My wife, Chloe Hayes, and her true love, Liam Miller, were kidnapped at the same time. She’d brought five million in ransom, and without a second thought, she rescued Liam. And my son, whom I’d raised since he was a baby, echoed her sentiment: “I want Liam to come with us! Mom, he’ll be scared if he stays here!” The System declared my mission a failure: “Once this body dies, you’ll be sent back to your original world.” So all I wanted was to die and get home fast. But when my wife and son realized I truly didn’t want to live anymore, they hugged me and cried: “I was wrong, please don’t leave us, okay?” After twelve years of trying to win Chloe Hayes over, she still chose Liam Miller without hesitation. Chloe quickly untied the ropes binding Liam, her eyes soft with tenderness. Beside them, Leo Hayes, mimicking his mom, rubbed Liam’s red wrists, blowing on them occasionally. “Blow on it, it’ll make the ouch go away.” The three of them stood together—Liam hugging Chloe, Chloe gently stroking his back, and Leo clinging tight to Liam’s shirt hem. They looked so loving, so perfect together, like I wasn’t even there in the kidnapper’s clutches. This scene even made the kidnapper scoff: “Your old lady’s too busy with her lovebird to care about you. Probably won’t even pay to get you back. Why don’t I just put you out of your misery?” Watching them dote on Liam as they left, the System officially declared my mission a failure. The punishment hit instantly—an electric shock that knocked me out cold. Through the fog, I felt the kidnapper fumbling to catch my collapsing body. “I just ran my mouth a little and he passes out? Shit, this is bad—real bad. Gotta get him to a hospital, now. If he croaks on me, I’m done for.” When I came to in the hospital, I checked with the System in my head: If this body dies for real, I can go home, right? When the System confirmed it, I dragged myself to the window. The room was on a high floor—at least fifty feet up. A jump from here would finish me off for sure. I opened the window and leapt out. The freefall hit hard, and I flailed instinctively. Wind howled in my ears, stinging like a bitch. But I wasn’t scared—I was relieved. Finally, it’d be over. Just a little more, and I’d be home. Back to where someone actually gave a damn about me. I closed my eyes, waiting calmly. The next second, the falling sensation vanished. Then someone grabbed my arm like a vice. The momentum wrenched my muscles, sending a white-hot pain shooting from my shoulder to my chest. I cracked an eye open—felt like my arm was snapped clean in two. The person holding me was Skylar Hayes, Chloe’s half-sister. I stared up at the girl, sweat dripping off her. Her arms were shaking, veins popping as she clung to me like I was a lifeline. “Let go,” I said flat. Skylar bared her teeth, holding on tighter, hauling me up with every last bit of strength. “So Chloe picked the other guy—big deal! You gonna throw your life away over that? Are you braindead?!” I reached up, prying her fingers off one by one. “Skylar, you’ve always hated me. Let me fall. It’s what you want.” Skylar hated me. Hell, anyone even remotely close to Chloe hated my guts. After Liam left her high and dry, Chloe caved to family pressure and married me. They all thought I was some slimy opportunist who’d taken advantage of her when she was down. Frozen me out, talked behind my back, acted like I didn’t exist. Skylar was the worst. She’d waltz into the Hayes mansion like she owned the place—tore up every flower I’d planted in the backyard. Knew I was deathly allergic to cat dander, but put the idea in Leo’s head to adopt a stray kitten. When I said no, she told him to throw a fit. Kid screamed so loud the whole house shook. Skylar played the hero, of course. “It’s just a kitten. If the kid wants it, let him have it.” Leo cried even harder, rolling on the floor, mumbling: “Dad’s a jerk! I want the kitten!” I tossed Skylar and the cat out, then tried to explain to Leo—allergic to cat dander, can’t keep it, but we could get a puppy instead. But Skylar had already poisoned his mind. Kid didn’t care about my allergies, just kept hitting me, screaming for his stupid cat back. That’s when Leo stopped talking to me. Skylar kept at it, badmouthing me to him until he started outright defying me. She was a real piece of work—turned my whole life into a living hell.
But I didn’t die. Skylar’s yelling drew the nurses running. They hauled me back inside together. Skylar shot me a dirty look, slammed the window shut, and went quiet for once. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking—palms covered in raw, red scrapes. Those once-soft hands were all bruised and bloodied now. “Alex… I don’t hate you as much as you think.” She lowered her head, her long hair covering half her face. Her voice cracked, almost like she was… upset? Before I could ask what she meant, Skylar crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and went back to being her usual bitchy self. “This is just another one of your stupid stunts, right? Chloe’s not gonna fall for it—you’re just gonna piss her off more…” “This is another one of your new tricks, isn’t it? I’m telling you, Chloe Hayes isn’t falling for your games. All you’re going to do is annoy her…” Skylar rambled on while the nurses checked the monitors. I used the distraction to bolt for the window again. I’d barely got it open before Skylar tackled me back. Before I could even step out, Skylar yanked me back. After two tries, Skylar finally got it—I wasn’t messing around. I really wanted to die. She dragged me away from the window, then sat me down, her tone softening like she was talking to a spooked animal. “Don’t do this. Chloe’s not the only woman alive—why are you so hung up on her?” She cleared her throat, face turning pink. “Chloe’s a lousy wife, I get it—but just divorce her. Don’t throw your life away over her. There’s probably someone out there who actually likes you, y’know?” Skylar drove me back to the Hayes mansion. On the way, she said Chloe thought I’d planned the kidnapping to hurt Liam, and was now coddling him. “Chloe’s furious. Just apologize to Liam when we get there, and it’ll blow over.” “Get Chloe calm first, then divorce’ll be easier.” I stared out the window, didn’t say a word. The world blurred by, gone before I could register it. The kidnapper had panicked when he thought I was dying—probably Liam’s doing. Frame me for the kidnapping, play the victim for Chloe. Classic Liam move. He’d done it before, and he’d do it again. This wasn’t the first time, and it would never be the last. Liam and I were oil and water—we couldn’t stand each other, but we kept colliding. And Chloe? She was Liam’s biggest fan. Always had been. Even his dumbest lies looked like “innocence” to her. She always took his side—never mine. Every time I tried to explain, she’d just roll her eyes: “Quit being dramatic. Look at how you’re acting.”
I thought back to when I first started trying to win Chloe over. Back then, Liam was with someone else, and Chloe was the heartbroken side chick—drinking herself into a stupor every night. The System pointed her out: passed out in a bar corner, that’s your target. Get her to love you 100%, and you can go home. Stupid mission, if you ask me—why does going home depend on some woman’s feelings? But I did what I had to. Sat with her when she drank, cleaned up when she threw up. She missed Liam’s baking, so I took classes—learned every one of her favorite desserts. She tossed them in the trash without even looking. Told me I was nothing compared to Liam. So I quit baking, started cooking instead. Chloe had a sensitive stomach, skipped meals when she worked late. Made her balanced meals every day, brought them to her office myself. Guess the food was good enough—she started letting me stick around. Got her affection up to 98%. Thought I was finally going home. Then she got pregnant. Family pressured her into marrying me. Her affection tanked. Said I’d trapped her. Said the baby was a mistake. Said I’d planned it all. I’d boosted her affection rating to 98%. Just when I thought I’d be going home soon, an accident happened—she got pregnant. Chloe, pressured by her family, married me. Her affection rating for me plummeted. All along, she believed I had deliberately gotten her pregnant. That it was a trap I’d set, a scheme she’d fallen into. Ridiculous. She was the one who came onto me that night. Her mistake, not mine. Chloe and Liam were two peas in a pod—always blaming others for their own messes. Guess it makes them feel better about themselves. Whatever. I followed Skylar into the house. I followed behind Skylar. Liam was on the couch like he owned the place. Chloe was feeding him fruit with a fork. Chloe was holding a plate of diced fruit, feeding him piece by piece with a fork. Leo was at his feet, rubbing his legs like a little puppy. Chloe saw me and her face dropped. Chloe turned and saw me, instantly putting on a stern face. She grabbed a paper off the table and threw it at me. “Alex! I don’t care if you’re throwing a fit—but you had no right to hurt Liam!” “You think staging a kidnapping is funny? If Liam had gotten hurt, you’d be in jail!” “Do you think this self-staged kidnapping is fun to get my attention? If anything serious had happened to Liam, you’d be going to jail!” I picked up the papers. Read them. Laughed. After reading them carefully, I couldn’t help but let out a cynical laugh. It was the kidnapper’s “confession”—blaming me, of course. If Chloe had bothered to check the bank records, she’d know I didn’t pay the ransom. But she didn’t want to know. She only wanted to believe Liam. Liam saw my face and stood up quickly, grabbing Chloe’s arm. “Chloe, it’s okay—don’t get upset…” I slapped him before he could finish. Hit him hard. The sound echoed through the room. Liam stared at me, shocked. Everyone was. Chloe snapped first. She lunged at me, hands around my throat. “You think this fake confession will send me to jail? You’re the idiot, not the cops.” Chloe squeezed harder. I couldn’t breathe. But I smiled. Skylar punched Chloe in the face. Chloe let go. I collapsed to the floor, gasping. Glared at Skylar—she’d ruined it. Skylar hit Chloe again. “She was dying, you psycho!” Chloe stared at her hands like she couldn’t believe what she’d done. Then she looked at me—guilty, maybe? She turned away, face red. Chloe instinctively released her grip on my throat. Lack of oxygen made my legs weak, and I instantly collapsed to the floor. I gasped for air, glaring with slight annoyance at Skylar, who had ruined my plan. She then punched Chloe again, still not satisfied. “She’s dying, do you hear me?! You almost choked her to death!” Chloe was dazed from the hit, she shook her wrist, but didn’t choose to hit back. She pushed Skylar away, looking at me with a complicated expression. After a moment, she awkwardly turned her head. “So what if he dies? He hit Liam first.”
Leo hugged Liam’s arm. “He’s a bad dad! I hate bad dads!” Leo hugged Liam’s arm, indignantly echoing Chloe’s words. I snuck to my room while Skylar and Chloe fought. Tired of their faces. Skylar was still fighting with Chloe, her voice drifting up to the second floor. “Chloe! Alex wanted to die—didn’t you see him smiling when you choked him? He was asking for it!” “Die? He’s just begging for attention. He’d never actually do it.” The bedroom door closed, cutting off all noise. The world fell silent. I took a knife from the drawer, went to the bathroom. Cut my wrist. Blood dripped into the sink. Death wasn’t as scary as I thought. Woke up in the hospital again. Stared at the ceiling. Skylar was asleep next to the bed—dark circles under her eyes. She jumped up when she saw me. “You’re awake! Want water? Food?” My wrist was bandaged. I pushed her hand away. Skylar pulled back, looking hurt. “You’re awake? How do you feel? Do you want some water or something to eat?” My right wrist was wrapped in a thick bandage. I wordlessly pushed away her helping hand, propping myself up on the bed. Skylar flinched, awkwardly retracting her hand. I turned away. Didn’t want to look at her. If I wasn’t so weak from blood loss, I’d tell her to get lost. She kept ruining my plans. Why did she suddenly care? “Where’s Chloe?” Skylar snapped. She grabbed my shoulders, pushed me back. “Why do you even care about Chloe?!” “You’ve been out for two days. She didn’t even call.” “Divorce her, Alex. Please.” The door slammed open. Chloe stood there, furious. She slapped Skylar across the face. “You think you can steal my husband?!” Skylar didn’t hold back this time. She punched Chloe in the stomach. “He’s not your husband! You don’t even care about him!”
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