scumbag isn't just diseased—he's completely insane! Lock him up already!]Nathan clutched his wrist, looking like a cornered animal.His eyes burned red as he tried to charge forward again.But my father's bodyguards were already moving.They swarmed him and slammed him to the ground."Let me go! Quinn! You vicious bitch! I won't let you get away with this!"He continued screaming and cursing, his face twisted beyond recognition.I looked down at him coldly, like I was watching a clown perform his final act."Take him

  • The Villainess's Reckoning   Chapter 5

    The white test report fluttered through the air before drifting down onto the bed of red roses Nathan had so carefully prepared.The vivid red of the roses clashed sharply with the white report.Nathan seemed to freeze in place. Still kneeling on one knee, he remained locked in position while the ring box trembled in his hand."Honey, what are you doing?"He forced out a smile that looked worse than a grimace and reached for the hem of my dress."Is this because I've been too busy lately? Because I haven't spent enough time with you? You're joking with me, right?"Behind me, Nathan's mother let out a piercing scream and rushed forward to snatch up the report.The moment she read it, her vision seemed to go dark. She nearly collapsed into the rose bushes."HIV... positive?"Her shrill voice shattered the peaceful atmosphere of the garden."Nathan, what is the meaning of this?!"The floating comments exploded, so dense they almost obscured Nathan's pale face.[HERE WE GO!!! The scumbag

  • The Villainess's Reckoning   Chapter 4

    Ever since that day, Nathan seemed like a different person.Before leaving the house, he would spend twenty minutes standing in front of the mirror, carefully inspecting his reflection from every angle.Even more interestingly, he began updating me on his whereabouts more frequently than ever."Honey, I've got a meeting about a new project this afternoon. I might be home a little late.""Honey, how about I bring home your favorite dessert tonight?"I glanced at the messages and smiled faintly because three seconds earlier, Vivian sent me a screenshot.Nathan had just invited her to meet him at that same restaurant that evening.The floating comments were in hysterics.[Look at this master of time management. Perfect husband in one chat window, devoted senior in another.][Why is it so satisfying watching the male lead get played for once???][This scumbag's still busy feeling sorry for himself, completely unaware that he's the real clown.]A month passed like that.Late one night, I la

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