7
We were a good distance away before the bully finally broke free.
He ruffled his messy hair.
“Hey, what was that all about?” he demanded, his voice cold.
I feigned composure.
“Daniel was right there. I was just trying to keep you from blowing your cover.”
That’s right.
The bully threatening the female lead was named Cole. I had hired him.
paid, he did the work.
He heard my explanation.
His cold eyes narrowed, his voice laced with sarcasm.
“Don’t worry, I have professional ethics. I took your money, so I won’t sell you out.”
He leaned in.
His sharp eyes narrowed, studying me with a look of disdain.
“What? Are you scared, Miss Astor?”
I knew he was provoking me.
The frown on his face betrayed his anxiety.
He needed the money.
09-22
Cole’s parents had died young. He was raised by his grandmother in poverty. Now, his grandmother was sick, and the exorbitant medical bills had pushed him to the
brink.
In the original story, I exploited this.
I turned him into my sharpest weapon.
The enforcer for the vicious female supporting character. Naturally, he didn’t have a good end either.
Cole died on a rainy night.
He kidnapped the female lead.
During a standoff with the police, he used her as a hostage.
He was shot and killed while trying to take her down with him.
“I” had bought his morals, his future, and even his life.
But in the end, “I” still didn’t help him save his grandmother.
A sharp pain shot through my chest.
I felt like I had woken from a nightmare, my body weak.
Iwas terrified of that “me.”
I pulled a card from my bag.
“This is a million dollars.”
Cole’s expression changed, a flicker of mockery in his eyes.
But his gaze quickly darkened, his voice a low, hoarse whisper, suppressing a twisted, struggling madness.
“A million dollars. That’s enough to buy her life.”
!frowned, holding up two fingers.
“No Two lives.”
Chapter 1
He frowned even more.
“From now on, I want you to protect Hannah Thorne. Don’t let a single hair on her head be harmed.”
09.22
As the female lead, Hannah had the standard tragic backstory–a gambling–addicted father, a mother who favored her son, a sick younger brother. A broken home.
Consider it money well spent. A bodyguard for her.
And a small compensation for all the times I had bullied her.
I tucked the card into the pocket of his shirt.
I stared at his face, my voice fierce.
“As for you, from now on, you’re going to be a good person. Every day, you will silently recite the core values of a decent human being three times.”
“Otherwise-”
“I’ll tell your grandma that you burn your classmates‘ butts with cigarettes at school!”
“We’ll see how long your ‘good student‘ act lasts then!”
I watched as Cole’s arrogant, fierce face turned from red to white, then back again.
It felt good.
Being a good person felt so much better.
I rubbed my chest, which still ached from the sharp pain.
My eyes stung.
How could i have done so many bad things?
