Chapter 3

After a long moment, NODE lifted her eyes to Maxwell. "You should go back to work. I can take care of myself."

Maxwell stared at her, stunned.

If it were me, I would have started arguing by now. At the very least, I would have demanded an explanation.

The accident had been pure coincidence. Josephine and I had been on the same bus. We were hit at the same time and brought in together. Yet my husband remembered me only as an afterthought.

Guilt flickered through Maxwell's eyes. After a long pause, he finally spoke. "Cass, get some rest. If you want to eat anything, just message me. I'll make it for you."

He reached out and gently rubbed NODE's head, then turned and left. His retreat looked less like leaving and more like running away.

I could not stray far from my body. I stood by the window and watched patients move through the courtyard below. Birth, sickness, aging, death—every cycle played out in those corridors.

"NODE, when is the next exit node?" I asked quietly.

"I do not know," NODE replied with a sigh. "We have to wait for notification. If it is fast, ten days or half a month. If it is slow, we wait until you die of old age."

Then her tone hardened. "Host, we do not have room for another mistake. I hope you understand this time. The affection of a male supporting character is unstable. Withdrawing in time and leaving cleanly is best for both of us."

I froze. I had heard those words once before, three years ago. Back then, I believed Maxwell's love could protect me. I thought it was enough to keep me safe.

Now it all felt like a joke.

When we first studied medicine together, he grabbed my hand, eyes blazing with certainty. "Cass, we'll be healthy together for the rest of our lives."

"At life and death?" I laughed at our wedding, covering my mouth, blissfully happy. "No one escapes that."

"I don't care," he said. "Even if Hades himself comes for you, I'll storm the underworld and drag you back."

In the end, he was the one who pushed me straight into hell.

Maybe I could finally learn.

Before I could promise NODE anything, the door burst open.

"Cassie, Maxie said you were here." Josephine stepped into the room. "Are you feeling better?"

She braced herself against the wall and moved with deliberate slowness. Her smug gaze slid toward NODE.

Maxwell stood beside her, carefully supporting her arm, as if she were made of glass.

I looked at him, and something sour spread through my chest. This was the woman he protected with his whole heart.

Josephine's eyes gleamed with a victor's confidence. She looked down at NODE, chin lifted. Thick bandages wrapped her right hand.

NODE met her gaze calmly. No emotion surfaced at all.

Josephine faltered, as if she had thrown a punch and struck cotton. She recovered quickly, her smile blooming again. "I really have Maxie to thank this time. If it weren't for him, I'd never be able to hold a paintbrush again."

She sighed softly, feigning hesitation. "He said it would be more convenient for my recovery if I moved in with him after I'm discharged. But I feel bad about it."

Her tone stayed gentle, her eyes bright with barely concealed triumph.

Maxwell looked awkward. He glanced at NODE with care. "Cass… Josie's family is all overseas. She's alone here, and now her right hand is injured. I don't feel at ease letting her stay by herself. Do you think maybe…"

He did not finish the sentence.

I curled my lips into a cold smile.

We had just gotten married. We had not even lived in our new home for two days before he tried to bring another woman back.

He did not dare say it outright. Instead, he searched NODE's face, guessing at what "my" reaction might be.

Josephine smiled to herself. She knew my temper. She knew I would never agree.

Who brought another woman into their marital home?

But NODE was not me. The system felt no love for Maxwell at all. She lowered her head, thinking. I knew what that meant. NODE was calculating the optimal solution.

After a long moment, NODE looked up and answered evenly, "Okay."

The word landed like a dropped scalpel. The room fell silent.

Maxwell and Josephine stared at each other, disbelief written across their faces. They had not expected this. If it were me, anger or questioning would have followed. There would have been a storm.

But NODE remained terrifyingly calm. I knew this was the answer she had calculated.

Maxwell opened his mouth, ready to say something more. Then he looked at NODE again and froze.

There was neither sorrow nor joy in her eyes, only a still, stagnant emptiness, like a pool of dead water.

For the first time, a chill crept up Maxwell's spine.