When the Plot Breaks

I woke up in a trashy romance novel on the day of my divorce.
Just as I was about to sign the papers, a series of glowing text boxes floated in front of my eyes:
【HIGH-STAKES DRAMA AHEAD! GET READY FOR THE GROVELING ARC!】
【LMAO, I can’t wait to see this scumbag refuse to sign, then break down and beg the female lead for forgiveness! Make him suffer!】
【He won’t sign. This is the moment he’s supposed to wake up and realize his one true love was framed by the other woman, right?】
I glanced at the comments, smirked, and signed the divorce papers without a moment’s hesitation.
I’m not the actual main character. Why the hell would I want to grovel my way through a redemption arc?

1
I’d been transmigrated. Dropped right into the body of Damien Blackwood, the male lead of a cliché-ridden, melodramatic novel called The CEO’s Captive Heart. You know the type: cold, cruel, pathologically blind to the truth, and destined for a long, painful journey of groveling to win back the woman he’d wronged. A classic scumbag CEO.
And right now, I was at City Hall, finalizing my divorce.
The woman sitting next to me was beautiful, but her face was as pale as parchment.
That was Evelyn, my wife—for the next five minutes, anyway.
According to the novel, we’d been married for three years, during which I, as Damien, had been a textbook monster. I’d neglected her, humiliated her, accused her of cheating, and even caused her to have a miscarriage.
Pure, unadulterated trash.
But of course, underneath it all, I was supposedly madly in love with her. My cruelty was just a product of being manipulated by a two-faced schemer—my supposed “one true love” from the past—and provoked by Evelyn’s own suspiciously close male best friend.
The plot was simple: the hero acts like a villain, the heroine suffers, the hero has a sudden epiphany, and then the groveling begins. A long, drawn-out redemption arc.
The original Damien ends up with a broken leg, bankrupt, and nearly dead.
And the best part? Evelyn still doesn't forgive him. He goes through hell for nothing. It’s a tragedy.
As I was mulling this over, those colorful, translucent text boxes started popping up again, obscuring my view.
【HERE IT COMES! THE GROVELING IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!】
【Wake up, Damien, you idiot! Look at everything Evelyn has sacrificed for you! If you sign those papers, it’s all over!】
【I’ll bet you fifty bucks he’s about to rip up the agreement and yell ‘I DON’T AGREE!’ It’s a classic!】
Live-chat comments?
I got it. They were the audience, watching from another dimension. They were here for the show, waiting to see me suffer, to watch me crawl back on my hands and knees.
I almost laughed out loud.
A groveling redemption arc? What’s that got to do with me?
I wasn’t the real Damien.
Why should I suffer for some fictional idiot’s mistakes? A broken leg? Bankruptcy? Begging for forgiveness?
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Isn’t freedom better?
A powerful, primal survival instinct kicked in. I had to get out of this story. Now.
The clerk slid the divorce agreement in front of me and pointed to the signature line.
Evelyn didn’t look at me. Her gaze was fixed on the tabletop, her eyes empty. She was already signing her copy, her pen moving quickly, forcefully, as if she were escaping a prison.
The pen was right there. I picked it up.
The comments were scrolling by in a frenzy.
【His expression is so cold. Is he really going to sign? No way!】
【He’s faking! He has to be! The explosion is coming any second now!】
【Getting my screen recorder ready for the iconic scene!】
I ignored the noise and brought the pen to the paper.
The tip glided across the smooth surface.
Damien Blackwood.
My signature was clean and decisive. Not a single tremor in my hand.
I put the pen down and pushed the document back to the clerk.
“Done,” I said, my voice surprisingly light.
The hall was silent except for the low hum of the air conditioning. The clerk looked stunned, glancing from the papers to me, then to Evelyn. He probably hadn’t seen many divorces go this smoothly, especially from a CEO with a reputation for being obsessively in love with his wife.
Evelyn had finished signing too. She finally looked up, her vacant eyes meeting mine. The emptiness was gone, replaced by something else.
Shock. Utter disbelief.

2
The comments section imploded.
【!!!!!!!!!!】
【WTF???? HE SIGNED???? HE ACTUALLY SIGNED???】
【This isn’t in the script, director! Where’s the part where he rips up the papers?! Where’s the dramatic epiphany?!】
【AAAAAHHHH WHERE’S MY GROVELING ARC?! THIS ISN’T WHAT I PAID FOR! REFUND!】
The clerk, recovering quickly, processed the paperwork. A few minutes later, two crimson booklets were handed to us. The divorce certificates.
It was done. I was emotionally, and now legally, a free man.
I stood up and stretched. Evelyn was still sitting, staring at the certificate in her hand as if it were a branding iron.
I didn’t spare her another glance. I turned and walked away.
My steps were long and quick, eager to leave this place behind.
The comments went berserk.
【He just left??? He really just left??? Didn’t even look back!】
【My redemption arc! My groveling! Did the writer just give up?!】
【DAMIEN! YOU GET BACK HERE! GET ON YOUR KNEES!】
【Wait a second… does he seem a little too… relieved?】
Stepping out of City Hall, I was hit by the bright sun. The air felt cleaner out here. The driver pulled the black luxury sedan to the curb. I got in, sinking into the plush leather seat. It was comfortable.
“Back to the office, Mr. Blackwood?” the driver asked.
“Yes.”
I leaned back and closed my eyes. A dull ache was still throbbing in my head, but the weight in my chest was gone. I felt light. Lighter than I had in a long time.
The car pulled into traffic, leaving City Hall behind.
My phone vibrated. I pulled it out. The screen lit up with a name: “Vivian.”
The other woman. The manipulative schemer who framed Evelyn and caused the miscarriage. The catalyst for the entire groveling arc.
The comments instantly perked up.
【Here we go! It’s the other woman!】
【She’s definitely calling to ‘comfort’ him! Damien’s gonna go cry on her shoulder now!】
【Let the trashy couple rot together! Leave our Evelyn alone!】
Just seeing the name made me feel sick.
I declined the call, then dragged the contact into my block list. The world instantly felt 50% cleaner.
Another explosion in the comments.
【??? He hung up???】
【AND BLOCKED HER?? HOLY CRAP???】
【What the hell is this plot twist?!】
【This isn’t how the story goes! Damien, snap out of it!】
【Wait… does he know? Does he know Vivian framed Evelyn?】
【So what if he knows! It’s too late! Scumbag!】
The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Sir, that was Miss Sterling.”

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