The moment I won her over—the moment I finally conquered the heart of that dark, damaged girl—I chose to leave the world for good. I didn’t hesitate for a second, not even when she begged me, her voice small and broken, to stay. Life back in the real world was… not good. I was drowning. So when the System found me again, offering five million dollars to go back into the book and win her over one more time, I was ready to say yes. But just as the word formed on my lips, a shimmering text feed flickered across my vision, like a phantom television crawl. > OMG, the Ex is back. > LMAO, does she seriously think the heroine is still in love with her? > The second Strategist not only got the heroine’s darkness rating down to negative one hundred, he voluntarily stayed. Gave her a real home. > The happy couple is about to get married. Can the Ex please have some shame and not bother them? 1 It took me a long moment to process it. The Ex they were talking about… was me. Beside me, the System was still buzzing, giving me the hard sell. “All you have to do is make Aria Sterling fall in love with you one more time, and you get five million dollars. Even if you fail, you get fifty thousand for your trouble. How about it? It’s a great deal.” It was a great deal. And right now, I desperately needed the money. But the words from the feed echoed in my head. I was silent for a moment, then told the System I needed to think about it. So, it sent me back into the book first. To be precise, it sent me back to the home Aria and I once shared. The small, sub-one-thousand-square-foot apartment was old but cozy, exactly as it had been three years ago. Aria hadn't moved a single one of my things. Even the silk blouse I’d accidentally stained just before I left… it was hanging in the closet, perfectly clean. I remembered that blouse. It was from Theory, a brand that was everywhere at the time. When Aria had secretly bought it for me, I’d gotten angry about the price, insisting we return it. She never argued. She would just lower her gaze, those long lashes of hers casting shadows on her cheeks, and wait for my anger to cool. Then, in a soft voice, she’d coax me into trying it on. I ran the smooth fabric between my fingers. Took a deep breath. If Aria had truly forgotten me… Then why was this apartment still here, preserved like a museum? I looked up again, my eyes scanning the small space. They snagged on a white piece of paper taped to the inside of the window. Through the glass, I could make out a few large, hastily scrawled words. FOR SALE. PRICE NEGOTIABLE. URGENT. The strokes were sharp, decisive. It was Aria’s handwriting. 2 The text feed materialized in front of me again, a cascade of tiny, mocking words. > Hahaha, the Ex is stunned. The heroine wasn't holding on to their past; she just hadn't gotten around to selling the place yet. > The Ex really thought the heroine still loved her like before. Plot twist: with her new golden retriever boyfriend, the heroine won't even give her a second glance. > The only reason the System brought her back is to create some drama for the main couple. The Ex is just here to humiliate herself. I pressed my lips together. So that was it. The System was offering five million because it was certain I would fail. My real purpose wasn't to win Aria back; it was to be the villain, the obstacle thrown in the path of the main characters' love story. It was buying my labor—my humiliation—for a measly fifty thousand. Fifty grand. A bitter laugh escaped me. To play the fool for fifty thousand dollars… it wasn’t nothing. It was one week of ICU bills for— I called out to the System and briskly accepted the deal. The System, practically beaming, deposited a large sum of money into my account for expenses—usable only within the book, of course. Since Aria was so eager to sell this place, I might as well be the one to buy it. I held my phone, my fingers dialing a number that was still etched into my memory. It rang for a full thirty seconds before someone picked up. A bright, boyish voice came through the line. "Hello?" I froze for a second. Glancing down, I confirmed it was Aria’s number. "Hi, I was passing by and saw the for-sale sign in the window…" "You want to buy the apartment?" the voice on the other end exclaimed with surprise. "That's great! It's about time someone took it." I asked, cautiously, "Are you the owner?" "I'm the owner's boyfriend. You can call me Leo." So this was him. The second Strategist. As I hesitated, a brief muffle of noise came from the other end, like two people whispering. A long moment passed. Then, someone else took the phone. Aria’s cool, detached voice came through the line, crystal clear. "Hello. Is it convenient to meet and discuss this in person?" 3 I waited in the coffee shop, a low thrum of unease vibrating through me. Finally, a sleek, understated luxury car—an Audi—purred to the curb. The doors opened, and a striking couple emerged. Three years. I hadn't seen her in three years, and Aria Sterling was still as breathtaking as ever. The last traces of youthful uncertainty in her features had been replaced by the quiet confidence that only power and wealth can bestow. She leaned languidly against the car door. Leo said something, and a smile touched her lips as she reached out to ruffle his hair. From across the distance, her gaze drifted in my direction. It rested on me for only a fraction of a second before moving on, as undisturbed as the surface of a still, deep well. I was still lost in a daze when Leo sat down across from me. He gave me an apologetic smile. "My girlfriend had a meeting, so she could only drop me off. I'll be handling the sale." "I can see you two are very happy together," I said, and I meant it. Leo’s smile widened. "My girlfriend runs a tech company. Her net profits are in the hundreds of millions a year. We don't need the money from this apartment; we mainly just don't want to hold onto it anymore." His tone carried a faint, sweet note of superiority. I nodded and, following the usual procedure, asked if I could see the apartment. Leo paused, a flicker of awkwardness in his eyes. "The keys… I don't have them. If you want to see it, my girlfriend would have to take you herself." I frowned slightly, confused. "She didn't give you the keys before you came?" Logically, any real estate transaction involves a viewing. Aria would know that. Leo sighed, a wry smile on his face. "I asked, but she wouldn't give them to me. She's never taken me there, either." He lowered his voice. "To be honest with you, it's the place she lived with her ex when she was starting from nothing. It gives me the creeps. That's why I wanted to sell it quickly." "Ah," I said. "In that case, I don't need to see it. Let's just sign the contract." Leo looked ecstatic. Fearing I might change my mind, he immediately pulled out the sales agreement. He didn't have the property deed, however, so we couldn't transfer the title just yet. We would still have to wait for Aria. As we sat there, an awkward silence stretched between us. Looking at this man, another Strategist just like me, I couldn't help my curiosity. "How did you and she get together?" What I really wanted to know was how he had succeeded with her. The System had told me that after I left, Aria had a brief, secondary spiral into darkness. She’d tried to kill herself, her darkness rating soaring to a level that threatened the stability of the entire world. Leo arrived at her side during that time. He not only brought her darkness rating down but completely replaced me in her heart. Aria was not an easy person to win over. He must have gone through hell. But Leo just beamed. "She had just been abandoned by her ex and was completely heartbroken. I was there for her, comforting her. It didn't take long for us to make things official." It was that simple? I could hardly believe it. The mocking text feed flooded my vision again. > LMAO, the Ex is shook. The heroine just has no resistance to sweet, puppy-dog types like our boy. > Remember, it took the Ex ten whole years to win her over. She threw herself at the heroine countless times before she reluctantly agreed to be with her. > The puppy just said a few words to her, and all the Ex’s years of work went down the drain. That’s the power of true love, baby. … I stared blankly at the cynical comments. They weren't wrong. The process of winning Aria over had been agonizingly difficult. So difficult that I never wanted to go through it again. 4 Aria’s parents didn't love her. At a young age, they had her committed to a psychiatric hospital, leaving her to the mercy of abusive orderlies. The place was a prison, filled with violent and unstable patients, heavily guarded. Even with the System’s help, I nearly died getting her out. I took Aria to a new city. I put her through school, got her on the right path. I even arranged for expensive weekly therapy sessions. I did all of this to earn her complete trust. But Aria was too intelligent. She effortlessly saw through the façade of this world, including my identity and my mission. After her final exams, Aria became the top scorer in the state. I threw a party to celebrate. But she just calmly took my arm, her expression cold, tinged with a self-mockery I could barely detect. "You're doing all this for me because you're trying to win me over, right?" After the initial shock, I let out a shaky sigh and said, my voice thick with emotion, "I love you. That's my purpose." She scoffed, clearly not believing me. My heart pounded, but I pulled her into a hug, deliberately acting playful. "Aria, don't get hung up on the details. These last few years have been exhausting. You'd better hurry up and make my life easier." I buried my face in her shoulder. "I really, really love you. Please don't question me like this again. It really hurts." … After college, Aria started her own company. We moved into that tiny, rundown apartment. There was no heating in the winter. Sometimes, when I washed the dishes, my hands would go numb and ache from the cold. Aria would always take my hands and rub them, her eyes red with unspoken sympathy. By then, we were married. Her life's goal had shifted from building a tech empire to destroy the world to the mundane task of making enough money to buy her wife a house. We hustled during the day and held each other in that small bed at night. I remembered the time I was trying to secure funding and the investor harassed me. I couldn't bring myself to tell her, so I just walked the streets alone, crying. I remembered the time a competitor tried to sabotage us, and I instinctively shielded her, taking the blow myself and ending up in the ER. I don't know how many times I went through things like that. All of it, just to slowly, painstakingly, make Aria Sterling fall in love with me. And compared to my decade-long effort, Leo had done it in just three short weeks. He’d brought her darkness rating down to negative one hundred and raised her affection level to one hundred percent. 5 Leo was still rambling on about the sweet details of his relationship with Aria. He said it was love at first sight for her. I pushed down the faint ache in my chest and took a sip of my milkshake. "Has she… ever mentioned her ex-wife to you?" Leo thought for a moment, then smiled smugly. "Never. I think she’s completely over her." I nodded. It was better that way. I didn't actually want to ruin their relationship. When Aria arrived, I'd just put on a show of remorse, act pathetically desperate. Given her personality, she would probably be disgusted and want nothing to do with me. Once she rejected me, I'd take my fifty thousand and leave this world for good. As I was mapping out my plan, Leo’s phone rang. His face lit up. "My girlfriend's meeting is over. She's coming to pick me up now. We have a date, so let's handle the apartment stuff tomorrow." I froze for a second, then forced a smile and nodded. "Okay, then I'll just go…" Leo clapped me on the shoulder. "Where do you live? I can have my girlfriend give you a ride." The smile froze on my face. Leo was so insistent that before I knew it, the car door had closed behind me. A cool, clean scent of pine drifted through the air. Beside me, I could hear Leo's cheerful voice as he showed Aria his new haircut. Aria was sitting right in front of me. From my angle, I could see her hands on the steering wheel, her fingers pale and slender. She kept her eyes focused on the road, but she responded to every word he said. Looking at the reflection of her perfect profile in the rearview mirror, I felt a wave of disorientation. Aria had never been this patient with me. When we were together, she was always insecure, always on edge. She knew about my mission and was terrified I would leave at any moment. She’d often wake up in the middle of the night, startled, her hand flying to my side of the bed in a panic. And I would have to soothe her, time and time again, exhausted. "I'm not going to leave you alone. I love you, and it has nothing to do with the mission." I kept repeating that lie right up until the moment I left. Aria had cried, her hand gripping mine, begging me not to go, begging me to stay a little longer, just a few more years. I had sighed and refused every plea. Her face had gone ashen, her eyes swirling with pain and a terrifying madness. "Why? Don't you love me? How can you bear to leave me? You said you would never leave me alone!" I gave her a bitter smile. "I have my own love in the real world." … Sensing my gaze, Aria frowned and lifted her eyes to the rearview mirror. Our eyes met. The car lurched forward with a sudden, violent stop. Unprepared, I slammed my forehead against the window. A bruise was already forming. "Sorry," Aria's voice was raspy. She turned her head slightly. "This is your stop." It took me a second to realize what she meant. When Leo had asked for my address earlier, I'd just blurted out the name of a random apartment complex. "Oh," I said, managing a "thank you." I arranged to meet Leo the next day and got out of the car. Aria kept her eyes down, never once turning to look at me. She didn't linger for a moment; the car's taillights vanished around the corner in an instant. At the busy entrance to the complex, surrounded by strangers, I wrapped my arms around myself and slowly sank into a crouch. I don't know how much time passed. Then, a familiar luxury car pulled up in front of me, silent and imposing. The window rolled down, revealing the sharp, clean lines of her profile. Aria was looking straight at me, her expression unreadable. "Get in." 6 I had expected Aria to find an opportunity to see me. I just hadn't expected it to be so soon. So soon that I hadn't had time to prepare myself to face her. In the standoff, Aria raised a hand and lit a cigarette. I frowned instinctively. I hated it when she smoked. In the past, I would have snatched it from her and stubbed it out without a second thought. And back then, Aria would have listened. When I told her to quit, she never touched another one. She would never have been like this, a thin veil of white smoke separating us as she sized me up with an unapologetic gaze. I bit my tongue, about to speak, when the text feed exploded again. > What's the Ex being so reserved for? Does she actually think the heroine has some ulterior motive for meeting her? > The heroine knew she was back the whole time. She just didn't want to upset the puppy, so she didn't say anything in the car. > She's only meeting her alone to warn her not to run her mouth in front of the puppy. That's it. I remained silent, standing where I was. It felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head. The impulsive flicker of hope from a moment ago was extinguished completely. Right now, I had no right to tell her what to do. The pale, slender hand resting on the car window lowered. Aria’s expression was unreadable as she looked away. After a moment, as if in concession to some private, ironic thought, she crushed the cigarette out. "Weren't you buying the apartment?" she said. "Get in. I'll take you to see it." 7 The drive was silent. Aria clearly had no intention of speaking. The text feed, however, was a cacophony. > Smart move by the Ex. She knows the passenger seat is reserved for the boyfriend, so she got in the back. > I thought the heroine was going to warn her? Why is she taking her back to their old place? > Don't worry, guys. The heroine doesn't know the Ex's real game plan yet. Once she reveals her true colors, the heroine will be even more disgusted. … When we arrived, I couldn't help but speak. "Is there nothing you want to… ask me?" The hand holding the key paused. Aria glanced down at me, her eyebrow raised, waiting for me to continue. I gathered my courage. "Like why I came back, how long I'm staying, or… what my purpose is in buying this apartment." "Not interested," Aria said, her tone flat as she looked away. "I don't care who buys this place. I'm erasing everything that has to do with you. As for why you're back…" She stuffed her hands in her pockets, a faint, humorless laugh escaping her lips. "Don't tell me you're here to win me over again." I was silent for a beat. "What if I am?" 8 "Then by all means, try." Aria pushed the door open. It creaked. The apartment revealed itself to me again, every detail sharp and clear. A single shaft of light cut through the room, illuminating dancing dust motes. Aria stood just behind me and to my left, the edge of her jacket brushing against my sleeve. She said nothing. I said nothing. In the silence, it felt like we had stepped back in time to a normal afternoon during our marriage. We'd just come home from the farmers' market. Her fingers would be looped with plastic bags, all filled with my favorite vegetables and snacks. We'd be laughing and teasing each other all the way home. The moment the door closed, she would leap onto me, her arms wrapped around my neck, giggling as she searched for my lips. I’d lean back, feigning reluctance, until my back was pressed against the door, my hands holding her waist as I returned her kiss. … A hand suddenly clamped around my wrist. My body went rigid. Aria released me just as quickly, her expression once again neutral. "Have a look around. Selling it to you saves me the trouble of cleaning the place out." I nodded, took a cursory walk around the apartment, and came back. "It's fine. I already arranged with Leo to transfer the title tomorrow. Just give him the deed. You don't need to be there." "Fine." Aria’s agreement was swift. After a slight pause, her voice dripped with a slow, deliberate sarcasm. "You don't have to be so guarded. If I had my way, I'd hope to never see you again in this lifetime." She raised an eyebrow at me. "The only reason I met you alone was because I was worried you'd say something in front of Leo. I don't want to make him unhappy. Do you understand?" I took a quiet, deep breath. "I won't mention our past relationship to Leo." "Good." Silence again. After that, I knew I should have the decency to leave. But for that fifty thousand dollars… My voice trembled slightly as I spoke. "Aria, I was wrong back then. I never should have left you." A flicker of something disturbed the dark surface of her eyes. She narrowed her gaze, studying me, as if considering something. "Go on." "I came back to make it up to you. And I realized… I still love you. Could you…" I looked at her, my heart pounding. "Could you give me another chance?" 9 The room plunged into a dead silence. After I said the words, my vision was almost completely obscured by the deluge of mocking text. I closed my eyes, humiliated. My face burned with shame. After a long time, a low chuckle echoed in the room. "What's this? Your comatose wife in the real world finally died, so you remembered your ever-reliable backup plan?" My head snapped up, a muscle in my jaw twitching. My lips trembled with a rage I couldn't voice. It was all reflected in Aria's beautiful eyes. She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, didn't you notice? I have my own love now, too." Her tone was light, casual. But her dark eyes were locked on mine. My own eyes felt dry. I blinked hard. "I know." Aria seemed to smile, but it held no emotion. The only thing she left me with was the image of her back as she walked out the door. > YES! God, I have waited so long for this moment. > Hahahaha, the boomerang came back and hit the Ex right in the face. > The Ex should just quit the System already. Even if she saves the heroine a hundred more times, the heroine will never love her again. > But the heroine still went soft on her. She left the key to the apartment so she wouldn't be homeless… wait, what's under the key? I blinked, my gaze shifting to the clear plastic cover on the small table. Aria had indeed left the apartment key behind. And under the tarnished brass key was a small red booklet. > HOLY S**T! Am I seeing this right? That's the property deed! > Why would the heroine leave the deed for the Ex?! Shouldn't she give something that important to the puppy? My hand trembled as I opened the booklet. The text feed suddenly went quiet. On the deed, there was only one name written. Mine.
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