Chapter 1
The day we were supposed to get married, Perry Vance jilted me at the altar.
A shocked murmur rippled through the guests. One of his friends let out a low, appreciative whistle.
“Damn, Perry. Only a Vance could be that ruthless. You win the bet, man. I’ll pay up.”
Perry shot a lazy glance in my direction, his voice a study in casual indifference.
“If she hadn’t kept threatening to kill herself, I wouldn’t have even bothered with this ridiculous wedding.”
I stood frozen on the stage, the pristine white of my dress concealing the river of blood already flowing down my legs.
The System’s cold, mechanical voice echoed in my mind.
Mission failed. Male lead has refused to marry. Host termination sequence initiated. Three… two… J
A sticky warmth pooled between my legs; I could feel my life draining out of me with every drop. I bit down on my pale lip, the moc-
king laughter from the crowd washing over me like a toxic tide, battering my fragile sanity.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, I forced back the tears, looking at him with disbelief.
“Why? You promised… you promised you’d make me the happiest woman in the world. If I don’t marry you, I’ll actually die.”
God knows, saying those words felt like my heart was being torn from my chest. He was the one who had stayed up for three nigh-
ts straight designing every detail of this wedding. I couldn’t believe it was all just a joke.
But Perry only spared me a fleeting glance, his reply light as air.
“It’s exhausting, you know? The constant drama. Are you always like this?” he drawled. “We’re all adults here. If you take things so
seriously, how is anyone supposed to have any fun?”
His lazy tone hit me like a bolt of lightning, shattering the last of my composure.
“Perry…”
Before I could finish, his friends erupted in derisive laughter, their eyes dripping with contempt.
“Haha, don’t you get it? Perry’s been in love with someone else for years–Bianca Sterling. You think a nobody like you could ever
compare?”
“You were just a bet, sweetheart. We didn’t think someone who acts so high–and–mighty would be so easy to fool.”
Their words were knives, twisting in my gut. I started to tremble uncontrollably.
Perry frowned but offered no explanation.
I clenched my fists, a bitter, self–mocking smile touching my lips.
I’d gotten into a car accident in the real world. While I was in a coma, I was inexplicably pulled into this one, forced to complete a mission“: make Perry Vance fall in love with me. If he married me, I could return to my own world and live.
If I failed, I would be punished by bleeding to death.
I thought my months of devotion had finally won him over. I never imagined I was the punchline. But somewhere along the way, in this calculated game of seduction, I had truly fallen for him.
A sharp cramp seized my abdomen, and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead. My heart felt like it was being shredded, but the pain was everywhere and nowhere at once, as if a saw was tearing my body apart.
”
Chapter 1
06:42 0
pain was everywhere and nowhere at once, as if a saw was tearing my body apart.
The warm liquid gushed faster now, trickling down my legs and staining the inside of my gown, slowly stealing the heat from my
body.
Suddenly, Perry shrugged off his tuxedo jacket and strode off the stage.
Host’s life force is rapidly depleting!] the System’s panicked voice screamed in my head. There’s still time! You have to stop
him!J
The warning jolted me from my stupor. Ignoring the searing pain, I stumbled after him, my small steps leaving a shocking trail of bloody footprints that no one seemed to notice.
“Perry, are you really leaving me?” My voice was thick with unshed tears. Even now, a part of me couldn’t believe that the man who had been so protective, so tender, could abandon me like this.
He acted as if he hadn’t heard me. His gaze was fixed, burning with an intensity I’d never seen before, on a delicate figure standing
at the entrance of the ballroom.
He paused, and then a slow, genuine smile spread across his face.
“You finally came,” he said, his voice soft. “I knew you wouldn’t let me marry another woman.”
I froze.
In that instant, my heart didn’t just break. It shattered.
He had orchestrated this entire grand, beautiful wedding for one reason: to make his true love jealous.
2
