Someone to Replace Me

What was going on?My mind went blank, and I had a bad feeling about all of this.Just then, Lena knocked on the door and came in with a glass of milk. "Ethan, I warmed a glass of milk for you."She walked to my side, and her gaze landed on the computer screen. There was a brief hint of panic on her face. "Why are you suddenly looking this up?"I took in every detail of her expression, and my heart went cold. "I was just... Checking how much I have left to pay back.""It's fine. Don't worry about it. You've already sold all the assets you have under your name to pay it back. We don't blame you at all."That was true.I had saved some money over the years, too.My older memories had recovered long ago, and I knew the house and car under my name were worth a lot. So, I had sold them without a second thought back then and poured the money into that bottomless pit that was the loans.Lena handed me the glass of milk. "Drink."The milk had no color or smell, but I knew something h

I opened my eyes, and the last of my memories came back to me.I finally understood everything.Before this, my family had been involved in a car accident and fallen into comas. They were all in critical condition. To save them, I bound myself to the System and entered another world. After completing every mission it assigned me, I finally managed to save them.But when I came back, Zachary was already by their side.I chose to let go and gave them my blessing. I wanted to return to the other world, but Zachary envied the power my other family had in that world. So, he stole my opportunity to go back.He even took countless things that belonged to me so he could become more like me. He wanted the birthmark on the back of my neck, so Victor carved it off with a knife, nearly severing an artery and killing me. He wanted my face, so Nora cut into it herself, tears in her eyes as she did.Zachary knew very well that if I lived a good life, he would suffer. If he wanted to live well,

Zachary grabbed my hand anxiously as he said, "Sing for me backstage, alright? Your face is ruined now, so they can't recognize you anymore. You have nothing now, and I can help you. As long as you sing for me, I'll give you half of everything I can get."I pulled my hand free and punched him without reservation. "I'm not you. Now that I'm back, it's time for you to head to the exit."Zachary glared at me, then suddenly smiled. "Fine. Don't blame me for this."At the very next second, he grabbed a knife and stabbed himself in the stomach. Then, he screamed. "Help!"Everything happened in a flash.I had just frozen for a second before the people who broke through the door twisted my arms behind my back and pinned me down. Then, my parents in this world, Grant and Hannah Black, rushed in. They had given me so much warmth when I was here...They did not even glance at me as they went straight to Zachary. "Ethan, you... You."Hannah's face turned deathly pale as she supported him. "

Zachary glared at me with hatred as he suffered through the pain. "Why?! Why do you get to live such a good life! In that world, you had four people loving you! When they finally fell into comas, you came to this world instead! Why is my life so miserable? Why do I have to scheme for everything?"He cried, sobbing like some broken thing.A realization appeared in my mind, and I asked, "Zane?"His head snapped up. The blood on his face made him look even more horrifying. "Yeah! That's me! Do you know how much I sacrificed just to look like you?"Hearing this, I froze.Zane had been my playmate when I was young, and his parents had died when he was little. I had pitied him, and I did my best to take care of him whenever I spent time with him. Later, he dropped out of school and left. We never saw each other again after that.I had never imagined he had been so jealous of me in secret as he lay on the floor with his limbs twisted.Grant found a long needle and stabbed it into Zacha