Chapter 3 When Obedience Becomes a Prison

The system wanted me to do something truly outrageous that day.

As I made my way there, I couldn't shake the strange feelings stirring inside me.

…

When I was five, I learned to wash dishes for the first time. I was so small that I needed to stand on a little stool just to reach the sink. By the time I was eight, I'd started learning to cook, and Mom had scolded me several times for not being able to handle a kitchen knife properly.

When I was little, I once asked Jordan why he didn't have to wash dishes or cook. Mom told me that he already knew how to do those things, while I still had a lot to learn and needed to practice.

But thinking about it carefully now, Jordan had never actually done any of those chores. Did he really know how? He'd slept in this morning, too, yet he'd gotten a full plate of breakfast without lifting a finger. Why hadn't I been allowed to eat anything?

I didn't have time to dwell on it.

…

Soon, I arrived outside a cosmetic surgery clinic.

Last week, Dad had told me that now that I'd finished my SATs, I should get double eyelid surgery. He'd taken me to the clinic, paid the fee, and scheduled the procedure for this week. Before we left, he'd given me some earnest advice.

"Girls look cuter with double eyelids. You're still young, so you should get it done now while your body can recover quickly."

The system had instructed me, "Go get your money back."

I let out a soft sigh. There was nothing I could do about it. Once again, I was going to have to disobey Dad.

For the first time in my life, I made a scene in front of a crowd.

Whenever a customer walked through the clinic's doors, I'd approach them with tears streaming down my face and explain, "I'm barely an adult. I only booked the surgery because I didn't know any better. Now they won't refund my money, and they're insisting on making me undergo cosmetic surgery!"

In the end, the clinic had no choice but to refund the entire amount.

That said, I didn't feel happy about it—I covered my face and fled.

Under the system's influence, I'd become nothing like the obedient daughter I'd been before. I was practically a completely different person.

…

After I'd gotten the money back, the system told me to do something else my parents wouldn't allow.

I thought about it for a while before signing up at a driving school.

Last year, when Jordan got into college, my parents had immediately sent him to driving school. As soon as he'd passed his driving test, they'd even bought him a car to practice with. This year, I'd asked them if I could learn to drive, too.

Both of them had tried to talk me out of it, though.

Dad had laughed at me. "Are you stupid? As long as your future husband knows how to drive, you'll be fine. Wouldn't it be better to find a man who already has a car?"

Mom had chimed in, too. "Just imagine yourself sitting in the passenger seat, enjoying the breeze and looking pretty. Driving is exhausting. Leave it to your husband!"

I didn't understand their reasoning. After all, I didn't have a husband yet, but I did have a brother. He had a car and knew how to drive, yet whenever I wanted him to pick me up on his way home on a rainy day, whether he agreed depended entirely on his mood.

Would a man who wasn't even related to me by blood treat me better than my own brother did? I couldn't imagine it.

Clutching the 200 dollars I'd saved, I happily headed home.

The moment I stepped through the door, I saw my parents and Jordan sitting stiffly on the sofa, as though they'd been waiting for me for a long time.

Dad picked up the thermos beside him and hurled it at me. "How dare you come back home?"

Dark brown coffee splashed across the floor, soaking the lower half of my pant leg.

Mom hurried over and grabbed my hand. "Grace, why did you make such a scene? If word gets around about your temperament, how are you ever going to get married?"

Jordan let out a cold snort. "I think she's possessed."

Dad, who had always been refined and mild-mannered, seemed like a completely different person. His eyes widened with fury as he glared at me. "Grace Sawyer, you've gone too far! Get on your knees!"

I stood frozen in place.

I wanted to explain myself, but when I opened my mouth, not a single word came out.

The system's voice turned cold. "Don't you dare kneel."

My eyes reddened as I remembered the system's threat. If I continued obeying my parents, I'd lose the most important people in my life.

I turned and walked into my bedroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it.

Through the door, I could faintly hear my parents sighing.

Curled up beneath my blankets, I thought about the harmonious family we'd once been, and I burst into tears.

Desperate to sever my bond with the system, I asked it outright, "What exactly is that secret phrase?"

The system responded with a question of its own. "Do you really want to keep being the perfect, obedient daughter?"

Choking back sobs, I replied, "I just don't want to fight with them."

The system mocked me. "But they don't feel the same way. What's the point of deceiving yourself?"