Chapter 1

"Host, are you sure about this?" the system's voice echoes in my mind. "Your mother's illness is getting worse. If you reset and start a new world, she might not live to see you succeed."

Upon hearing that, I felt something twist painfully inside me.

Five years ago, I took on this mission to save my mother, who was dying of cancer.

At first, everything seemed to go my way. I got caught up in Zachary Pierce's charm and started believing in the fantasy.

Reality, though, woke me up with a slap.

Just because I touched a photo album that belonged to Yvonne Shaw and didn't wear the red dress she used to adore, Zachary left me stranded in a slum in a foreign country. He even took my passport.

I barely escaped being assaulted, stumbled into the street, and got hit by a car. It was only after I landed in the hospital that I finally managed to call him.

Zachary's voice was cold as he said, "If you didn't look so much like Yvonne, do you really think I'd spare you a glance? This is just a lesson. Once you've thought it through, I'll come get you."

After that, he went even further.

He forced me to climb thousands of steps just to pray for his deceased lover.

Once, he let people strip me bare and abandon me on a mountaintop ski slope.

Another time, he kicked me into the ocean just to retrieve a lost bracelet, even though he knew I couldn't swim.

He called them "tests of sincerity".

Meanwhile, he and his buddies would laugh behind my back, making bets on how many humiliations it would take before I gave up.

A few months ago, Zachary changed his tune. He said he wanted a child with me.

Watching his affection score finally shoot up, I was naive enough to think my suffering might actually pay off.

But the laughter coming from that hospital room hit me like a freight train.

"Zach, does this make it the 100th? We've finally hit 100 pranks on her if we count the baby."

"I'll bet she never walks away. The baby's not hers, but it's still Zach's. After all she's put up with, what's one more?"

"Exactly. Every time Zach bumps his affection score a little higher, she comes back wagging her tail."

Every word was like a knife, carving up whatever was left of my pride.

That was when I finally realized that Zachary had known who I was from the very beginning. He could even control his affection score.

"She's just a pathetic player. I won't stop until I've completely ruined her. Just wait and see!"

I heard Zachary's laughter through the door. Whatever hope I had left was dead and gone. I closed my eyes, forcing back tears, and managed a crooked smile.

"Yes," I said to the system. "Let's end it. The sooner the better. Send me somewhere new. I'll find a new target."

Once I got the system's approval, I returned to the hospital room. I just stood there, quietly watching the baby sleep in his crib.

I went through so many painful injections, with bruises all over my stomach, just for the chance to bring him into the world.

I could still feel the ache from the retrieval needle. Just thinking about it made me shiver.