Chapter 1

He deceived her ninety-eight times, yet her love remained unwavering.

It wasn't until the ninety-ninth time she fell into his trap that she realized this wasn't a test of love, but the final chapter of his revenge.

But this time, the story wasn't over, because she was the one who got to decide how the game ended.

*****

"Sophia, Ethan got hurt while climbing. You need to bring the medicine over right now," someone called out.

Hearing the anxious voice on the other end of the line, Sophia Lloyd's heart skipped a beat.

"Okay, I'll be there right away," she replied.

She hung up, didn't even bother to change out of her slippers, grabbed the first-aid kit, and rushed out the door.

It was a dark and windy night on Shadow Ridge. Sophia got out of her car and was about to run toward the location Ethan Grant's childhood friend had sent her when, out of nowhere, the ground gave way beneath her.

"Ah," Sophia screamed.

She crashed hard into a hidden pit, jagged rocks scraping her skin. A stabbing pain shot through her stomach, so fierce she almost passed out.

At the bottom of the damp, pitch-black pit, Sophia lay flat on her back, her face completely drained of color.

"Hurts," Sophia muttered, barely conscious.

"Please. Someone helped my child," Sophia gasped, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Just as she was about to lose consciousness, a few teasing and laughing voices drifted down from above the pit.

"She fell in? Bet she's knocked out," one of them joked.

"Sophia's such a fool. She always falls for Ethan's schemes," another voice laughed.

"Yeah, Ethan's been playing this game for almost three years just to avenge Chloe Foster, and Sophia still has no idea," a third voice chimed in.

Sophia's blood ran cold.

Her lips trembled, but her throat felt stuffed with cotton. She couldn't make a single sound.

"Honestly, she brought this on herself. If she hadn't been so cruel to Chloe before, Ethan wouldn't have done this to her," one of them snickered.

"Let me think. How many times has it been already?" another voice laughed.

"Remember the first time? Ethan claimed he was sick in Jelaston, and Sophia actually drove six hours overnight just to see him.

"And the second time, Ethan said he lost his favorite watch, and Sophia just dove right into the pool to look for it. Never mind that she couldn't even swim.

"Oh, and the one I remember best. Ethan claimed he'd been in a car accident and needed Sophia to give him blood. She showed up at the hospital to donate, even though she was burning up with a fever.

"This time is even more ridiculous. As soon as word got out that Ethan was hurt climbing, she drove over in under twenty minutes," another voice snickered.

"Seriously, this has to be the ninety-seventh time he's tricked her into coming. Does she ever stop to wonder how all this crazy stuff keeps happening to him?" someone scoffed.

Another round of mocking laughter echoed from above.

"It's all because she just had to mess with Chloe. Not only did she steal Chloe's graduation thesis, but she also shoved her down the stairs and ruined her foot for good. Chloe can never dance again.

"Chloe's like Ethan's everything. None of us would ever mess with her. Isn't Sophia just digging her own grave?" one of them sneered.

"Too bad, though. Ethan's gonna cut her loose in a few days, and then we won't get to watch him play the fool with her anymore," another voice laughed.

Sophia felt like she'd been dropped into a bottomless pit of ice, frozen to the core.

Her eyes widened and shook, as if some invisible hand was mercilessly twisting her heart. She hurt so much, and tears just started streaming down her face.

So, it turns out that everything was fake.

All that tenderness, all that care, all that love Ethan had shown her. It was all just a web of lies he'd spun.

All because he wanted to get revenge for the girl he always loved.

But she was innocent in all of this.

Three years ago, in her old life, she was gravely injured and slipped into a coma.

While she was unconscious, a robotic voice kept repeating in her ear.

It told her that if she completed ninety-nine tasks involving Ethan, she could get her life back.

Longing for a second chance, Sophia agreed.

When she finally woke up, she was suddenly a senior at Pelshaw University, just months away from graduation.

Ethan was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, handsome, rich, and top of his class. He always had girls flocking around him.

To complete those ninety-nine tasks, Sophia lost her dignity just like the rest, orbiting around him.

No matter how crazy Ethan's requests were, Sophia would do whatever it took to make them happen.

Then one day, Ethan started showing her special attention. Once Sophia sensed he was finally noticing her, she couldn't help but fall for him, bit by bit.

She even started thinking, even if she finished all ninety-nine tasks, she didn't want to go back to her old world anymore.

She wanted to stay here, to build a life with Ethan.

But she never could've guessed that all those sweet moments were just part of a revenge plot he'd been planning for years.

Turns out, the only reason he ever paid attention to her was to get back at her for Chloe.

So, it turns out that all the incidents he had been involved in over the past year were part of his carefully laid plans.

He never loved her, not even for a second.

He spun one lie after another, all just to get back at her for taking Chloe's thesis.

For three whole years, she'd been played for a fool.

She thought she was finally needed, but it turned out, it was all fake.

Tears blurred her vision as they kept falling. The pain in her body didn't even come close to what she felt inside.

She felt something warm pooling beneath her.

Sophia clawed at the dirt, her fingers digging in as regret wrapped around her, tight and merciless, like vines that wouldn't let go.

So, Ethan was really throwing her.

But this game could only be ended by her.