My Scumbag Exes

"Are you okay?"

Raina Vaughn propped her chin on her hand, her eyes fixed on the stone-faced guy across from her. It felt like watching a play, and a pretty terrible one at that. He was handsome, sure, but the words coming out of his mouth were completely insane.

"Raina, let's just end this on good terms," he said, his voice flat. "Stop pulling these little suicide stunts. I'm not coming back."

*What the hell?*

She was an A-list celebrity. Guys were lined up from here to Paris for a chance with her. Why on earth would she chase after some random guy, let alone stage a suicide attempt?

This had to be a prank. Her friends, celebrating her Grand Slam win last night, must have hired an actor to mess with her.

"Stop," Raina said, finally cutting him off. She'd had enough. "Great performance. For a second there, I really thought I'd run into some delusional jerk. Are you a new actor with our company?"

"What performance?" The man's expression soured. "Raina, stop playing dumb. I'm only saying this once: we are broken up. Whether I go after Clairey on 'Heartbeat Countdown' has nothing to do with you. If you keep harassing her, I'll have the company tear up your contract."

This time, Raina was genuinely floored.

So this wasn't an act? This guy wasn't some prankster her friends had hired?

She took a hard look at him, then at the unfamiliar room around her, and a cold dread started to creep in. There were no hidden cameras, no signs of a surprise party waiting in the wings.

The pieces started to click, the mention of a show called 'Heartbeat Countdown' and someone named 'Clairey.' Raina suddenly had a very, very bad feeling.

"Hold on a second," she said, her expression dead serious. "Let's start over. Let's begin with your name. What's your name again?"

The guy who'd just delivered a whole breakup monologue was suddenly speechless. He gave her a strange look but, after a moment, answered, "Preston Sterling."

Oh, boy.

Preston Sterling.

Wasn't that the name of the overbearing CEO from that cliche 'everyone-loves-the-heroine' romance novel she'd just finished reading?

So, she'd been transported into a book? And into the body of the awful side character who just happened to share her name?

Raina fought the urge to swear as the plot of the novel, *The Star's Shadow*, came rushing back to her.

The heroine, Claire Sommers, was an unassuming girl who went viral overnight thanks to some innocent-looking graduation photos. The president of a major entertainment company, Preston Sterling, fell for her at first sight and signed her immediately. To win her over, he arranged for them both to star on 'Heartbeat Countdown,' a live-streamed dating show his company was funding.

On the show, Claire's warm, harmless personality and natural charm won her a massive fanbase, and every single male contestant fell for her. After the show, she went on to charm several other big shots in the industry. With their backing, she effortlessly climbed the ladder to Best Actress, even snagging an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement at a ridiculously young age. The second half of the book was just a mess of jealousy, powerful men fighting over her, and enough steamy scenes to make it a guilty pleasure. In the end, Claire chose the devoted CEO, Preston Sterling, as her main guy, but she kept the others on the side. It was the ultimate power fantasy.

As for the original owner of the body Raina was now in... she was just the first stepping stone on Claire's path to fame.

The original Raina had been the most popular girl in their high school and, ironically, Claire's best friend. Claire had always been secretly jealous of her stunning looks, but she didn't know that the original Raina was just as wary of her. It was a pattern: any guy who got to know them both, even if he liked Raina first, would inevitably fall for Claire.

After it happened enough times, the original Raina sensed something was off and started to keep her distance. Later, her beauty got her discovered, and she began a secret relationship with her boss, Preston Sterling.

That's right. When Preston fell for Claire's photo, he was still dating the girl whose life she'd just stolen.

Just when the original Raina thought she was finally free of Claire's shadow, she found out Claire had been signed to her boyfriend's company and was getting way too close to him. Fueled by years of resentment, she snapped and started going after Claire, trying to push her out of the company and away from Preston.

Unfortunately, she didn't just fail; she was publicly humiliated again and again. Her reputation tanked, and Preston used it as an excuse to break up with her. That's when she completely panicked. Finding out he was going on 'Heartbeat Countdown,' she got herself cast on the show too, hoping to win him back and salvage her career.

But during the first live episode, seeing both her high school first love and her current boyfriend fawning over Claire, she lost it on camera. She mocked Claire, and the internet immediately turned on her. Over the next nine episodes, another male contestant, obsessed with Claire, deliberately got close to the original Raina, tricking her into looking foolish and selfish on camera until her public image was utterly destroyed. At the same time, a flood of scandals was mysteriously leaked: bad acting, being a diva, sleeping her way to the top, plastic surgery, you name it.

True or not, the dirt stuck. She became public enemy number one, and even her few remaining fans abandoned her. If it had ended there, she might have recovered. But Claire's powerful admirers wouldn't let their "goddess" be bullied. With just a few moves, they bankrupted the original Raina and buried her in debt, pushing her to the brink.

Raina vividly remembered the book's description of her character's end:

"While Claire Sommers was at an awards ceremony, basking in the spotlight, Raina was dragged into a dark alley by debt collectors. Her beautiful face was twisted with despair. During the struggle, she hit her head on a stone and never woke up. To her last breath, she never understood what she did wrong."

Raina was speechless. Frankly, she didn't know what the poor girl had done wrong, either.

In her past life, she'd been a good person, a great actress who always paid her taxes and was known as a total workaholic. Besides her brother, she'd never even held another guy's hand. Ahem.

Why did she have to get dropped into a trashy novel?

Raina's face was a mixture of misery and fury.

"Raina, are you even listening to me?" Preston asked, his patience clearly gone.

"Oh, right. Sorry, Preston," Raina said, a wry smile playing on her lips. "Don't you worry. The Raina who used to chase you is dead. You're looking at Dark Raina now."

She had zero feelings for these book characters. She wasn't about to lose her mind and go after the heroine like the original Raina did.

*So, I can still save myself, right?* she thought. *I think so.*

Preston was speechless again. A vein throbbed in his temple. He shot her a warning look, then turned to leave, his face grim. After a few steps, he seemed to remember something, stopping to place an object on the table in front of her.

"This is the apartment key you gave me. I'm giving it back." He glanced at her, his expression complicated for a split second. He had liked her once, after all. Even though meeting Clairey was what made him understand true love, he still felt a flicker of sadness about ending things this way. But then an image of Claire's pure, innocent face popped into his head, and that tiny bit of sympathy vanished.

"Shoot," Raina muttered, slapping her forehead as she watched him hurry out. She forgot to ask her new ex-boyfriend what episode they were on.

The book said the show only had ten episodes. After it ended, she'd be the one getting dragged into that dark alley.

Her face now serious, Raina grabbed the phone from the table to check online and figure out how far along the show was. But the second she opened the social media app, the phone lagged to a halt. After freezing for what felt like three minutes, her screen exploded with over ninety-nine notifications for comments and private messages.

Good God. They were all hate comments.

**RainaQuitsToday:** You're an embarrassment to women. Can you stop throwing yourself at men for five seconds? Anyone with eyes can see Preston likes Claire. Oh wait, you don't have any, lol.

**ClaireysAngel:** Raina, please get a life and stop dragging our sweet Clairey down.

**ClaireysNumberOneFan:** We're only ONE episode in, and Raina is already bullying Claire like this. I'm so mad I'm literally shaking. Raina, I hope you're gone by this time next year! Die, die, die, you plastic surgery freak!

Raina tsked. So only one episode had aired. That meant a lot of the really bad stuff hadn't happened yet.

But that last comment... so young, and so full of rage.

She patiently typed back a reply:> Hey, sweetie, don't be so mad. You'll make yourself sick. I'm happy to be on the show, just pretend I'm not there. Don't let it get to you. Peace and love.

**BillionaireHater:** Keep it up, Treasure Raina. We'll always be right behind you, ready to stab you in the back.> Thanks for the support! I'm so blessed to have you.

**NoPantsLife:** I've done a lot of bad things in my life. Having to see Raina on my screen probably makes us even.> You're just saying that because you're mad. I don't believe you.

The anti-fans were watching her every move. Soon after she started replying, a new comment shot to the top of the thread:"It's over, everyone. Raina has officially lost her mind!"