I spent twenty-five years completing a quest for Arthur Sterling, and he finally proposed. On our wedding day, his "One That Got Away" crashed the ceremony. "Arthur, you won! I'm divorcing him. Don't marry her..." I begged Arthur not to go, but he left anyway. "Quest failed. The target will now be terminated." The next second, Arthur died in the arms of his first love. 01 Before the wedding, I asked Arthur a question as a joke: "If Seraphina showed up today and asked you to leave with her, would you go?" Arthur touched my hair with a faint, unreadable smile. "Don't worry. She won't come." That answer sounded more like he was convincing himself than me. I didn't stop. "But what if she actually did?" A flicker of hope flashed across his face for a split second, but he quickly masked it with his usual gentle tone. "Don't be silly, Clara. Stop overthinking." He knew that every time he softened his voice, I would surrender. But this time, I didn't stay quiet. "Arthur, I’m begging you. No matter what happens today, can we just finish the ceremony? Please." Arthur’s brow furrowed. "Clara, enough. Seraphina is married. She isn't coming to crash a wedding. Get it through your head." 02 I didn't want to be this pathetic. I just wanted to live. I am a "Task-Taker." My first mission was to win over Arthur Sterling and get him to marry me. The task wasn't actually that hard. It didn't even require him to love me—it just required us to be legally married before he turned thirty. To complete this, I transmigrated into this world when Arthur was five. Back then, he wasn't the powerful CEO he is now. He was just the son of a live-in housekeeper, living in the basement of the Vance estate. To stay close to him, I had the System arrange for me to be the daughter of another servant. I grew up with him. I walked through the awkwardness of puberty by his side. We met at 5:00 AM every morning to study, pushing and encouraging each other. We both wore twenty-dollar sneakers and shared one-dollar hot dogs from the street corner. We were poor, but we weren't insecure. Because we were each other's backbone. At twenty, we were both accepted into the best university in the country with top scores. On the day we got our acceptance letters, the sun was hanging low on the horizon. The golden hour glowed over the campus track. Arthur turned red and finally took my hand. "Clara, I’m so glad you’re in my world." 03 Back then, I was glad too. I thought my target was a fearless, loyal boy. Until Seraphina Vance came back from abroad. Everything changed. Seraphina’s father donated a building to our university, and she became our classmate overnight. She was radiant, loud, and free—the ultimate "it-girl." Among the crowd of boys who fell for her, Arthur was the only one who didn't look. So, on her first day, Seraphina decided to hunt him. If Arthur was ice, Seraphina was a wildfire. She was determined to melt him. At first, Arthur hated her. He saw her as a spoiled brat who knew nothing of the real world. He told her many times that he loved me, that I was the anchor of his life. But Seraphina didn't care about rules. She was like a stubborn little heifer, slowly plowing her way into Arthur's heart. 04 Every day, Seraphina brainwashed Arthur, telling him that what he felt for me was just "friendship." "You and Clara are just a habit," she’d say. "That childhood sweetheart stuff is just comfort. Real love is a craving, a fire, a disaster." "When you two hold hands, it’s probably like your left hand holding your right." I tried to stop it. But after a decade of companionship, our chemistry was so natural that it lacked the "spark" Seraphina kept talking about. The more I tried to prove her wrong, the more I seemed to prove her right. Arthur and I were both too afraid to break the status quo. Finally, Seraphina forced his hand. At the university's anniversary gala, she grabbed a guy who had just confessed to her and kissed him right in front of Arthur. That night, the volcano in Arthur finally erupted. I saw him pin Seraphina against a wall in the shadows, desperately devouring her lips. Seraphina got what she wanted. Arthur and I went back to being "just friends." 05 Later, Seraphina brought Arthur home to the Vance estate. That was the first time I saw the refined Mr. Vance lose his temper. It was also the first time I saw insecurity in Arthur’s eyes. Mr. Vance’s disapproval didn't pull them apart; it made them cling tighter. So, Mr. Vance cut off Seraphina’s trust fund. In just one month, Arthur’s life savings from his part-time jobs were gone. He borrowed money from me several times. He even did something he never did before: he asked his mother for nearly three thousand dollars. You have to understand, we had been supporting ourselves on scholarships since high school. His mother called me in secret, asking if Arthur was in trouble. I could only lie and say he was starting a tech business and needed capital. In reality, I knew that entire "war fund" was spent because Seraphina wanted a vintage Chanel bag. When they finally broke up, it was ugly. Seraphina couldn't understand why Arthur gave her such an attitude over an eight-thousand-dollar pair of heels. After all, she used to wear eighteen-thousand-dollar ones. Arthur grit his teeth and said nothing. I knew that he didn't stop loving her; he just felt he wasn't "worthy" of owning her anymore. 06 Five years ago, the Vance family's empire began to sink. But Arthur’s tech startup was beginning to shine. The Vances put out word that they were looking for a strategic marriage alliance. Arthur went there with high hopes, only to be slapped by reality again. Even as a sinking ship, the Vance family was still higher than Arthur could reach. In the end, Seraphina married the second son of the Blackwell family—an old-money dynasty. Arthur started drinking every night. He lived like a hollow shell of a man. I handled the mess at his company during the day and picked him up from bars at night. Every time he was drunk, his face flushed, I would remember the boy under the sunset. It hurt. Back then, he must have truly thought we were enough. 07 Two months before Arthur’s thirtieth birthday. I had given up on the quest. News broke that Seraphina and the Blackwell heir were having a messy divorce. I said goodbye to my mother, planning to travel the world. But Arthur dropped to one knee and proposed to me. After so many years of waiting, getting what I wanted should have made me happy. But I couldn't tell anymore if I was happy to live, or happy to be with him. Before the wedding, I asked him again and again if he really wanted to marry me. He was always certain. Except when I asked about Seraphina. He couldn't even manage a lie then. But I didn't care anymore. As long as the wedding happened, my task was complete. 08 Throughout the ceremony, my heart was in my throat, terrified of a glitch. Arthur was also distracted, as if he were waiting for something. Finally, during the exchange of rings, Seraphina appeared. It was like the butcher’s knife finally falling. I felt a strange sense of relief. "Arthur, you won! I'm leaving him. Don't get married..." To stay alive, I made one last move. I grabbed the edge of Arthur’s sleeve. "Arthur, please don't go. Remember what you promised me?" I was so close. Just a few more minutes and I would have lived. Arthur looked at me with an apologetic face, but he brushed my hand away and walked toward his obsession. "I'm sorry, Clara." "The truth is, I only agreed to this wedding because Seraphina said she wasn't worthy of me now that she's a divorcee. I wanted to spite her..." "I thought if I was also a 'second-timer,' she wouldn't feel so insecure." "I thought about it, and you were the only friend I could ask for a favor this big..." I looked coldly at the man who had been my world for twenty-five years. I didn't want to say another word. "System, I forfeit the quest." System: [Are you sure?] "Confirmed." System: [Quest failed. The target will now be terminated.] Me: "?" Arthur: "Wait—" 09 The moment the System’s notification rang in my head, my mind went blank. Before I could even process it, Arthur’s eyes lost focus. He collapsed right into Seraphina’s arms. Seraphina didn't realize he was dead yet. She hugged him like a peacock that had won its mate, her voice full of triumph: "Arthur, I knew it. I knew if I turned around, you’d be right here waiting." She leaned in to kiss him. Her dark eyes looked straight past Arthur at me—full of disdain and provocation. I knew she was smug. In her mind, Arthur was her dog, and I was Arthur’s. For years, she had looked down on me with a natural sense of superiority. But Seraphina, you’re kissing a corpse... 10 At that moment, the only table of guests—Arthur's "friends"—started whistling and cheering. Some even popped confetti cannons. Bang! Bang! Arthur had probably anticipated the crash, and because Seraphina was still legally married, he had only invited a few close confidants. People who knew all about their messy history. I hadn't invited my mother. I was afraid something would go wrong, and I didn't want her to see me die at my own wedding. The only person I invited was my lawyer. He was currently holding his phone, recording this "touching" scene. My original plan was that if the quest failed and I died on stage, my lawyer would immediately leak the footage to the media. I even had the headline ready: "Married Socialite Crashes Wedding; Groom and Mistress Team Up to Kill Bride with Heartbreak." But I didn't expect... Arthur to be the one who died! 11 Seraphina kissed him for a long time before she finally noticed the grey, deathly pallor on Arthur’s face. Panic seized her. She pushed him away instinctively. Thud! Arthur fell back stiffly, his head hitting the marble floor of the hotel with a sickening crack. Blood began to pool around him... The System’s cold voice rang out again: [Now he's definitely dead.] As soon as the words fell, I saw Arthur’s soul slowly drift out of his body. He looked at the corpse on the floor in utter disbelief... And then at Seraphina, who was currently bent over, projectile vomiting in horror. 12 Chaos erupted. Someone called 911, and someone else started CPR on Arthur. I stood there in my wedding dress, calm as a statue, standing by Arthur’s body. Arthur’s ghost floated near me. Seeing that I wasn't shedding a single tear, his face turned livid. "Clara, I’m dying, and you won't even cry?" He let out a cold scoff. "Twenty-five years, and your feelings are this cheap? When I wake up, we are through. Not even friends." I continued to act as if I couldn't see or hear him. I just sat there, expressionless. Meanwhile, Seraphina finally stopped vomiting and caught her breath. Tears began to stream down her face, one by one. She looked like a broken doll. Seeing her cry, Arthur’s angry expression softened instantly. He murmured, "Seraphina must be devastated..." "If I’m gone, how will she survive?" 13 Ring! Ring! An abrasive ringtone pierced the air. Seraphina’s hand was shaking as she answered the phone. A powerful male voice drifted from the speaker: "I thought we were doing the divorce papers? I'm at the courthouse..." Seraphina’s pale face flashed with panic. She took a few steps away from the crowd. Arthur froze. His ghost reflexively reached out to grab her hand. He grabbed thin air. Seraphina suppressed her sobs and whispered into the phone, "Victor, I’m sorry! I don't want the divorce anymore..." "The divorce thing was just to make you jealous. I wanted to see if you cared." Arthur, hearing this, stared at the woman he worshiped like a god. How could those words come out of her mouth? No, she must have a reason. She’s being forced, he thought. He tried to stop her as she walked away, but he passed through her body over and over again. "Seraphina, please don't go. Look at me... I'm dying..." When he couldn't stop her, he tried to follow her out of the building, but an invisible barrier blocked him. Arthur’s soul was tethered to me! In the end, he could only watch as Seraphina fled the hotel in a hurry. 14 The hotel Arthur chose was quite remote. It took the ambulance twenty minutes to arrive. When Arthur’s body was loaded into the ambulance, his "friends" immediately made excuses about urgent business and refused to go to the hospital. "Hey, Chloe, call us if you need anything at the hospital. We're all brothers here." That was Arthur’s "best friend." When I didn't respond, he sheepishly closed the ambulance doors. On the way to the hospital, Arthur’s soul sat silently in the corner. I suppose even he didn't expect his loyal band of brothers to be so cold-hearted. I closed my eyes and summoned the System in my head. "System, why was it Arthur who got terminated?" "The System’s name is: Blame Others, Not Yourself." "You worked hard for 25 years and couldn't win him over. That’s clearly his fault. So, we delete the problem." I grit my teeth. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" System: "You didn't ask." "Your name is very accurate..." 15 At the hospital, after a series of failed resuscitation attempts, Arthur was pronounced dead. His soul was still trying to climb back into his body. He screamed, he cried, he threw a tantrum for a long time before he finally accepted the reality of his death. I took the body to the funeral home. I sent out the obituaries to a few close contacts, notifying them of the funeral tomorrow. After finishing the arrangements, I called my mother. "Mom, I want to visit Mrs. Sterling today. Are you coming?" My mom sounded confused. "It's only the 10th. You usually go on the 15th." Arthur’s ghost froze. "Clara, you visit my mom every month?" I stayed silent for a moment. "Mom, there’s something I need to tell you. Get ready... Arthur is dead."
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