Part 1Intercepting the Wrong Brother

I spent two years desperately trying to win over Julian—only for him to mistakenly believe I was bullying his precious childhood sweetheart.

He smiled as he crushed his cigarette out on the palm of my hand.

Later, while I was on my period, he pushed me into the freezing swimming pool, holding my head underwater so I couldn't breathe.

Finally, the System allowed me to change my target.

I stopped paying any attention to Julian.

But then, like a rabid dog, he cornered me, his eyes bloodshot, desperately trying to kiss me.

Only to be grabbed by his collar and yanked away by another man a second later.

The man smiled lazily.

"Julian, are you really trying to steal your older brother's girlfriend?"

That's right. My new target was Julian's older brother.

The actual mastermind behind the Sterling family empire.

* * *

Amidst the roaring laughter of the crowd, I struggled to push myself up on the edge of the pool, trying to climb out.

But the moment my upper body broke the surface, the mocking cheers grew louder.

I instinctively looked up. The boys standing at the edge of the pool dragged their eyes down my face, staring pointedly at my chest.

The summer uniform fabric was thin and semi-transparent when wet...

I realized what was happening immediately.

But before I could move, a hand reached out, grabbed the back of my head, and forcefully shoved me back underwater.

"Get the hell out of here, all of you!"

Julian’s hand was still holding me down; his yell was directed at the crowd.

When I finally broke the surface again, only Julian was left standing by the pool.

"Cough! Cough!"

I choked up a few mouthfuls of chlorinated water.

Julian stood there, hands shoved deep into his pockets, looking down at me like I was trash.

A cold, sinister smirk hung on his lips.

"Are you disgusting or what?"

The moment my hands grabbed the edge of the pool again, he kicked them away.

He crouched down, gripping my chin tightly and forcing me to look at him.

"Everyone knows I like Maya, yet you still follow me around every single day."

His smile widened, turning cruel as he dragged out his words.

"How cheap are you, Chloe?"

"Do you really like me that much?"

I stayed silent, unsure of how to answer.

If this were any other day, I would have just said "Yes" to keep pushing the mission forward.

But today, the freezing water combined with my terrible period cramps made the pain so agonizing I couldn't even make a sound.

Seeing that I wasn't answering, the smile slowly faded from Julian's face. He threw my chin away in disgust.

After giving me one last long, dark look, he turned and walked away.

I finally managed to drag myself out of the pool.

I took two steps before my heavy, freezing body gave out, and I collapsed into unconsciousness.