Chapter 1

Tan Xu lowered his gaze and tugged at one corner of his mouth.

“What is it now, Princess?”

“Is this some new way of messing with me?”

Heaven help me.

Was I somehow wrong for not making him warm my feet too?

Normally, I would have lost my temper already.

But the thought of my miserable fate made me force the words back down.

“No.”

“I’m just not feeling well. I want to sleep.”

Tan Xu slowly lifted his eyes.

Apparently, he hadn’t expected me to be so considerate and reasonable.

His gaze fixed on my face.

After a long moment, I thought he would lie down and go to sleep.

Instead, he reached over and caught my ankle again.

He pulled me closer.

His warm hand touched my skin, and I could still feel the dampness of his palm.

“All right, stop fussing.”

“I’ll be gentler next time, okay?”

What??

As he spoke, he placed my foot against his abs.

The lights went out.

But the comments above my head kept flashing.

【The spoiled little princess has given the male lead PTSD.】

【Seriously, if the villainess’s dad hadn’t held that old favor over him, the male lead would never have to wait on her like a dog.】

【It’s fine, though. Once the male lead sees her true colors, he’ll destroy the new company her father started.】

【In the end, her dad gets hit by the car too while trying to save her.】

I shuddered and quickly rolled away.

I even remembered to explain.

“I can’t sleep comfortably with my foot there.”

There was no emotion in Tan Xu’s voice.

“Wasn’t that always your favorite?”

I pressed my lips together. “Not anymore.”

“Tan Xu, I’ll never order you to warm my feet again.”

Silence stretched for a moment.

He seemed to let out a cold laugh.

“Suit yourself.”

That night, to my surprise, I couldn’t sleep.

Tan Xu was a poor student my family had sponsored since middle school.

He was aloof and restrained, a man of few words, but frighteningly intelligent.

After he started high school, he moved straight into our home.

He kept everyone at arm’s length.

Everyone except me. With me, he did whatever I asked.

He hadn’t even hesitated when my father used that old debt to make him marry me.

I’d always thought I was special to him.

Then, on the second day of our marriage, I overheard that he’d already had someone he liked.

He’d been ready to confess, but lost his chance.

My world collapsed when I heard that.

So he didn’t love me at all. He was only with me to repay a debt.

For no good reason, I began to hate him.

I hated him for not telling me the truth.

I hated him for obeying my father so readily.

After hating him every which way, it struck me that perhaps—just perhaps—I had fallen for him first.

But why didn’t he love me back?

Proud as I was, I took every ounce of my resentment out on him.

I ordered him around.

I refused to eat unless he came home and cooked for me.

I spent his money like water and even made him come pay whenever I went shopping.

After sex, I made him carry me to the bathroom, bathe me, and only then let him sleep.

I thought it wasn’t a bad arrangement. I had both the man and his money; I wasn’t losing out at all.

Only now did I learn that I was nothing more than the vicious, high-maintenance supporting villainess.

I would drive away the male lead, then go after the female lead.

A wretched ending awaited me.

I would even drag my father down with me.

But what had he ever done wrong?

After my mother died, he’d raised me alone. Even forcing Tan Xu to marry me had only been his way of making sure I would be cared for.

At that thought, I made up my mind.

Before the female lead appeared, I would turn over a new leaf.

I would earn a better ending for both me and my dear old dad.