Contos e Romances de Imagination com Regret

When my husband, Robert Bowen, takes his assistant, Bianca Strickland, to a prenatal checkup, I'm being kissed by his 18-year-old version in a corner. "You're already 30 years old, yet why do you smell so nice and taste so kissable? I love you so much, honey! "By the way, where did my 30-year-old self go? Why didn't he come pick you up after work?" I push the 18-year-old Robert away helplessly, only to meet the icy gaze of his 30-year-old self from afar. "You already have a young side piece, and yet you still can't bear to get a divorce from me? Don't make me look down on you, Kaitlyn Hudson." As I watch Robert leaving the hospital with his arm around Bianca, his 18-year-old self begins throwing a temper tantrum in my arms. "That idiot! How dare he speak to my wife in such an arrogant manner! I might as well commit suicide right now so that he'll disappear from this world permanently!"

When the nurse pulled the IV needle out of the back of my hand, her gaze was filled with pity. “Mr. Young, the heart meant for your transplant was transferred at the last minute. It was sent to the VIP ward on the seventh floor. It’s a shame, but all your pre-operation prep has gone to waste.” Marcus Stewart was warded on the seventh floor. He was the frail young man my sister brought home. Ten minutes ago, Marcus suddenly had terrible chest pain. My usually strong mother burst into tears. My stoic father slammed the table in front of every expert in the hospital, then decided to give Marcus the heart I had been waiting three years for. It was supposed to save my life. I hurried to the end of the corridor, but the green operating light had already come on. Clutching the twisting pain in my chest, I leaned against the ice-cold wall and slid to the floor. There was no need to wait anymore. My heart failure was terminal. The doctor said I would not last the next few days. The mechanical voice sounded in my head. [Master, your vital signs are rapidly deteriorating. If you terminate this body and leave this world now, you still have a chance at a new life. Would you like to proceed?] I looked at the faint grey hue of death tinging my fingertips. “...Yes.”

After Helena Ashbourne cheated on me with her male assistant again, my mind came apart. At the lowest point of it, I picked up the fruit knife on the table and meant to end things myself. "Why are you hurting yourself again? Doesn't she like you anymore?" I looked up, and sixteen-year-old Helena was walking toward me with pain all over her face. She spoke gently. "Tell me who she is. I'll make her pay for you." I looked into the bright eyes of the girl in front of me. I didn't say anything. Quietly, I pointed at her face. Later, Helena put me in a psychiatric hospital herself. In the gaps between doses of sedative, the girl sat down beside my bed again. She stared out at the woman with a face so much like her own, and the light in her eyes went out inch by inch. Then she forced the words out, and every one of them came with blood. "I don't care who she is. I'm going to kill her." Sixteen-year-old Helena never lied to me. She meant every word.

The system transports me into an alternate historical world. After waiting for ten long years, I am finally notified that I can leave this world. Before my departure, the system grants me three days to say goodbye. So, during those final three days, I become the person that the empress, Bella Barrett, has always wanted me to be. When she hands the royal seal to Harry Johnston, I smile and present it to him myself. And when she decides to build a shrine in his honor, I support the project wholeheartedly. Later, I go to the treasury and select a few precious treasures to take with me. One of my attendants asks curiously why I need so many valuables. I smile and answer, "I'm going home." Bella suddenly turns toward me. For the first time, panic fills her eyes. "But Josiah, aren't you an orphan? Other than your home here with me, where else could you possibly go?"

The System told me that, as a mission taker, I stood a chance of resurrecting my beloved if I cleared the game. As such, I dedicated my heart and spirit to charm the villainess, even if it meant dying ninety-nine times. When I played the game for the hundredth time, she sent me into a room with a deviant, just to satisfy her crush's whims. "You're not going to die anyway. I don't mind letting you be my boyfriend if you just make Henry laugh." She didn't know that there was a hidden rule—once I played the game a hundred times, my wish of resurrecting my beloved would be granted, success notwithstanding. I shall hence disappear from her world without a trace.

I'm the fake heiress of a wealthy family. The system has given me three conquest targets to choose. As long as the affection score belonging to any of them becomes full, I can change my predestined death at the age of 23. But I've completely failed in my mission. The conquest targets have fallen for the true heiress, Evelyn Swanson, who has reunited with the family at the age of 18. As long as Evelyn says something, they can easily aim their malice and hatred at me. That's why I choose to take my own life in advance. Strangely enough, everyone is filled with remorse after I die.

After completing my mission in conquering Audrey Hayes, I choose to stay behind in this other world for her. Before the system checks out, it warns me that I have burned through every single point to keep her alive. If I ever find myself in danger again, I won't have the points to bail me out. I don't care, mostly because Audrey has held my hand and given me her word. "I'm a doctor. No matter what happens to you down the road, I'll be the one to save you." But ten years later, my twin brother and I are caught in a car accident. When Audrey rushes onto the scene, she walks right past me as I lie bleeding out on the pavement, choosing instead to load my brother onto the ambulance for nothing more than a few superficial scrapes. "I know all about those weird abilities of yours!" she snaps. "You aren't going to die, but Owen might." Watching her leave, I close my eyes in absolute despair, only to hear the system's mechanical voice echo in my mind. "Host, your vital signs are dropping rapidly. In light of your exceptional past performance, a new option has been unlocked. If you can collect enough regret from your family, you'll be granted a chance to return to the real world. Do you accept this mission?"

I'm the heiress of the elite Graham family, and yet my life is like hell. After all, the rolls of fat keep clinging to my body. No matter how hard I try, I can never get rid of them. Even if I don't eat for the entire day, my weight still rises exponentially. When I'm on the verge of dying from organ failure, I see my parents showing up with the adopted daughter, Freya Graham, in front of my sick bed. Freya covers her nose while gazing at me with a mixture of smugness and disgust in her eyes. "Thank you so much for taking the brunt of the misfortune for me, Dakota! Otherwise, I'll be the one plagued by the fat! "Then again, you've already had it good. You've lived a lavish life for many years, after all. This lifestyle is something that you can never experience for the rest of your life!" I widen my eyes in shock. But it's because of my overwhelming emotions that I can't breathe at all. In the end, I die tragically with hatred in my eyes. It turns out I'm just the fake heiress who the Grahams have adopted. My purpose is to shoulder the misfortune that's meant for Freya this whole time! She gorges on food every day, only for all of her fat to accumulate on my body instead! When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the first day when I start putting on weight like mad. In this lifetime, since Freya doesn't want the body fat this badly, she might as well live her life as a living skeleton!

At our first anniversary celebration, my wife publicly announced that she was divorcing me to marry her true love. My past mission targets coldly watched me, thinking I would cause a ruckus and trouble Ivan Lowe like I always had. However, I merely walked over to a nearby lake and jumped into it. Unbeknownst to them, Serena Gale was my very last mission target. If I failed, I was supposed to go home. So, why did they only begin to regret their choices after I finally died?

My mother was a player in a quest. Once her mission was a success, she exited this world, leaving me behind with four fathers. The first was a billionaire CEO. The second was a famous movie star. The third was a world-renowned doctor, while the fourth was incredibly powerful and influential. My four fathers spoiled me rotten for sixteen years, giving me everything I ever wanted. That was until three years ago when Sadie, the daughter of the one that got away, returned. Since then, my four fathers believed her over me. Sadie claimed that my mouth was filthier than a dog’s, so they threw me in the dog kennel and fed me dog food. When she accused me of rallying the other students and bullying her in school, my fathers got me expelled and hired three street gangsters to beat me up for months. Once again, Sadie insisted that I pushed her, and as a consequence, my fathers locked me in a cage for three whole days in the name of teaching me a lesson. As I lay there in hunger, my mother’s voice rang in my ear. “Niamh, do you want to come back to Mommy?”

The fake heiress, Jean Shore, has left a suicide note prior to taking her own life. In the note, she claims that I'm the one who killed her. In order to make me admit my crime, my parents has sent me to an institution as a human test subject. Every day, I'm forced to endure inhuman torture of all sorts. Needless to say, I'm in so much pain that I choose to secretly take some poison in order to kill myself. But my enraged older brother, Sebastian Shore, saves my life. With bloodshot eyes, he yanks me by the hair while yelling at me. "The pain that you've gone through isn't even a thousandth of the pain Jean had endured! You don't have the right to die!" I can only obey Sebastian numbly. But soon, I get sent to the restricted area. There, my belly swells with life, only for me to lose it some time later. Finally, I've learned my lesson and become docile. No matter what anyone asks me, I keep admitting that I'm a vile woman who has killed Jean. My parents burst into delighted tears. Sebastian can't wait to have me sent to the court, where I will be sentenced for my crime. He tells me, "As long as you admits your crime and go through the punishment, we'll forgive you." I say yes in an obedient manner. I know that my family wants me to be sentenced to death. But what they don't know is that I can't live long enough for the death sentence to be carried out.

Elijah Morris has been fooling around for four out of the five years we've been married. And from the very first month, he openly betrays me. Meanwhile, I spend my time warding people off with expensive contracts, one after another. Eventually, all that's left between us is constant fighting. One day, his younger stepsister, Abigail Wright, returns. And just like that, he finally settles down. That's when the system tells me that I can finally go home. For the next five days, I no longer ask about his schedule. I don't care if he is with Abigail, nor do I care if she is pregnant with his child. I even move out of the master bedroom myself, listening to them going at it all night. The fifth day after Abigail's return is our wedding anniversary. Elijah bursts into the room, tears up our marriage certificate in front of me, and smashes my most treasured vase into pieces. He grips my throat tightly and growls, "Why did you put mango in Abby's cake? She's allergic, and she almost died! How could you be so cruel?" For the first time, I don't argue with him. Instead, I go along with his accusations. "So what?" I then pick up a shard from the broken vase on the floor under his disbelieving gaze. Then, I draw it across my artery. Just like that, I end my life in this world.

My father is the High God of the Sun, and my mother is the Empress of the Moon. Ever since I was born, they’ve had two suitors lined up for me. First, there’s Sol, the God of Dawn. He rules the Temple of Light and controls everything warm and bright in this world. Then there’s Karnos, the Shadow Sovereign. He rules the Dark Realm with a power so absolute it makes the other gods tremble. On the day of my Millennium Awakening, whichever man I choose as my husband will become the Supreme Ruler of the entire Divine Realm. Without a second thought, I chose Karnos. The crowd went dead silent. Everyone was losing their minds because I’d been head-over-heels for Sol since we were kids. I’d even sworn an oath that I’d never marry anyone but him. But what they don't know is that in my past life, I did marry Sol. And on our very first night as husband and wife, he crawled into bed with my maid, Lilith. When the news broke, Lilith was banished to the mortal world. Sol never forgave me for that. He blamed me for her exile. After I got pregnant, he started bringing a different goddess home every single night, forcing me to watch while they were intimate right in front of me. It got worse. On the day I went into labor, he intentionally sent away every single healing deity. He ignored my screams and pleas for help, leaving me and my unborn child to die in absolute agony. So, now that I’ve been reborn, I’ve decided to let him have his "true love." I’m walking away and choosing Karnos instead. But there’s one thing I didn’t count on... Sol remembered everything, too.

Everyone in Chama Bay knew that the mafia boss, Dakota Thomas, loved me with her whole being and was terrified I would leave. She would walk through a field of bullets to keep me safe. Yet, on our wedding night, she did not even come home. When she got back, she was holding a weak and dark-lipped man and said, “Jackson, Pierce got poisoned to save me. I can’t watch him die!” Worried that I would not forgive her, she cut six gashes into her arm. Blood stained her shirt. When the wedding ended, I heard her underlings teasing her. “You went to see Pierce before even taking off your wedding dress. How tempting must that man be?” Dakota let out a low chuckle. “The last time I was with him, we didn’t leave the house for three whole days. So, what do you think?” I was stricken and summoned the system in despair. [I wish to leave this universe.] The system’s cold voice sounded. [Once you depart from this universe, all memory of you will cease to exist.] [Counting down: Seven days until universe departure.]

The Kumiho my father chose for me hated me. He hated that he was my pet. When I turned eighteen, I decided to give him his freedom. However, it turned out that he was in love with one of our servants’ daughters, Rachel Lenford. I was crushed, but I could only accept it. I woke up from a good dream to find a silver-ringed giant python coiled around my body. It hissed at me while flicking its forked tongue. "Why do you like him so much? How about trying me out? I'm better than he is." Trying this snake out? How would that work?

In the twenty years I was bound to my host, this was the nine hundred and ninety-ninth time I had watched him argue with Vivian Hale. The meal he had carefully prepared was smashed all over the floor. His eyes were red as he nearly shouted at her. "Why do you choose him every single time? You divorced him, remember? I am your husband!" Vivian remained calm, as if she had known all along that my host would make a scene. "So what if we divorced? I have a child with him. I cannot just ignore him." That one careless sentence left my host sitting frozen in place for a long, long time. Long enough for the sky outside to go completely dark. There had been countless moments like this before, but he had always gritted his teeth and held on. I thought this time would be no different. Until my host suddenly asked me, "What happens if I abandon the mission?"

Ten days before our wedding, I discovered that Luna Sterling had been keeping another man in secret. She spent her days with me and her nights in the arms of her lover who was a wedding planner. I went to find her and call off the wedding, but by chance, I overheard the truth. Luna had been bound to a system that granted her unlimited reincarnations. "Host, this is already your ninety-ninth reincarnation. Haven't you had enough fun yet?" Luna answered without a care, "This is the last one. Once I complete my hundredth conquest, I'll settle down and live a good life with Julian." Later, the system came to me. "Mr. Prescott, would you like to bind yourself to the Reincarnation System? The only way to reincarnate is through death. The system will activate only after all signs of life have ceased." "Yes," I replied. "But I have one condition." I wanted Luna to lose her endless chances at reincarnation. And from this life onward, through every lifetime to come, she and I would never meet again.

Yvette Johnson did not learn the truth until her final moments: she had two husbands. One was Jordan Spencer. The other was his twin brother, Xander Spencer. They both loved Jade Harrison, the false heiress. But since they had no choice but to marry Yvette, the real heiress, they made a deal behind her back. They would take turns spending a week with her so neither brother would lose out.

After entering an infinitely-regressing system, I managed to conquer Shane ninety-nine times straight. Using everything I’d learned, I ended up sleeping with him and getting pregnant. However, the system announced that my mission had failed. Confused, I questioned the system, only to hear a recorded conversation. "I wasn't the one who slept with her that night. "Of course, the system would judge it as a failure once she got pregnant. "If she didn't look like Celine, I would have never chosen her. "I'm done playing this boring little game…" That was when I realized that in this game of love, being sincere was the real joke. What they didn't know was that, without me, this world would have never existed at all.

My sister has awakened her mermaid bloodline, but it is incomplete. Her skin is her curse. A single touch, too hard, and it cracks. For her, everything hard in our house has been thrown away. I love to dance, but the hard tips of ballet shoes are forbidden. I love music, but the strings of a guitar or the keys of a piano are too dangerous. Every dream I've ever had has been strangled in its cradle because of my sister's condition. My brother, Liam, who raised us both, always looks at me with tired, pleading eyes. "Elara is fragile, Isla. You have to be understanding." But I was only eighteen the first time I truly understood. I came home from my high school graduation ceremony, the scent of sunshine and excitement still on my clothes. The moment I stepped inside, Elara's hand connected with my cheek. Hard. For no reason at all. Everyone rushed to her. Liam pointed a furious finger at me. "Look what you've done! You've hurt her hand! How could you be so careless?" He shoved me aside and rushed out with Elara to find a doctor. I fell back against the glass coffee table, the impact jarring. And then, a strange, cold pain bloomed across my back. I felt my skin... tear. It was then I remembered the doctor's words from my last check-up: "You carry the Siren's Gene, Isla. It could manifest at any time." As my vision blurred, my own blood pooling on the pristine white floor, I finally understood. The curse wasn't just my sister's. It was mine, too.