Chapter 2: Realizing I’m Doomed

Until later, when a few big, gossipy events happened in the complex.

Word traveled fast in our building. By the time something happened, everyone from the landlord to the mailman seemed to know about it.

For example—

Nathan stabbed the principal because of Molly Bennett. The principal survived, but his lung was punctured, and he’s still in the hospital on life support.

The story was all over the neighborhood. Some said Nathan was a hero, others called him a monster. Either way, it was impossible to ignore.

Nathan got a three-year suspended sentence.

People gossiped about it at the mailbox and in the laundry room. Some thought he got off easy. Others said he’d paid enough.

And then—

Molly Bennett turned out to be the richest man in the city’s illegitimate daughter. At eighteen, she was brought back to the Bennett family.

The news was like a bomb going off. Suddenly, Molly was front-page material, and everyone had an opinion about her.

When I heard that, I froze, then my mind went, "Holy crap."

It was like all the puzzle pieces fell into place at once. I nearly dropped my phone.

I finally realized why things felt so familiar.

I’d landed inside a melodramatic, angsty romance novel.

Of all the books in the world, it had to be this one. The kind where every other chapter ends with someone crying in the rain or making a grand, doomed declaration of love.

The heroine, Molly Bennett, and Sean Lewis were high school sweethearts. Later, Sean’s mom found out about their relationship and handed Molly a $700,000 check in a café, telling her to leave her son. For his future, Molly took the money and left. The male lead thought she was greedy and left the country, heartbroken.

I could practically see the dramatic music swelling in the background. The check, the tears, the misunderstandings—straight out of a soap opera.

At eighteen, Molly’s identity was revealed and she was brought home. She still missed the male lead. Now a Bennett heiress, she wanted to rekindle things. But when she heard Sean was engaged, in despair, she agreed to a strategic family-arranged marriage with the Murphy family.

The tangled web of relationships only got messier from there. It was the kind of plot you’d binge-read at 2 a.m., then regret in the morning.

But the Murphy family’s eldest son was a playboy who didn’t care about her. He chased women everywhere, didn’t even show up on their wedding day—a total jerk.

Honestly, if there was a prize for worst husband material, he’d win by a landslide. Molly’s luck was as bad as mine.

Sean came back to the States, and the main couple started their love-hate drama, dragging down a bunch of side characters along the way.

Everyone around them got caught in the crossfire. It was a tornado of heartbreak, betrayal, and misunderstandings.

And Nathan Calloway—

He was the most tragic second male lead ever.

The guy you root for, even though you know he doesn’t stand a chance. The one who gets all the pain and none of the happy endings.

His father was a gambling drunk who beat him every day, leaving Nathan deeply withdrawn. His only salvation was his gentle childhood friend, Molly Bennett. First, he went to juvie for her. After getting out, during another drunken beating from his father, all the darkness he’d bottled up exploded—he stabbed his father to death.

Honestly, it could’ve been a true crime special. The kind that makes people shake their heads and say, "What a mess."

As for me in the book, I just happened to witness it. I didn’t even have time to scream before my throat was cut.

A minor character, barely a footnote in someone else’s tragedy. My only claim to fame was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Later, it was Mrs. Carter’s son-in-law, Officer Logan Pierce, who cracked the case—the one that made national headlines. The dismemberment. The whole city talked about it for months.

I never thought Nathan would get out of juvie today.

The timeline was speeding up. My sense of safety was shrinking by the hour.

My mom kept talking, and she brought up the one person I feared most.

"I heard Nathan Calloway got out today."

She said it offhand, like she was talking about the weather. But the words hit me like a slap.

Hearing his name, my heart skipped. Then my mom shoved me aside with a look of disgust.

She was elbow-deep in grapes, rinsing them off in the sink. She barely glanced at me as she nudged me out of the way.

"Move over."

She magically produced a bunch of bright green grapes. The sound of water in the sink didn’t affect her volume at all.

It was a classic mom move—she could scold and snack at the same time. The grapes sparkled in the colander, and she tossed one in my direction.

"That kid’s pitiful, born into the Calloway family, turned out so strange. He was so cute when he was little—rosy-cheeked and chubby—but look at him now. Gives me the creeps."

Her tone softened for a second, almost like she felt bad for him. But then she shook her head, lips pursed.

"Stay away from him. Don’t gossip about people, or you’ll end up on someone’s bad side."

She said it like she was sharing the secret to surviving in the city. I just nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

I didn’t reply, just squeezed into the kitchen.

I started fiddling with the fridge magnets, anything to avoid her gaze.

"Mom, let’s move."

The mere suggestion almost made my mom smack me into next week.

She spun around, eyes wide. “Move? Are you out of your mind? You know what rent costs in this city?”

I forgot to mention: the character I landed in lived in the same apartment complex as the heroine when she was struggling, so obviously my family wasn’t well-off. My dad cheated, found his “true love,” and divorced Mom.

It was the kind of story that made you want to roll your eyes. We were hanging on by a thread, living paycheck to paycheck, just like half the families in the building.

My mom, Ms. Sanders, ended up with this apartment. She wasn’t educated and worked hard to support me through school.

She worked two jobs—sometimes three. I’d seen her come home bone-tired, but she never complained.

So after I tried everything and realized I couldn’t go back, I slowly started to blend in here, moved by Ms. Sanders’s real love for Emily Sanders.

Her hugs, her late-night pep talks, even her nagging—none of it was fake. It grounded me in this world, more than anything else could.

"Emily, do you know how hard it’s been to raise you?"

Here it comes. The ultimate mom guilt trip. I braced myself for the speech I’d heard a hundred times before.

…

Here we go again.

Ms. Sanders’s tearful guilt trip. I rubbed my head, making my hair a mess.

She could turn on the waterworks faster than any soap star. I tried to tune her out, but my heart ached for her all the same.

Because I knew how hard she had it, I never dared mess around after landing here. All those novels where the transmigrated heroine changes her fate or gets rich—I never even tried.

I kept my head down, did my homework, and tried not to draw attention. No lottery tickets, no get-rich-quick schemes—just survival.

My head hurt… Seriously, when did life get so complicated?

All I could do was find a way to avoid Nathan Calloway.

I made mental notes: never linger in the stairwell, always listen for footsteps, keep my distance.

As long as I didn’t act like a fool and go upstairs like Emily did, as long as I didn’t witness anything…

Maybe I wouldn’t die.

I kept telling myself that, like some desperate mantra. Fingers crossed the universe was actually listening.

Honestly, I felt sorry for Nathan. But I really didn’t think I had it in me, like those side characters in novels, to warm the heart of such a dark male lead and change him.

I wasn’t a therapist or a miracle worker. I just wanted to make it through the semester alive.

Just seeing him made me want to run.

If I changed nothing, and my fear made him feel rejected, what if that pushed him over the edge and he killed me first?

I was afraid of pain, even more afraid of dying.

Meanwhile, just in case, I made a point of getting closer to Mrs. Carter and got her son-in-law’s phone number.

It wasn’t much, but having a cop’s number on speed dial made me feel a little safer. I saved it under "Emergency—Officer Logan" with three exclamation marks.

That gave me a little peace of mind.

I even wrote it down on a sticky note and hid it under my mattress, just in case I lost my phone.

In the original, he was the cop who brought Nathan to justice—upright and fearless.

He was the kind of guy who showed up in every small-town police story. Honest, stubborn, always doing the right thing—even when it hurt.

But I never thought I’d need that backup card so soon. Honestly, I hoped I’d never have to call that number in my life.

I’d look at my phone sometimes, thumb hovering over his name, and pray I’d never have to press it.