Pansy Wilde
Three years ago, I suffered severe complications during childbirth and lost our baby, leaving my husband crying outside the delivery room.
For three years, Carter Reynolds doted on me with boundless devotion. Yet the progress bar for my Childbearing System remained stuck at 99 percent, leading me to believe I would never complete my mission.
On the third anniversary of our baby's death, I went to the cemetery and later decided on a whim to take a walk along the beach to clear my head.
That was when a little boy suddenly ran right into my legs.
"Hey buddy, where are your parents?" I asked softly.
He scrambled up, shoved my hand away, and took off running. I followed him, but the moment I saw the scene ahead, the blood in my veins ran stone cold.
In the shade of a palm tree, Carter lounged on a sunbed, smiling warmly as he caught the little boy who threw himself into his arms.
"Daddy!"
And the woman the little boy giggled at and called "Mommy" was my best friend. Beside her, my parents were entertaining the child with coconut water.
"Come here, Leo. Let me hold you," said my mother.
My dad took a sip of coconut water and let out a sigh. "Audrey must have gone to the cemetery again today. Ah, if she only knew that Leo is actually..."
"Dad!" Carter interrupted, quickly clapping his hands over Leo's ears. "Audrey owes Vanessa this child."
I dug my fingernails into my palms, blinking in disbelief. Suddenly, the cold, mechanical voice of the system resounded in my mind for the first time in years.
"Detection confirmed: this is indeed the child you gave birth to three years ago. Your mission is complete. Would you like to exit this world?"