On the day his "depressed" step-sister threatened suicide for the ninety-ninth time, Liam abandoned me at the altar for the ninety-ninth time. "As a psychologist, I have a duty to my patients," he said, adjusting his tie, not looking me in the eye. And just like that, the System declared my mission a failure. My punishment? Severe Major Depressive Disorder. The System stripped away my will to live, leaving only a hollow void. From that moment on, my only goal was to successfully kill myself so I could return to my original world. When Liam finally realized I was genuinely seeking death, he panicked. He used every trick in his psychiatric playbook. He tried to cure me. He tried to reignite a spark of love. He tried to forcibly tether me to this world. But he didn't realize one thing. I didn't want him anymore. 01 Just as Liam was about to slide the wedding ring onto my finger, his step-sister, Bella, called. Her voice was weak, trembling through the speaker. "Liam... my wrist is bleeding so much. My prince is gone, so I’m going to become the Little Mermaid and sleep at the bottom of the ocean forever..." "Will you think of me when you look at the sea, Liam?" Liam’s hand, which had been gripping mine, instantly went slack. His voice shook. "Bella, tell me where you are. I’ll watch the ocean with you, okay?" "Don't do anything rash. I’m coming." He hung up, his eyes darting to me with a practiced, apologetic look. "Bella is unstable again. I have to go find her immediately." "Let’s postpone the wedding, okay?" "No!" I grabbed Liam’s sleeve, ignoring the whispers and gasps from the guests below. I was on the verge of losing control. "Are you the only shrink in New York? Why does she have to threaten suicide every single time we try to get married?" "This is the ninety-ninth time, Liam! Have you ever considered that maybe—just maybe—referring her to a different doctor would actually help?" Liam’s dark eyes turned sharp. His handsome face hardened into a line of displeasure. He looked at me coldl, as if I were the unreasonable one. Bella was his soft spot. Untouchable. Sacred. 02 I couldn't help but think back to the first time I met Bella. She had stolen a handmade necklace Liam made for me. Before I could even get angry, Liam stepped in front of her like a knight in shining armor, explaining on her behalf. "Bella has developed kleptomania because of her depression. Please don't blame her." "I'll make you an exact copy later. Since Bella likes this one, just let her have it." I opened my mouth to argue that there are no two identical handmade items in the world. I wanted to ask: If Bella decides she likes you, do I have to hand you over to her, too? But I couldn't say it. How could I, a mentally healthy person, hold a grudge against a depressed patient? While Liam went upstairs to get her antidepressants, Bella—who looked somewhat like me—smirked, her expression dripping with mockery. "You're just a cheap knockoff of me. Liam only dates you because he can't cross that moral line with me. He can't bring himself to touch me." "He only studied psychology for my sake. I will always be first in his heart. You’ll never win against me. Heehee." She curved her eyes into a sweet smile, looking nothing like a severe depressive. Looking at Bella, I finally understood why Liam had fallen for me at first sight. Why he pursued me so relentlessly. I smiled politely, gently reminding her of the reality. "Of course. After all, you two are on the same family registry." As long as they were legally siblings, and as long as Liam’s strict, old-money father was alive, he would never allow a scandal like theirs. When their father found love letters Bella wrote to Liam, his first move was to force Bella to legally change her last name to his. He wanted to cement their sibling status. Bella went on hunger strikes, took sleeping pills, and threatened to jump into the ocean. But the old man wouldn't budge. It wasn't until Liam introduced me to his father that the pressure on Bella eased. In wealthy families like the Peis, reputation is currency. Bella’s face darkened instantly. She suddenly lost control, grabbing a glass from the table and smashing it violently against the coffee table. Crash. Shards flew everywhere, slicing long, bloody gashes into her palm. I was startled and instinctively took a few steps back. Bella, however, seemed immune to the pain. She laughed maniacally. "Guess who Liam is going to blame for not taking care of me?" 03 Panic-stricken footsteps thundered down the stairs. Liam rushed down, knocking me to the ground in his haste. "Why weren't you watching her?!" He scooped Bella into his arms, rushing her to the sofa to tend to her wounds. His eyes were ice-cold as he glared at me. "Don't you know she has severe depression? She has suicidal tendencies!" My palms were embedded with glass shards from the floor, stinging sharply, but I didn't dare make a sound. I was terrified of triggering Bella again. Bella wrapped her arms around Liam’s neck, burying her face in his chest. She sobbed in a baby voice, unable to hide the smugness in her tone. "Liam... it hurts so bad." Liam sighed, looking down at her with pure heartbreak. He wiped her tears, held her injured hand, and gently blew on the wound. "I'll blow on it, and the pain will fly away. Bella is a good girl." In that moment, Liam didn't even notice that I was bleeding onto the carpet, too. I kept comforting myself: Bella is sick. It's only right he pays more attention to her. But later, I learned that Liam’s first choice would always be Bella. Bella threatened suicide ninety-nine times. And he abandoned me ninety-nine times. In desolate mountains, in blizzard winds, on busy highways, in the dead of night, at countless ruined wedding venues... Because of Bella’s "depression," I never had the right to say "no." This time, I didn't want to compromise. No matter what Liam said, I gripped his sleeve, refusing to let go. Because last night, the System had given me a final warning. If Liam abandons you for Bella one more time, the mission is a failure. You will be erased. To relieve my psychological burden and make me fight for him, the System even whispered a secret to me: Bella is faking it. She will absolutely not kill herself. Liam looked anxious. "Bella is my sister. I can't just ignore her." "Besides, I'm a psychologist. I have to be responsible for my patients. We can have a wedding any day, but if something happens to Bella today, I’ll never forgive myself." "I promise, next time, I’ll give you a perfect wedding." I shook my head, my voice raspy. "Liam, if you leave now, there won't be a next time." Liam’s patience finally snapped. He pried my fingers off his sleeve, force by force. His brows furrowed, his tone dropping to absolute zero. "I will marry you, and I will save Bella. These two things aren't mutually exclusive. Why are you being so difficult?" "This is a matter of life and death. Do you have to be so unreasonable right now?" The atmosphere froze. The guests’ mocking stares felt like needles. I opened my mouth to tell him Bella was faking it. That she wouldn't die. But the words wouldn't come out. The System said that revealing its intel counts as cheating. I opened my mouth again, wanting to tell him the truth about me. If you leave, I die. But before I could speak, Liam’s phone rang again. He answered it, speaking gently to Bella on the other end. Then, without hesitation, he left me. He didn't look back. The next second, the System’s cold mechanical voice echoed in my head. [Host, mission failed.] [Punishment Mode Activated: Severe Depression.] [You may choose your method of exit. Once you die, you will be returned to your original world.] Return to my original world? Suddenly, that didn't sound so bad. In my original world, I was sick, yes, but I had my mom who loved me. Here, aside from a healthy body, I had nothing. I thought for a moment and told the System: "Then let me truly fall into severe depression. Let me die by Liam’s hand." If I have to die, I want Liam—the expert psychologist—to see what real severe depression looks like. Because it certainly doesn't look like Bella. 04 After Liam left, the wedding descended into chaos. I didn't force a smile to see off the mocking guests like I usually did. I just watched coldly as Liam’s stepmother (Bella’s mom) cried and accused Liam’s father. "Are you trying to kill Bella? You know how much she loves Liam!" "If anything happens to her, I won't live either! Let's see if your precious family reputation matters more than our lives!" Then, she glared at me and spat, "Shameless bitch!" She stormed off. As if I were the homewrecker in Liam and Bella's twisted romance. Ironically, she was the mistress who climbed the ladder and drove Liam’s biological mother to suicide. Another secret the System told me that I couldn't share. If only Liam knew his beloved step-sister was the daughter of the woman who destroyed his mother... I wondered what expression he’d make. Liam’s father sighed and came over to pat my hand. "You've been wronged. Bella’s illness will be cured one day. Just bear with it a little longer." I pulled my hand back numbly. I didn't nod. I didn't react. Liam had said the same thing to me countless times. Just bear with it. Don't argue with a sick person. I used to get angry, sad, desperate. But today, I didn't care. The System said severe depression robs you of most normal emotions, strips away the will to live, leaving only endless pain and a determination to die. I asked the System, confused: "Bella’s depression is so different from mine. Why can't Liam, a professional, see she's faking?" The System was silent for a long time before saying: [How do you know he can't see it?] My breath hitched. If Liam knew Bella was faking... Then he was just using "depression" as an excuse to spoil her without limits, using it to force me to back down, allowing Bella to cross line after line with him. Lies don't hurt. The truth is the blade. My heart felt like it was being pricked by thousands of needles. I walked through the noisy crowd like a ghost and went home. I signed the organ donation forms. I swallowed a whole bottle of sleeping pills. I curled up under the covers, numbly waiting for the end. Death meant going home to Mom. People who really want to die do it quietly, alone. They don't broadcast it to the world like Bella.
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