Chapter 2

Five years ago, two men stood in front of me. I chose Jonathan.

I'd been with Jonathan for five years, and in our hardest times, we lived in a bridge tunnel, picked through trash, and survived on scraps.

I stuck by him as we climbed from rock bottom, only to see him rise again and take control of his family's wealth.

Through it all, he treated me like I was the only person who mattered.

He made it clear to everyone around him that I was his one true love, more so than even his sister, Diana Rutherford.

I truly believed he loved me.

Until that day… the day I found out I was pregnant.

I couldn't wait to surprise him with the news, holding the pregnancy test in my hands. But instead, I found Diana throwing herself into his arms.

"Jonathan, Ian finally proposed! Thank you for everything, I know if it weren't for you sacrificing yourself to get Margaret, I might never have seen this day," Diana exclaimed.

Jonathan gently patted her head and smiled sweetly. "If you're happy, all my sacrifices were worth it."

The world crashed down around me in an instant. The test slipped from my hand, but I couldn't feel anything.

[Host, you've lost.]

Back then, I had defied the system's warning. I had changed the mission target to him. The system warned me, [He's not your fated one. If you fail, you'll be erased.]

Back then, I had defied the system's warning. I had changed the mission target to him. [The system warned me, He's not your fated one. If you fail, you'll be erased.]

I'd traveled to countless worlds and played countless games, but this was the first time I'd let my feelings interfere with the mission.

I smiled and said, "I just wanted to take control for once."

And lost. I accept that. But...

I touched my flat stomach, where a new life was growing. A life I had wanted so badly for so long.

"Is there any way..." I whispered, my voice barely holding together.

[No! You know the rules!] the system snapped back, icy as ever.

I smiled, my hand covering my eyes as the hot tears fell through my fingers.

Inside the private room, everyone was celebrating Diana's upcoming wedding, cheering for Jonathan as he was finally leaving his hardships behind.

"Jonathan, once your precious Diana marries Ian Holloway, Margaret's gonna be useless to you. So, what are you gonna do with her?" one of the guys asked.

"Why not just hand her over to me? Man, I'm not asking for much. I just wanna see what it's like to mess around with the woman who had Ian wrapped around her finger and kept you hooked for five years," another guy joked.

"Shut up!" Jonathan's voice rang out, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

But my tears had long since dried up. I looked at the group, then reached for the door, pushing it open.

Suddenly, everything went silent.

Everyone's eyes fell on me, their faces twisting into smirks.

I'd seen that smile before, but only now did I fully understand its meaning.

It was the look of rich kids who enjoyed seeing their toys squirm.

Jonathan hesitated, his hand freezing in mid-air as he stared at me. His face was emotionless.

"Did you hear?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"How much?"

"All of it."

Suddenly, the whole room fell silent.

The room went dead quiet for a moment. Everyone instinctively turned to Jonathan, wondering how he'd handle me, the "toy" who had been cast aside.

Jonathan lowered his glass, his voice cold and unfamiliar. "Two options: one, take three million and disappear. Never show up in front of Ian again, and we'll go our separate ways."

"You've got two choices," he said. "First: take the ten million and get out of here. Never let Ian see you again, and from now on, we go our separate ways.

"Or two…"

He didn't finish. Instead, he walked up to me, reached out, and gently touched the top of my head. The icy distance from before melted away, his eyes now soft and full of emotion, with just a hint of allure.

"You can stay by my side. We'll pretend nothing ever happened, and I'll treat you well, just like before," he murmured.

His voice was as gentle as always, as if nothing had happened at all.

Diana finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. "Margaret, you are so pathetic."

I guess everyone thought I'd choose the second option, including Jonathan.

After all, I had loved him so much. I had stayed by his side when he had nothing, when we lived in a bridge tunnel and ate instant noodles for three months straight, even ruining my health in the process.

I looked at the man I had loved for so long, a smile tugging at my lips. It was faint, almost invisible.

But the bitterness inside me finally found its way out, and I took a step back, out of his warm hand and the embrace I had once longed for.

"I choose option one," I said.