The Villainess Reads the Comments

I am the darling daughter of a prestigious house, betrothed to my childhood sweetheart, Damien Blackwood, since we were young.

In today's terms, I am Scarlett Vanderbilt, an heiress of New York's old money, a creature of trust funds and charity galas. As for Damien, he always wears the demeanor of a cold, unmelting iceberg, but I don't mind. I just think he's slow to warm up. My Damien is destined to be a dragon among men, and he is destined to be my husband.

Until one day, a new intern named Lily Adams joined his department.

I happened to visit the company that day, wanting to give him a surprise. But in the security room on the top floor, I saw a scene I would never forget. Damien, my Damien, was smiling at that girl dressed in cheap, fast-fashion clothes. It was a smile I had never seen before—a gentle warmth like the winter sun, capable of melting all the ice and snow around him.

Except for me.

I only felt a chilling cold, my blood freezing in my veins. I completely lost it. I believed this woman had seduced my fiancé, that her methods were despicable, and that's why he was showing her such care!

I returned to my office, picked up the phone, and directly dialed the department director my father had single-handedly promoted.  my voice was devoid of any warmth.

I never expected that everything I did would be discovered by my fiancé.

He actually stormed into my office for that woman. That handsome face I had been infatuated with for over a decade was now filled with disgust and contempt.

He humiliated me in front of everyone, in front of all the subordinates who were usually so respectful to me. He said I was harsh and acerbic, arrogant and domineering. He said I did nothing productive all day, that my only skill was throwing my weight around using the Vanderbilt name!

I couldn't take it. I believed that woman must have bewitched him! Seeing her being so weakly and delicately protected behind him, that pitiful, almost victorious posture stabbed at my eyes. I rushed forward, yanked her out from behind Damien, and raised my hand to slap her!

Who would have thought that my fiancé, who had always been so good to me since childhood, would grab my wrist so tightly for this woman.

The next second, a sharp, ringing slap landed squarely on my face.

The entire office fell deathly silent.

My heart felt like it was being sliced apart. I was helped back to my Park Avenue penthouse by my friend, Blair. My cheek burned, but it was nothing compared to the humiliation and sting in my heart.

Blair poured me a whiskey, her beautiful face a mask of shared indignation.

I thought it was an excellent idea! In the darkness, the flames of revenge ignited in my eyes.

I picked up my phone, ready to have Blair arrange it.

Just then, floating text suddenly appeared before my eyes, just like the live comments that scroll across the screen when you watch a video.

[Here we go again, the classic villainess-creates-a-scandal move!]
[This will only push the main characters' relationship forward, right? Damien will just feel sorry for the heroine and love her more!]
[The villainess loses IQ points every time she's around the main characters. I honestly don't get how she even got into Yale!]
[Waiting for her to get owned!]

I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was seeing things, if the whiskey was getting to me. But the floating text remained, emitting a ghostly glow.

And what it said completely shattered my worldview.

I stared blankly into the void, reading every word of the information about me and this world.

Blair shook my arm.

I was in a daze and didn't speak.

She thought I was upset because Damien had defended that woman. So she comforted me in her usual, high-society tone,

I knew that. For so many years, we had grown up together. Moreover, the Vanderbilt family had been Damien's benefactor. How could he possibly choose that woman over me?

But the content of the comments was completely different.

[The villainess is overthinking it, lol. The male lead always belongs to the female lead.]
[She'll find out soon enough. She won't even have time to cry when the engagement is broken.]
[The villainess can still back out now. Don't make a scene, or your ending will be even worse.]

Reading comment after comment, I felt a rage bubble up inside me.

They were all saying Damien and Lily were endgame!

Then what about me?

I was his rightful fiancée!

I stood up irritably and pushed Blair out the door.

Blair was surprised.

I snapped.

I've always been direct, and my words have never been pleasant.

Blair just said  shrugged, and left. She was used to it.

The moment the door closed, even more people started cursing me in the comments.

[The way she talks to her friend...]
[No wonder Damien doesn't like her. She doesn't even have many friends.]
[Compared to her, the heroine Lily is so much better. So gentle and kind.]

I was furious!

I put my hands on my hips and yelled at the empty air, at the floating comments.

"Do you people have any morals or a conscience?! I'm the one whose relationship was interfered with! Why aren't you cursing the homewrecker? Why are you cursing me?!"

My outburst silenced the stream for a moment, and then it exploded with comments.

[AHHHHHHHHHH THE VILLAINESS CAN SEE OUR COMMENTS!]
[Whoa! There's interaction!]
[I'm gonna go check on my baby heroine next door and see if she can see my comments. I'm a total mom-fan for the FL!]
[Puh-lease! The heroine is nowhere near as sexy or beautiful as the villainess. I choose the villainess. Seeing as I complimented you, can you give me some money? Hey, rich lady! Hello! Can you see this?]
[Did the guy above get paid? Kissing up to the vicious villainess? I still prefer the heroine!]

From this flood of comments, I finally understood.

I was the vicious villainess in a sweet romance novel called True Love's Gambit. I had grown up with the male lead, Damien Blackwood, and had an engagement arranged, making me the biggest obstacle in the main characters' path to love.

In this novel, the male lead was only ever good to the female lead, while I, the vicious villainess, was perpetually being put in my place by them.

I was forever the laughingstock of the book.

I considered my parents to be Damien's benefactors and thought he should naturally be good to me. But in truth, for all these years, he had always detested me. He hated my wishful thinking, hated my constant presence, found me incredibly noisy.

And the female lead was the best thing in his heart.

Every time I tried to frame the heroine out of jealousy, he would appear before her like a hero. In the end, he would establish his own company, break free from the Vanderbilt's control, publicly tear up our engagement, and live happily ever after with the heroine.

Reading the content of the comments, I was about to die from anger.

I took a deep breath, my chest heaving violently. I couldn't believe it. The fiancé who had once been so good to me would really become like that.

A book? A script? A joke?

I slowly walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the brilliantly lit New York City below.

I am Scarlett Vanderbilt.

The word  has never been in my dictionary.

I picked up my phone and sent a message to Blair.

"Plan paused. That one was stupid. I have a better idea."

The glass of the window reflected my face. My lips were curved into a cold, mirthless smile.

***

Blair's plan was indeed stupid.

Not stupid because it was vicious, but because it wasn't direct enough, not… elegant enough. Having someone take a few photos? In this day and age, that's too easily reversible. It's the kind of scheme from a last-century melodrama.

[Oh boy, the villainess is calling someone else stupid. That's rich.]
[What's her so-called 'better idea'? I'll bet you a dollar it's even dumber.]
[Make it five. The girl's on a roll.]

I ignored the buzzing flies before my eyes and walked to the liquor cabinet to pour myself a glass of champagne. The bubbles rose cheerfully in the glass, just like the brilliant plan forming in my mind.

You  say I lose my intelligence? Then I'll show you how a true Vanderbilt silently eliminates a disgusting pest.

I called one of the security firms my family keeps on retainer, a company that also handles  on the side.

I ordered nonchalantly.

[Here we go, the classic background check!]
[Spending tens of thousands on a P.I. just to satisfy her control issues. I don't get the world of the rich.]
[Get ready! We're about to unearth the heroine's 'shocking dark past'—like how she got a full scholarship or helped an old lady cross the street?]

These boring taunts did nothing to dampen my spirits. The first step of any strategy is to know your enemy. I wouldn't rush in like a madwoman and slap someone again. That's so undignified.

The next day, a detailed report arrived in my encrypted inbox.

I leaned back on the leather sofa and scrolled through it, line by line.

Lily Adams, from a common middle-class family in Queens. Her father is a plumber, her mother a community nurse. She got through NYU with student loans and several part-time jobs. She dated an equally common boyfriend in college and they broke up amicably after graduation. The report even included a picture of them sharing a hot dog in Central Park.

[WTF, that's it? That's the dirt?]
[SHOCKING! The heroine actually has to work to earn money! How 'disreputable' of her! (sarcasm)]
[Look at the villainess's face, she looks like she's discovered some earth-shattering secret. LMAO, does she think being a commoner is a mortal sin?]

As a matter of fact, I did.

A girl burdened with tens of thousands in student loans, living in a shared apartment in Brooklyn, without a single decent designer item to her name—what right did she have to even touch my Damien?

Because she looked so soft and pitiful?

I packaged the photos, along with a screenshot of her outstanding loan balance, and sent them to Lily's phone from an anonymous virtual number.

Along with it, I attached a line of text I had carefully crafted:

"Indecent people belong in indecent places. New York doesn't welcome you. You have three days to pack your cheap luggage and get out. Otherwise, this little collection will soon find its way into the inboxes of all your colleagues."

I put down my phone, satisfied, as if I could already hear the frightened chirps of that little bluebird.

Just you wait. Damien would soon discover that his innocent little bird was just a sparrow covered in mud. And I would return to his side, as if nothing had ever happened.

[I'm floored. I'm actually floored. I thought she'd have some high-level move, but it's just a grade-school-level threat?]
[Doesn't this basically scream 'Hey, male lead, come investigate me!'? What is she thinking?]
[The hit drama series 'The Villainess's Guide to Self-Sabotage,' Episode Two, is now airing! Today's theme: The Perfect Assist!]

The stream was getting on my nerves. I put my hands on my hips and yelled at the air,

However, reality gave me a slap even louder than Damien's.

Lily didn't run away.

She was scared out of her wits… and ran to Damien.

The next evening, I was playing tennis with friends at the country club when Damien found me. He wasn't furious like last time, he didn't even raise his voice.

He just stood there, in a perfectly tailored suit, his eyes like ice in December. He held out his phone to me. On the screen were the photos and threats I had sent to Lily.

he said, in a tone I'd never heard before, a mixture of disgust and exhaustion.

Pathetic?

He actually used the word  to describe me?

Damien said, retracting his phone, his voice growing even colder.

He turned and walked away, leaving me frozen on the spot, still holding my tennis racket, like a complete and utter fool.

The pitying looks from my friends were like needles, piercing my skin.

And before my eyes, the stream was laughing its head off.

[HAHAHAHAHA! I declare the MVP of this chapter to be the villainess! This one threat directly leveled up the main couple's relationship from 'mutual interest' to the 'I will protect you' stage!]
[Regret? He thinks she'll regret it? She doesn't even know how to spell the word! I bet her next thought is: 'This method didn't work, I need to be more ruthless!']
[Is the person above a mind-reader for the villainess?]
[Scarlett, let me say thank you, because of you, the four seasons are warm... The main couple awards you a one-ton medal of love!]

I slammed my racket on the ground, the sound sharp and grating.

Fine. Just fine!

So threats don't work, is that it?

Damien, since you love protecting her so much, let's just see how you protect her when she becomes a slut that everyone despises!

***

I ignored the annoying noise and dialed the encrypted number for my family's

my voice was flat.

There was a moment of silence on the other end, as if even my viciousness was shocking. Then came the familiar electronic voice:

Excellent.

Damien, since you love being a hero so much, I want you to see with your own eyes what happens when your pure, flawless Snow White becomes a pile of mud that anyone can step on. Let's see how much of your ridiculous protective instinct is left then.

The company's annual charity gala was one of the most important social events in New York high society.

I was wearing a custom-made black velvet gown, the skirt adorned with tiny diamonds that sparkled under the crystal chandeliers. I moved through my kingdom like an elegant hostess, enjoying everyone's praise.

Lily Adams was there too. She was wearing the gown Damien had bought for her. Although it was expensive, her nervous and uncomfortable posture made her look like a child who had stolen an adult's clothes, completely out of place.

I took a glass of champagne and went to the second-floor gallery, the best vantage point to overlook the entire ballroom. I watched the scene below with the leisurely air of a spectator waiting for a good show to start.

Soon, the waiter I had arranged brought a tray and steadily delivered that specially mixed champagne into Lily's hands.

[She drank it! She drank it!]
[Here it comes, here it comes! The moment of truth!]
[Countdown starting! Let's see how many minutes and seconds it takes for the male lead to get to the scene this time!]

I watched Lily tilt her head back and drink the wine, the smile on my lips growing colder.

Everything was under control.

A few minutes later, the drug began to take effect. An unnatural flush appeared on Lily's cheeks, her eyes started to look dazed, and she even unconsciously tugged at her collar, looking restless.

The show was about to start. I could already imagine how disgracefully she would act, and how wonderful tomorrow's headlines would be.

However, just at the moment I was most anticipating—

Something unexpected happened!

Damien, who had been deep in conversation with the CEO of Citibank, seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He abruptly cut off the conversation, frowned, and his gaze locked onto the unwell Lily with a swordsman's precision.

With almost no hesitation, he immediately left everyone behind and strode over.

Before Lily could completely lose control and do anything indecent, Damien had already wrapped his expensive suit jacket tightly around her from head to toe. With an unchallengeable, possessive gesture, he swept her up into his arms and quickly left the ballroom under the shocked gazes of all the guests.

The whole process was so fast I didn't even have time to react.

I froze on the spot, still holding the glass of champagne meant for celebration, watching my perfect plan, under the brutal intervention of the  fail once again.

How?

How did he find out?!

My mind went blank, and my vision was completely flooded by an unprecedented frenzy of comments.

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]
[I declare! This year's Best Supporting Player award goes to our very own Scarlett Vanderbilt!]
[That was epic! Did you see that? The princess carry! Maximum boyfriend power! I'm dead!]
[The villainess spent money on drugs just to create an opportunity for the main couple to have intimate contact. I'm actually crying for her!]
[Scarlett, let me say thank you, because of you, the four seasons are warm...]
[She's not a vicious villainess, she's a walking Cupid, a catalyst for love, the sole designated sponsor of the main couple's relationship!]

I stared at the words filled with mockery and ridicule. They were like poisoned knives, stabbing viciously into my heart.

The wine glass in my hand creaked under my grip, on the verge of shattering.

Fine. Just fine!

Twice now!

Damien, you forced my hand.

If these little games can't hurt her, then next time, I'll use the sharpest knife, stab it straight into her heart, and make sure she can never get back up!

***

The successive failures had a strangely calming effect on me.

I didn't smash things anymore, nor did I rage at the empty air. I even started reappearing at galleries and fashion shows, playing the part of the elegant and poised Scarlett Vanderbilt in my social circle, as if all the previous conflicts were just smoke and mirrors.

Even Blair thought I had come to my senses, advising me that there were plenty of other fish in the sea.

[Is the villainess... giving up?]
[Doesn't seem like it. According to the tropes, this is the calm before the storm.]
[I bet she's brewing something big. Something so stupid it'll make herself cry.]

This time, you guessed right.

I was indeed brewing something big. A head-on collision wouldn't work. That woman seemed to be wrapped in a layer of invincible plot armor; any direct attack would be deflected and would only hurt me.

If that's the case, then I'll just have to pave her a road to hell, strewn with fresh flowers.

I would use her most prized assets—her  and —to have her sign her own contract of destruction.

I used my power on the group's board of directors to create a  tailored specifically for Lily Adams, under the guise of

On the surface, this contract was glamorous enough to drive any newcomer wild: skip all promotion procedures to become the independent head of a new project, enjoy the salary and benefits of a deputy director, and receive a bonus large enough to buy a small apartment in Manhattan.

It was an irresistible bait.

And in the thick contract, on page 37, under the ninth clause of the addendum, lay my true killing move: if the project failed to meet its KPI within six months, Lily would not only have to return the entire bonus but also face up to a seven-figure penalty for breach of contract. Furthermore, due to  she would bear corresponding legal responsibilities and be barred from the industry for life.

That KPI was an astronomical figure I had three top actuaries calculate, one that was theoretically impossible to achieve.

I admired this contract, a work of art in itself, a cold and satisfied smile playing on my lips. I could already see it: six months from now, that woman, crushed by enormous debt, her reputation in tatters, possibly even imprisoned on charges of commercial fraud.

Damien, you love protecting her, don't you? Let's see how you can help her when she's a prisoner of her own class, drowning in debt.

This time, I was sure to win. I didn't even give those annoying comments a chance to curse me.

The contract, after being stamped by the legal department as a  was delivered to Lily's desk. I heard she was so moved she cried tears of joy and signed it on the spot.

However, my smugness didn't last more than twenty-four hours.

That night, as I was in my private study savoring a bottle of '82 Lafite, Damien appeared before me like a ghost, without any warning.

There was no anger on his face, only a bone-deep disgust and iciness, the kind you have when you see some filthy vermin.

He slammed the contract I was so proud of onto my mahogany desk, the papers scattering everywhere.

his voice was soft, yet it was like a poison-laced icicle, piercing my heart word by word.

I looked at his face, twisted with extreme disgust, and all the piled-up grievances and anger inside me erupted at once.

I shot up, screaming at him uncontrollably for the first time.

"What they did for me?"

Those words were like a switch, completely extinguishing the last bit of restraint in Damien's eyes.

He laughed, a smile uglier than a sob, filled with endless mockery and relief.

he nodded, enunciating each word.

I was struck by lightning, my mind a blank slate. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

he looked at me, his eyes devoid of any lingering affection, only frank cruelty.

[The main event begins! Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the most explosive scene of our drama—the heartless confession!]
[Finally! I knew he'd say it! My God, he said it so well! So satisfying!]
[After all that effort, she still gets humiliated. Hey, villainess, how do you feel now? How does it feel?!]

How did I feel? I felt like my entire world had, in that instant, shattered.

Damien continued, as if my slow-motion execution wasn't enough, he took a step closer and whispered the fatal judgment in my ear, for only me to hear:

"From the day we met, I have never liked you. It's not that I stopped liking you when she came along; I have never liked you. I was good to you, I tolerated your temper, all for the sake of your parents. Scarlett, you've become more and more outrageous, more and more ungrateful. I simply cannot… tolerate you anymore."

After he said it, he didn't even spare me another glance. He turned and left my study.

In that instant, all my pride, my anger, my unwillingness to concede—it all collapsed, as if my spine had been ripped out.

I fell weakly onto the carpet, unable to hear anything.

The sound of Damien's footsteps, the wind outside the window, everything disappeared. The world was deathly silent.

It was a long, long time…

Before I finally heard a sound again.

It was an overwhelming, all-encompassing flood of endless joy and mockery—

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The stream was celebrating.

They were celebrating my failure, celebrating that I had thoroughly, irrevocably, become a colossal joke.

Before, hearing these things would only make me angry.

But now, as his words  echoed in my mind, I looked at the celebratory text, and for the first time, I felt from the bottom of my heart…

My life… was a complete and utter failure.