Cerita Pendek Tragic Love Imagination & Novel System

I discover a helicopter in the estate three years after I'm transmigrated. My wife, Diana Snow, decides to drop the act after noticing my crippled legs. "Three years ago, you couldn't accept being my lover after I married Andrew," she says. "So, we trapped you here, tricking you into thinking that you had transmigrated. It seems that you've learned how to behave yourself after working as one of the household staff for three years." I have a hard time believing her words. The housekeeper of the estate tears her mask off and reveals her true identity—my sister, Beverly Graham. "Andrew's son is all grown up, so you can finally go home now, Connor," she says. "Your plan was absolutely flawless, Elise!" I slowly turn my head. The estate's doctor is smiling at me. "You were right the first time. I'm actually your childhood sweetheart, Elise Jefferson. I came up with this plan because I was worried that you would harass Andrew." I believe that I have been transmigrated for the past three years. I am beaten, trafficked, and tormented by countless people before Diana buys me and forces me to slave away in her estate. My legs are crippled, and I'm blind in one eye. In the beginning, I cry all day and all night about wanting to go home. Eventually, I become numb to my terrible life. It turns out that I didn't actually transmigrate. I suffer a complete mental breakdown. Seconds before I take my own life, strange words suddenly appear in my vision. "Congratulations to the male lead of this AI-written tragedy. Remaining time before you turn into a real person: Two days. "48:00:00. "47:59:59."

At our engagement party, Regina Horton walks toward me through the crowd, arm in arm with Larry Dickson, and says, "Since you love me so much, Dominic Carlson, I will ask Larry Dickson to proceed with the engagement with me in your place instead." I meet her unyielding eyes as a mechanical voice echoes in my mind. "Hi, Dominic. This is the 1000th day since you failed to win over the female lead. Do you wish to give up on being her sugar daddy?" "Yes." "Got it. You may choose a future path for her as well." "I want her bound to Larry for the rest of her life."

In my eighth year married into the Cavell household, my wife brought home her first love. He was polished, good-looking, and knew exactly when to be bold and when to hold back. Despite the mountain of debt on his shoulders, his warmth and charm easily won over every last member of the family. My wife rekindled things with him and hung onto his every word. My own son and daughter decided that this kind, attentive man would make a better father than me. I was not heartbroken. If anything, I was glad. It meant that my storyline in this novel had finally run its course.

Hayes Carter could hear my system. The system said, "Host, your affection is maxed out. Do you wish to return to reality?" After hearing that, his expression turned grim immediately. However, he did not hear my choked reply, "I won't leave. I want him." Thus, he left me on our wedding day and fed the ancient snow lily to his junior, Tessa Laughlin, who had just scraped her skin. He thought that as long as he lowered my affection for him and made my mission fail, I would never be able to leave him. It was why he allowed Tessa to destroy my mystical talent. Even on the day Tessa was meant to go through her trial, he allowed her to shatter my Soulsword. She stepped on my broken sword, laughing innocently. "Luna Williams, Hayes can't bear to see me in pain, so I could only use you to shield me." Hayes used Immortal Shackles to bind me tightly to the Lightning Pillar. A barrage of lightning struck, and I collapsed onto the Immortal Execution Platform, covered in blood. The system rang again. "Your affection is about to reach zero. Shall I reopen the exit passage?" This time, I did not hesitate. "Yes."

Yuna Cooper was left mentally impaired after saving my life, so I gave up my chance to return home and remained in the mission world to care for her. But in my third year there, she suddenly ran me down with her car. Then, taking Joshua Cook’s hand, she told me, “I’ve finally waited for this day. Once you’re dead, Joshua and I can take your place as the one chosen by the system and live forever.” Only then did I realize she had been pretending all along, plotting to steal the system from me. What she did not know was that I had been enduring the system’s punishments this entire time. I said to the system, “There are two new hosts willing to take my place. Can I leave now?”

Timothy Grayson has been frail and sickly since childhood, yet he dreams of fighting on the front lines. I ask the system to strengthen his life force, and the price is that we exchange each other's pain and wound. From then on, Timothy fights without fear, knowing someone else is bearing the pain for him. With every battle, he grows bolder and earns countless military honors. For three years, I bear every bit of his pain alone. Every time a stray arrow pierces him in battle, the pain is so intense that I nearly bite through my own tongue. Meanwhile, the only pain Timothy ever gets from me is a dull ache in his lower abdomen for a few days each month and the occasional headache or fever. I accept it all. But after meeting Sarah Tucker, Timothy grows increasingly reckless. Fearing she'd get caught in the rain, he drapes his coat over her. Yet, I spend the entire night suffering through a bone-deep chill. Sarah is afraid of the dark, so Timothy ventures into a fever swamp to find her a luminous gem. I spend the next three days bedridden, coughing up black blood in his place. Even after returning home victorious from war, the first thing Timothy says to me is, "Ana, you've endured three years of suffering in my place. I'll never forget what you've done for me. But Sarah is the woman I love. I could never ask her to be my mistress." That's when I hear the system's voice for the first time in a long while. It says, "Loss of hope detected. Once the death condition is triggered, you may return to the real world." I nod without a word. From then on, Timothy and I go our separate ways.

The year we were too poor to eat anything but scraps, two important figures from the capital arrived at the orphanage. They had come to find the General’s lost daughter. After they did, they donated a hundred gold pieces with a wave of their hand and passed out pastries to every child. When I reached for mine, words scrolled across my vision. [Show them your pendant! They're here for you!] [Just expose the impostor trying to steal your birthright, and you'll finally have a family.] They said the General was my brother, and the Chancellor was my fiancé. However, I just bit into the pastry and buried my head a little lower. I already knew the two of them had come for the fake daughter. Whether I showed them the pendant or not, they were never going to look at me.

My best friend, Eleanor Clark, and I both get transported into an ancient world. After completing our system task to help the regent take the throne, the system whisks me back to the real world. Eleanor, however, chooses to stay behind with the regent. [Isabel, theoretically the system cannot interfere once a task is complete, but your friend Eleanor has gone missing. Can you go back one more time?] My chest tightens, and I agree to the system's request immediately. Disguised as a palace maid, I catch sight of Eleanor from afar, looking blissfully happy as she holds a child. Relieved, I decide not to disturb her and head back to the teleport point to report to the system. As I pass the old city gate, I spot a woman's corpse hanging high on the wall. Every inch of her skin has been flayed away, and her face has been completely disfigured. Even her blood has run dry. Driven by caution, I look closer. Her pelvis is dislocated. It is obvious that she was brutally tortured before she died. As I scan the contours of her face, I feel a sudden sense of familiarity. Dread creeps over me. My eyes drop to her right hand, where the pinky finger has been severed. My blood turns to ice. Her frame matches Eleanor's perfectly. If this corpse is… Then who is the empress sitting beside the emperor that day?

While working a summer job at a water park, I was deliberately tripped by Kimmy Ames, my boyfriend Colin Mack’s childhood friend. I fell from an elevated platform. Colin cradled Kimmy, who was only pretending to be unconscious, and blamed me instead. “Some physical contact is unavoidable when I’m teaching her to swim. Are you really so jealous that you’d hurt yourself just to frame Kimmy?” I was in too much pain to offer any rebuttal. Then, the wave pool suddenly activated and swept me into the deep end. Colin was a lifeguard. He gave the only flotation device to Kimmy, who was taking swimming lessons in the shallows. “You have advanced lifeguard certification. A little water isn’t going to kill you, so get yourself out. Kimmy’s still traumatized by a drowning accident that happened when she was younger, so I have to keep her safe.” When I did not respond, he impatiently raised his megaphone. “You’re really going to keep putting on this attention-seeking act in front of everyone? Fine! Stay in there and cool off until you’re ready to behave.” To make sure I had time to reflect on my actions, he cleared everyone else out of the pool before walking away with his arm around Kimmy. He did not know that my arm was broken. I could not swim at all. He also did not know that at that very moment, a whirlpool was pulling me down with relentless force. I calmly closed my eyes and watched him leave. The system permitted him to abandon me only five times. This was the last.

"Congratulations, Cynthia. You have completed ninety-nine tasks for Gregory Evans. Complete the final one, and you will successfully return to your original world and resurrect your beloved, Grayson Perez." The system's cold, mechanical voice echoed through my mind. My heart clenched violently, and a sudden mist clouded my eyes. Five years. I'd been waiting for this moment—five whole years. I don't belong here. In my world, I should have been walking down the aisle with the one who'd been by my side since childhood. But on the eve of our wedding, we were in a car crash—Grayson shielded me first. I walked away without a scratch. He died on the spot. I was drowning in despair, barely holding on, until I stumbled into binding with a system. It pulled me into this world and gave me a chance to bring Grayson back. The mission: do one hundred things for Gregory, New York's golden heir. Complete them all, and I'd go home to my world—and to him. Now. One last thing to do. And then it would all be over.

When Adrian Hale chose Rosalie Quinn for the tenth time, I was hanging helplessly over the cliff’s edge. He clutched a rope in one hand, the web between his thumb and forefinger worn raw and bloody. Rosalie was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. “Adrian, I’m scared…” He hesitated for only a second before pulling out a dagger and cutting through the rope on my side. “Clara, hold on. I’ll come back for you after I save Rosalie.” The system counted down in my ear. [The tenth abandonment has been confirmed.] [Life countdown: zero.] Before I fell, I didn’t wait for him to turn around like I had the previous nine times. I only smiled at him. “Adrian Hale, we’re even now.”

For three years, Hallie Larson has managed to keep her affair so carefully hidden that I can't find a single trace of the other man. Once, I find a pair of men's underwear in the back seat of her car, still warm, as if someone has only just taken them off. Other times, I notice fresh, suspicious marks behind her ear. Every time, I lose my temper. I tear through the house, demanding to know who the man is. Hallie only furrows her brow, looking more exhausted than guilty. "Sebastian, how long are you going to keep imagining things? If you're going to accuse me of cheating, then at least show me the man you claim exists." So, I start following her everywhere, 24 hours a day. I even call every relative and friend I can think of, asking them to stake out hotels with me so we can finally catch her in the act. But every time we force open a hotel room door, we find nothing. Mwanehilwe, Hallie is sitting calmly on the couch, a faint, mocking smile playing on her lips. "Go ahead," she says. "Search the room." On the way out of the room, my mother takes my hand and sighs. "Sebastian, trust is the most important thing in a marriage. You keep making a scene like this every day. What do you think you're doing to Hallie's reputation?" Even my best friend tries to talk some sense into me. "Maybe you're under too much stress. Maybe you're imagining all of this." But I can't forget what I see on Hallie's collarbone—a faint trace of moisture she hasn't completely wiped away. It's so out of place, so suspicious, that I can't bring myself to dismiss it.

For the 101st time, Adrian Sinclair, heir to the city’s most powerful family, and ruthless tycoon Vincent Kane had abandoned us for the sake of a delicate socialite. My best friend, Lily Shaw, and I stood outside the courthouse in the pouring rain, laughing as we tore our marriage certificates to pieces. “System, cancel the mission.” I stared at the trending headline that had just appeared on my phone: [The heads of the Sinclair and Kane families chartered a private jet just to make Belle White smile] My gaze was empty and devoid of feeling. “Even if failing the mission means being erased, I’ve had enough of being a pathetic lapdog.” Lily was even more decisive. She wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth. Vincent had caused the injury when he pushed her aside to reach Belle, making her hit the car door. “Erase me, then. That’s still better than living like a dog.” “We’re heiresses to billion-dollar families even without this mission. If the system wants to take our lives, let it try.” “Come on. Let’s go celebrate. We’ll book the most expensive suite in town, crack open some champagne, and party with a few handsome hunks!”

My CEO girlfriend promised to marry me if only I handed over my billion-dollar-worth project to her first love. I agreed without hesitation. Yet on the day we were supposed to make things official, she never showed up. I called her 99 times, but she didn't pick up once. Just when I was about to give up, I saw a post from her first love on social media, featuring a picture of them holding their newly issued marriage license. [From school uniforms to wedding vows. A love that never changes.] I quietly liked the post without making a scene. Moments later, my long-lost girlfriend finally called back. "Cyrus got into a car accident trying to save me, and he lost his memory. The doctors say he needs emotional stimulation to recover. Don't worry, though. Once he gets better, we'll get married. You're the one I love most." What she didn't know was that there would be no future for us. The moment she stood me up at City Hall, the system I'd bound myself to declared my mission a failure. I had seven days left. After that, I would be completely erased from existence.

On Christmas Eve, my wife, Abigail Balmer, publicly announced her relationship with her forty-ninth boy toy. [My forever love, @Dwayne Porter.] [My forever love, @Abigail Balmer.] Then she turned to comfort me. "He just lost a dare game, that's all. Don't take it to heart." Everyone mocked me as the man who'd married into money, too spineless to fight back. But I never made a scene. What they didn't know was that I'd struck a deal with the System. Every time Abigail was unfaithful, one year of her lifespan would transfer to me. By my count, of the eighty years she should have lived, she now had exactly one left. All I had to do was survive until the New Year, and she'd meet her natural end. And I would walk away with our three children and inherit the Balmer family's trillion-dollar fortune.

In my seven years of my marriage with the Regent, I had risked my life bearing him five children. Every single one had died. My husband grieved so deeply that he collapsed. He knelt for three days and nights before the chapel in the bitter cold, praying for my well-being. He even spent a fortune to build a memorial tower in my honor. Everyone said the Regent loved his wife more than life itself. But the System's childbearing progress remained stuck at 90%. Then came All Hallows' Eve. I walked to the river alone to float a memorial candle for my fifth child, who had only just passed. What I found instead were four children carrying turnip lanterns, gathered around my half-sister, tugging at her skirts. "Mommy! Daddy said he's lighting a bonfire tonight!" Alaric Montague stood behind her, arms looped around her waist. His expression carried the same tenderness I knew so well. Even my father, as stern as he had always been, was chuckling beside them, more relaxed than I had ever seen him. My mother held a swaddled infant nearby, wiping the corner of the smallest child's mouth. "Odette is too frail to carry children. Thank goodness Alaric came up with a way to swap them." "Watch your words, Mrs. Devereaux," Alaric cut in at once, his gaze turning cold. "Laurel owed this to Odette. The debt is paid. I'll let her keep the next one." I bit down on my lip hard enough to taste blood. In my mind, an electronic tone stirred to life after years of silence. [Laurel, five registered offspring detected alive. Childbearing mission for the heirless Regent is complete.] [Portal activation imminent. Confirm departure?]

After failing to win over the professor, I went back to my own world. But a year later, the system that made the deal with me came back in tears, begging me to return. It said my target—that cold-blooded psychology professor—was trying to destroy the entire world just to see me one more time. I said no. How could he lose his mind over losing me? His heart had always belonged to his stepsister Vivienne. For Vivienne's sake, he'd dropped me more times than I could count and left a trail of damage behind. Then the system sweetened the offer. Only three months. Come back, and when it was over, it would not only return my feelings but pay me a hundred million on top. So I went back to Sebastian with no emotions left to hurt. I stopped calling him Daddy and started calling him Professor. And somehow, that made him fall apart completely.