Chapter 1
The first thing my boyfriend's mother said when we met was, "My son graduated from a top-tier university. He earns a million a year. What makes you worthy of him?"
I was two seconds from exploding when a line of glowing text suddenly lit up in my mind: [The MetaPrompt System has been activated.]
I looked at the words, then back at her. I swallowed the rage burning in my chest.
System notifications popped up one after another, each revelation more shocking than the last.
I stood, picked up my bag, and flashed her a smile. "Ma'am, you're absolutely right."
That night, I packed my bags and ran.
*****
The café was freezing, the air conditioning blasting.
But Ivy Jennings felt the woman across from her was colder than the air conditioning.
The woman was Fiona Green. She was the mother of Wade Brown, who had been dating Ivy for three years.
This was Ivy's first meeting with Fiona.
Fiona's flawlessly maintained face showed undisguised judgment and disdain.
She set her designer bag aside and, with deliberate movements, stirred her coffee. But she didn't take a sip.
"Ms. Jennings," Fiona finally spoke, her voice cold as ice. "Let me get straight to the point."
She lifted her eyelids, her shrewd eyes brimming with contempt. "My son graduated from a top university. He's the tech director at his company, makes a million a year, and his future's set.
"And you? You are a woman from an average family, an average college, scraping by as a low-paid clerk."
She leaned in, each word hammering into Ivy's pride. "Do you think you're good enough for him?"
Ivy's blood boiled.
Three years of love, reduced in Fiona's eyes to nothing but salary and degrees. And now, she was labeled as defective, plainly not good enough.
She clenched her fists, nails digging deep into her palms. Rage burned in her chest, ready to burst out.
But right then, a barely audible ping sounded in her mind.
Then, an icy blue line of virtual text popped up in front of Ivy. [MetaPrompt System activated.]
Ivy stiffened in shock. She wondered if this was a hallucination.
But the line of text didn't vanish. Instead, it began scrolling, refreshing with new data.
[Scanning target: Fiona Green.
[Name: Fiona Green.
[Status: Late-stage liver cancer she doesn't know about, with less than three months left.
[Main goal: Get Wade Brown married ASAP, so she can have someone to take care of her around the clock for free while she's dying.
[Behavior analysis: Every nasty thing she says is to tear you down, so she can mess with your feelings and guilt you into doing what she wants.]
Ivy's pupils contracted in disbelief.
She stared at the lines of text floating in front of her, then at Fiona, who looked smug. The retort she was about to spit out got stuck in her throat.
Her mind blanked out.
Late-stage liver cancer? Looking for a free caregiver? What kind of insane plot twist was this?
Seeing Ivy stay silent, Fiona assumed she was rattled, and her mocking smile deepened. "Speechless, are you?
"Ms. Jennings, you ought to know your limits. You and my son live in completely different worlds.
"If you truly care about him, you should walk away for his sake."
Ivy blocked out Fiona's icy tirade, her gaze drifting to the untouched cup of coffee sitting in front of her.
The line of blue text appeared again. [Scanning: Cappuccino.
[Ingredient analysis: Coffee beans, milk, cocoa powder. High levels of Clomiphene found.
[Drug effect: A strong fertility drug, usually prescribed for women struggling to get pregnant.
[Risk warning: If taken unknowingly for a prolonged period or in high doses, this may cause ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), potentially resulting in premature ovarian failure, blood clots, or even permanent damage.]
A cold sweat prickled across Ivy's back.
She felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her. Her blood nearly froze solid.
Fertility drugs? Permanent damage?
If the MetaPrompt System hadn't appeared out of nowhere, she probably would've argued with Fiona in anger, then downed the coffee to calm herself. Who knew what kind of disaster that would've brought?
Fiona kept up her act. "Of course, I'm not unreasonable."
She pulled a bank card from her bag and slid it across the table to Ivy. "There's 30 thousand in there. Think of it as compensation for the years you wasted on my son.
"Take the money and don't come after Wade anymore."
She was utterly condescending, as if tossing scraps to Ivy from on high.