I transmigrated into a trashy, tragic romance as the vicious side character. By the time I arrived, the story had already reached its ending.

I had caused the female lead to lose her SAT opportunity, and my two older brothers forced me to my knees.

My eldest brother, Lucas Sherman, beat me mercilessly with a stick. He hissed, "Slap yourself 1000 times before you can get up."

My older brother, Charlie Sherman, threw a bottle of pesticide at me. He spat, "Someone as vicious as you should just die."

I let out a cold laugh and picked up the pesticide bottle, downing it in one gulp.

Lucas and Charlie turned pale with shock.

"Are you insane? You actually drank it!"

My older brother, Charlie Sherman, threw a bottle of pesticide at me and spat, "Someone as vicious as you should just die."

I knelt on the ground, my exposed skin covered in wounds and bruises.

My eldest brother, Lucas Sherman, chimed in with an unusually cold voice, "Apologize to Cynthia right now, or you might as well die!"

Cynthia Graham quickly spoke up, sounding pitiful. "Lucas, Charlie, don't torment Maddie because of me. I just lost my chance at the SATs, but I can always take it again... I can even just get a job."

Her words only fueled the anger of my brothers standing before me. They became even more enraged, probably feeling indignant on Cynthia's behalf.

Charlie kicked me hard in the stomach with his leather shoe.

Lucas looked at me with pure disgust and slapped me across the face. He hissed, "Apologize to Cynthia right now!"

I let out a cold laugh as I stared at the pesticide bottle in front of me. I was truly living the life of a side character, being treated that way by my own brothers.

I picked up the pesticide bottle, twisted it open, and poured it straight into my mouth.

"What are you doing?!" Charlie screamed in terror, his face turning deathly pale.

Even the usually composed Lucas panicked at that moment. "Are you insane? Did you really drink it?"

My consciousness grew increasingly hazy, and I thought, 'What's so insane about it?'

The original character in that world, Maddison Sherman, was just a villainous side character doomed to die sooner or later anyway. I remembered that the original plot said that she was supposed to die there, but it was by suicide with a knife instead.

Although I drank the pesticide, I thought the character's ending would still be the same.

However, I was wrong. I did not die.

The pesticide seller, Terry Powell, had diluted the pesticide with water to make more profit. He even came to visit me, carrying a basket of fruit.

He clutched his chest as he said, "Oh, thank goodness, I was greedy and diluted it with water! Otherwise, I'd be paying with my life right now."

Charlie stood nearby, his eyes red as if he had just cried.

"I was just messing with you. Why did you actually drink it? Maddie, since when did you become so weak?" he asked.

The original Maddison was not fragile at all. After all, she was the villainous side character whose job was to frame the female lead before meeting her destined death.

The female lead was Cynthia.

Just a while back, the original Maddison had tried to stop her from taking the SATs by slipping laxatives into Cynthia's food. However, halfway through, the original Maddison got scared and switched the drugged meal with a normal one.

Surprisingly, Cynthia still ended up with stomach problems and missed the SAT anyway. That could only mean one thing: she was faking it.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Charlie approached me, and there was actually a hint of worry in his eyes.

In the story, I loved tormenting him when we were kids, so he despised me for it. As we grew older, he targeted me in every possible way. He was even a teacher at our school, and he would accuse me of cheating.

As a result, I was frequently punished by our parents.

I did not want to deal with him because all I could think about was how to die. After all, the original Maddison was supposed to die that very day.

Only if I died could I return to my own world.

"Answer me!" Charlie grabbed my hand, trying to force me to speak.

I shoved him away forcefully, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Get out!" I exclaimed.

Lucas suddenly stormed in and rushed over to slap me across the face. "What are you doing?! Why the heck did you shove Charlie?"

Lucas was the original Maddison's eldest brother. He had always been the quiet type who barely acknowledged her existence since childhood.

It was not until they grew up that he started treating me slightly better. However, that kindness did not last long before it disappeared with Cynthia's arrival.

Cynthia was the daughter our parents had adopted. Ever since she came, the entire family adored her. It was probably because she had that female lead aura.

Lucas glared at me furiously. "Maddison, you just caused Cynthia to lose her SAT opportunity, and now, you're abusing Charlie. You're completely hopeless!"

When I looked at him, I felt angry on behalf of the original Maddison. She had worked so hard for his approval, making him breakfast every day, washing his clothes, and polishing his shoes.

However, he would make her kneel and accept beatings at the drop of a hat.

With a loud bang, I shoved him hard against the door. I yelled, "Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?!"

"Maddie, how can you treat Lucas that way? He's your older brother!" Cynthia suddenly appeared at the doorway.

The sight of her fake, pitiful face annoyed me. I could not understand how someone like her became the female lead.

I got out of bed and slapped Cynthia hard across the face. "You're just an outsider. What gives you the right to speak here?"

Terry, the pesticide seller, stood frozen in shock before breaking into applause.

"That was amazing."

I let out a laugh and left directly, too tired to be bothered with them anymore. All I wanted was to end my life.

I had to hurry up and die, so I went to the rooftop. It was 20 stories high, and jumping would guarantee death.

I closed my eyes and was about to jump when a force pulled me back. I fell to the ground, and when I opened my eyes, I saw a guy standing in front of me.

He was handsome, and his eyes were bright and clear. With a voice full of concern, he said, "Maddison, don't do this."

I racked my brain trying to remember who he was, and then, it hit me. He was just a classmate, Ashton Harper.

Ashton was even less than a side character, a complete background extra. He had only ever shown up once in the plot, asking the original Maddison to bring him breakfast.

Ashton gripped my hand tightly, afraid I might try to jump again. "The world is still beautiful. We just finished our SATs, and we're about to start college. Life will definitely be better then, so you have to stay alive."

Although I wanted to say that my life had nothing to do with him, some force in my body seemed to stop me. Eventually, I replied, "Okay."

His face lit up with a relieved smile. "Good, then remember what I said. I heard you weren't feeling well today, and I'm glad I came. Otherwise, you might've really jumped."

He added, "Don't let your brothers get to you. They're not the only ones in this world who care about you."

I nodded faintly, not sure what to make of it.

Then, Ashton took my hand and led me downstairs step by step. We went to eat spaghetti and meatballs, and he even got me a double serving of meatballs.

He said, "Life is about eating good food and having fun. That's what makes it truly wonderful."

I held the steaming bowl of pasta, ready to answer him. Suddenly, a figure rushed over and knocked the plate out of my hands.

The piping hot pasta sauce immediately soaked my pants.

I looked up and saw Lucas' furious expression.

"I knew it! You only pretended to drink that pesticide. It's way too convenient that it just happened to be watered down.

"Maddison, did you really think a cheap trick like that would make Charlie and I feel sorry for you? It'll only make me hate you more!"

Ashton stepped in front of me protectively and exclaimed, "Don't you dare pick on Maddison!"

I looked down at the mess on my pants. Then, I slowly pushed Ashton aside and stared at Lucas. With a loud smack, I hurled the pasta right at his handsome face.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to bother people while they're eating?"

Another loud splat sounded as a meatball hit Lucas square in the face. He staggered back a step, staring at me in disbelief.

I continued coldly, "Lucas, if you mess with me again, I'll throw acid in your face!"

"Maddison!" he shouted, shaking with rage.

I chuckled and shoved a meatball right into his mouth. "What's the matter? Even a meatball can't shut that mouth of yours?"

He was so furious his teeth were clenched tight, and I almost burst out laughing.

Back when I read the trashy novel, I had already despised the aloof Lucas. After all, he constantly treated the original Maddison badly because of Cynthia, making her give way in everything.

Even the scholarship fund that the original Maddison had worked so hard to earn was taken by him to buy Cynthia a guitar.

On the way home after seeing Ashton off, he suddenly asked me, "Remember to change out of your wet clothes when you get home."

I nodded and said, "Alright. Don't worry about me."

Even if I was slow, I could already guess what kind of relationship he had with the original Maddison.

"Maddison, I feel like you've changed somehow," Ashton said suddenly, his eyes showing curiosity.

"You would never have treated Lucas that way before."

I smiled. "People have to grow up eventually."

The original Maddison was supposed to die, yet I had kept living for her. As long as I was still breathing, I would make sure she never suffered again.

After saying goodbye to Ashton, I returned home and saw Charlie sitting on the couch. It was as if he had been waiting for me.

I thought he wanted to berate me, so I ignored him and headed straight for my room. I was already planning how to end my life.

Suddenly, he called out, "Maddie, I want to talk to you."

I turned around in surprise, caught off guard by his unusually gentle tone.

I composed myself and asked, "What is it about?"

He replied, "I bought that pesticide, so there's no way you could have gotten the seller to fake it. I know you really wanted to kill yourself today, and I want to know why."

Finally, there was one normal person in that trashy novel. Then again, it did not matter. In the plot, he had already driven the original Maddison to suicide long ago.

I laughed. "That's funny. Why else would anyone kill themselves? Don't you know the reason better than I do?"

They had sided with Cynthia again and again, stealing everything that belonged to the original Maddison.

It was not surprising that she chose to end her life.

"I..."

When Charlie was about to continue, I turned and left the room. Since I was going to die anyway, I did not want to hear these meaningless words. After all, apologies were useless by then.

At that moment, I suddenly thought of using gas to commit suicide. It was a good method that could take the whole family with me.

In the middle of the night, I quietly went downstairs. Just as I was about to switch on the stove, Cynthia suddenly opened the door and came out, startling me.

She walked over and looked at me, then sneered, "Are you trying to fake another suicide attempt to make Lucas and Charlie feel sorry for you? Maddison, I've been watching you all day, just waiting for you to pull this stunt again."

As she spoke, she turned on the light and picked up a kitchen knife, waving it in front of me. "Guess what Lucas and Charlie will think when they see me cut by this knife in a little while?"

I let out a scoff. I had read too many of these manipulative little drama tricks in melodramatic novels.

Every time, it would always make me grind my teeth in anger.