How to Survive as a Villain

ALie That Saved My Life

This man was far too perceptive.

Gabriel's parents had passed away when he was young. The only family he truly cared about now was his younger sister, Grace.

Sophia didn't even want to imagine what Gabriel would do if he discovered that she had planned to ruin Ethan's reputation in order to break apart the main couple.

No matter what happened, Gabriel absolutely could not learn about the original owner's true intentions.

Especially anything that could hurt Grace.

Second after second passed.

Gabriel's patience was rapidly wearing thin.

His palm felt burning hot, yet the skin beneath his hand was icy cold.

He shouldn't have been here tonight.

Earlier, one of his subordinates had informed him that Grace had come to the Marriott Hotel.

Grace was someone he had practically raised himself. She was only nineteen years old.

He would never allow anyone to take advantage of her.

Not even Ethan.

When her calls went unanswered, Gabriel had personally rushed over.

What he hadn't expected was to walk straight into a trap.

At first, he had assumed the setup was aimed at him.

Then he found the woman waiting inside the suite. No matter what questions he asked, she only kept muttering Ethan's name and refused to say anything useful.

By then, Gabriel's patience had completely run out.

The effects of the drug were growing stronger by the minute.

The fact that he had managed to remain rational this long was already a miracle.

Earlier, when Sophia had been pulled down the sofa, part of her shirt had come loose from her waistband.

A small section of her pale waist was exposed beneath the dim lighting.

Gabriel's eyes swept over it.

For a brief moment, his gaze darkened.

People often described Sophia the same way.

Beautiful on the outside.

Rotten on the inside.

Gabriel had always dismissed such gossip.

Now, for the first time, he found himself wondering if they had been right.

Sophia was undeniably attractive.

Her eyes were bright and expressive, her features delicate, and her figure slender and graceful.

Gabriel released her ankle.

Then he reached out again.

His eyes carried a dangerous intensity.

Sophia immediately misunderstood.

She thought her silence had finally pushed Gabriel beyond his limit.

Her breathing quickened.

Her long eyelashes trembled uncontrollably.

The moment Gabriel's hand closed around her chin, she blurted out:

"I was wrong!"

"I arranged the drugs!"

The confession echoed through the room.

"I really did plan it for Ethan, but I only did it because I like Grace!"

Gabriel froze.

For the first time that night, genuine surprise appeared in his eyes.

"...What did you just say?"

"I said I like your sister!"

Sophia practically shouted the words.

"I was blinded by love! I wanted Ethan out of the picture so Grace would notice me!"

"It was stupid, and I know that now!"

"I've come to my senses."

"Real love means wanting someone to be happy."

"I don't like her that way anymore."

"As long as she and Ethan are happy, that's enough for me."

"I promise I won't bother either of them again."

The words poured out of her mouth nonstop.

"Ethan, Grace, their future children..."

She rambled nervously, saying whatever came to mind.

Meanwhile, Gabriel's loosened tie slipped from his shoulder and brushed against her face.

It tickled slightly.

But Sophia didn't dare move a muscle to scratch the itch.

The two remained locked in a tense standoff.

Sophia had no idea whether her hastily fabricated explanation had actually fooled Gabriel.

Her breathing was completely uneven.

The more she thought about everything that had happened, the more wronged she felt.

In her previous life, she had been a terminally ill patient who spent five years confined to a hospital bed, swallowing countless pills and enduring endless treatments.

No matter how hard she fought, she had never been able to escape death.

Now she had finally transmigrated into a healthy body.

Before she could even enjoy being alive, she had been told she was destined to die again.

All she wanted was to live.

Why was that so difficult?

The tie draped across her face had become slightly damp.

Gabriel reached over and pulled it away.

Only then did he realize that Sophia was crying.

She bit her lip tightly, refusing to make a sound.

She was already in her twenties.

Crying in front of someone else was humiliating.

Yet the grief and frustration bottled up inside her couldn't be suppressed so easily.

She turned her head away and quietly wiped at her tears.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly.

Gabriel's grip tightened around the tie in his hand until his knuckles turned white.

After a long moment, he took a deep breath.

Then he released her chin and stood up.

"You have five seconds."

His voice was cold.

"Get out."

Sophia's quiet sobbing instantly stopped.

With reddened eyes, she stared at him in disbelief.

For several seconds, she couldn't process what she had heard.

He's letting me go?

Did my ridiculous excuse actually work?

Or is this some kind of trap?

Gabriel tilted his head slightly.

The movement of his throat was sharp and restrained.

"One."

Whether it was a trap or not, Sophia wasn't about to stay and find out.

Before he could count to two, she scrambled off the sofa and headed for the door.

"O-okay!"

She practically fled the room.

---

The next morning, Sophia was still buried beneath her blankets when her phone suddenly rang.

The loud ringtone nearly startled her out of bed.

Dylan's anxious voice came through the speaker the moment she answered.

"Hey, Sophia! Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"Did you see the messages I sent?"

"Something huge happened!"

Still half asleep, Sophia rubbed her sore eyes.

"What happened?"

Dylan sounded frantic.

"My people reported back."

"The plan failed."

"Ethan never showed up at the Marriott last night."

Sophia simply hummed.

She already knew that.

Dylan immediately noticed her lack of reaction.

"Wait, why aren't you surprised at all?"

If you had gone through what I did last night, you wouldn't be surprised either, Sophia thought.

Dylan continued anxiously,

"Ethan must've realized it was a trap and stayed away."

"He probably knows we were behind it too."

"Aren't you worried he'll come after us?"

That statement immediately woke Sophia up.

He was right.