The "Perfect Hero" Is Just a Gold Digger

When my drivers son brought an unknown girl home and told me to take care of her, a stream of comments flashed before my eyes:

YES! The male and female leads are both reborn and theyve met early! This time, they wont be held back by society for years!

This sweet romance would be so much better without the evil supporting female character messing things up.

The evil rich girl uses her fathers position as a General to bully the male lead. Shes never once been nice to him.

That evil girl thinks her family is the only reason the male lead got ahead. She wants him to worship her without any dignity. But honestly, without her, he could have become a powerful and untouchable figure all on his own.

The drivers son looked at me, the polite deference he usually showed me completely gone. In its place was an arrogant disdain, a greedy glint in his eyes like a predator.

I was curious to see how a reborn duoan adopted orphan and a mysterious abandoned girlplanned to rise through the ranks and become untouchable tycoons in this day and age.

Nicholas sat on my living room sofa, opening a can of lychees for Amber and pouring them into my personal white porcelain bowl.

He saw me staring at Amber and defensively shifted his body to block my view. Beatrice, this is Amber, my girlfriend. From now on, youll be taking care of her personally.

She has delicate skin, so her bedding needs to be the finest European linen. Shes not used to small rooms, so shell be staying in yours. You can move out.

He brazenly unwrapped a bar of exclusive, military-grade Swiss chocolate, handed it to Amber, and then shot me a look of disgust. Beatrice, Ill still be by your side, but I will never love you.

If you continue to support my rise to power with everything you have, I might just let you live.

Amber leaned against Nicholas, as pliant as a vine. The shoes on her feet were the thick, woolen slippers my father had brought back from a trip to Europe especially for me.

The comments before my eyes exploded with excitement:

Whoa, so dominant! He puts the rich girl in her place right from the start. Now THATS a real sweet romance.

This double-reborn setup is awesome! The evil girl wont get the chance to use her familys power to force the ML to marry her or to ruin the FLs reputation in a nightclub this time.

In the last life, the evil girl forced the ML to study abroad in England for four years just to break them up. It was so tragic.

Thank god when he returned, he found a powerful benefactor, destroyed the evil girls family, and framed them for treason so they could never recover.

Reading those words, a vein throbbed in my temple.

Nicholas sat up straighter, his posture infused with the confidence and nobility of his past lifes power. Mrs. Gable, peel me one of those heirloom pears. The ones freshly picked from the valley orchard.

The comments scrolled wildly, and I finally understood.

I was living in a historical romance novel. And the evil, spoiled rich girl in the comments? That was me.

According to the plot, Nicholas brings the homeless and destitute Amber back to my house for me to care for. They grow closer, and feelings blossom between them. I, unwilling to let my childhood friend be stolen away by Amber, begin a campaign of coercion and control. I use my familys wealth and power to elevate him, hoping hell be indebted to me. I even use my connections to send him abroad to study, severing his ties with Amber.

When Nicholas returns, he marries me, becoming the model husband in everyones eyes. But in his heart, he never stops yearning for the one who got away. Meanwhile, Amber, without Nicholass help, is forced to work in a nightclub to survive, losing her innocence in the process.

Later, after finding a benefactor and gaining immense power, Nicholas sets Amber up in a life of luxury, spending every moment doting on her. He blames me for all the hardships she endured. He then conspires with outsiders to frame my family for treason, turning us into prisoners under investigation. By the time our names are cleared, my parents have died from the stress, and I am poisoned and killed by the two of them.

They take my familys fortune, flaunt their wealth, and travel the world. During a trip to the coast, they both drownand are reborn.

When they open their eyes, they are back on this very day, the day Nicholas first brought Amber to my home.

My expression was cold. It was almost funny.

An orphan adopted by my driver and a girl with no history to her name were going to turn my world upside down? The plot was utterly absurd.

Nicholas, still believing he was the powerful son-in-law of the Wallace family, saw that our housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, hadn't moved. He snapped at me, Whats wrong with your family? Even your maids are this clueless?

In response to his contempt, I slapped him across the face.

Who the hell do you think you are, shouting in my house?

Amber shot me a venomous glare before turning to caress Nicholass face, her voice dripping with concern. I never knew Miss Wallace was so spoiled and unreasonable. In that case, shes certainly not qualified to take care of me.

She linked her arm through Nicholass, leaning into him like a delicate bird. Dont lower yourself to her level by getting angry over a maid. We can just fire her and hire another. As for Miss Wallace, if shes going to be so difficult, we should just kick her out.

She spoke as if she were the lady of the house. I had to laugh. What makes you think youre worthy of my care, let alone living in my house? Youre delusional.

Mrs. Gable is my fathers official aide, a salaried government employee under military jurisdiction, not some maid you can order around as you please.

Mrs. Gable, please dispose of anything these two vagrants have touched.

Before I could finish, Nicholas tilted his head back, his tone dripping with arrogance. Beatrice, you severely lack discipline. Im going to have to teach you a lesson on your fathers behalf!

The comments were a flurry of surprise:

Wait, why does the evil girl suddenly have a brain? Isnt she supposed to willingly take care of the heroine and be a stepping stone for the hero, completely subservient to him?

Did the plot change? And why is the hero acting so high and mighty? Hes just the drivers son living off their charity.

Heh. Shes just trying to get the heros attention. Pathetic little tricks.

Nicholas still looked utterly confident. If youre going to be so undisciplined, then get out of this house!

I couldn't help but laugh. Was Nicholas completely delusional? Kicking me out of my own home? It seemed he was still stuck in his past-life role as the cherished son-in-law. By what right did he think he could tell me to get out?

I picked up the receiver of the rotary phone and dialed the guards at the gate. We have two troublemakers in the house. Please come and remove them.

Nicholas and Amber looked at me as if Id just told the funniest joke. Remove us? Well see who gets removed when the General gets home! You or me!

He was utterly certain. In our last life, the General supported my rise to power with everything he had because he recognized my talent and ability. For me, hell definitely kick you out!

In the last life, with my fathers support, Nicholas had climbed the ladder of power step by step. My fathers favor meant that even the household staff and guards deferred to him. This had fed his ambition, but for him to act so high and mighty now? He must have lost his mind.

When my father arrived home and took off his uniform jacket, Nicholas immediately swarmed him, acting as if my father would undoubtedly take his side. General Wallace, youve raised a real piece of work for a daughter. Shes trying to kick me out! All I asked was for her to look after a helpless orphan like Amber, and the heartless girl slapped me.

My father was a traditional man who valued family harmony above all else. In our past life, whenever there was a conflict, he often urged me to be the one to back down.

But now, my father just looked at Nicholas with a mixture of bewilderment and annoyance. Without even looking up, he spoke to the guards. From now on, I dont want just any stray wandering into this house. Especially not the ones who arent right in the head. What if Beatrice gets hurt?

Nicholas couldnt believe what he was hearing. The General, who had always valued him, was being so callous. He composed himself and issued a command, his tone leaving no room for argument. You should be kicking Beatrice out of this house. Only then will I fully support you and become your right-hand man!

My father actually laughed, as if he couldnt believe his ears. Sacrifice my own daughter for you? Im a General. What makes you think I need a greenhorn whos never seen a battlefield to be my right-hand man? Dont be ridiculous.

The only reason I ever let you come over was to keep Beatrice from getting bored.

Nicholas was stunned by my fathers attitude. No, thats not how its supposed to be! Youre supposed to admire me, to groom me to take your place! Im meant to be your most prized subordinate, your favorite son-in-law!

My father just smiled and waved his hand, signaling the guards to drag him out. I must have been too approachable. To think hed dare to have designs on my Beatrice. How despicable.

A few quiet days passed before we got a call from The Grand Continental Hotel. Someone claiming to be General Wallaces son was racking up a massive bill on our familys account. The comments went wild again:

So cool, treating the heroine to a feast of delicacies. Is this the privilege of the upper class?

After the hero gets the last tin of imported Russian caviar, hes going to meet his benefactor. That caviar is his ticket to success. Its only a matter of time before he crushes the evil girls family and uses them as a stepping stone.

But wait, why is he acting like such a mooch, putting it all on the evil girls tab? Thats so scummy.