Chapter 1

The night before Alex Reed and I registered our marriage, the biometric monitoring ring he had given me suddenly triggered an alert. [Abnormal heart rate: 169.]

My hands shook as I made a video call, thinking something had happened to him.

But when the video connected, I saw Elsie White in his black shirt. She curled up in his arms, her eyes rimmed with tears.

Prayer beads scattered across the floor, each spelling out the truth for me.

The untempted tycoon, who had always been so reserved, had broken his own rules for her.

When Alex saw me, he didn't bother to explain. Instead, he pulled Elsie's shirt around her and said softly, "It's alright."

I froze. He used to comfort me like that before he went on business trips.

Elsie's eyes were red as she said, "Evelyn, you're marrying him tomorrow. Why can't you let me have this one night?"

Alex frowned. "Elsie has depression. Don't push her. We'll still get married tomorrow."

My throat felt tight. "Why her?"

The System answered for him.

Seven years ago, Elsie caused the fire that burned me, ending my acting career.

Only now, seven years later, did I learn that Alex had given her the one and only spot for scar‑repair treatment that should have been mine.

I clenched my fists. "Aren't you going to explain any of this?"

Alex didn't deny it. He said, "Elsie's life can't be ruined."

I asked softly, "So mine can?"

Alex finally lost his patience. "Evelyn, don't fixate on this. You'll still be my wife.

"I've been with you for seven years. I've given you everything I could, except love.

"Isn't that enough for you?"

That was enough.

Enough to snap me fully awake.

The System asked, "All four capture‑target routes have failed. Would you like to exit this world by dying?"

I looked at the scattered prayer beads on the floor and said, "Yes."

Alex thought I was finally coming to my senses. "Evelyn, be good. Wait for me to come back tomorrow—"

"No need," I cut him off.

I took off the monitoring ring and tossed it into the trash. "Alex, I'm not going to the city hall.

"These seven years were just bad luck for me. We're even now."

Later, I walked into the middle of the lake.

The rain poured down as someone desperately screamed my name from the shore.

*****

After I hung up the video call, the only sound left in the room was the rain.

The monitoring ring in the trash was still warm, its screen flickering in the darkness.

I didn't look at it. I turned and went to the walk-in closet to get the white dress.

The skirt was long, and Alex had picked it out himself.

He said we didn't need anything fancy for the day we register our marriage. Just something simple and clean.

As I carried it out, the System's voice sounded again. "Host, are you sure you want to leave?"

I didn't answer right away.

The hallway lights were all on, and the carpet under my feet was so soft that it felt like I was walking on air.

When I first came to this world, I couldn't even walk.

The System told me my body in the real world was barely holding on. If anyone here chose me without hesitation, I could return to my own world.

There were four people I was waiting for.

If even one of them didn't turn me away, I could go home.

As I grew up and met them, I kept thinking that maybe this time, someone would finally want me.

But Elsie was always there.

Once she started crying, I didn't have to say anything more.

In the end, the System revealed their answers one by one.

Not a single one of them chose me.

The System said, "Host, you can choose to die and leave this world."

I changed into the white dress.

When the zipper dragged across the old scar on my back, I winced and had to stop for a moment.

Ever since that fire seven years ago, I'd been terrified of that subtle, pulling sensation.

Alex used to help me avoid the scar, carefully pressing out the wrinkles through the fabric with his fingertips.

He'd say, "Evelyn, it's alright."

Tonight, those words went to Elsie instead.

I looked at myself in the mirror and gave a faint, wry smile.

The System asked, "Host?"

It was still waiting for my answer.

I grabbed my driver's license and walked out the door. "Yes."

I put on the white dress meant for tomorrow's registration and made my way up to the club's rooftop.

There was a man-made lake up there.

It wasn't big, but it was stunning. It looked like a mirror nestled among the rooftops.

Rain fell, and the city's neon lights shattered across the water.

Suddenly, I remembered the blanket from my hospital room in the real world.

Benedict Lake would always carry it over to the window whenever the sun was out, just to let it bask in the sunlight.

He wasn't my real brother, but before I slipped into a coma, he was always outside my hospital room, keeping watch.

That day, he gripped my hand, his eyes swollen and red, but he still managed a smile to comfort me. "Eve, it's alright. When you wake up, I'll take you down south to catch some sun."

The blanket always had the scent of sunshine and soap, smelling clean and warm.

I slashed my wrist and walked into the freezing lake.

The water crept up, first over my calves, then my waist, and finally up to my chest.

Blood bled out from my wrist, spreading in thin, crimson ribbons through the water.

I used to be so afraid of fire.

I was terrified of the heat, the choking smoke, and every time the set lights flashed on, it felt like I was thrown right back into that nightmare from seven years ago.

But now, the lake water embraced the scar on my back. The cold slowly seeped in.

After seven years, the burning pain finally started to fade away.

The System started counting down. "Ten, nine..."

I let myself drift on my back in the lake.

The sound of raindrops pelting the surface grew fainter and fainter.

Alex said Elsie had no one left but him.

But I didn't want anyone anymore.

Ben was the only one I wanted.