Chapter 3

"Who wouldn't want a Daddy-type boyfriend like Mr. Ford? Sunny's so lucky. I wish I could exchange places with her."

"Am I the only one who feels bad for Elizabeth? The company she worked so hard to build up is being used as a flirting tool."

"Stop spouting nonsense, you Elizabeth-lover. Can't you just enjoy how sweet Ashton and Sunny are right now?"

The auction kicked off while I was busy reading the comments.

25% of the company's shares were up for auction, but the starting price was only one dollar. Everyone tripped over themselves to call out a price, worried that someone else would snatch up such an excellent deal from right under their noses.

Meanwhile, Ashton remained cool and composed until the end, when no one else was willing to call out a higher price.

The auctioneer had already struck the gavel twice. Just as I was about to hold up my sign, Ashton's voice reverberated around the room.

"Two billion."

Sunny's face twisted upon hearing his words. The highest price had been two million dollars earlier, but Ashton had offered two billion dollars. More importantly, Sunny's plan had been to sell off the company's shares, and yet Ashton had bought them back at an astronomical price.

A flurry of complicated emotions flickered through everyone's eyes as they looked at Sunny and Ashton.

"Ash, why did you suddenly join the bidding?" Sunny asked, unable to hold back her curiosity.

Ashton's expression remained the same when he replied, "I suddenly realized that this company still has its uses. I need to earn more money to ensure you live a comfortable life, Sunny."

The deal was closed when the auctioneer struck the gavel on the auction block for the last time.

Sunny stumbled to her feet. Her voice was colored with panic when she asked The System, "Did he realize that something is amiss?"

"The target is experiencing abnormal emotional fluctuations, but your mission progress hasn't decreased. There's nothing to worry about, Sunny."

Sunny bit her lip. "Stupid Ashton, why can't you forget about Elizabeth?"

I followed the crowd out of the auction hall and bumped into Ashton at the entrance. His eyes lit up slightly when he spotted me.

"Elizabeth?"

I smiled at him, saying, "We meet again, Mr. Ford. What a coincidence."

I wanted to say more, but when I noticed Sunny approaching us, I patted Ashton's shoulder and said, "Till next time, Ashton. Wait for me."

…

On the day of the wedding, I snuck into the backstage area of the hall. According to The System, the wedding was an important event. Most of the missions would be completed today.

I wasn't brave enough to leave Ashton's life on the line, so I knew I had to crash the wedding. The ceremony had already progressed to the ring exchange when I made it to the hall after avoiding all the security guards.

The System transformed into a ray of blue light and flew toward me. "Stop this pointless struggle. Sunny's seconds away from completing her mission with Ashton," it said mockingly.

"Did you really think I would make a genuine deal with you? If Sunny dies, I'll disappear too."

I lifted my gaze and studied The System curiously. "Is that your weakness? Both of you will die if Sunny fails her mission?"

The System scoffed. "It's pointless to talk about this now. The security guards stalled you enough just now. The mission will succeed any second now—"

Several red exclamation marks popped up in front of us before it could finish its sentence.

"Warning! The target's affection level is decreasing. The target's affection level has decreased by 10%... 30%..."

Sunny, who had just been about to slip the ring on Ashton's finger, had also received the warning. Her voice was colored with panic when she asked, "System, what's going on? Why is the affection level decreasing?"

The only response she received was a cold and indifferent announcement.

"The target's affection level has decreased by 50%."

Sunny looked at Ashton in fear. As expected, a hateful expression had appeared on his face.

"Mission failure! Mission failure! Mission failure!"

Sunny retreated a few steps and stumbled to the floor when a piercing noise reverberated in her ears. Why was this happening? She had been so close to succeeding. What went wrong?

The System asked me the same questions.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," I replied lightly. "I just chose to believe in Ashton. After all, he only ended up this way because he brought me back to life. I believe that he definitely won't forget about me."

The System seemed to be struck with a realization. "You… You're the real Elizabeth Miller?" it asked in disbelief.