Thought It Was ‘The End’, Only to Return to a Changed Genre

In the original novel, I was the villainess—but I dodged all the death flags, faked my demise, and escaped.
I even saved the poor child who was doomed to die, sacrificed myself so the protagonists could live smoothly,
and hid away, waiting quietly for my own happy ending.

Finally, I heard the news of the original protagonists’ marriage and felt a brief surge of joy.
But that joy vanished the moment I received news of my mother’s death and returned to my hometown…

My childhood friend—and former fiancé in the original story—spoke.

“If you thought you’d be fooled by a mere death notice, you should’ve realized sooner.”

The man, whom I thought had married someone else, looked at me with wild eyes and laughed.

Why… why are you like this? You weren’t supposed to be this way.

“Nowhere to run.”