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 confessing to me every day with roses.

"You've been through so much, Lucia. As your fiancé, I'll never let you suffer again."

I thought the bad days were finally over—that I could finally get away from my abusive, alcoholic gambler of a father.

But right now, these endless bullet comments tore up all my fantasies and stripped away their disguise.

There was never any real or fake heiress. These people only brought me home and pampered me to ruin me on purpose.

And my so-called birth parents, nothing more than leeches, had happily pocketed the money from the Walkers and sold me to the rich as their plaything—to be laughed at and toyed with.

"Lucia, why aren't you saying anything?" Scott squeezed my wrist tighter. I could sense he was getting ever so slightly brutal. "You've seen the results of the paternity test. You can relax. Even if you never read or study again, you'll still be rich."

Mrs. Jane Walker smiled, too. "That's right, sweetheart. All that matters is that you're happy every day. School is too much work, anyway."

I looked up and put on a clueless, innocent smile. "You're right, Mom. School is way too tough. I guess I'll just quit for good."

A flash of satisfaction crossed Jane's eyes.

I pretended not to notice and cheerfully took Scott's hand. "Well, since you're my fiancé, I'll stick by your side every day from now on. Okay?"

Scott suddenly froze. His dark eyes were fixed on me, and then he smiled.

"Sure."

From the comments scrolling across the screen, I realized I was living inside a novel.

I was what they called the "cannon fodder." Scott was the "male lead," and the real daughter of the Walker family, Tessa Walker, was the "female lead."

I curled my lips into a smile and tried asking, "Since the real heiress is back, shouldn't the fake one, Tessa, go home to her real parents? She probably misses her real parents too, right?"

As soon as I said this, Jane's face froze, and Scott's expression changed.

The comments immediately exploded.

"If the female lead goes back to that hellish family, she'll be tortured! Just thinking about it breaks my heart!"

"The female side character really thinks she matters. She just got back! Even if she's the Walkers' real daughter, she'll never get as close as the girl they raised themselves. Besides, they're just playing with her!"

"She must really hate the female lead. She must have always been jealous of her life. That's why she asked something like that."

I could see every disdainful word of theirs clearly, but I didn't care about any of it.

This time, though, they were wrong.

I didn't hate Tessa. If anything, I was grateful to her.

Especially since I was just a commoner born into a living nightmare and had never experienced love. Because of Tessa's jealousy, I got a shot at a better school and have enough food to eat. I didn't have to worry about being beaten or forced to do chores. I even got a chance to be with someone like Scott.

All of this was thanks to Tessa. She handed everything to me on a silver platter herself.

Before Jane could respond, Scott jumped in to refuse her. "There's no rush. Tessa's SAT is coming up, so it's better for her not to switch families now. It would be tough on her…"

I smiled innocently. "So, Tessa needs to take the SAT, but I don't?"

Scott was stunned for a second, then smiled as he pulled me close. "You're different."

"That's right, you're different," Jane echoed. "You're my little princess. Even if you never sit for any exams, you'll always have everything you want."

I nodded, still smiling. "Guess I'm really lucky, then."

That evening, they brought me back to the Walker residence. I had a brand-new bedroom—a room that finally belonged to me.

Growing up, my parents never cared about me just because I was a girl. My mother took out all her anger from my dad's family on me.

I never had a room of my own. I lived in a tiny storage closet my entire childhood. There were no windows, and it was damp and dark, with mold growing on the ceiling.

When my drunk father beat me black and blue and locked me inside, when my mom tried to marry me off at thirteen to a fifty-year-old man to save up for my brother's wedding…

I knew that my only way out was through school.

I didn't just work hard; I was actually talented. Other kids had to spend hours memorizing, but I just needed to read something a few times, and I would know it by heart. I could solve complicated math problems easily and even use what I learn masterfully. No questions were too hard for me.

But I also knew being too smart was a bad thing in my family.

When I managed to become the top scorer in a high school placement test, I ran home to tell my parents.

Yet, all I got was a slap.

My drunk dad, swinging a bottle, yelled at me, "What are you so happy about? Girls don't need that much schooling! I'm not wasting money sending you to high school!"

In the end, my middle school teacher came with my high school acceptance letter and scholarship, promising that high school wouldn't cost my parents a cent. Only then did my dad finally agree to let me study.

But even then, he warned me with a dark look.

"The moment you lose your scholarship, you'll drop out and get married. The younger you are, the more value you have! If I sell you off early, the wedding gift will be higher!"

Hence, I never dared to slack off.

If I wanted to keep my scholarship, I had to be at the top every year.

That was how Tessa ended up stuck as the eternal runner-up.

It was also because the little heiress had such a strong sense of pride that I got a chance to step into the world of the rich.

However, I was nothing like her. Someone like me, who had to dig myself out of the gutter, would never waste any opportunity.

I dragged my luggage into the room and closed the door behind me. I lay down on the bed, savoring a rare moment of peace.

Then, the comments popped up again, mocking me as I enjoyed the tranquility.

"What an idiot! No wonder she's just cannon fodder. She's so quick to believe whatever people say!"

"Do you think she really believes she's an heiress now? Don't tell me she'll just hand in a blank paper for the SAT later!"

"That would be perfect! Then the female lead can grab her university offer letter and kick her out. Just imagining that scene cracks me up. It's like kicking someone when they're down!"

I stared at the barrage of comments with a blank face. They all thought I was stupid, but honestly, I was grateful to Tessa's family for crafting such a beautiful "dream of wealth" for me.

I opened my suitcase. There were just a few simple clothes at the top, but underneath was crammed full of wrinkled stacks of practice papers.

"No way! Her whole suitcase is full of exercise books and practice test papers!"

"She doesn't care about studying? This side character deserves an Oscar!"

I pulled out my notebook, which was full of mistakes, and started reviewing each problem I had gotten wrong. I worked through them one by one until two in the morning.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps in the hallway. I quickly turned off the lights and lay down.

Tessa pushed open my door, glanced around the room, and asked, "Lucia, are you awake?"

I didn't answer.

When Tessa saw that I was sound asleep, she let out a cold laugh and left. She was frightened that I would actually take my studies seriously, so much so that she came over late at night just to check on me.

The SAT was coming up.

Every day, I went to and from school in Scott's car with his driver.

Whenever I focused on my lessons, reading and working on problems in class, Scott would come over and pull the pen out of my hand in annoyance.

I stared at him, confused. "What is it?"

He looked at me for a long time, then said in a low voice. "Lucia, you don't have to study so hard. You can have a good life without it. Are you studying because you don't trust me? I don't like it when you act like this. I want you to rely on me completely. That's what a good fiancée should do."

I had liked him for so many years, so of course I couldn't bring myself to refuse. "If you don't want me to study, then I won't."

He leaned in closer. For the first time ever, I felt his breath so close to me. I could even smell his unique scent.

"Don't study anymore, okay? That way, you'll have to depend on me."

My heart pounded wildly. Even in that moment, I caught the hint of disgust in his eyes.

But I didn't care.

All I cared about was my own happiness.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and made my first demand.

"You said I'm your fiancée, and that I should depend on you. Then, I want a grand confession. Scott, show me you really mean it."

The old me would never have dared ask for anything so bold from the guy I liked.

But now, if he wanted something from me, he would have to give something in return. It was only fair.

That very afternoon, Scott covered the school field with nine-thousand nine-hundred and ninety-nine roses and made a grand confession to me.

When his soft, cool lips finally, hesitantly brushed against mine, I finally understood.

They were willing to pay any price to render me completely useless.