After successfully winning over Ethan Clarke, I could have left, but I chose to stay in this world because I loved him. After staying, I happily proposed marriage to him ninety-nine times. But he always had excuses to put it off: “I’m not in a good mood, maybe next time.” “I want to focus on my career for a few more years, let’s talk about it later.” When I couldn’t wait any longer and went to ask him for a definite answer, I overheard him arrogantly telling his female secretary outside his office: “She can’t go back to her original world anyway, so why bother getting married? Once I’ve had my fun, I’ll go back and sweet-talk her, and she’ll eagerly ask the system to hand everything over to me again.” Late at night, lying in our empty king-sized bed, I gritted my teeth as I typed out message after message. [Ethan, Olivia loves you so much.] [Ethan, she can’t live without you, don’t worry.] I knew Ethan felt so secure because he could see these messages. But what he didn’t know was that I had already made a new deal with the system to leave. The moment he let me down for the hundredth time would be when I left.
Ethan came home reeking of alcohol at 3 AM. He turned on the light and saw me still sitting on the couch waiting for him. A flash of disgust crossed his face. But he hid it well. “Didn’t I tell you not to wait up if it gets too late?” he said, drunkenly hugging me from behind, his tone switching to an affectionate one. “Come on, I know you were worried about me, but go to bed now. It’s not good to stay up so late.” Fighting back tears, I placed the phone containing evidence of his cheating face-down on the couch. My nails dug into my palms as I heard my voice shake, sounding unlike my own. “What about you?” “I’ll sleep in the study. I promised Mr. Wang I’d have a new proposal ready when we had dinner earlier.” The scent of different women’s perfumes clung to him, but he still pretended he had just come from a business dinner. How disgusting. “Ethan, how long are we going to go on like this?” My voice shook even more, along with my shoulders and the hand holding the phone. “Not this again, Olivia. Haven’t I said I’ll marry you?” He irritably let go of me. “What’s the point of pressuring me about it every day?” I wanted to have an honest conversation with him. But his gaze fell on the slightly ajar door of the study. I knew he had secretly hidden a new woman behind that door. “Baby, why did you bring me back when Olivia is still home?” When Ethan first came in, my phone screen had lit up. I had installed message syncing software on his phone. I saw clearly the message his new secretary Sophia sent him. “That’s enough, Olivia. I’m exhausted today. I hope you can be more understanding.” Ethan brushed me off, not even bothering to look at me as he turned away to secretly reply to his little secretary. “Don’t worry, babe. Even if I bring you home every day, she’ll never leave me.” With a click, Ethan turned off the living room lights and went into the study. Completely ignoring me as I stood frozen in place, tears streaming down my face. I went back to our room and turned on the surveillance camera I had installed in the study earlier that day. In the footage, Ethan gently pinched the girl’s cheek, his eyes full of affection. [What else would a grown man and woman be doing late at night in the room next to his girlfriend?] The system chimed in unhelpfully. I laughed coldly in response. What else indeed, besides getting their thrills. The next morning, Ethan and Sophia were waiting at the dining table. “Olivia, this is Sophia, my new secretary. She had too much to drink last night because of company business. As the lady of the house, please be a good host and make her some breakfast.” Ethan’s cold gaze fell on me, so matter-of-fact. He didn’t even bother trying to explain why there was suddenly a woman in our home early in the morning. Sophia looked at me challengingly. “Thank you… sis.” As she walked past me, she deliberately pulled her collar open. Her neck was covered in passionate marks, clearly showing how intense things had gotten last night. “Ninety-nine times.” Sophia turned back, feigning innocence. “Hmm? What did you say, sis?” “I said, why should I make you breakfast? Who do you think you are?” Ethan’s face immediately darkened: “Olivia, Sophia is just my secretary. Don’t be so petty.” “Ethan, search your conscience and tell me, haven’t I been generous enough all these years?” I stared at him coldly. He walked over to me, looking a bit guilty: “Olivia, you’re my fiancée, the future mistress of the Clarke family. Be good and listen to me. Don’t embarrass me.” “Then when are we getting married?” I pressed him. He had let me down ninety-nine times. There was only one chance left. “Don’t make a fuss. I have a meeting at the company soon. I need to go over some work stuff with Sophia first.” “Oh, and keep breakfast light. Sophia doesn’t eat spicy food.” Ethan casually tossed out those words before heading back to the study with Sophia. It was always like this. He never said no, but he never said yes either. He just constantly deflected and made excuses, completely disregarding my feelings. I went straight to the kitchen. Though I had expected this outcome, I was surprised to find my heart still ached. I didn’t make breakfast for Ethan as I usually would. In fact, ever since Ethan’s first affair, I had regretted staying in this world for him after successfully winning him over. But I hadn’t met the new conditions to leave yet, and I wanted to give him one last chance. I had been secretly telling him through messages how much I loved him, but he took advantage of my love and became even more reckless. Now that the conditions were almost met, he had proven to me time and time again that a scumbag can’t be changed by love. It was time to leave.
Ignoring the noises coming from the study, I sat down and slowly ate my breakfast. An hour later, Ethan finally emerged, looking satisfied and fully dressed. “What the hell, Olivia? You started eating by yourself?” “Why didn’t you make any for us?” “If you want to eat, make it yourself.” I ignored him and slowly finished my last bite. Ethan’s expression turned ugly. “Olivia, you’re really disappointing me more and more. You rely on me to support you, and you can’t even be bothered to make breakfast.” “I’ll give you one more chance. Make two portions of breakfast in the next ten minutes.” Ethan looked at me contemptuously. Dead silence. I still didn’t move. Probably afraid I was really angry, Ethan changed his approach and came to hug me. “Alright, Olivia. Are you upset because I’ve been busy with work lately and haven’t spent time with you?” “I’ll make it up to you tonight after work, okay? Do you want to eat at that corner bistro, or do you want that handbag you liked? I’ll get you whatever you want. Just do me this favor today, alright?” It was always like this. Always the same. Ethan only sweet-talked me when he wanted something. He thought a few nice words would make me soften up. Why should I? I sneered: “Ethan, you don’t really think everything is a given, do you?” “That clothes magically become clean, food appears on your table by itself, the house somehow stays tidy. You just have to say the word and it all happens.” He was stunned, not expecting me to suddenly say this. “Didn’t you say you liked taking care of me? That’s why I fired all the maids. What’s this about now?” Yes, five years ago, to win him over, I couldn’t wait to stay by his side and take care of his every need. That’s how I ended up falling in love with him. But things were different now. Once I realized the man I loved wasn’t worthy, I naturally had to take back everything I’d given him. “A full-time housekeeper’s salary is at least $2,000 a month, right? This mansion is so big, five housekeepers wouldn’t be too many. That’s $10,000 a month.” “We’ve been together for five years, so that’s $600,000 total. Cash or check?” “Hmph, you’ve really become obsessed with money. Olivia, you’ve changed!” Ethan looked at me with a complex expression. “Ethan, people change, don’t they?” I met his gaze without flinching. “Forget it. You rest. I’ll take Sophia out for breakfast.” He sighed, then grabbed his coat from the rack and left with Sophia. Looking around the empty house, memories kept flashing through my mind. I was a “conqueror”, an orphan girl on the brink of death after a car accident in my original world. The system approached me, asking me to go to a parallel world to win over Ethan Clarke. It promised that if I succeeded, I could return to my original world, Not only would I regain my health, but I’d also get a lot of money. I was overjoyed, but as soon as I arrived in this world, I was cornered by thugs in an alley. That was the first time I saw Ethan. He stood in front of me like a guardian angel. After knocking out all the thugs with a brick, he grabbed my hand and we ran. No one had ever protected me like that in my original world. I fell for him helplessly. His carefree, dazzling smile that day is etched in my memory forever. With the system’s help, I soon met him again at the bar where I worked. He was surrounded by rich kids beating him up. When he looked at me, his eyes were filled with despair, no longer spirited like before. His resistance angered one of the rich kids, who was about to pull out a knife. I quickly found a way to get the manager to help, and we rescued him. That night, he ordered a lot of drinks to help me earn more tips. He also rambled on about many things. It turned out he was the illegitimate son of a company boss. His half-brother was causing him trouble everywhere to fight for the family inheritance. “Ethan, I believe you’re better than him.” I told him firmly. Later on, he started pursuing me. The conquest progress steadily increased. At first I was happy, but as the numbers got higher and higher, I began to hesitate. Before coming to this world, I was too ordinary. I had no family, no money, and had never experienced being loved. I thought, rather than return to that life in my original world, I might as well let the conquest progress stall. At least here, as the conquest target, I still had the male lead’s love. I started to feel insecure, avoiding Ethan or saying hurtful things I couldn’t control. But he always firmly believed we were in love. He said even though he didn’t know about my love, he could feel how much he loved me. Even though I pushed him away again and again, he kept coming back with his heart on his sleeve. In the end, I still succeeded in conquering him. I was extremely reluctant to part with such a good lover. I negotiated with the system to see if I could stay. The system agreed, saying it would give me five years, but also gave me one chance to change my mind. The system said [No male lead can remain faithful to just one woman after the grand finale.] I didn’t believe it, saying Ethan was different from other male leads. I never expected…
After I stayed, I accompanied Ethan as he slowly built up the business. Though I couldn’t hold my liquor, I forced myself to drink until I could handle any amount, ending up in the ER several times. Finally, after much effort, Ethan’s father saw our potential and let us take over the company. Ethan also proved himself capable, growing the company bigger and bigger, his net worth increasing rapidly. Once, after being forced to drink by a client, I carelessly revealed the truth about the conquest when I got home. Ethan held me tenderly, saying he would be good to me for life and that I didn’t need to hide anything from him. But less than a month later, he started fooling around with different women. He was certain I couldn’t go back, so he became more and more reckless, each time worse than the last. From the first time I discovered his affair, I regretted staying. I made a new deal with the system – the day Ethan let me down for the hundredth time would be when I left. I originally wanted to leave Ethan right away and wait for that day to come. But the system informed me that in this parallel world, I relied on the male lead’s energy to survive. If I stayed away from him, I would be rejected by this world and die a miserable death. So reluctantly, I had to continue playing the role of his obedient, virtuous wife. But Ethan really didn’t disappoint. In just four short years, I had proposed marriage 99 times, each time rejected. Meanwhile, the women by his side kept changing. No matter how I tried to remind him through messages, he remained indifferent. Instead, he took my love as a reason he could manipulate me. Fortunately, it was almost the hundredth time. This time, I would leave forever. In the evening when Ethan returned, he had already changed into a new set of clothes. He handed me a document with a smile: “Olivia, the company is about to go public. When the time comes, get dressed up and we’ll go ring the bell together!” “Okay.” I nodded numbly. Whether the company went public or not no longer mattered to me. After all, I couldn’t take anything with me when I left. “Olivia, don’t be angry anymore. Those women were just for fun.” “You’re the one who’s been by my side all along. In the future, you’ll be my only wife.” Ethan’s eyes were full of deep affection. I found it hard to understand how he could passionately make love to his secretary in the study last night, yet profess his love to me so tenderly today. “Mm, I know.” It wasn’t long before I could leave. I just needed to endure a little longer. At this moment, Ethan’s phone kept buzzing with incoming messages from someone frantically texting him. “Aren’t you going to check that?” I raised an eyebrow. “It’s nothing important. Today I want to spend time with you!” Ethan shook his head, a placating smile on his face. But I no longer felt that heart-fluttering excitement. I only felt annoyed. However, the other person wasn’t about to let him off the hook. Call after call kept coming through. I looked up at him: “Ethan, it’s very noisy.” Without a word, he took his phone and walked into the bedroom. I took out my own phone and started typing messages. “Ethan, don’t ignore the beauties outside for Olivia’s sake.” “Olivia will never leave you. She’ll still be willing to marry you even after you’ve had your fun.” This was an ability the system gave me. Only Ethan could see these messages. To leave as soon as possible, I had to let him continue hurting me recklessly. Soon, Ethan came out of the room looking apologetic. “Olivia, there’s a problem with a business deal at the company. I need to go take care of it. I’ll be back as soon as I can!” “Go ahead.” I kept scrolling on my tablet. I was logged into Ethan’s Instagram account. The most recent message was from Sophia – photos of her in various risqué outfits, so revealing it made me blush. The chat ended with Ethan’s message: “You little minx, just wait till big brother shows you what he can do!” “Olivia, I’ll bring back those dumplings you like from the north side when I come home later.” Ethan said as he grabbed his coat and car keys on his way out. Back when Ethan and I first got together, all I could afford was one order of dumplings. He went hungry and gave them to me. At the time, I thought they were the most delicious food in the world. At midnight, my phone received several explicit videos. Ethan’s beautiful almond-shaped eyes were filled with lust. An hour later, Ethan came back with the dumplings from the north side, along with a faint scent of women’s perfume. I had just taken my first bite when I recalled those videos. I felt incredibly nauseous and couldn’t control myself as I rushed to the bathroom and threw up. “Olivia, what’s wrong? Is your stomach acting up again? Quick, come eat some dumplings!” Ethan came over to support me, looking concerned. I didn’t want him to touch me at all. I struggled free and went to pour myself a glass of warm water, trying to suppress the nausea. “It’s fine. Olivia, someone will come deliver custom-made gowns tomorrow. Pick one to wear when you accompany me to the bell-ringing ceremony.” “After the company goes public and stabilizes, we’ll get married.” Ethan patted my back as he spoke. It seemed the company going public made him very happy, even prompting him to bring up marriage on his own. I nodded slightly at the mirror. It’s not going to happen, Ethan. We’ll never get married.
The next day, the gowns arrived three hours late. When I asked, I found out Ethan had taken the white gown I chose to have it altered. The dress was already made to my measurements, so it was clear who he was having it altered for. Forget it. I was about to leave anyway. No point in arguing with people from this world anymore. Soon, the day of the company’s bell-ringing ceremony arrived. I put on a smile and gracefully accompanied Ethan through the ceremony. Sophia’s eyes in the audience below were burning with jealousy, looking like they could bore holes in me. As the boss’s wife, I also had to attend the shareholders’ meeting, forcing myself to stay alert. In the past, I would have carefully recorded every word at these meetings, not missing a single detail. Then I’d go back and help Ethan analyze how to make the company even better. But now, none of it mattered to me anymore. All the facts and figures made me drowsy. Suddenly, I heard Ethan shout angrily. “What’s going on? Who put together today’s PowerPoint?” I looked up to see that all 99 slides of the presentation were filled with my boudoir photos – innocent ones, seductive ones… Without exception, they were all quite revealing. It was the year I loved him most. Ethan had begged me for a long time before I finally agreed to take those photos as a memento for him. “Mr. Clarke, there’s no need to share your little couple’s games with all of us shareholders. Are you trying to make us part of your roleplaying?” “I think Ms. Johnson has a great figure. Mr. Clarke, are you doing this because you want to share the joy with everyone? Haha!” The male shareholders’ lecherous gazes fell on me as they made one mocking comment after another. “It was my fault. I used Mr. Clarke’s computer for the presentation and accidentally used the wrong file!” Sophia, dressed in a smart business suit, hurried to admit her mistake, looking like she was about to cry. “It’s fine, it’s just a mix-up with the files. Don’t make such a big deal out of it. Sophia, redo it and let’s continue the meeting!” Ethan brushed it off carelessly, clearly more protective of his cute little secretary. The other female shareholders looked at me with unbearably pitying eyes. “Ethan, I’m the one whose private photos were exposed. She should apologize to me, and you owe me an explanation too.” I stood up and looked at Ethan. But before Ethan could speak, Sophia had already started fake crying: “Sis, don’t blame Mr. Clarke. I was too careless. If you want to scold someone, scold me!” I was about to leave anyway. No point in trying to get along with anyone in this world. Since that’s how it is… I swung my arm and slapped her hard across the face. “You’re right, you deserve to be scolded and hit!” “Olivia! How could you hit someone!” “Sophia just made a small mistake at work. Do you have to keep harping on it?” “Besides, if you thought those photos were inappropriate for others to see, why did you agree to take them in the first place!” Ethan pulled Sophia behind him protectively and angrily berated me, spittle flying. I looked at my conquest target and suddenly felt dizzy. Steadying myself against the table, I found it laughably ironic. Maybe I never truly knew Ethan. Maybe what I thought was his love for me was just an illusion created by the conquest. How foolish of me to think that was love. Ethan was still insulting me with vicious words, saliva spraying everywhere. I raised my head and slowly walked towards him. “You’re right. I was so focused on hitting her, I forgot about you.” SLAP! An incredibly loud slap rang out in the meeting room. For a moment, everyone fell into an awkward silence. “Shut up. She illegally shared my private photos. I’m calling the police!” I crossed my arms and said. Sophia gently tugged on Ethan’s sleeve. Ethan said coldly: “We can’t call the police. Olivia, be more gracious and don’t make such a big deal out of this with a young girl.” “Those photos star you. What good will it do you if this blows up? In the end, you’ll be the one embarrassed!” I shook my head with a smile: “With that attitude, it’s hard for me not to call the police.” “Then what do you want?” “I want half of the shares you hold. Sign them over to me right now!” “And I want you to marry me.”
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