Chapter 1

Seven years into living in the world of a romance novel with my best friend, we both failed to win over our husbands. Now, the system wanted to erase us and send us back to reality.

My blind best friend stood on the rooftop with a bright smile on her face. "Carly, I'm going home."

With that, she jumped from the top of the building.

Hot blood splattered across her husband's face, the same man who had just been accusing her of threatening to kill herself. His eyes went blank with shock.

As for me, I turned to look at my own husband. He was gently holding his true love in his arms, letting her bury her face in his chest, too afraid that the bloody scene might scare her.

I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and forced a smile.

"Darling, I'm going home, too," I said.

As a terminal cancer patient, I lay on the operating table.

My husband was the one holding the scalpel, panic and despair written all over his face. "Carly, how could it be you?"

What would push him to the edge was that the system would erase me during surgery, as we agreed.

It was my final farewell.

I was going to leave the one who betrayed me with no peace forever.

*****

My best friend, Sophie Quinn, and I were both pulled into the world of a romance novel together, on a mission to save the unlucky supporting male characters.

I helped Matthew, the Reed family's forsaken eldest heir, rise to become a legendary surgeon whom everyone looked up to.

Sophie helped Justin, the Reed family's schizophrenic youngest heir, who barely survived his stepmom's abuse, turn into a ruthless king of the business world that everyone bowed to.

We spent seven years grinding away, and finally our rescue meter hit 99%. Just one last push, and we could cash in, stay in this world, and spend the rest of our lives with the people we loved most.

But about half a month ago, out of nowhere, Kadence Janssen, their long-lost first love, came back from abroad.

Justin was ecstatic. He filled the whole city with ads welcoming her, even turning every bus stop into a shrine for Kadence.

Matthew was just as overjoyed. He blew off my birthday party and raced straight to Kadence's welcome party, throwing a fireworks show just for her, with her name blazing across the night sky.

The whole city was consumed with envy.

It blew up the trending charts, and in a single night, our hard-earned progress was wiped back to zero.

Seven years of waiting and efforts turned out to be a bit of a joke.

Sophie was hurt, angry, and anxious. Her eyes were red as she tracked down Justin to give him a piece of her mind.

I had no choice but to follow her.

*****

When we arrived at the office, Sophie saw Justin crouching on the floor, rubbing Kadence's feet with his eyes full of heartfelt concern. For a moment, Sophie could only stare blankly.

"I've warned you so many times that high heels kill your feet. Seriously, you never learn, do you?" Justin said.

Kadence shot him a teasing grin. "That's what you're here for, right? My feet end up hurting, and you're always there to pamper me."

The ever-proud Justin just sighed affectionately. "You know I'm powerless against you."

Matthew, ever the gentle and dedicated type, quietly stepped up with some ointment in hand.

"Rubbing it won't really help. Let me put some ointment on. You'll feel better in no time," he offered softly.

In just a moment, Kadence's eyes sparkled with delight.

"Wow, it really doesn't hurt anymore. Matthew, you're incredible! Can I keep some of this magic stuff?" she gushed.

Matthew looked hesitant for a second, but then he just smiled and nodded.

He said, "Of course. I'll give you whatever you want."

My eyes lingered on that bottle, and memories flashed in my mind.

I had gotten that bottle of medicine especially for Matthew.

Back then, Matthew was still cut off from the Reed family, suffering a lot and always getting cornered by street punks. When he was covered in wounds, even with medication, he'd lie awake for endless nights, unable to shake off the pain.

The sight tore me up inside. I pleaded with the system for a special kind of super-medicine that could erase pain the instant it touched his skin. The system agreed if I managed to finish a hundred crazy, random missions first.

So I went chopping wood on the mountain, my shoulders battered and skin peeling for a whole week. In the freezing winter, I even waded through icy rivers to gather weeds, my hands numb and broken from frostbite. I pushed through a hundred tasks and finally earned that magic ointment for him.

It was just a tiny bottle after all that suffering, but finally, it worked wonders. His wounds healed, and the pain faded away.

Under the glow of the lamp, Matthew held my battered hands, his eyes wet with tears and his voice thick with emotion. "Carly, I swear I'll never let you down."

But in the end, he just casually handed the thing I'd poured my heart into to Kadence.

It was funny that someone's true feelings could change in a heartbeat.

With our mission in shambles, the system presented us with two choices: either hit restart and try again from the beginning, or lose all our rewards, get erased, and be sent back to the real world.

Sophie gave a mocking laugh.

"What's the point? I'm not wasting another second trying to save Justin. Just send me back," she sneered.

How could Sophie not be completely worn out?

Justin's stepmom was downright vicious. To drag him out of that hellhole, Sophie put her life on the line. She blew the whistle, fought off everyone who tried to stop her, and nearly got burned alive in her own home.

If I hadn't arrived right at the last second, she probably wouldn't have made it.

But even though she was saved, Sophie, who was always obsessed with looking perfect, ended up with ugly scars all down her left arm.

Even now, she still couldn't find the courage to bare her arm in public.

The system wanted my decision.

Through the doorway, I stared at Matthew, the man I'd loved endlessly all these years.

Right now, he was fastening that sparkling bracelet on Kadence's wrist, the one girl he'd longed for since he was young but could never have.

The bracelet was the Reed family's sacred heirloom, only passed down to the official wife.

I'd been married to Matthew for three years, hoping each year he'd finally let me wear it, but every time he insisted I would get it once we had a child.

I truly believed him.

But now, that dream was shattered right before my eyes.

Finally, I managed to pull myself out of the emotional quagmire he'd trapped me in.

My hand drifted to my stomach as I gave myself a bitter, mocking laugh. Three people in a marriage were always too crowded.

It was time for me to go back to the real world.