She exhaled shakily, turning back to her laptop. The comments section of her latest chapter was still open, filled with eager pleas from her readers:
“When will they finally realize they’re meant for each other?”
“Please don’t let the hero leave. The heroine needs him!”
“If you give them a sad ending, I’ll cry for a week!”
Maddie’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. They wanted a happy ending, but her life wasn’t a novel. Sometimes, the hero didn’t choose the heroine.
Sometimes, he walked away.
***
Maddie stared at her phone, her hand trembling as she scrolled through the venomous comments flooding the screen.
"Does anyone else think Maddie looks a bit like Jane? She has a tear mole under her right eye, too!"
"Seriously? Tear moles aren’t rare. If every girl with one looked like Jane, the world would be overrun with wannabe rivals."
"Let’s pressure Rico to get rid of her! Someone like Maddie doesn’t deserve to stay around him."
"If she doesn’t leave, let’s protest outside their neighborhood. She won’t dare step out!"
The cruel words made Maddie’s chest tighten. Her gaze shifted to the group photo from the orphanage sitting on her desk. Only two people could have leaked it: Rico or Jane.