I Became The Stand-In

My children, Jared Anderson and Julia Anderson, grabbed Ted Smith’s clothes tightly. They looked at me warily, like I was a criminal.

I clenched my fists and felt my heart throbbing in pain.

My wife, Clara Anderson, tightened her grip around my arm.

I looked up and stared at the others standing around me.

Initially, they were talking about the automatic alarm installed in my cell phone. Ted showing up at that very moment caught them by surprise.

My father-in-law, George Brown, explained himself awkwardly, “When you were in a coma, Ted took care of us. Initially, we wanted to introduce you to him after you came home.”

My mother-in-law, Nancy Brown, added, “That’s right, since you’ve woken up from your coma, I hope the two of you play along well. Don’t make us worry.”

Ted smiled and walked toward me. However, his eyes were taunting me.

I silently paused the system.

‘I’ll give you an answer in two days’ time.’

In my brain, the system sighed softly and went into sleep mode.

When I did not respond to him, Ted pretended to be upset. He forced a smile at everyone else.

“I had rushed into this. It’s normal for Blake to hate me. I’ll make a move first…”

He did not wait for the others to respond before he turned around and left.

Nancy stomped and immediately ran after him.

Clara stood up subconsciously. However, she paused momentarily when she met my gaze. Then, she sat down again.

She hugged me tightly and comforted me like she used to.

“Don’t overthink this. You are my only husband.”

Julia gathered up her dress and ran after him. Jared turned to glare at me in hatred, then he slammed the door behind him.

I was confused. How did my adorable children turn into people with such bad attitudes?

Seeing that I was silent, George went out to complete my discharge procedure. After a while, I was placed on a wheelchair.

However, I realized after we started driving that we were not heading home.

I could not help but ask, “George, if I recall correctly, this isn’t the way home, right?”

George’s hands that were holding the steering wheel trembled. He laughed. “You’ve always had such a good memory.”

He took the long road before finally arriving home.

Initially, I did not understand George’s actions.

However, it all made sense when I entered the house.

The family portrait that we once had was taken off the wall. Instead, it was replaced by a photo of them with Ted.

I looked at the photo on the wall dumbfoundedly. Then, I walked upstairs and opened my old bedroom door.

As expected, Ted had taken over my bedroom.

I was breathing heavily. I looked at the bedroom. It looked completely different. Then, I stared at Ted, who was telling Julia a bedtime story.

I laughed mockingly.

Over the past five years, I had completed all quests given by the system dutifully, just so I could reunite with my family.

I never expected to lose my place in this family.

“Were you planning to send me elsewhere from the start?”