She Became His World by Turning Me Into the Villain novel Chapter 1

**Married by Mistake, Loved by Fate — by L. Winters**

**Chapter 1**

As the day wound down and I settled into the familiar routine of scrolling through my phone, a post caught my eye, its bold question practically leaping off the screen.

[If the person you like already has a girlfriend, should you still go after him?]

My curiosity piqued, I began to read the comments. One in particular stood out, dripping with bravado: [Of course you should.]

The comment continued, recounting a tale that felt eerily familiar. [Five years ago, I moved to a new place, and my neighbor was this incredibly intelligent, strikingly handsome guy. The catch? He already had a girlfriend.]

The story unfolded in a way that made my stomach twist. [At first, I befriended both of them. Then, I orchestrated a scenario where I framed his girlfriend for ‘hurting’ me, playing the role of the delicate victim so he would feel pity for me. It worked like a charm; soon enough, they started to drift apart.]

She went on to describe a series of escalating conflicts between them, the tension palpable in her words. [Eventually, they were always at each other’s throats. I remember one night vividly—he came to me, seeking solace, and in a moment of weakness, I kissed him. It was as if something inside him snapped.]

The stark contrast of that moment hit me hard; his girlfriend was at home, tears streaming down her face, mourning her rejection from college.

In a twist of fate, the commenter concluded with a smug sense of triumph, [Looking back now, I realize I made the right decision. He’s now a partner at a publicly traded company, and we’re about to tie the knot. If I hadn’t made that bold move, I wouldn’t be living this life today.]

Then, her tone shifted sharply, almost cruelly, as she added, [His ex-girlfriend is a complete mess. She never got into college and will likely be stuck in a dead-end life forever.]

A wave of realization crashed over me, leaving me momentarily stunned. I was the ex-girlfriend she so callously referred to.

***

The moment I laid eyes on that smug comment, where she boasted about her conquest, my instinct screamed for me to close the post and move on.

As I stood on the sidewalk, the wind suddenly picked up, swirling around me with an unexpected ferocity. I stumbled, and the takeout bag I clutched slipped from my fingers, landing with a soft splat in a muddy puddle.

With a heavy heart, I bent down, retrieving the ruined sandwich, its once appetizing form now a soggy mess. I tossed it into the trash can, a fitting metaphor for my own shattered dreams.

The truth hit me like a cold wave; I was indeed the ex-girlfriend in that post.

After Ethan and I parted ways, my life spiraled into chaos. I didn’t get accepted into college, and the woman who had loved me unconditionally, my mother, fell victim to a tragic accident that left me shattered.

In those dark days, thoughts of ending it all haunted me more times than I could count. It wasn’t until the last few years that I began the slow, painful journey back to some semblance of normalcy.

Now, as I reflected on the passage of time, the weight of it settled heavily on my shoulders. Five years had passed since Ethan and I had broken up, and three years since I had truly set him free from my heart.

The anguish and resentment I had clung to for so long had faded, healing over like the scars on my hands, carried away by the gentle breeze, leaving behind only the echoes of a life I once knew.