[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-born-into-villain-s-family-i-have-a-200-rebate-s":3,"chapter-born-into-villain-s-family-i-have-a-200-rebate-s-born-into-villain-s-family-i-have-a-200-rebate-s-chapter-540":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Born Into Villain's Family: I Have a 200\\% Rebate System",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1491925,1939,"Chapter 540: Nightmare","born-into-villain-s-family-i-have-a-200-rebate-s-chapter-540",540,"\u003Cp>It was not longing. It was humanity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what Eleanor had done, he could not ignore the image of blood staining her skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’If she truly did this because of me...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’If she falls into the abyss because I refused to forgive her... I will never forgive myself either.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time the car arrived at the location, Theodore’s pulse was still racing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The so-called grand mansion stood before him, but it was not the extravagant palace its name suggested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a private villa, modest and quiet, with only two floors and pale walls illuminated by dim outdoor lights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The place was strangely peaceful, almost deceptively so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he stepped out of the car, a strange familiarity washed over him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’I’ve... been here before?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought unsettled him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had not become a well-known actor, if he had remained a struggling artist, he could imagine himself living somewhere like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt oddly aligned with a version of himself that never existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He brushed the thought aside and hurried inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The interior was neat and minimal, the silence heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a brief second, Theodore stood in the center of the living room, staring around as if chasing a forgotten memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then reality struck him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eleanor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rushed toward the room she had indicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he pushed the door open, it was empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eleanor!\" he called out, his voice echoing faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A door creaked open behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stepped out of the bathroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theodore turned instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he saw her standing there unharmed, color returned to her face, no blood visible except the faint red mark that now looked more like a shallow scratch than a life-threatening wound, something inside him snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He strode toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you okay?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could say more, Eleanor wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m fine,\" she murmured softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I sent that picture because I missed you. Do you know how much I’ve suffered these past few days while you ignored me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice trembled, but there was no real weakness in her grip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theodore felt fury surge through him like wildfire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had imagined her lying unconscious, bleeding, dying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And here she was, perfectly fine, manipulating him with a staged injury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To say he was furious would have been an understatement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he did not draw a clear line today, she would continue escalating these stunts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gently but firmly removed her arms from his neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he looked at her, his eyes were cold in a way she had never seen before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is the last time,\" he said, his voice low and deadly calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you come within ten meters of me again, or try to threaten me in any form, I will not hesitate to send you directly to a mental asylum.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no warmth left in him. No patience. No lingering affection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eleanor stood frozen as he turned and walked away without looking back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stared at his retreating figure for a long time, something hollow flickering in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the door shut, she inhaled slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is the memory loading complete?\" she asked quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A calm mechanical voice responded within her mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[It is complete. Theodore will most likely experience the novel’s true ending tonight.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed, her expression dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...............................\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, after finishing his shooting schedule, Theodore returned home exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sleep claimed him quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then the dream began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dream, he saw another version of himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had not become a superstar in this life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He struggled for years before gaining only modest fame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By eighteen, he was slightly well-known, but nowhere near wealthy enough to own mansions or command millions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, he earned enough to rent a villa for a hundred thousand dollars a month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without hesitation, he moved into it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The villa looked exactly like the one he had visited earlier that day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same modest elegance. The same quiet atmosphere. He watched himself living there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Eleanor appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was younger, softer, like a fragile light piercing through his darker days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw her struggling, mistreated by those around her. He felt pity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt heartache. He invited her to stay with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched her smile shyly, watched her beauty brighten the empty villa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, he found ways to win her heart. At first, she only laughed gently at his efforts, but over time she began to rely on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet something dark crept into his own heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not simple possessiveness born from obsession. It was fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dream, he could see shadows around Eleanor, assassination attempts, hidden dangers, people watching her from afar. He sensed threats closing in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To protect her, he confined her. He placed her under house arrest within the villa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the plan backfired. Eleanor cried. She begged him to let her leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in tears, her beauty was devastating. Watching her cry tore at his heart, yet he repeated over and over,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The world outside is dangerous. I’m protecting you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not listen. Eventually, she found someone else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dream, Theodore watched as Eleanor laughed with another man, went out for drinks, watched movies, lived freely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jealousy twisted inside him like a blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice echoed relentlessly in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’She should be mine.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He followed her everywhere, watching from the shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw her happiness. He saw himself unraveling. He cried alone in the villa. He watched her walk away from him completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He fell to his knees and begged God for a second chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Let her come back. Let her love me again. I’ll do anything.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The desperation in that dream version of himself was so intense that even sleeping Theodore felt suffocated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just before waking, he heard his own voice whisper through the darkness,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If only I could start over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched helplessly as life slowly drained from his own body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dream, he could feel the weakness spreading through his limbs, cold and irreversible, as though every breath required unbearable effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mateo stood there like an executioner, mercilessly crushing everything Theodore had tried to hold onto.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched as Mateo destroyed him completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched as Eleanor looked down at him, her gaze colder than winter frost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I never thought you would fall to such a level,\" she said, her voice filled with disdain. \"Such a low level.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theodore shook his head desperately, trying to explain, trying to reach for her, trying to tell her that everything he did had been for her sake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no sound seemed to matter. No explanation reached her. No one listened. And then everything faded into darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.................................\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theodore’s eyes snapped open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tears had already gathered at the corners of his eyes before he even realized he was awake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wiped them instinctively, but more followed, blurring his vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was not crying only for the ending he had just witnessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was another ending. One that hurt far more. In that vision, Aurora had long been gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had died at the tender age of eighteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theodore felt his chest tighten violently at the memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After everything he had experienced with her in this life, the laughter, the arguments, the quiet understanding between siblings, the idea that there existed a world where she never lived beyond eighteen years was unbearable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’I... wouldn’t have wanted to live either.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The realization left him shaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then came another wave of emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Disgust. At himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To think he had once been so obsessed with Eleanor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’I was a complete fool.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why had he chased someone like her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first she showed him warmth, kindness, a place to belong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the moment he became accustomed to that warmth, she withdrew it, leaving him grasping at emptiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like feeding a starving dog only to snatch the food away just as it learned to trust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cruel. Meaningless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to all of that, the person who truly mattered had always been Aurora.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without another thought, Theodore got out of bed and rushed down the hallway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed to see her. He needed proof that she was alive. He knocked on her door hurriedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door opened a moment later, revealing Aurora rubbing her sleepy eyes, clearly just awakened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before she could even speak, Theodore pulled her into a tight embrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora froze in surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she heard his soft voice near her ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good morning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was something unusually vulnerable in his tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora frowned slightly, then poked his leg with her foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s wrong with you? Did you have a nightmare?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theodore shook his head, then realized she could not see the gesture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" he said quietly. \"It wasn’t a nightmare. It was a reality I refused to see before.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora blinked, now fully awake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’A reality where I kept giving Eleanor chances,’ he thought. ’And she kept breaking them. Even if I gave her more chances now, she would only waste them again. So it’s better to stop.’\u003C\u002Fp>",1517,"2026-06-06T04:03:49.636Z",1,"novelbin.me","62ccd9c239b5cfc632c98970d9209c956169381d8d1e83f1cca380c4f2feef10","born-into-villain-s-family-i-have-a-200-rebate-s-chapter-541","born-into-villain-s-family-i-have-a-200-rebate-s-chapter-539",614,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fborn-into-villain-s-family-i-have-a-200-rebate-s-cover.jpg"]