Chapter 2

I locked myself in the room, feeling miserable and upset.

"Why did you have to mention it's your tenth anniversary? He's in a vulnerable state right now. You don't want to marry him, do you?" the system asked, sounding suspicious.

I snapped, "Say what you want, but why do you have to insult me? If your energy hadn't been unstable, would I be stuck doing this mission?"

We both fell silent.

"What if you sleep with him? He'll definitely reject you then," the system said.

I sneered. "Maybe I should just kill him, so no one gets to live."

The system froze. The mission rules strictly forbade mentioning death or having sex before the mission was complete.

But I didn't care about any of that anymore.

All I could think about was Bernard saying yes.

Why on earth had he agreed to such an unreasonable request from me? He had always turned me down before. Could it be that I had been far too groveling towards him?

Wasn't there a saying that if you keep bending over backwards for someone, you'll end up with everything you want in the end?

So was I actually turning the tables here right now, or what?

This was so annoying.

Things had reached a dead end.

Proposing to Bernard was one of the few ways I could get rejected.

What else could I do now?

Just as I was considering knocking Bernard out with a sack, my phone buzzed with an unknown number.

I answered cautiously.

"Kaylee, it's Leslie," the voice on the other end said.

My heart sank. I clenched my fists tightly.

Did she dial the wrong number? Shouldn't she be calling Bernard and clinging to him?

My silence seemed to make her even more pleased with herself, and her tone grew even more arrogant.

Leslie said, "You might not know me. I'm Bernard's ex-girlfriend. The one he can never forget. I know all about you, Ms. Ochoa.

"I've tasted the lunches you made for him. I've tried on the clothes in your closet.

"The last time you had a date, he said he had something urgent and left to see me. His clothes were messy when he arrived."

I gritted my teeth. "So what? What do you want? Or are you hoping for some kind of reaction from me?"

Leslie was caught off guard by my response.

"Kaylee, are you insane? I spent three days with him, and he didn't even think about you once. Can't you see? Why not give up on a guy who doesn't love you?" Leslie said.

I stayed silent, glancing at myself in the mirror.

When I first arrived here, I was radiant with youth. Now I was no longer that girl.

I had been with Bernard for ten whole years.

From twenty-two to thirty-two. The best years of my life.

The fine lines on my face reminded me that I wasn't young anymore.

I suddenly smiled, my voice unnaturally calm. "So what? Even if everything you said is true, I'm still Bernard's girlfriend.

"I'm the one by his side. All you're doing is trying to stir up trouble between us.

"Ms. Henry, if he loves you so much, why hasn't he dumped me and chosen you instead?

"I don't care about the past, but right now, Bernard has already agreed to marry me. I'm going to be his wife.

"So what makes you think you can say this to me?"

"What did you just say? No way. He would never marry you!" Leslie screamed so loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

I could picture the look of disbelief and anger on her face without seeing it.

But that was exactly what I wanted.

I didn't bother explaining. I put the phone behind my back and went to find Bernard.

Looking at his tired face, I said, "When I get back, let's go dress shopping for the wedding, okay?"

Bernard's eyes softened, and he said gently, "Sure. Kaylee, you'll be the prettiest bride ever."

He reached out and pulled me into a tight hug.

I hung up the phone and hugged him back, fighting the urge to gag. For a moment, we looked like the perfect couple.

But beneath the surface, the rot and stench between us couldn't be covered up.

My eyes lit up. I had provoked Leslie this much.

With her personality, she wouldn't let this slide.

Leslie, just don't let me down.

*****

I waited all night for Leslie to call Bernard, but she didn't do anything.

But out of nowhere, Bernard showed up in my bedroom.

We had slept in separate rooms for all these years. My job kept me up early and late, and sometimes I had to get up in the middle of the night for emergencies.

He said it kept him awake, so we had always slept apart.

He was very affectionate tonight. He kissed me all over, and it was obvious what he wanted.

But I didn't want to cooperate. I hated being intimate with him.

I pushed him away. "I have to leave for the disaster area tomorrow. I need to get some sleep. Let's just call it a night, okay?"

I wrapped myself tightly in the covers and turned over, pretending to be asleep.

Bernard stared at my back for a long time, clearly frustrated.

After a while, he said nothing. He sighed and went to the bathroom to wash up.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Leslie didn't call. Is Leslie really giving up? Did you go too far?" the system said.

No way.

I was confident.

"Leslie won't give up. She wouldn't have called me and said all that if she were going to quit. We just have to wait and see what she does next," I replied.

Like I said, Leslie was determined to have Bernard. She would never let this go.

*****

I slept well that night. I got up at five the next morning and found Bernard was already awake.

He didn't go to the office. He sat with me in silence while I ate breakfast.

Bernard was holding a cup of coffee.

"Quit your job when you get back from the rescue. You don't need to work as my wife. Just take care of the house. I'll transfer money to your account directly," he said.

The system flashed its shopping app at me.

"Check out this outfit. I spent my points on it," the system bragged.

I nodded. "Okay."