Chapter 3

I stared at the shattered glasses on the floor and smiled with satisfaction.

Every time Noah mocked me with his fake politeness, he'd adjust those gold-rimmed glasses. He looked refined on the outside, but he was actually rotten to the core.

I'd hated him for a long time.

After taking down two grown men in a row, I collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.

The readers completely lost it in the comments section.

"Isn't this supposed to be a toxic romance story? Why did I walk into a slaughter scene? Did I open the wrong story?"

"You didn't. Aria just evolved. The original plot's gone. Looks like she's doing her own thing now."

"That's my girl! She believes in an eye for an eye. Payback feels good," one commenter wrote. "I hadn't even figured out who the two male characters were, and she already killed them both."

"While everyone's arguing, she's already dug a hole and buried the bodies."

"That execution speed is insane."

"This is so satisfying. My algorithm should take notes and start recommending more stuff like this."

"What's wrong with her? I liked Noah the most, and now he's dead! She's insane. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have even had a chance with a man like Henry."

"She's dead for sure. She killed Henry right at the start. Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect? The world's going to collapse, and her ending will be even worse."

"In the original story, Aria dies, and everyone else goes on to live happily ever after, albeit with some regret. So when she dies, everything's fine. But when Henry dies, the world collapses? Does only his life matter?"

"It's over. Her downfall's coming. The plot will correct itself. Her adoptive father married her off to the Johnston family for a huge price. Now that Henry's dead, he'll just sell her off again."

"Serves her right. She didn't want a rich and handsome guy like Henry. Well, now she's getting sold to the crippled old man next door, Geoffrey Parker."

After a while, my phone started buzzing nonstop.

I answered the call. A middle-aged man's excited voice came through. "Aria, your brother's getting married soon. Pack your things and come home for the wedding. Make sure you dress nicely."

The comments sounded just as excited.

"Here it comes! The new plotline after the correction. Once she goes back, she'll be forced into marrying Geoffrey."

"Honestly, she's lucky. All she needs to do is have a kid right away, and the whole village will envy her."

"The author's pretty generous for making her that fertile."

"No, don't go back!" one of the comments exclaimed. "That village traffics people of all ages. They're ruthless. Anyone who is taken there never escapes. Why would she go back?"

"What are you yelling for? Do you think she can see your comments? She brought this on herself by rejecting Henry."

The next second, a gleaming dagger tore through the air and stabbed straight into the comments.

The words "have a kid right away" shattered like glass.

I tilted my head up where the comments had been. In a steady voice with a sharp smile, I declared, "I'm going back. I've already killed two people. What's a few more going to do?"

The comments exploded.

"Wait, she can see our comments?"

"My girl! Look at me!"

"Don't be naive. Henry was drugged, and Noah was ambushed. That's the only reason she pulled it off. Does she really think she can win? That village is filled with strong, unemployed men. I don't even want to imagine how badly she'd die if she goes back."

"Just another brain-dead female lead walking straight to her demise."

"They've already set the trap. She should be running, yet she's entering the lion's den herself."

"Let's see what happens to her."