Chapter 1
06:43
He had promised me…
A familiar, searing pain ripped through my body as the bleeding started again, more violently this time. I curled into a ball on the
wild and uncontrollable. O cold stone, feeling my life ebb away. A tidal wave of resentment and hatred surged through i
The System’s voice echoed, filled with something like regret.
Male lead is now engaged to another. Host termination sequence will commence. Three… two…]
“Wait,” I begged. “Can you… can you let me die in front of him?”
The System paused. I have set a new program for you to die in the male lead’s presence. However, due to the alteration of game rules, the system is now unstable. I cannot predict the exact time of your death.J
I nodded. As long as I could die in front of him, it didn’t matter when.
My wedding dress was soaked in blood. I walked, step by agonizing step, to the hotel where they held their engagement party. I arrived just as they were leaving.
“What are you doing here dressed like that?” Perry hissed, rushing towards me. “Get out of here before Bianca sees you.”
“And don’t try that ‘I’m dying‘ trick again. I’m busy tonight. Go home.”
He glanced at my blood–soaked dress, his eyes filled with disgust. He thought it was all an act.
A bitter taste filled my mouth. I looked past him and saw Bianca’s pale, drawn face. She looked like she was recovering from a serious illness. A team of medical staff followed her. But I didn’t have the energy to care about anyone else’s problems.
annby
I fixed my gaze on his annoyed face. “Why didn’t you come?” I asked, my voice hollow.
He heard Bianca’s footsteps approaching and his impatience grew, his expression darkening. “Are you a child?” he snapped. “What
kind of nonsense is ‘I’ll die if we don’t get married‘?”
“Do you look like you’re dying? I felt guilty, that’s the only reason I agreed to indulge you. Something important came up today. Coul-
dn’t it wait?”
By then, Bianca had reached us. Perry’s expression softened instantly as he gently took her arm. “Why did you come out? I was just
about to clear things up with her,” he chided softly.
Seeing his tender care for her, I finally understood. His affection for me had never been unique.
Bianca glanced at my attire, a smirk playing on her lips. “I was just worried you’d be too harsh and scare the poor girl,” she said, her
smile not reaching her eyes. “She’s not from our world. One’s pride can be so fragile.”
“Miss Williams, that check was terribly crass of us. My apologies. Please, think about what you’d like as proper compensation and
contact my assistant.” She pressed a business card into my hand, her voice devoid of any real sincerity.
I crumpled the card in my fist, then let it flutter to the ground, a perfect mirror of my shattered heart. I had given him my soul, and
he had crushed it and handed it back to me.
A flicker of pity crossed Perry’s face, but it was gone in a flash. They said nothing more and got into their car.
As I watched them drive away, a pain so intense it felt like my heart was being ripped from my couldn’t stand. It was an agony that invaded every cell, threatening to tear me in two.
Mest radiated through
gh my body. I
I panicked, calling out to the System in my mind.
Host, changing the game rules has a series of unknown consequences. The corresponding punishments
regretted it. My desire to make him feel remorse had only brought all the suffering back onto me.
are
It wasn’t worth it.
“She’s bleeding! Oh my God, she’s bleeding everywhere!” someone screamed. The cry was piercingly loud in the quiet night.
My consciousness was fading, my vision blurring. I heard the screech of tires.
A car door flew open. I heard Bianca’s frantic, angry shout. “Perry, come back! Where are you going?”
The sound of urgent footsteps grew closer, ignoring her cries.
The last thing I saw was Perry’s face, twisted in a mask of pure, unadulterated horror.
