Rewriting the Villain's Fate

I had exactly sixty seconds before a tenton truck flattened me into meat paste.

I could see the death countdown because glowing lines of text suddenly floated through the air in front of me. [Is this the psychotic second male lead's doomed sister?

She's about to be smashed into spare parts in exactly one minute.] [Tragic. The second she dies, her brother completely loses his mind.

He ends up crossing the main couple and gets shipped off to a cartel black site to be tortured to death.] I jerked my foot back from the curb. A blast of wind ripped past me.

An outofcontrol sedan missed my nose by an inch and smashed straight through the guardrail. I spun around and sprinted toward the shadowy alleyway those comments mentioned.

Time to find my "sweet, innocent" baby brother.

Deep in the alley, Callum, rocking his limitededition fivethousanddollar jacket, had the future male lead pinned hard against the rough brick wall, his fist raised high.

Chapter 1 [Iconic scene alert! The male lead gets beaten down so badly here.

He swears to climb to the top, forcefully steals the female lead back, and sends the second male lead to a cartel black site to suffer a fate worse than death.] [That's what happens when you're just the second male lead.

But wait, why isn't his sister dead? (Not that anyone cares.)] [The sister is rolling up her sleeves! Hiss… dead memories are attacking me!

The second my sister does that, my first instinct is to run!] [Same! If I don't run fast enough, it's game over.] Callum had Cassian pressed against a mudsplattered car hood.

He arrogantly kicked Cassian's knee with the toe of his designer sneakers. "Let me spell it out for you," Callum sneered. "You ever come near Savannah again, I'll make sure you regret breathing." His lackey chimed in. "Yeah!

You clearly don't know who you're messing with. Callum runs this school!

He'll end you!" I ground my teeth, swallowing the fire burning in my chest, and stepped right up next to Callum.

I gave him a sickeningly sweet smile. "Who exactly are you making regret breathing?

Since when did you become such a tough guy?" The second my voice dropped, Callum's shoulders flinched. He whipped his head around, his eyes blown wide in disbelief.

I didn't hesitate. I snatched the Porsche keys right out of his pocket and snapped his limitless black card in half right in front of his face.

He stared at me, the color draining from his face as he gasped like a fish out of water. The two lackeys instantly fired up. "Hey! Who the hell do you think you are?

You got a death wish, bitch?" They lunged forward. Their filthy hands were inches from my shoulder. "Don't touch her!" Callum shoved them back. The two guys froze, flinching.

One of the punks whistled lightly. "Bro, instead of throwing punches, why don't you let this hottie take a ride in my Porsche tonight?" Callum swung a hard punch straight at the back of his head. "Shut your damn mouth!

That's my sister!" "You want to be my brotherinlaw? Take a look in the mirror, you trash!" The other lackey flashed a greasy grin. "Man, Callum, you got a lot of sisters!

First Savannah, now this one." "Come on, share the wealth! Heh." Callum spun around and backhanded him across the jaw.

The smack echoed off the brick wall, instantly wiping the grin off the kid's face. "Wash your mouth out before you speak! This is my actual sister!

Anyone touches her, I'll put them in the ground!" The two punks stood frozen. A second later, they were practically bowing. "Hi, sis!

You look amazing today." "That was a solid hit you gave Callum, sis." "You taking applications for more brothers?" "We're on our best behavior, promise.

We're Callum's best bros." I raised an eyebrow, staring down the three of them. "Best bros? Fine." "All three of you are coming with me.

But first—Callum, apologize to Cassian right now." Callum's jaw hit the floor. Chapter 2 [No way, why isn't the brother's sister following the plot?

Did she gain selfawareness? (Question mark face)] [With the sister beating him down like this, the second male lead will never reach his psychotic villain arc (Minion black face).] [Then how is the male lead supposed to get his motivation?

How will he end up with Savannah?! No!] [The sister needs to hurry up and die.

Stop ruining the plot for the male lead and the brother!] The comments kept rolling in, cursing me out without holding back. I let out a harsh breath, my jaw clenched tight.

I couldn't care less what these ghosts wanted. As long as I had breath in my lungs, my brother wasn't going down that dark path.

If curses actually worked, every single person behind those glowing screens would be six feet under.

Callum leaned in close. "Sis, stop making me look bad!" he forced the words through his teeth. "I promised Savannah I wouldn't let this trash harass her anymore!" That caught my attention.

I crouched down and locked eyes with Cassian. Callum hadn't actually landed a punch yet, but the collar of Cassian's shirt was torn. His face was terrifyingly calm.

A dark, ruthless edge sharpened his gaze. Just looking at him, it was hard to tell which one of them was the real psycho. His clothes were practically rags.

The comments said he barely had enough to eat, let alone buy new gear. Underneath that faded, threadbare Tshirt, I could trace the tight, fluid lines of a young man's lean muscle.

He practically radiated that raw, feral tension of someone clawing his way up from the absolute bottom. No wonder he was destined to become a ruthless Wall Street tycoon.

I kept my voice steady. "I apologize on behalf of my brother. Our parents died early, and I've been too busy working to keep him in line.

He's an idiot who can't tell up from down." I pulled a piece of plastic from my pocket and flicked it toward him. "Here's my black card. Swipe it for whatever you want.

Consider it compensation for the emotional damage this moron caused, as long as you keep today's mess off social media." Cassian froze. His eyes were clear but guarded.

Even though he was older than Callum, he looked so much thinner and smaller.

Knowing he was the future heavyweight champion of this world, building a bridge now was a hell of a lot better than burning one. "You heard him," I continued. "Savannah asked him to step in." "He's too blind to see if she's playing him or not, so he came after you.

I guarantee he won't give you any more trouble. Can you do me a favor and let this slide?" Cassian just studied my face.

Clearly, the future boss had been sizing people up since day one. "Sis! Why the hell are you apologizing to him? He's nothing!" Callum couldn't handle me taking a step back.

He was used to seeing me walk tall, never backing down from a fight. I shot him a sideways glare. "Zip it. I failed to raise you right.

You skip your classes and learn how to be a bully instead." "If you hate school so much, then you're done. You're dropping out." Callum blinked, then dug his heels in. "Fine!

I never wanted to be there anyway!" "If you're out of school, your allowance is cut off.

And since you're dropping out, I'm assuming you can earn your own keep." "You're coming to work at the diner today. Both of you, too.

Share the wealth, right?" The two lackeys stared at me like I had two heads. Callum shrugged it off. "Whatever!" He snapped at his friends. "You heard her!

We're all going!" The punks looked like they'd swallowed sour milk. After our parents died in a hitandrun, the driver vanished. No street cameras, no leads.

All they left behind was a lump sum of cash. We barely scraped by as it was, living in a cramped rental.

Right before Mom left that day, she handed me a debit card and made sure I memorized the PIN.

She told me the money was supposed to go toward a down payment in a good school district so Callum and I could get a real education.

In the end, I used that money to take over a rundown local American diner, and I've been slinging fast food there for the last few years. I dropped out of high school at fifteen.

Now, I was twenty. Chapter 3 Back then, I tore into those bloodsucking relatives the second they came sniffing around for a payout. Anyone who tried to take our money?

I grabbed a megaphone, marched straight into their gated communities, and broadcasted their greed to every neighbor. I showed up at their corporate offices.

For the real snakes, I went after their kids' reputations, too. After that, none of them dared to look twice at my and my brother's diner. They called me a psychotic bitch.

Said I was too ruthless to live a long life. I looked them dead in the eye and told them I'd drag them all to hell with me. That finally shut them up. Things finally settled down.

Callum went back to school. But I only watched him walk through the front doors—I never checked if he was actually learning anything. I had no idea how to raise a kid.

The glowing text predicting his brutal end flashed in my mind, and my lungs seized up. I gripped the fabric of my shirt, my nails digging into my chest.

I had bled and sweated just to give him a decent life. Nobody touches my brother.

By the second year, my rundown diner landed right in the middle of a newly zoned premium school district. Foot traffic exploded.

With the profits rolling in, I was already scouting locations for a franchise. In fact, I was supposed to be checking out a commercial lease a block over today.

The glowing text started rolling again. [Callum working at the diner is perfect.

He can blow all his paychecks buying Savannah Chanel bags, and she can carry those designer bags right over to Cassian to play his sweet, understanding cheerleader.

What a perfect match.] [Callum was always just a street punk! He turns into a psycho because he has zero respect for the law! He'd burn the world down for Savannah.

If he doesn't die, who will?] [Good thing Callum is a loyal dog, otherwise how would Savannah walk away completely clean! The sister better not mess with their karma!

Otherwise, the Author will definitely punish her!] The Author? Which one? My own parents couldn't control me. Some invisible writer thinks they can?

They can go choke on their own ink. I stuck my hand out toward Cassian. "Let me help you up. We're walking back together.

You can learn the way to the diner." "If Callum ever tries to bully you again, you march right through my doors and tell me.

I'll beat the living daylights out of him." Callum opened his mouth to protest. I shot him a death glare, and he instantly withered. He turned to his lackeys. "See that?

My sister totally adores me!" One of the punks muttered under his breath, "Callum, I think were experiencing two completely different realities right now." Callum puffed out his chest. "Don't you idiots know tough love?

She hits me and screams at me. What is that if not pure, unadulterated love?" The lackeys just stared at him in dead silence. Yeah, they definitely weren't on the same wavelength.

Cassian grabbed my hand. As he pulled himself up, a shadow fell over me. I suddenly realized he towered over me by at least a head. "What grade are you in?" I asked.

My brother was only a freshman. "Senior," his voice was cold and sharp as cracked ice. I instantly spun on Callum. "Callum! He's a senior!

He's supposed to be prepping for his college applications!" "And you're out here wasting his time? Do you have a death wish?

You ever bother him again, you're dead meat!" Callum looked at me like a kicked puppy, sealing his lips shut. [Wait, guys, is this really the future cartel psycho who chops off fingers without blinking?] [Actually, didn't you notice?

He wasn't a psycho at first. He was actually a decent kid.

He only lost his mind because his sister got killed in a hitandrun with no cameras, and then their relatives stole the diner.] [The truth is, the guy who ran over the sister was Savannah's dad, Earl!

Savannah only pretended to care about Callum so he'd treat her like his savior and get entirely dependent on her.

She was just keeping him close to make sure he never found out who actually killed his sister!

The poor idiot never even knew Savannah was the one destroying his life, and spent all his time hating Cassian instead!] Chapter 4 [You guys don't get it!

This is a zerotohero revenge story about the main couple climbing to the absolute top!

The second male lead brought his twisted fate on himself, and his sister just had rotten luck. Stop trying to whitewash a psycho!] [You're the ones whitewashing Savannah!

Why does a twofaced hypocrite get to be the female lead?] I had to agree. I didn't even know Savannah, but these past few minutes told me everything I needed to know about her.

Bottom line: she was toxic waste. Female lead? Please. We are the masters of our own fate. I mentally locked in the detail about Savannah's dad, Earl, being a truck driver.

I was going to run a full background check on that bastard. Then another thought hit me. I needed to set up an irrevocable trust fund for the diner.

I'd list Callum as the beneficiary so he could only draw a fixed monthly dividend.

If he ever dared to secretly sell the place or transfer the deed, the entire asset would instantly be liquidated and donated to charity.

Cassian followed us out of the alley. "I'm not going to your diner," his voice was ice. "And I'll stay away from Savannah." Callum, possessing zero survival instincts, sneered. "You better keep your word!

Savannah's cried to me about you like, a dozen times!" I snapped at him. "Shut your mouth!" Callum's face turned the same shade as his loud pink hair.

He aggressively pointed a finger at Cassian in warning, but the second I shot him another death glare, he dropped his hand and slumped his shoulders.

I softened my tone when I turned back to Cassian. "Sorry. My brother is incredibly dense and buys whatever anyone sells him.

Look, your shirt is torn." "Come with me to the diner, and I'll buy you a new set of clothes as an apology.

If you refuse, I'll take it as you not forgiving him." "And if that's the case, I'll make Callum march into your homeroom and publicly apologize to you every single day." Cassian went dead silent.

His jaw ticked, clearly conflicted. Well, I thought, looks like buddying up to the future Wall Street shark is a bust. Callum wasn't having it.

He glared furiously at Cassian. "My sister invited you to our diner! Who gave you the right to hesitate?" "Why are you silent? Agree to it right now!

I swear, if you dare reject my sister, I'll—" I shot Callum a look, instantly cutting off his spellcasting. "Ahem!" Little bro, we're trying to build a bridge with the future boss, not dig our own graves.

The clenched fist Callum had raised instantly morphed into a painfully awkward pat on Cassian's shoulder. "I—I'll show up in your homeroom and apologize to you every day!" Cassian, probably utterly exhausted by our circus act, actually agreed to follow us.

The glowing comments started rolling again. [LOL, is the sister trying to play savior for the male lead now? Hilarious! Does she even know he grew up in foster care?

No parents, busting his ass at minimum wage jobs just to pay his tuition.] [Getting into a toptier college is his only ticket out of the gutter.

If the sister hadn't interfered, the second male lead would have shattered the male lead's fingers, making him miss his SATs entirely!

That's basically attempted murder!] [Plus, only the female lead gets to save the male lead! The sister is just a throwaway NPC!

Hurry up and die already!] I sucked in a sharp breath. Thank god I got there in time. Otherwise, two lives would have been completely destroyed.

I didn't care if this was a book or some glitch in the matrix. As long as I was breathing, no one was going to push Callum down a villain's path.

And as for Cassian… The gears in my head started turning. If I was really destined to die, it was a hell of a lot better to have Cassian as a friend than a sworn enemy.

Chapter 5 The second we stepped into the diner, my two employees swarmed us, ready to start their shift. "Paid vacation for a week, starting right now," I said, a smirk playing on my lips. "Go relax.

I'll see you in seven days." They practically hit the ceiling. "Kendall, you're a literal saint! We're out!" As I watched them bolt for the door, my smile vanished.

I turned to Callum, my gaze sharpening. "Weren't you the one begging for a job?

Go scrub every dish in the kitchen." "If a ticket comes in, the chef handles it." My place was a local staple—open all day, every day. I'd hired Harvey to run the grill.

We did breakfast at dawn, burgers and pasta for the lunch rush, and a full BBQ pit at night. Business was booming because I kept the portions massive and the prices fair.

I had the capital to expand, easily. But looking at Callum, I realized that wealth meant nothing if he wasn't around to enjoy it.

If he turned into the monster those comments predicted, all my money would just be a bullseye on his back.

Callum grumbled, pulling on a clean apron before dragging his two lackeys into the back. I peeked through the service window.

They hadn't even touched a sponge yet. "Hey, Harvey!" one lackey shouted. "Two orders of spicy wings, extra ranch." "And a loaded poutine," the other added. "Double bacon cheeseburger for me," Callum chimed in.

Harvey reached for the burner, but I cut him off. "Harvey, hold it." "If they want food, they order through the app.

I only want to see tickets for paid orders." Paid orders meant they had to use their own cash. "Cal, I'm starving," the first lackey whined, his stomach letting out a pathetic growl. "Me too, man," the other muttered.

Callum ground his teeth. "Relax. It's on me." I did the math on Callum's remaining allowance. At this rate, he'd be flat broke in fortyeight hours. I turned to Cassian. "Let's go.

I'm buying you some new threads." Cassian's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. "Okay," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the sizzle of the grill. I paused.

Those floating comments had mentioned he grew up in foster care. He was probably running on an empty stomach. I turned back to the kitchen window. "Harvey! Change of plans.

Get him the Tomahawk steak set. I want the extrathick truffle mashed potatoes and double the cheese." I left out the spices. I didn't want to overwhelm his system.

Harvey gave me a thumbsup and fired up the highheat sear. Callum let out a roar of protest from the dish pit. "Sis! That's blatant favoritism!

I'm your actual flesh and blood!" "The 'flesh and blood' package only includes manual labor and reality checks," I called back. Callum's shoulders slumped, his ego deflated.

One of his lackeys patted him on the back in silent, hungry sympathy. When the massive steak arrived, glistening with herb butter, Cassian stared at it like it was a mirage.

His face flushed a deep crimson. "I… I can't accept this…" "This is an apology," I said, my voice firm. "Saying 'sorry' is easy.

A real apology has weight." "You wouldn't want to stop a sister from fixing her brother's mess, would you?" Cassian went quiet.

He lowered his head and started eating, his movements slow and deliberate. He didn't touch the hot sauce on the table. Note to self: the future billionaire has a mild palate.

Once he finished every last bite, I barked toward the kitchen. "Waiter! Table four needs clearing!" "I knew it!" Callum groaned, shuffling out with a tub for the dishes.

I laughed and led Cassian out the door. We pulled up to a luxury men's wear boutique I usually only looked at from the street.

I signaled the attendant the moment we walked in. "Get him fitted.

I want to see your best bespoke suits." When he finally emerged from the dressing room, the air caught in my lungs. Cleaned up and draped in highend wool, Cassian looked dangerous.

The suit hugged his lean, athletic frame in all the right places. He wasn't just a kid from the streets anymore—he was a headturner. "These two.

Wrap them up," I said, handing over my card. "Kendall… this is insane," Cassian said, stepping into my space. "If this is for the apology, just the shirt is more than enough." I didn't move an inch. "The person giving the apology decides when the debt is paid.

You're the one who got wronged.

Your only job is to sit back and accept it." Chapter 6 "I hear you're pretty sharp in class," I said, catching Cassian's eye as we stepped out of the boutique.

The floating text immediately started roasting me. [Is the sister seriously trying to hit on the male lead? LOL, he only has eyes for Savannah.

Stop wasting your time, honey.] I couldn't explain logic to ghosts obsessed with high school romance. This wasn't flirting. It was a calculated investment.

To me, Cassian wasn't just a guy—he was a bluechip stock, a future bargaining chip I was securing early. Cassian's eyes sparked. "I do okay." [I'm literally crying.

Cassian, you are way too humble! Number one in the entire grade, number one in the state! You're going to conquer the world!] My breath hitched.

Seeing my stunned silence, Cassian added, "Actually, I'm at the top of my class." I leaned in slightly. "I have a favor to ask…" By the time I got back to the diner, Callum and his two lackeys were slumped over the counter, practically dead to the world