Hollow at Heart

I was the hated side character in a story about a beloved heroine.
After my mission failed, all I wanted was to die. I just wanted to go back to my own world.
But when they realized I had truly lost the will to live, the very people who had once tormented me came back, one by one, begging me to stay.
They begged me not to die, not to leave them.
But I was already done with them.

1
My mission to save the devoted second male lead had failed. I was supposed to change his fate, to stop him from taking his own life over the heroine's unrequited love.
Instead, he walked out of our engagement party for a single phone call from her.
After the crowd dispersed, I went alone to the rooftop terrace of Vaughn Tower.
I kept confirming with the System in my head: As long as this body is destroyed, I can go home, right?
After getting a definitive "yes," I started moving, shuffling toward the railing.
I’d only taken two steps when a sneer cut through the air behind me.
I turned. Another familiar face.
Leo Sterling, my adoptive brother, though not by blood.
I found him in an alley when he was seven and took him home. We were inseparable until he was fourteen, when his wealthy biological parents found him and took him back.
The next time we met, he was just another one of the heroine Sera Roswell’s fanatical admirers. The years I’d spent working three jobs to put him through school were only enough for a moment of excitement at our reunion. After that, when he discovered I was just as the rumors described—a venomous woman jealous of Sera—he treated me with nothing but scorn and suspicion.
Tonight, at my engagement party to Joey Vaughn, the news that Sera had been kidnapped was enough to empty the hall. My fiancé was the first to leave. Before he left, he’d grabbed my wrist, his eyes dark with menace.
"This had better not be you," he warned, then turned and left without a backward glance.
This was the one-hundredth time.
Since I’d been dropped into this novel, this was the one-hundredth time he had abandoned me for Sera.
And so, the System declared my mission a failure.
A devoted second male lead is devoted for a reason. This so-called "rescue" was nothing more than the hubris of a mission-runner and her System.
A bitter smile twisted my lips. When I looked at Leo, the old warmth was gone.
"I don't know why you're still here, but you'd be wise to stay out of my business," I said. "Any slower, and you'll miss your chance to play the hero for your precious goddess."
After all, the so-called kidnapping was just a drama staged by Sera and her family. The goal was simple: to ruin my wedding to Joey. Once everyone had arrived to "rescue" her, Sera would make her grand reappearance.

2
Leo flinched, probably because I’d never spoken to him with such ice in my voice. He opened his mouth to say something, but I had already turned my back on him.
My mission was a failure. There was no reason for me to stay in this world.
The only silver lining was that the System had witnessed my tireless efforts and granted me an exemption from punishment. As long as I exited this world within the given time limit, I could avoid being completely erased.
But the body I’d left behind in my own world was already dying from a terminal illness.
I remembered my mother's eyes just before I was transported here—eyes full of a gentle, heartbreaking sorrow.
I bit my lip and quickened my pace toward the railing.
"Faye, what are you doing?" Leo's voice, once dismissive, was now laced with urgency as he saw me getting closer to the edge.
He was right behind me. "What kind of trick are you pulling now? You know this whole 'I'm going to die' act doesn't work on Joey. Besides, after all the terrible things you've done, even if you died right here, right now, you'd never compare to Sera. You—"
His voice died in his throat. From his perspective, he saw me vault over the railing without a flicker of hesitation and leap into the glittering city below.
The world rushed up to meet me, the roaring wind scraping painfully against my ears. But it couldn't extinguish the soaring, joyful feeling in my heart.
I was going home. Back to my parents' arms, back to the love of my friends. I would leave all the years of suffering and injustice behind me.
Almost there. Just a little further.
I closed my eyes.
The next second, the sensation of falling was brutally cut short.
A hand clamped around my arm, and the searing pain of muscles being pulled taut yanked me back to reality.
I opened my eyes. Leo was clinging to the railing with one hand, his other locked around my arm in a death grip.
"Let go," I said, my voice eerily calm.
Leo's jaw was clenched. I couldn't tell if it was from the strain or something else, but his eyes were bloodshot, shimmering with unshed tears.
"Faye, you win this time," he choked out. "You put on a convincing act, but it won't change anything. Joey, he—"
"Let go!" I screamed, unwilling to hear that name again. I started to thrash wildly.
To catch me, Leo had already leaned halfway over the edge. My struggling made his grip on the railing precarious. We were both teetering on the brink of death.
"Stop moving!" he roared. "We're really going to fall!"
When he saw I was ignoring him, a desperate breath hitched in his chest, and his tone softened.
"I can't just let you die. If you keep this up, I'll fall with you. Do you really want me to die with you… Faye?"
He used my old name, his voice intimate, almost pleading, just like when he lived with me, when we only had each other.
Back then, I saw Leo as the only family I had in the world. I spoiled him rotten, and he, in turn, developed a habit of getting his way by being sweet to me.
Now, I looked up into his eyes, once as bright as stars.
He was watching me, a flicker of… hope hidden beneath his feigned composure.
Was he waiting for me to respond? The thought almost made me laugh at my own sentimentality.
And I did laugh. I looked straight into his eyes and spoke, each word a shard of ice.
"Who cares if you die?"
The color drained from his face. He stared at me, dumbfounded, as if he couldn't process what I’d said. His grip on my hand began to slacken.
For a moment, hope surged in my chest again.

3
His fingers were about to slip away completely when a gasp echoed from nearby, followed by a chorus of shouts for help.
Leo snapped back to reality and tightened his grip, his eyes wide with a strange mix of fear and confusion as he looked at the hand that had almost let me go.
Once we were both pulled back to safety, his usual combative demeanor was gone. He was unusually silent.
When I tried to make another break for the railing, Leo pushed through the crowd. In front of everyone, he grabbed my wrist, his grip like iron.
"We still don't know what happened to Sera," he declared, his voice tight, his eyes turning red despite his efforts. "As the prime suspect, it's my duty to watch you."
He noticed me looking and turned away petulantly. For a fleeting moment, I saw something on his face that looked like… sorrow.
Sorrow for what? I scoffed internally.
When Leo, the sole heir to the Sterling fortune, had been kidnapped and abandoned by his parents' business rivals, he had ended up wandering the slums. He was bullied by other kids, chased by stray dogs. Finally, with nowhere else to go, he hid in a dumpster at the end of an alley.
It was the middle of July. The air was thick with flies and the stench of rot. He huddled there, a small, forgotten thing, sharing his refuge with rats and roaches, simply waiting to decay. His only act of defiance was to call out to me as I walked past the alley on my way home from school.
I pulled him out of that dumpster, cleaned him up, and altered my late father's old clothes to fit him. I was only twelve myself, sharing the small stipend I received as an orphan with him.
I was a transmigrator, but at that point, I hadn't yet remembered my mission. I had no special abilities, no cheats. To make sure Leo could go to school and have enough to eat, I collected empty bottles after class and washed dishes in a small restaurant every weekend.
Child labor laws meant I was paid far less than anyone else. I had to wash countless plates just to earn a few cents. How many dishes would it take to wash away our bleak future? I didn't know. I just numbly picked up plate after plate, rinsing and scrubbing. The sweltering heat of the restaurant's back kitchen, the whirring of a small fan, and the perpetual layer of grease became the indelible memories of my childhood.
I once asked Leo why he had chosen me, out of all the people who passed that alley. He was just a little boy then, but he looked up at me with a wide grin. He said he had watched for a long time and chosen me specifically. He trusted that I was the only one who was truly kind.
This was the same Leo who, after being taken back by his family at fourteen, disappeared without a word. The same Leo who once claimed to believe in my kindness, but when faced with the inevitable conflicts between me and the heroine, hesitated only briefly before firmly taking her side. He would stand with them, condemning me, his voice ringing with disappointment and contempt.
And now, thanks to his insistence on "watching over me" for Sera, I couldn't find a single opportunity to end my life.
After witnessing me try to jump twice without a moment's hesitation, Leo finally understood. This wasn't for attention. I genuinely wanted to die.
His attitude toward me softened considerably. On the way back, he even tried to counsel me with surprising patience.
"You've done a lot of wrong things," he said, "but Sera isn't a petty person. If you just apologize to her sincerely, everyone can go back to how things were."
I had no interest in his words, keeping my eyes closed for most of the ride. I only perked up when he mentioned Joey.
Seeing this, a self-deprecating smile touched Leo's lips, but I couldn't be bothered with his feelings. All I could think about was Joey. The man who loved Sera so completely. Surely, if I provoked him enough using Sera's name, he might just kill me for her.

4
Joey was, after all, my mission target.
As the novel's broody, devoted second male lead, he had a prestigious background, immense wealth, and a deeply unhappy childhood. Sera was the only ray of light, the only salvation in his youth. Even after he grew into a business titan who could shake markets at will, his devotion to her never wavered. In the end, after paving the way for the main couple's happy ending, he chose to end his own life by leaping into the sea alone.
My mission began in my sophomore year of high school, right after Sera transferred and I awakened as a mission-runner. By then, Joey had already fallen for her at first sight, captivated by the image of her sheltering a stray kitten from the rain.
But his love was a quiet, profound thing. He would even accept another woman he didn't love, just to make Sera happy.
That woman was me.
At the time, Sera mistakenly believed I was involved with the main male lead, Ethan Cross, and she was heartbroken. No matter how Joey tried to comfort her, nothing worked.
So, in the end, Joey chose to pursue me. He would keep me, her rival, under his watchful eye.
The laughable thing is, I thought my persistent efforts had finally moved him. I even happily told the System that with enough sincerity, you could melt even an iceberg.
An iceberg can indeed be melted. Just not for me.

5
Joey returned while Leo was guarding me in the living room.
He was watching me so intently that I couldn't do anything. Bored, I started playing a game on my handheld console.
Just then, the maids' voices echoed from the foyer, welcoming Joey home.
The next second, the console was slapped from my hands.
Joey's sharply handsome face was suddenly right in front of mine. A suffocating pressure closed around my throat. My mind went numb, my vision blurring until all I could see were his bloodshot eyes.
"Where did you hide her?" he snarled. "Where is Sera?"
So, they couldn't find her. I couldn't help but smirk. As expected of the heroine. She sets the stage but doesn't make her entrance easily. Got to keep the audience in suspense.
My smile must have provoked him, because his grip tightened.
Yes, just like that. Strangle me. Not only will I get to go home, but you, you scumbag, will get to rot in a jail cell.
I cheered him on silently.
The next moment, a roar erupted beside me. Leo charged forward, throwing a punch straight at Joey's face.
Joey sidestepped, and the pressure on my neck released. I fell into a warm embrace. It was Leo.
He steadied me, then pushed me behind him. For the first time ever, he looked at Joey—the man he'd admired since childhood, the older brother of a family friend—with pure rage.
"Joey, you almost killed her!"
Joey, who had been staring at his own hands in a daze, looked up. When his eyes swept over me standing silently behind Leo, they turned cold again.
"Leo, Faye is my fiancée," he said. "What happens between us is none of your business."
He started to move past Leo, issuing a command directly to me. "Come here."
I didn't move. But Leo, having reached his breaking point, shielded me more fiercely. "She's your fiancée, and this is how you treat her? Who gave you the right to treat her like this?!"
"She had Sera kidnapped! We still don't know if Sera is alive or dead!" Joey was finally provoked, a vein throbbing on his pale neck. "Leo, remember when you first came to the Sterling family? Who was it that helped you adjust, that brought you back into our circle so you wouldn't be an outcast? Sera was so good to you. Don't be ungrateful."
Leo fell silent. When it came to Sera, he always yielded.
But this time, after a long pause, he spoke.
"Do you have proof?"
"What?"
"I said, do you have proof?" Leo's voice rose with agitation. "From the very beginning, there has been no evidence that Faye did this! Why does everyone automatically blame her?"
Hearing this, I couldn't help but glance up at him. So he did know about needing proof. Then why was he always so self-righteous when he accused me on Sera's behalf without a shred of it?
"Hasn't she done enough to Sera already?" Joey's voice was hoarse with anger. "For years, she's framed her, stolen from her—everyone has seen it! And every time, Sera was the one who graciously forgave her. Isn't that enough?"
...
Leo was silent. Standing behind him, listening to their argument, I wanted to laugh out loud. Of course, Sera had to forgive me. Without me, who would highlight her magnanimity and kindness?
Just as my patience wore thin and I was about to yawn and say something to provoke Joey into finally killing me, Leo spoke.
"I believe her."
"What?" This time, it was my turn to be incredulous.
"I believe Faye. I believe she's innocent," Leo repeated, his voice ringing with conviction.
Across from us, Joey's gaze turned dark and stormy.
"Don't you dare believe me," I said from behind Leo, a humorless smile on my face. "You've been so sure I was the bad guy all this time. What's one more time?"
With that, I tried to step around Leo and walk away.
But he grabbed my wrist, holding me fast. He didn't look at me, keeping his eyes fixed on Joey. "Under what circumstances would a person choose to prove their innocence with death?"
"Leo, don't let her fool you," Joey warned coldly.
But Leo ignored him, continuing his own train of thought. "I've been thinking about it all afternoon. If someone is so wronged that they're no longer afraid of death, that they'd use it to prove a point, it can only mean one thing…"
He paused, swallowing the bitterness in his voice before continuing. "It can only mean that before this, she has been misunderstood by everyone, time and time again, with no way to defend herself. This is the only way she has left. Joey, right after you abandoned her, she jumped off the roof right in front of me. She truly doesn't want to live anymore."
Brilliant. I finally understood what Leo had been thinking all afternoon as he stared at me. That genuine smile on my face as I jumped, born from the pure joy of finally going home, must have looked to him like a苦笑—a bitter, relieved smile of someone finding release.
I saw Joey's knuckles tremble beneath his cuff, a flash of pain in his deep eyes. I was about to interrupt their little psychoanalysis session when Leo grabbed me and started pulling me toward the front door.
"They don't believe you, but I do this time," he said urgently. "Faye, come with me."
"No," I said, yanking my arm free.
Under Leo's astonished gaze, I gave him a cold smirk.
"Don't play the hero, Leo. I don't believe you for a second."
After all, with him around, I'd never get another chance to go home. The currently enraged Joey was a much better target. With the right provocation, I might just achieve the perfect ending: I go home, he goes to jail.

6
I expected my repeated rejections to make Leo angry, to make him revert to his usual passive-aggressive digs.
But he did none of that. He just looked at me, his eyes slowly filling with tears.
"I won't let anything happen to you," he finally said, then turned and left.
I turned back to the silent Joey.
"You two seem close," he said, his expression still cold, but a storm was brewing in his eyes.
"We're alright. I raised him, after all." This was the first time I had ever revealed my connection to Leo. The shameful past of his time lost in the slums had been well-hidden by the Sterling family. No one knew how he had survived, or with whom.
The next second, the world spun.
Joey slammed me down onto the sofa, his hands once again finding my neck. Unlike before, his touch was light, almost gentle, the position disturbingly intimate.
I stared at him, our eyes locked in a silent standoff.
After a long moment, he seemed to relent. With a soft sigh, he released me. His thumb traced the bruises he’d left on my skin, and when he spoke, his voice held a hint of affection. "Let's stop fighting."
"Tell me where Sera is now. Please?"
For a second, I saw something like deep emotion in his eyes, the same look he’d had not long ago when he knelt before me with a ring.
"No matter what happened in the past," he'd said then, "if you behave from now on, if you stop causing trouble, we can be happy together forever."
But by then, I already knew he was only with me for Sera's sake. My heart was already dead to him. Still, for the mission, I had suppressed my humiliation and accepted the ring he offered me for another woman. The moment it was on my finger, a wave of relief washed over Joey's face. He even kissed me passionately for the cheering crowd, though moments later he was called away with the excuse that Sera had been in a car accident.
Now, looking at his face again, I slowly smiled.
Joey's eyes lit up, a flicker of hope in his voice. "Faye, be good. I can overlook what happened this time. As long as you don't hurt Sera again, we can be happy together."
"In your dreams."
My voice cut him off.
"Telling you where Sera is, or living happily ever after with you—both are fantasies," I said. "If you have the guts, kill me."
"Don't think I won't," his voice turned to ice.
"Go on. If you can't kill me, you're nothing." My taunt was out. But soon after, exhaustion overwhelmed me. The world went black, and I passed out.
While I was unconscious, the System reminded me that time was running out. I needed to leave this world soon.
As I started to wake, my head was heavy and clouded. A warm hand stroked my face, and occasionally, a soft, warm kiss would brush against my skin. It must be a hallucination, I thought. In the seven years I’d tried to win him over, the five I’d spent as his girlfriend, the number of times he’d kissed me could be counted on one hand.
But the hallucination felt more and more real. I could even hear his deep, helpless voice in my ear. "Faye, what am I supposed to do with you?"
I couldn't take it anymore. I opened my eyes and met Joey's gaze, catching an emotion he couldn't hide in time. I was stunned. He was always so calm and controlled around me. I had never seen him look like this—a tangled mess of pity, loathing, restraint, and regret. He looked like a complete stranger.
But the strangeness lasted only for a second. His expression hardened, becoming resolute once more.
"Tell me where Sera is," he said, his voice a low, seductive murmur. But in his hands, he was casually toying with a syringe. Seeing my eyes fix on it, he helpfully explained, "Something that only circulates in high society. A single milliliter is worth millions. It can kill a person in three minutes of agony, and the coroner will only find evidence of a heart attack."
I smiled. Joey thought I'd finally caved. A look of relief flickered in his eyes, quickly replaced by shock.
Because I grabbed his hand—the one holding the syringe—and plunged the needle into my own neck.

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