I slammed the door with righteous fury, then marched into the bathroom and showered like I had something to prove.

After I washed up, I realized I’d forgotten to bring pajamas.

I was about to wrap myself in a towel when someone knocked.

I jumped.

This was exactly the point in the plot where the male lead would do something unforgivable.

“What do you want?” I snapped. “I’m not the old me anymore! Don’t you dare try to sleep with me!”

His voice came through the door, calm and maddeningly unbothered.

“I brought your clothes.”

…Oh.

Why did I feel disappointed?

I cracked the door open.

Sure enough, he was holding my pajamas.

I snatched them out of his hand.

He smiled faintly. “A little disappointed I didn’t do anything?”

Then he leaned in, his breath brushing my cheek.

“Should I come in and do something now?”

My face instantly went hot.

The moment he leaned closer, all those explicit scenes from the book thundered through my brain like a stampede.

I slammed the door in his face, heart racing, changed clothes, and stormed out—

Only to find him sitting on the sofa, scrolling through my phone.

I lunged. “Why are you in here? And why are you going through my phone?!”

Then it hit me—

In the novel, he monitored my phone.

He controlled my entire life.

My eyes filled with tears of pure injustice.

This time, he actually acted like a human being.

He pulled me onto his lap, one arm around my waist.

“What’s wrong?” he murmured. “Tell your husband.”

“You are NOT my husband,” I choked out. “You’re a controlling jerk who locked me up and used me as a stand-in!”

His mouth twitched, as if he wanted to argue but couldn’t.

Because everything I said was true.

After dinner, Daniel casually tried to put us in the same bedroom, just like in the book.

I pushed his hand away. “I’m just your housekeeper. You don’t own me. Respect my boundaries!”

He looked around the room, then back at me, completely unfazed.

“I’m worried you’ll kick off the blanket and catch a cold.”

Then he simply guided me into the room and shut the door.

When he reached for me, I shoved him back.

“I’m a respectable human being!”

He let out another low laugh.

And then just like the novel promised, his hands were on me, the plot steamrolled forward, and…

Well.

I was the reverse-harem heroine.

Soft, delicate, easily seduced.

The laws of this genre were undefeated.

The next morning, I glared at him with every ounce of shame and indignation in my body.

He raised a brow. “What’s with that look? Didn’t you say you’re my housekeeper?”

“I quit!”

“…And your mother’s surgery?” he asked lightly.

My eyes filled instantly.

He was a villain.

A monster.

Weaponizing my mom’s medical bills against me.

If I ever tried to leave, he’d definitely threaten her safety.

That was absolutely within his villain skill set.

He brushed tears from my cheeks, the warmth of his palm short-circuiting my brain.

It had to be some kind of protagonist-halo seduction buff.

His voice dropped, low and a little hoarse.

“You really like playing the tragic heroine, don’t you?”

I blinked, confused.

He stood, guided me to the sink, squeezed toothpaste onto my brush, and even filled a cup with mouthwash.

See, that was the thing about him.

Cold, distant, stingy with words—but when he took care of someone, he did it meticulously.

Watching us brush our teeth side by side in the mirror, my heart twisted painfully.

He would eventually live happily ever after with Wendy Gold.

I was just the stand-in.

Eye for an eye.

If he treated me like a stand-in, then I’d cheat on him for real.

When we went downstairs, Wendy’s mother was already waiting in the living room.

The moment she saw us, she put on an overly warm smile. “Wendi, sweetheart, are you feeling better?”

“Save the fake concern,” I snapped. “Don’t worry. The moment Daniel lets me go, I’m out of here. I’m not a threat to your daughter.”

Wendy’s mom stared at me like I’d grown a second head. Then she looked at Daniel.

“What’s wrong with her eyes? Why is she crying?”

Daniel’s tone toward her was surprisingly gentle. “She’s acting out a tragic drama. Says she’s our housekeeper, Wendi Silver. She cried for a while.”

Wendy’s mom gave me a full ‘are-you-stupid’ stare. Her voice went cold.

“Wendi Silver, since you’re sitting in my daughter’s place, drink this soup and get better. Then leave. We don’t house weak little maids in my son-in-law’s home.”

My eyes instantly welled up.

I thought of my real mom in the hospital, waiting for me to pay those medical bills.

If she were still healthy, she’d definitely fuss over me like this too.

Wendy’s mom rushed over and grabbed my hand. “Why do you cry at everything? Are you depressed? Do we need to take you back to the hospital?”

“Mom, it’s fine,” Wendy cut in. “She was dramatic even before she ate the poison mushroom. She’s committed to her soap-opera era.”

I needed to recover.

Then leave as fast as possible.

I gulped down the soup. Three huge gulps.

It tasted like… mom.

I blinked at Wendy’s mom.

Could this story secretly have a ‘switched-at-birth’ twist?

Maybe I was the real heiress?

Or maybe Wendy and I were sisters?

But no—this was a reverse harem smut novel.

I’d read it more than once.

There were multiple hot guys and zero morals, but no long-lost-daughter plotline.

During dinner, Wendy’s mom said, “She’s a mess right now. Don’t let her go to work yet. She was already a little clueless, and after the poisoning she barely has a brain left.”

Daniel said, “I was thinking the same thing. Except she insists she wants to move out.”

“Don’t listen to her.”

---

Later that afternoon, Daniel pulled me toward the door.

“Wendy’s brother is back. Her mother wants us over for dinner.”

I perked up immediately.

Wendy’s brother?

Another handsome man destined to fall for me.

And maybe… he would be my ticket to freedom.

Daniel was still in his forceful villain era, but once I escaped, he’d enter his “begging for forgiveness, crying in the rain” arc.

I would absolutely make him suffer for it.

When we got to the Gold family home, Wendy’s brother took one look at me, eyes lighting up, and pulled me into a hug.

Daniel’s expression froze.

Wendy’s brother, Henry, adored me.

He bought me gifts.

He even patted my head like I was precious.

Wendy stood there watching with a smug “this is going to be fun” smile.

When her parents drifted out of the room, Wendy leaned toward her brother and whispered loudly,

“FYI, she currently thinks she’s living inside an erotica novel where any attractive man under thirty automatically sleeps with her.”

Wendy really didn’t know how to shut up.

I didn’t hear a word she said—her lips were just moving in my peripheral vision—but I absolutely knew it wasn’t anything nice.

But the moment she finished, Henry’s entire body stiffened.

He quietly stepped back from me.

Daniel watched me with narrowed eyes.

I felt betrayed.

I looked at Henry with full tragic-heroine heartbreak.

Was he planning to do a “win her back after pushing her away” arc too?

He was exactly my type—gentle, elegant, soft-spoken.

I could easily see myself favoring him in later chapters.

A moment later, Henry excused himself and went upstairs to take a call.

I told Daniel I was going to the bathroom. As expected, he didn’t follow.

The moment he turned away, I slipped out, took the back staircase, and headed straight for the third floor to find Henry.

I silently thanked my past self.

Good thing I had reread that novel several times. Otherwise I wouldn’t have remembered exactly where Henry’s bedroom was.

I stood at his door and knocked.

He was on the phone. “We’ll talk at the office tomorrow. My sister’s looking for me.”

He hung up, walked over, and ruffled my hair. “What’s wrong? Why do you look so upset? Did Daniel bully you again? Tell me, and I’ll beat him up.”

I threw myself into his arms with a dramatic sob.

“Henry, take me with you. Daniel keeps me locked up. I have no freedom. I’m miserable… I can’t take it anymore…”

I clutched his shirt. “Take me away. I’ll marry you. I swear I will.”

Henry froze completely.

A soft, cold laugh drifted from the hallway.

I turned, eyes full of tears, and saw Daniel standing not far away, looking like a ghost that refused to move on.

I immediately hid behind Henry. “I want to leave you! I refuse to be your plaything!”

Daniel’s expression darkened. “One husband isn’t enough for you. You want a whole harem? Aren’t you afraid your parents would beat you senseless if they heard this?”

I glared at him. “My mom is in the hospital waiting for surgery money, and you’re keeping me locked up so I can’t even see her. You absolute monster!”

Wendy and her mother suddenly appeared too.

Wendy practically squealed, “Mom, look! Turns out our little sister is out here selling herself to save you!”

I bit my lip and stared at Wendy’s smug, toxic face. “Control your man. Tell him to stay away from me.”

Her expression twisted like she was constipated.

I looked up at Henry with trembling lashes. “Henry, please take me away. I know you like me.”

“…”

The farce ended with Daniel dragging me back to the car, his face pitch-black.

Behind us, Henry’s dad was chasing him around with a feather duster, shouting and demanding to know if he had “done anything improper” with me.

Dinner was completely ruined.

---

I never expected even Henry wouldn’t be able to save me.

Daniel drove with a hard, severe expression.

I knew that look too well.

Every time he looked like that, it meant he was planning to punish me.

He spoke slowly. “You really think you’re living inside that trashy novel. What’s next? Are you going to go recruit five more boyfriends for yourself?”

“It’s part of the plot,” I said with full moral righteousness. “I’m respecting the story’s development. So stop getting in my way.”

He let out a disbelieving laugh. “Wonderful. I didn’t realize you could be this insane. I’ve been going easy on you because I didn’t want you to get tired.”

My eyes instantly reddened.

He never cared about what I felt.

Not once.

Because in that no-morals reverse-harem story, my suffering was basically a feature.

Even if I had a fever, he wouldn’t stop.

He had even commented that I was “warm.”

He seriously had the nerve to say things like that.

At a red light, he turned toward me and gently brushed my hair.

“Baby,” he murmured, “you were disappointed no one works on Sundays, right?”

He flashed a bright, dangerous smile and added,

“Don’t worry. From now on, we won’t take any days off. We’ll follow your little erotica novel’s schedule exactly.”

A chill crawled up my spine.

Something felt very, very wrong…