Chapter 1

After ten years of trying to win the heart of Brooke, the story's second male lead, he finally agreed to marry me.

On our wedding day, everything looked perfect at first. Then, out of nowhere, a whole wall of flowers collapsed.

People screamed. In that split second, when things turned dangerous, he let go of my hand. He didn't even hesitate. He rushed straight to Nadia, the female lead, and covered her with his body to shield her.

Something hard hit his forehead, and blood started running down his face. But he didn't care. He just held Nadia tight, as if nothing else in the world mattered.

I stood there, frozen. I reached up and touched my own eyebrow, feeling the warm blood sliding down my skin. That was when it finally sank in. No matter how long I tried, no matter what I did, his heart had always belonged to Nadia.

The system spoke beside me, its voice soft, almost pitying. "Host, do you want to end the mission?"

My heart felt like it had burned down to cold ashes. I gave a small nod. "Yes. Even if he ends up paralyzed because of Nadia, even if he dies in pain, I won't help him anymore."

*****

"Are you sure?" the system asked. "I have to warn you. Once you stop the mission, there is no going back."

The system had been with me every step of the way. It knew exactly how much I had given up over the past ten years for this mission.

I raised my hand and wiped the blood off my face, then shook my head without hesitation. "I really did everything I could."

Brooke was the second male lead in a novel. His parents had married for business, and both of them kept their own secret families on the side.

He grew up in that house without love, always feeling like he did not belong.

In high school, things only got worse. Other students bullied him, day after day, until Nadia showed up.

She stepped into his life like sunlight breaking through a long winter, and for the first time, his world felt a little warm.

That tiny bit of warmth changed everything for him. He gave her everything he had. In the original story, that devotion ruined him. He ended up paralyzed, and in the end, he died in pain because of her.

When I first read the book, my chest ached for him. He was smart. He worked harder than anyone else. He deserved someone who would love him fully, not someone like Nadia.

She treated him like a backup plan. When her life was smooth, she ignored him. When things went wrong, she ran back to him and used him as a shield.

So when I found myself in this world, the first thing I did was walk straight to Brooke's side.

At the beginning, he did not trust me at all. He thought I had some hidden motive, so he kept his guard up and pushed me away with cold, sharp words.

I didn't argue with him. Instead, I quietly tracked down the people who had been bullying him and made sure they paid for what they did.

Then I told him, clearly and firmly, that none of it was his fault. I told him he had only been trying to protect himself.

I told him Nadia was not the only person who cared about him. I promised him that even if the whole world turned its back on him, I would still stand with him.

Little by little, he started to soften. He finally started to open up and feel like he belonged here.

He still watched Nadia from a distance, but I believed that if I stayed long enough, if I loved him enough, he would eventually turn around and choose me.

He was a picky eater, and he often forgot to eat at all. I spent hours in the kitchen, teaching myself how to cook things he liked.

I burned my hands more times than I could count, and small scars stayed on my skin. Still, every time I saw him take one more bite, I felt like it was worth it.

When he started his own business, I did whatever I could to help. Once, I went to a dinner with an important client.

I had a high fever that night, and my head felt heavy, but I still forced myself to drink an entire bottle of strong liquor just to secure the deal.

In the end, I landed in the hospital with a bleeding stomach. But when I saw the smile on his face after everything worked out, I told myself it was all worth it.

Later, Nadia met Toby, the male lead, and the two of them began a very public relationship. I watched Brooke drink himself into misery night after night, and it hurt to see him like that.

Even so, I knew things were already different from the original story. Back then, he would have lost control and started a fight with Toby. This time, he held himself back.

Not long after that, we officially got together. I truly believed that one day he would forget Nadia completely and only love me.

Everything fell apart in our tenth year together.

One day, Brooke said he had a meeting to attend. I had a bad feeling I could not explain, so I insisted on going with him.

On the way there, his business rivals sabotaged our car.

Everything happened too fast. Right before we crashed into the guardrail, I unbuckled my seatbelt and threw myself over him, using my body to shield his.

The last thing I saw before everything went dark was the shock in his eyes.

I stayed in a coma for two weeks.

When I finally woke up, Brooke was sitting beside my bed. His eyes were red, and he had not shaved in days.

He held my hand so tightly that it almost hurt, and his voice trembled when he said, "Thank God you're awake."

A tear slipped from his eye and landed on my hand. He looked at me, his gaze unsteady. "Luna, I can't be without you. Let's get married."

At that moment, I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I missed something important.

He said he could not be without me, but he never said he loved me.