Chapter 1

The new system told me, "You may use this time to say your goodbyes."

After hearing the system's prompt, I sat quietly on the balcony and smoked throughout the entire night.

The date circled on the desk calendar hadn't faded yet. In fact, I just had to turn my head to see one of the birthday gifts that my girlfriend, Cherie Blackstone, had given to me.

It was a stylish suit.

It was a style that I particularly liked, but I had stubbornly hung it in the most prominent spot simply because it had been a gift from her.

I loved her.

It had been 24 years, and I'd liked her since we were still little kids. She also seemed to like me back. I had imagined countless futures involving her, and yet, the one thing I never envisioned was her wanting me dead.

I glanced back at the room.

The photo frame on the nightstand held a photo of us smiling at each other in front of a birthday cake. And if I were to take apart the frame right now, I would still be able to find Cherie's childish handwriting on the back of it.

"I will marry Victor Pearson one day and be the happiest bride ever!"

She had said those words to me over and over again over the years. However, after growing up and taking over the family company, Cherie was always busy, and she began coming over to my place less and less often.

Eventually, I couldn't even tell if there was just some sort of mutual understanding between us now, or if I was the only one feeling this one-sided silence.

But it didn't matter anymore.

I splashed cold water onto my face and stood back up to gather the items filled with memories of her. I tossed them all into a cardboard box—including the camera that held all of our moments together—and… the ring on my finger.

I traced the edge of the ring. It seemed to sense its owner's emotions, feeling particularly cold against my skin today. But when I looked down, my finger wasn't touching the metal at all. It was tracing a tear, already going cold on my skin.

The ring and suit were gifts that Cherie had given me as a set.

My heart had stirred with emotion the moment I saw the gifts, since we'd been childhood sweethearts before becoming a real couple. I wondered if this meant we were finally going to get married and have a happy ending together.

I had actually thought that she truly wanted to marry me. I had even mentally rehearsed what I would say when I proposed to her, something like, "I want to build a home with you."

It might be a little cliché and old-fashioned, but I still found it incredibly romantic.

But now that I thought about it, the suit wasn't in a style or color that I liked, and I hadn't been the one to pick out the ring with her.

If I calculated the timeline based on the new system's parameters, by the time the wedding actually rolled around, the missions would likely have ended a long time ago. And by then, both the ring and the suit would have found their way to the person who actually liked them that way.

As for me, I was nothing more than an insignificant shadow in Cherie's scheme. And since I was so insignificant, I didn't even deserve the luxury of choice.

I lay back on my bed and quietly drafted a text message, editing and revising it over and over until I finally settled on just one sentence.

"I'm getting married to the person I love."