In the fifth year of my marriage to Chloe, she brought her first love, Ryan, right in front of me and asked: “Ethan, if I divorce you and marry Ryan, would you be our best man?” She had no idea that the man standing in front of her was actually my clone. He was created with only one purpose: to obey her every command. Without a single second of hesitation, my clone smiled and agreed. Chloe flew into a rage. She glared at him and spat, “You spineless wimp! Do you just do whatever the hell I tell you to do? If I asked for your life, would you just give it to me?” My consciousness, trapped deep inside the clone’s body, could only let out a bitter, silent laugh. *Chloe, I don’t have a second life left to give you.* 1 *BANG!* My body was sent flying by Ryan’s car. The man who hit me scrambled out of the driver’s seat, rushing over with a face full of fake, theatrical panic. He cried out, “Chloe! I swear Ethan threw himself in front of the car! It’s not my fault!” Chloe is my wife. Today is our fifth wedding anniversary. She rolled down the car window, frowning slightly as she glanced at my crumpled body on the asphalt. Her voice was ice-cold. “Don’t worry about him, Ryan. He’s just acting. He’s fine.” She sat comfortably in the passenger seat, not even bothering to open the door. “Ethan, stop embarrassing yourself with such pathetic acting.” Her feet seemed glued to the car floor. She wouldn’t take a single step toward me. Seeing that I wasn’t moving, her frown deepened. “Enough, Ethan. How long are you going to play dead? Get up.” If this were before, the clone would have jumped up the second he received her command. But the violent impact of the car had caused a temporary glitch in his neural system. So, she waited, but there was no response. Losing her patience, Chloe finally opened the door, seemingly planning to drag me up herself. But before she could step out, Ryan grabbed her arm. His voice trembled slightly. “Chloe, don’t touch him. Let’s just call 911. If something actually happens to him, we don’t want to get sued…” Before he could finish, Chloe interrupted him with an annoyed huff. “He got hit at barely fifteen miles per hour. What could possibly happen to him? He’s just throwing a tantrum.” Sure, fifteen miles per hour won’t kill a man. But it still hurts. It still breaks bones. But Chloe didn’t care. Then again, if she had ever cared, how could she have failed to notice over the last five years that the “Ethan” standing by her side was a fake? The real me died five years ago when I failed my mission to win her heart. This body was just a clone I created to fulfill my promise of “loving her forever.” My soul was bound to this synthetic shell. I could feel its emotions and its physical pain. But I couldn’t control it. And honestly, there was no need to. When I made this clone, besides giving him my DNA, I only programmed him with my happiest memories of Chloe. He was literally engineered to be a simp customized just for her. I thought that by leaving him behind, he would keep Chloe happy and loved in a world without me. But there is always an exception to every rule. And the exception in our marriage was Ryan. 2 Today was supposed to be our fifth anniversary. Following the programmed memories of her favorite things, the clone bought a bouquet of blood-red roses and went to Chloe’s office building. The lobby was packed with people whispering and pointing. The clone squeezed through the crowd, only to see Chloe standing in the center, blushing as Ryan knelt before her on one knee. Ryan held her hand, looking up at her with puppy-dog eyes. “Chloe, will you marry me and let me give you the life you deserve?” The clone stood frozen in the crowd, his database unable to process this scenario. This was something that had never happened in my memories. Under Ryan’s intense gaze, Chloe’s eyes began to wander. She swept her gaze over the crowd and stopped right on my clone. Her eyes locked onto him, her voice dripping with provocation. “Ryan, I’m not technically divorced yet. Are you sure you want to propose to me right now?” Ryan followed her gaze and smirked when he saw my clone. The next second, he pulled out a diamond ring. He slid my wedding band off Chloe’s finger without any resistance and slipped the new diamond onto her ring finger. Chloe stared at the clone, waiting for a reaction. But the clone just walked up to her, holding out the roses. “Chloe, happy anniversary. I got these for you. Do you like them?” The smugness in Chloe’s eyes instantly vanished, replaced by an explosive rage. She slapped the bouquet out of his hand, scattering red petals all over the floor. “Ethan! Are you blind? Didn’t you just see another man propose to your wife?!” The clone looked down at the ruined roses, confusion flickering in his eyes. He gently grabbed Chloe’s hand and asked anxiously, “Chloe, why are you angry? Is it because you don’t like roses anymore?” Chloe didn’t say a word. She just stared into his eyes. I knew what she was looking for. She wanted to see some real emotion—jealousy, anger, madness. But the clone disappointed her. His eyes held nothing but pure, innocent confusion. Not a single trace of anger. After staring at him for what felt like an eternity, Chloe let go of his hand and let out a cynical laugh. “Ethan, you really are incredibly generous. Since you’re so open-minded, how about you serve as our best man when Ryan and I get married?” 3 Nobody knew that my soul, trapped inside this artificial body, was curling up and screaming in agony. My original mission in this world was to make Chloe fall in love with me. Technically, once we got married, my mission was complete. According to the System’s original script, Chloe was supposed to die in a car accident shortly after our wedding. But I truly, deeply loved her. I couldn’t bear to let her die. So, I traded my own life with the System, asking it to transfer her fatal car accident to me. The System agreed. With the last of my remaining time, I built this clone. The clone was born for Chloe. He would love her forever and obey her every word. Even if her commands were ridiculously cruel, he would comply. Hearing Chloe’s request, the clone’s confusion melted away into a bright, innocent smile. “Really, Chloe? If I act as your best man, will that make you happy?” Chloe’s gaze turned incredibly cold. “Ethan, you are unbelievable. Is it true that you’ll do literally anything I ask?” “Yes, Chloe,” the clone answered instantly. Chloe’s face turned pale, completely choked by his response. Ryan chimed in from the side, “Chloe, since Ethan is totally cool with it, why don’t we go to City Hall today? We can sign the divorce papers and register our marriage at the same time.” Chloe didn’t say no. She let Ryan drag her by the arm toward the exit. As Ryan passed my clone, he intentionally shoved his shoulder hard against him. The contempt and triumph on Ryan’s face were clear. The clone stood there, a look of mild confusion on his face. He didn’t understand why Chloe still looked so unhappy even though he had agreed to her request. Halfway to the parking lot, Chloe stopped. She told Ryan to go bring the car around while she marched back to the clone. “Ethan, do you think this is a joke? You stopped loving me a long time ago, didn’t you?” Chloe screamed at him, her voice shrill with frustration. I found it hilarious. The one who stopped loving was clearly her. If she still cared, how could she be flaunting another man in my face? Maybe she just wanted to see the old me—the one who would get jealous and lose his mind for her. But she would never see that man again. The man who could feel jealousy and rage was already dead. The clone didn’t possess complex human emotions. He couldn’t feel jealousy or resentment. Unlike the real me, he would never complain about her lifestyle. Even if she stayed out all night partying with Ryan, the clone would only quietly prepare a perfect breakfast for her when she returned. He would never question her. Isn’t this exactly what she wanted? So why did she still look so miserable? 4 Chloe waited for a response, but the clone just stood there, waiting for her next command. Her voice raised another octave. “Ethan! I’m talking to you! Why aren’t you answering me?!” The clone listened to her carefully, his voice firm and sincere. “No, Chloe. I will love you forever.” Chloe sneered, her lips curling with disgust. “I hate your hypocritical face more than anything, Ethan. Fine. You said you’d fulfill any request, right?” The clone nodded. “Yes, Chloe. Anything.” Chloe laughed darkly as she opened the passenger door of Ryan’s car. She looked back and said, “In that case, if I tell you to go die, would you do it?” The clone nodded. “Yes.” Chloe laughed hysterically, almost like a maniac. It took her a long time to calm down before she said: “Fine. Go die then.” My soul felt like it was being ripped apart. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought Chloe would ever say those words to me. Having received the direct command, the clone didn’t hesitate. The moment Ryan started the engine and accelerated, the clone threw himself directly in front of the car. Maybe because I had been lying on the ground for too long, Chloe finally got out of the car. She walked over in her high heels, her steps slow and deliberate. Due to the heavy impact, my clone’s automatic gene-repair sequence had kicked in. When she finally pulled me up, she saw the small pool of blood on the pavement. For the first time, panic flashed across her face. She let go of me instantly, letting my body drop back onto the asphalt. Chloe clung to Ryan, her hands shaking violently as she dialed 91
She kept whispering to Ryan, trying to convince herself: “Ryan, it’s fine. It’s not your fault. Ethan threw himself at the car. Even if he dies, it has nothing to do with you.” A cold, mechanical voice echoed in my mind. *“Ethan, do you regret it now?”* Five years ago, when I transferred Chloe’s fate to myself, the System had asked me the exact same question. Back then, I had answered without hesitation: *“No.”* I had even begged the System to delay my physical death so I could finish building the clone to love her in my place. The moment the clone was successfully activated, my original body finally died. The car crash had left my body completely mangled. To prevent Chloe from being traumatized, I begged the System to erase all traces of my physical corpse. At that moment, the cold mechanical voice of the System actually showed a hint of pity. *“Ethan, do you want to know why Chloe was supposed to get into that car accident in the first place?”* In my silence, it told me: *“In Chloe’s life script, she was destined to die in a car crash on her way to see the person she loved most.”* On the day I took that crash for her, the person she was rushing to see was Ryan. It was only then that I realized Chloe’s true love had never been me. Even though the clone’s self-healing sequence had started, the physical pain was excruciating. The suffocating sensation made my soul tremble. For some reason, I suddenly remembered the first time I met Chloe. That day, when I first arrived in this world, she had risked her own life to save a little girl playing in the middle of a busy street. In my original world, people were cold and indifferent. Nobody would have cared about a stranger’s child. Maybe her heroic aura back then was just too bright. It blinded me so completely that even now, I still looked at her through a soft-focus filter. Before my consciousness faded again, I whispered to the System: *“System, I don’t regret it.”*
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