Slapping Her Out of Her Delusion

Lauren Joyner, the housekeeper's daughter, has a theatrical personality. She actually sees herself as the resilient, gentle main character in a beloved-by-all novel. Nathaniel Zimmer, the butler, has barely brought Lauren inside the house when she suddenly starts crying at the sight of the lavish interior. Colton Faulkner, my second-oldest brother, is startled. "What's the matter with you?" Lauren forces a pained expression and says, "I-It's nothing. I just couldn't help thinking about people who don't even have enough to eat when I saw how lavishly you all live. If it were up to me, I'd never spend this much money on a house!" She retreats in a panic when Jude Faulkner, my oldest brother, stands up. She watches him warily and yells, "You'd better stay away from me! I'll never fall for a good-for-nothing scion like you! I won't submit, even if you try to take me by force!" I have never seen Jude and Colton make those expressions before, so I struggle to hold back my laughter. Lauren suddenly turns her attention to me, looking at me disdainfully. "I'm not here to compete with you for a man, so you'd better keep those petty tricks to yourself!" She then turns to Nathaniel and orders him to take her to her room. I smile brightly and say, "I'm sure Ms. Joyner won't need the guest room we have prepared for her, since she has a heart of gold and a spine of steel. Give the storage room a quick cleanup and have her stay there instead, Nathaniel." Chapter 1 When she heard she'd be staying in the storage room, Lauren Joyner's eyes instantly welled up with tears. She bit down on her lip and forced a brave front. "I get that you're jealous of me, but my mother saved your mother, Ms. Faulkner. "You all promised my mother that I could stay here! How can you take that back? I came here to study, not to steal your man, Ms. Faulkner." She looked at Jude and Colton Faulkner, my oldest and second-oldest brothers, with bloodshot eyes before continuing, "It's not my fault I'm so beautiful! I'm not interested in playing these petty games with you, Ms. Faulkner! "If you're so worried about them liking me, maybe you should focus on your studies instead of embarrassing yourself with this kind of behavior…" Lauren took a deep breath before continuing, "Such as going after someone innocent like me!" We were all at a loss for words after hearing that. Colton was the first to lose his temper. "Who the hell said we liked you? We don't even know who you are!" Lauren gave Colton a disappointed, disdainful look. "I'd never like a guy who’s too cowardly to own up to his true feelings!" She then glanced at Jude, looking slightly hopeful. Jude furrowed his brow. "You'd better watch what you say, Ms. Joyner! I'd be in trouble if the person I like heard that!" Lauren's expression faltered for a moment before she suddenly looked enlightened. She glanced at me, then turned back to Jude, looking visibly moved. "You can rest assured that she heard everything and gets what you're trying to do! I'll thank you on her behalf!" What crazy story had she made up in her head this time? She paid no attention to Jude's horrified look and headed upstairs with the poise of someone who already owned the place. She had the household staff carry her belongings, then pointed to my room. "I like this one, Nathaniel, so move my stuff in here." Chapter 2 Lauren waited a couple of seconds, but the butler, Nathaniel Zimmer, made no move to open the door for her. She furrowed her brow and turned around, only to see the household staff carrying her belongings into the storage room. She shrieked and ran over. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Nathaniel replied with a smile, "You went to the wrong room just now, Ms. Joyner—that room belongs to Ms. Faulkner. Didn't you say you wanted the storage room? We've already cleaned it up for you." Lauren stared at the dusty storage room, barely keeping a straight face. "When did I ever say I wanted to stay in the storage room?" Nathaniel maintained his smile. "Ms. Faulkner worked this out based on what you said earlier, and we all think her reasoning is perfectly sound." Lauren gritted her teeth and glared at me with bloodshot eyes. "Why are you constantly targeting me? Is it really that hard for you to handle someone prettier and more talented than you?" I couldn't help but laugh out of sheer exasperation. "You were the one who said you couldn't bring yourself to stay in such a lavish place, didn't you? I was worried you'd be overwhelmed with guilt, so after thinking about it, I decided the storage room is perfect for you! Is something the matter?" Lauren's eyes instantly welled up with tears. She looked at me with a wounded, humiliated expression and said, "Mom sent me here for my education! Why do you keep picking on me and humiliating me?" She threw a pitiful glance at Jude as she spoke, but Jude was hopelessly distracted. He was frantically messaging his crush to ask if she'd heard any crazy rumors about him having a crush on someone else going around lately. As such, he completely ignored her. But Lauren never ended up staying in the storage room. Jude eventually stepped in and settled the matter. She was the daughter of Margaret Jagger, our loyal housekeeper and the person who had saved Mom's life, so there was no way he could actually let her stay in the storage room. That night, Jude, Colton, and I spent the whole evening complaining about Lauren in the family group chat. Mom and Dad were slightly taken aback. "That can't be right. Margaret is such a decent, hardworking person. She's the reason your mother wasn't struck by that car. Lauren should take after Margaret, shouldn't she?" Jude merely sent a crying emoji in the family group chat, leaving no further explanation needed. … I got to school early the following day, and my classmates instantly gathered around me to chat about what had happened—after all, words always traveled fast in our social circle. Just then, someone screamed, breaking the silence. Lauren sat on the floor while Rhett Crawford stood over her, covered from head to toe in milk. Rhett was the school's heartthrob and its resident troublemaker. He was in a good mood that day, so he decided to let it go, even after Lauren poured milk all over him for no reason. Just as he turned to walk away, Lauren grabbed his hand and fixed him with a stubborn look. "You bumped into me! You owe me an apology!" Rhett let out an exasperated laugh. "You were the one who rushed in here, ran straight into me, and spilled milk all over me! You actually expect me to apologize to you?" Lauren inexplicably flushed, as if she were embarrassed. She then placed her hands on her hips and barked, "Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you're rich and powerful? I'm not afraid of you! I won't submit to you! "I don't care what kind of power trip you were on before, but now that I'm here, the bullying stops today!" Everyone was speechless at what Lauren said, while I buried my face in my hands in embarrassment. Rhett let out an incredulous laugh, but Lauren was totally clueless about the danger brewing. She actually thought he was laughing because he found her antics endearing. She doubled down on her act, saying, "I bet your grades are terrible! I guess I'll just have to step in and make sure you study properly from now on—" Before she could even finish her sentence, Rhett balled his hand into a fist and swung straight for her face. Just then, I quickly yelled, "Hold it right there!" Rhett immediately stopped what he was doing and flashed me a docile smile. "What's up, Isla?" I stepped in and pulled Lauren behind my back. "Do you have to solve everything with your fist? Go get changed first!" Rhett shot Lauren a cold glare, then turned back to me with a smile. "Got it, Isla!" He then turned on his heel and scampered off. Rhett might seem well-behaved right now, but when we first met in the past, he actually planned to have someone rough me up. He was ultimately tamed by me with nothing but sheer wit and strength. Lauren finally came back to her senses. She felt a lingering sense of fear and confusion before turning a resentful, jealous gaze on me. Chapter 3 Lauren forcefully pushed me away, tears streaming down her face as she yelled, "Why did you make him come after me, Isla? He's clearly into me! Do you have any idea how painful that must've been for him?" Yvonne Osborne, my deskmate, moved in front of me to shield me. "Who the hell is she, Isla? Has she lost her mind?" I took a couple of deep breaths, holding back the urge to hit Lauren, and replied, "Yeah, I think she has lost her mind. Lauren is Margaret's daughter." "Margaret had saved Mom's life, so Mom and Dad said they would grant whatever she asked for. She only asked that Lauren be allowed to study here, since the school had better resources. She wanted Lauren to have a bright future. Today is Lauren's first day of school." Hearing that, Lauren immediately broke down in tears. "You deliberately told everyone about my background on purpose so they'd look down on me, Isla! You even had other people pick on me! Do you really enjoy seeing me suffer like this?" I shrugged helplessly and said, "You're the one who bumped into him and ruined his clothes. He was going to let it go, but you insisted on getting an apology. How on earth is this my fault? You clearly brought it on yourself." Lauren clearly wasn't buying it. "He obviously likes me! He was smiling at me just a moment ago! You must have pressured him into mistreating me! Just because I'm poor doesn't mean you can walk all over me, Isla! I'm never going to give in to people like you! I'm going to rewrite my own future!" She delivered her speech with a flushed face and looked expectantly toward our classmates, only to be met with looks of pure disgust. "Have you lost your mind? You're currently at a school, not a pity party. You're the only one constantly crying about being poor! Who even brought that up in the first place?" Lauren stared at them in disbelief, then pinned the blame on me again. "I came here because I wanted to study in this school, yet you made me stay in the storage room on my very first day! "Jude was the one who took pity on me and let me stay in the guest room! You even told someone to hit me today! Thankfully, that student couldn't bring himself to actually hurt me!" She wore a smug look as she said it, as if she were gloating in front of me. Everyone in the classroom was left speechless. Yvonne asked in confusion, "Didn't you say your brother has a crush on someone? Is it actually her?" Just as I was about to reply to Yvonne, Lauren's face became even more flushed. She bellowed, "What the hell! Has Jude been in love with me this whole time? I had no idea! He even told me we had never met before this. Have you been keeping him away from me this whole time, Isla?" Lauren shot me a resentful glare, as though I had just wrecked her happily ever after. I was honestly getting tired of this. "Can you seriously stop being so full of yourself? You're not the one Jude likes! If you end up ruining things with his actual crush, I won't be able to cover for you. And besides…" I looked at her mockingly and continued, "Didn't you say you were way too good for Jude the second you walked into our place? What's the matter? Having second thoughts now?" Lauren's eyes welled up with tears again. She bit her lower lip and looked at me, as though she'd been deeply humiliated. "Jude has the right to like me! You have no right to stop him! You've been picking on me since yesterday, and today you even made me walk to school! I just wanted to study here, Isla! "You're just jealous that everyone adores me despite my lack of money! How is that my fault, Isla?" With that, Lauren plopped down on the ground and cried hysterically. She cried for quite some time before realizing that no one had come over to help her. She raised her head and found everyone staring at her with puzzled expressions. Chapter 4 Lauren stammered, "W-What's the matter?" Yvonne replied, "We saw you getting out of Isla's car just now." Lauren looked flustered as she scrambled for an excuse. "I-I went and asked the chauffeur to drive me here myself! I'm sure he only gave me a ride because he likes me!" She then turned to me and warned, "You'd better not fire the chauffeur! He only did it because he wanted to help me!" I laughed in disbelief and couldn't even be bothered to explain myself. Yvonne had had enough and snapped, "What are you trying to pull with this whole tough-cookie, underdog routine?" Lauren was caught off guard, but she quickly pinned it all on me, casting me as the "vicious antagonist" in the novel. She genuinely believed everyone adored her and that my intimidation had kept others from being kind to her. Thus, Lauren kept quiet and behaved herself for the rest of the day. Lauren flat-out refused to ride in the same car as me after school, so I just left without another word, leaving her standing there in shock. We were all caught off guard when Lauren finally returned home. Mom and Dad happened to be home too. They hurriedly ordered Nathaniel to get Lauren a change of clothes the moment they saw Lauren soaking wet. They asked, worried, "What happened to you, Lauren?" Lauren's eyes were still bloodshot, and as soon as Mom and Dad spoke to her, she lowered her head and burst into tears. Dad's expression turned grave. "You can tell me the truth, Lauren. Did someone bully you?" Upon hearing that, Lauren looked over at me, then quickly lowered her head, as though she'd been frightened. Jude, Colton, and I were rendered speechless. Dad turned to me and asked, "Do you have any idea what happened, Isla?" I shook my head, looking bewildered. "It's not even raining out there." Lauren cried even harder and dropped to her knees. "I'm grateful you're willing to look after me, but I really should leave. I'm sure Isla doesn't want me around. "She made me sleep in the storage room yesterday, and today she even made the whole class ostracize me. She said that if I ever get better grades than her, she'd have someone break my legs! She was the one who had someone dump water all over me!" I scoffed. "You really think I'd worry about you surpassing me academically?" Lauren remained on her knees. "I'm sorry! I really am! I promise not to get better grades than you, so please don't hit me!" She then turned to Mom and Dad and added, "I think I should leave after all, Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner! I'm seriously too ashamed to face my poor mother right now!" That final line hit Mom and Dad right in their hearts. I couldn't help but swallow nervously as I caught the murderous looks in their gaze. It wasn't long before a burst of shrieking filled the air, and my backside took a beating. I lay in bed, seething with vengeful rage, when Lauren strolled into my room. I kept my eyes locked on her, on high alert. Lauren smiled as she sat down on my bed. "What makes you think you can fight me, Isla? You're nothing but an antagonist in the novel! I'm the main character, the one everyone is destined to favor. Your parents are just the first ones I'll win over. "Your good fortune will gradually become mine, and everything you own will belong to me—including the Faulkner family fortune. Jude, Colton, and all your classmates will be wrapped around my finger. Your fiance is going to be my happily ever after. "You, on the other hand, are going to end up with nothing and die a miserable death!" I gave her a look of pure, exaggerated terror, which instantly brought a smug grin to her face. Lauren froze the moment she turned around, as my entire family and all our classmates were standing in the doorway, staring at her like she'd lost her mind.