Fiona Parker never truly believed in fortune-telling, but the elders in her family were obsessed with it. They’d always find someone to read her birth chart, trying to predict everything—from how long she'd live to who she’d end up with. Thanks to that, she’d known from a young age one thing for sure: she was gonna have a whole lot of luck in love… and that one day, love would be the thing that wrecked her.

From sixteen to twenty-six, Fiona was never without some passionate romance—intense, dramatic, unforgettable. Each one could’ve been made into its own love story. But it was the last relationship that really did her in. Her boyfriend, aiming for the most unforgettable proposal ever, took her on a trip to the Arctic. And somehow, it all went horribly wrong. Before they even got to the hospital, she was gone.

But whether it was fate playing tricks or her life just wasn’t meant to be over, her soul ended up in the body of another woman—same name, same face.

She pieced things together pretty quick and realized she’d landed inside a novel. Funny enough, before all this, she’d been on vacation, bored out of her mind, and binge-read that exact story her bestie kept talking about. The book was a school romance—nothing groundbreaking. The heroine was this shy, sweet transfer student; the guy was the classic cold-blooded campus heartthrob. After a bunch of misunderstandings, the two ended up together in this cute fairytale ending that went from school uniforms all the way to wedding gowns.

As someone who’d been around the dating block more times than she could count, Fiona hadn’t been all that into the fluffy teen romance genre. Still, the book wasn’t long—just around 100k words with the extras. She’d skimmed it fast, not thinking too much of it. But now? Now she was actually inside that book.

Apparently, even fate thought it’d be too weird for a seasoned twenty-something to start over as a high schooler, so no—she wasn’t the heroine. Wasn’t the popular queen bee side character either. Nope, she’d been cast as... the male lead’s stepmother.

The novel actually spent a bit of time talking about the leads’ families. Ethan Carter's dad—Lucas Carter—was a self-made man. He’d started a business before even finishing college and managed to have his company go public within a decade. Every year he climbed higher on the rich list, your textbook overachieving CEO. But his marriage hadn’t survived the ride. He and Ethan’s mom had divorced when Ethan was ten. From then on, Ethan grew up in a single-parent home, with plenty of money but not much love. Not shockingly, his relationship with his dad wasn’t great.

When Ethan turned sixteen, Lucas got remarried. And surprise, surprise... readers were actually relieved to see that Lucas wasn’t the typical scumbag dad who turns his back on his kid for a new wife. The stepmom? Basically invisible throughout the entire story. Hardly showed up more than a few times—pretty much a living prop.

Fiona couldn’t help but feel cheated. She’d literally been dropped into a plot hole. If she'd landed in someone else's role, at least she’d know the character’s fate. But this stepmom? The author barely mentioned her. She had zero info to go on. The only thing she could tell was that Lucas didn’t seem to be all that into his new wife either.

If Fiona hadn’t already died on the way to that romantic proposal, she’d be screaming to the sky right now: how could someone like her, a romance junkie through and through, get stuck in a storyline that sounded more like a funeral than a fresh start?Thinking back on those fortune tellers warning her to "stay away from men or risk your life," Fiona Parker didn't hesitate to flip the switch into total emotional shutdown. Done with the drama, done with feelings. And now that she wore the title of “married woman,” she honestly couldn’t care less—might as well enjoy the ride.

It had been a week since Fiona landed in this new world, and thanks to some casual snooping, she had already figured out most of the basics.

The place she was living in? A high-end forest villa, top-tier security—seriously, the place could’ve doubled as some secret agent base. Two butlers on call around the clock, a handful of housekeepers, and three official residents: her, the male lead, and the male lead’s dad. The previous version of her character had married the dad just last month. What was weird, though, was how low-key the wedding had been. With the guy being so loaded, you'd expect something extravagant, right? But considering his son Ethan Carter was smack in the middle of his rebellious high school years, maybe the dad just didn't want to trigger him more than necessary.

The day after the wedding, Mr. Carter peaced out for a business trip—classic workaholic move. He hadn't been home since. Not that Fiona minded—in fact, she was thriving. She hadn’t even seen Ethan once the whole week. With his early-out-late-in school routine, and her not-so-urgent response to this twisted reality, their paths never crossed. She slept in, lounged around, basically lived like she owned the place. With both father and son out of the picture, she was living her best life.

Until one phone call ruined that fantasy.

Reality check incoming: being a stepmom wasn't all about chill vibes.

"Ma’am, there’s a situation that needs your attention," said the voice on the phone, cold and mechanical. It was Mr. Carter’s assistant. "The school called this morning—they're asking for the guardian to come in. Mr. Carter's still out of town and won’t make it back today."

Fiona blinked. Oh right… she totally forgot about Ethan’s whole bad boy, terror of the school rep.

She blurted out, "Wouldn’t it be kinda… inappropriate for me to go?"

I mean, come on. She was just the stepmom.

The guy had both a mom and a dad. Who’d expect her to show up?

There was a pause—clearly, the assistant hadn’t anticipated her hesitation.

Let’s face it, being a stepmom was already a tough gig. Being one in a filthy rich household? Even tougher. Fiona hadn’t even been married a full month. Wasn’t this the perfect chance for her to score some brownie points and show how devoted she was to Ethan?

Her pushback threw him off, but he quickly composed himself. "Ms. Collins is currently in Japan. She can’t make it, either."

“...” Fiona did some quick math. Both bio parents out of the game? Guess that meant it was her turn to step up.

"Alright then, I’ll go."

The assistant could hear the reluctance in her tone and nearly let out a sigh.

Clearly, this brand-new lady of the house didn’t even bother pretending she cared.

Still, to his relief, Fiona actually knew where the school was—and what class Ethan was in. At least she wasn’t totally lost. Maybe she just hadn't grasped the whole “stepmom” thing yet. Hard to blame her—she was twenty-seven, and now technically responsible for a sixteen-year-old. Hell, the assistant himself was older than her.

After hanging up, Fiona started getting ready. This would be her debut as a parent at a high school, and honestly? She was kind of curious. Honestly, she wasn’t too stressed about dealing with Ethan either. Sure, the kid had an attitude, but he wasn’t some unreasonable brat. In the original book, Fiona and Ethan pretty much went about their lives without getting in each other’s way. No drama, no yelling matches. Just strangers sharing a house.The villa had both a main building and a guest house. The guest house was for the housekeeper and staff, while the main one had three floors. Her master bedroom was on the third floor, featuring a walk-in closet that could literally blind someone with all the seasonal collections stuffed in there. One entire wall was lined with designer handbags—she could go a whole month without repeating a single one. The bedroom had only her stuff in it. At first, Fiona Parker found it a bit off, but once she heard that Ethan Carter’s dad had flown out on a business trip the day after their wedding, it all made sense. The rush explained why there wasn’t a single trace of him there.

Living under the same roof and likely running into each other all the time, Fiona had zero intention of playing mom here. The boy was sixteen—not six—and no matter her age, in a kid’s eyes, a stepmom is basically an intruder. Plus, he had a real mom already. She didn’t see any need to try too hard. Her plan? Treat him like a roommate. She was sure someone with her dorm room game from college could totally handle being "roommates" with a teenager.

And who knows, maybe his dad might become one of those future roommates too.

She threw on a simple dress that was stylish but not too flashy, did a quick light makeup, and headed out.

Ethan went to some elite private school—top-tier teachers, hardly anyone focused on college entrance exams. This place was aiming for Ivy Leagues and Oxbridge. The students were either geniuses who didn’t need to pay or rich kids whose parents were shelling out money to send them abroad. Ethan clearly belonged to the second group. Fiona knew nothing about private schools like this. Before she landed in this story, the "good schools" in her world were the public ones with crazy high college acceptance rates.

She thought the car would stop at the school gate, but before she could even unbuckle her seatbelt, the driver kept driving straight into the school grounds.

The driver, who usually worked under Lucas Carter and was good at reading people, glanced at Fiona’s surprised face through the rearview mirror and calmly explained, “Last year, Mr. Carter donated three academic buildings to the school.”

Fiona: Got it. Money talks, loud and clear.

With donors like that, of course the school was going to throw them some extra privileges.

But then again... if a rich and well-connected bad boy like Ethan had actually managed to piss off the school badly enough to warrant a parent visit, just what kind of trouble had he stirred up?

Suddenly, Fiona got this sinking feeling.

Why had she dragged herself into this mess?

She totally could’ve dodged this when the assistant asked. It wasn’t like Ethan was her kid, and taking care of his problems definitely wasn’t part of her job description.

Is it too late to back out now?

*

In Class 3 of Year 2, Ethan Carter was kicked back in his seat, napping like he didn’t have a care in the world. Totally unbothered by the fact that his school had actually called home, the kid was chilling like it was just another Tuesday. The scrapes on the back of his hand gave away that he’d gotten into a fight earlier that morning. For teenage boys living in their “edgy phase,” getting called to school only meant one thing: either their parents had lost all authority with them, or they knew no one was coming.

Ethan? He was the second kind.

He knew his mom was having the time of her life in Japan, and his dad was buried in work, halfway across the country.

There wasn’t going to be anyone showing up.

He was used to this.

Then, just as he was resting with his eyes closed, his phone buzzed loudly from his pocket. Annoyed, he pulled it out and checked—the message was from one of his friends.

“Yo, Carter, your guardian showed up!”

He froze, eyebrows tightening in confusion.

“Wait—it’s not your mom… It’s your stepmom!”