The system urged me to abandon this mission and detach from my host body immediately. It said, "Go take one last look at him." I went to Arthur’s bedchamber, only to see a woman who looked strikingly like me lying in his arms, the two of them tangled together in bed. I told the system, "He used to love me so much." The system nodded. "Yeah. Who knew love turning to hate could be so terrifying?" 01 I took one last look at the place where I had been imprisoned for seven years. The layout of the room was exquisite, but without anyone to clean it for years, a thin layer of dust covered almost everything. I couldn’t leave. Every day, all I could do was stare at the small, square patch of sky visible through the window. The housekeeper who took care of me was mute. I had no one to talk to, and the entire courtyard was terrifyingly quiet. To ensure no one would ever find me, Arthur deliberately locked me in the most remote, abandoned manor on the edge of the estate, surrounded by heavy security. The housekeeper who brought my daily meals could only pass the tray through a small window onto a wall-mounted shelf. She didn't even dare to look at me, let alone communicate. If I didn't have the system keeping me company... I think... Seven years of isolation would have driven me completely insane. Actually, a long time ago, the housekeeper who brought my meals could speak. Her heart ached for me. Even though she didn’t know why I was locked up here, she always looked at me with deep pity. She would say that even if a young girl like me made a mistake, I didn't deserve such a cruel punishment. She knew how much suffering and loneliness I endured locked in this place. So, even though she couldn't come inside, she would often stand by the window to talk to me, praying that one day I would regain my freedom. But before I even had the chance to thank her... I got her killed. That was the first time I truly hated myself. Because Arthur had overheard her. He locked me up to keep me trapped here forever. The word "freedom" was never supposed to be associated with me again. But someone had spoken it, and he had heard it. So Arthur smiled, and he raged. Then, using the calmest tone imaginable, he handed down the most barbaric punishment to the housekeeper. She was tortured to death. Her eyes were gouged out, and her tongue was cut off. Because Arthur said, "I don't want to hear her voice!" No matter how hard I begged, it was useless. That was the very first time I realized that, over the course of ten years, I had never truly understood who Arthur was. That night, the housekeeper's agonizing screams echoed in my ears. The metallic stench of blood seeped into the room from outside, and I crouched on the floor, violently throwing up. Arthur stood right outside my locked door. His eyes were colder than ice. The way he looked at me no longer held the love it once did—instead, I saw a twisted, venomous hatred. He said, "Chloe, don't you ever think about leaving me!" He kept his word. He ordered the manor completely sealed off. Over the next seven years, he turned this place into a ghost house. The housekeeper who brought my meals had to be a mute, and absolutely no one else dared to come near. 02 When I was first locked in the abandoned manor. Arthur would come see me every day. His eyes carried suppressed love, yet he forced himself to stay standing at the doorway, keeping a strict distance. The few dozen steps between us felt like an uncrossable chasm. When I smiled at him, he would avert his eyes, refusing to look. "Chloe, stop trying to use that trick to make me let you go!" Arthur practically ground his teeth when he said that. His eyes were a chaotic mix of love and hate. Yet, before I could even say a single word, he would turn and leave. His retreating silhouette looked almost pathetic, carrying a sense of panicked escape. Back then, the system would comfort me, saying, "You and Arthur have so much history. He will eventually realize he's wrong." I didn't say anything. Because I knew Arthur too well. When he loves, he loves to the absolute extreme. And when he hates, he hates just as deeply. And the person who destroyed everything we had... Was me. It was the night of my birthday. Arthur and I had drank quite a bit of wine, but he had to step away to handle an urgent corporate crisis. I sat alone under the cherry blossom tree, continuing to drink. At that point, Arthur's love for me was about to reach 100%, meaning I would soon complete my mission and leave. I had spent ten years watching an outcast, illegitimate son claw his way out of the mud to become the ruthless CEO of an empire. He trusted me, and he loved me. Fighting against the entire board of directors, he insisted on making me his wife, declaring I would be the only woman he ever loved. His unconditional, unreserved love for me slowly eroded my defenses over the years. Inevitably, I fell in love with Arthur—the man whose entire heart belonged to me. And because of that, I couldn't bear to leave him. The system saw right through me. It warned me, "This is just a game. Do not let yourself get emotionally attached." A game? But it felt so real. I could feel the warmth of Arthur's skin. I could feel his frantic heartbeat and pure joy every single time he confessed his love to me. He was a living, breathing person. A man I had stayed beside since childhood, a man I poured all my love into. From the time Arthur was seven, I stayed by his side as a lowly servant in his oppressive family estate. Because he was an unrecognized, illegitimate child, his half-brothers constantly bullied him. Even the hired help dared to abuse him. His living conditions were worse than mine as a servant; he was shoved into an unheated, decaying attic. I did everything in my power to treat him well. I gave him the meat I scraped together my wages to buy, while I chewed on dry bread. I shielded him from the malicious schemes of his father's other wives, protecting him as he grew up. The way he looked at me shifted from initial icy suspicion to an overwhelming, all-consuming love. Eventually, I became the only person in the entire world he could rely on. At first, yes, I only treated him well to complete my mission. My feelings weren't pure. But over time, we survived so many life-or-death situations together. The boy grew into a man, and he started throwing himself in front of danger to protect me. He shielded me from corporate assassinations and family betrayals. Even when his own life was hanging by a thread, he never once considered abandoning me. Even when the ultimate prize—the CEO position of the entire empire—was dangled in front of him, if I was in danger, he would choose me. I asked him why. He smiled, gentle but absolutely resolute. "Because there is only one Chloe. We promised to be together forever." He carved that promise so deeply into his soul that it eventually became the very reason for our downfall. There was a time when he took a bullet meant for me, nearly dying on the operating table. Watching Arthur lying unconscious in the ICU, my heart physically ached. It was only then that I realized I couldn't live without him either. I fell in love with this boy who thought of nothing but me. He gave me the absolute best of everything he had, pouring every ounce of his love into me. So how could I treat this like a game? Pain and inner conflict consumed my mind, which was why I drank so heavily that night. And the greatest regret of my life... was getting drunk and blurting out that I was a system "player." Rambling under the influence of alcohol, I spilled everything. I didn't even remember exactly who I was anymore. Arthur found out I was a player. He found out that once I acquired 100% of his love, I would be forced to leave this world forever. He asked me, "Can you stay?" I shook my head. I couldn't stay. From beginning to end, this was a dead end. He stayed silent, and then the rage took over. He pinned me against the bed, his hands gripping my shoulders, his eyes bloodshot as he screamed like a madman. He said, "Chloe, we swore our vows. We stood before the altar. You are never leaving me in this lifetime!" I didn't want to leave either. For a player to fall in love with their target... It is the ultimate tragedy. Because the moment he fully surrendered his heart to me, it meant we would have to be torn apart. Arthur couldn't accept it. He felt deeply betrayed. Because we had promised each other we would never leave. But my "forever" couldn't be his "forever." The moment the mission was completed, my life in this world would terminate. I would leave before him, abandoning him in an endless, lonely world. So that night, he violently tore off my clothes, kissing me with terrifying aggression, desperately trying to anchor me to him forever. He said, "Chloe, let's have a baby. If we have a child, you wouldn't be able to leave me, right?" But the brutal truth is, a player can never get pregnant. There could never be a biological tie between us. The moment the mission was completed, everything connecting me to this world would simply vanish. He couldn't keep me. The candles in the bedroom burned all night. The next morning, I woke up to find him standing by the bed, fully dressed. He pressed a highly restrained kiss to my forehead. His eyes were filled with uncontrollable love, mixed with an insane, dark possessiveness. He said, "Chloe, I promise I will find a way to keep you." That morning, I finally realized what I had confessed while drunk. I was consumed by regret, but it was too late. I originally thought he would be terrified, thinking I was some kind of monster, and distance himself or even try to kill me. I never expected that his only thought would be how to trap me here. I was just as agonizingly torn. I wanted to complete the mission and survive, but I also wanted to stay with the man I loved. But the system told me there was only one path: finish the mission. If I completed it, I could leave. But if I failed, I would face an unknown, terrifying punishment. From the very start, it was a dead end. Arthur and I were destined by fate to never be together. But Arthur refused to accept fate. He tried countless methods, but he couldn't stop the love in his heart from growing. As long as I stood in front of him, his love for me would incrementally increase. And when it hit 100%, I would disappear before his very eyes. To love someone to the absolute extreme, only to be forced to watch them vanish into thin air. That love itself became a curse. So he made a decision— He locked me away. From the moment he decided to lock me in the abandoned manor, our relationship was permanently shattered. A heavy iron gate separated us. And it severed the decade of deep love we shared. "Chloe, I will fight God himself if I have to. I swear I will keep you." At first, Arthur came to see me every day. But every time he got close, he couldn't control the violent surge of love in his heart. So I don't know exactly when, but Arthur stopped coming every day. Even when he did visit the manor, he would just stand in silence, staring at me for a few minutes, before ruthlessly turning and walking away. And then, his love for me stabilized. It froze at a specific threshold, and never moved again. At that point, he only came to see me once every six months. He always came in the dead of night, so I never actually saw him. The system told me, "When you fall asleep, he sits by your bed. He reaches out to touch you, but the second his fingers brush your face, his love meter starts to spike. Arthur's face instantly turns cold, and he forces himself to leave." What was my reaction when I heard that? I probably offered a bitter smile, stared at the hairpin he gave me years ago, and fell into silence. This bizarre, suffocating stalemate lasted for a long time. Until Harper arrived. This woman, who looked 70% like me, was instantly favored by Arthur the moment she entered his corporate orbit, becoming his most cherished companion. At first, the system tried to comfort me: "She's just a cheap knockoff. Arthur isn't blind; he won't actually fall for her." But then Harper got sick, and Arthur stayed up all night taking care of her. He personally fed her medicine and coaxed her to sleep. Those were things he used to do exclusively for me. He once said, "The only person in the world I would ever do this for is my Chloe." But now, he was giving that special, exclusive treatment to another woman. Liar! The system chimed in again: "Maybe it's just pity because she has your face." A 70% resemblance is rare. Harper, who gained his favor purely because of that face, obviously knew exactly why she was chosen. So she tried even harder to mimic me. She wore the red dresses I used to love, applied her makeup exactly in my style, and perfected every single micro-expression and smile I had. Dressed as my flawless replica, she went to see Arthur. A 70% similar face, a 100% similar style. The ice in Arthur's eyes was chipped away bit by bit. The way he looked at Harper slowly became tender and loving. He would gently stroke her face and say in the softest voice, "My Harper, you're so beautiful." And then, Harper would giggle and throw herself into his arms. Eventually, Harper moved into my old master suite in the penthouse. Arthur slowly drowned in her gentle affection. Fueled by his resentment toward me, he poured every ounce of his romantic feelings into another woman. It was as if only by doing this could he keep his love for me frozen at a specific number, ensuring it would never change. Because his love was being drained elsewhere, his heart regarding me could remain completely numb. Finally, late one night, a drunk Arthur looked at Harper—who now looked almost identical to me—and lost all restraint. He carried her to my old bed, and they spent the night tangled together. I asked the system if it had anything else to say. It stayed silent, then asked if I wanted to leave this world. "Can I even leave?" Arthur had spent all his time tangled up with Harper lately, completely forgetting to check on me. No one knew I had fallen severely ill. Sunlight poured through the window. I tried to reach out and touch it, but my illness had grown so severe I didn't even have the strength to sit up. "Chloe. Let's abandon this mission." When the system spoke, its voice sounded like it was crying. The system that used to care about nothing but completing missions had finally given up hope, just like me. During these seven years of imprisonment, terrified of the unknown punishment for failure, neither of us was willing to be the first to say "abandon." But dragging it out until now felt worse than death itself. "Abandon the mission. Even though we don't know what the punishment is... whatever it is, it has to be better than being locked in a cage for the rest of my life." Seeing my silence, the system added, "Let's go see him in person. One last time." The unknown punishment might completely annihilate my consciousness, erasing my existence across all three thousand dimensions. So seeing him one last time would serve as a final, tragic period to this romance. Using its core energy, the system extracted my soul and transported me out of the manor. I arrived at Arthur's master suite. The layout hadn't changed much in seven years. Except... the walls that used to be covered in paintings and photos of me had all been replaced by portraits of Harper. I felt a profound wave of sadness. The teenage boy who used to hug my waist, whining that he wanted to cover his entire room with my pictures, had truly vanished forever. Soft rustling sounds drifted through the room. Through the silk curtains, I could see two figures rolling in the bedsheets. Harper leaned against his chest like she had no bones, her eyes hazy with lust, adding a playful, teasing charm. Arthur held her, leaving devout, reverent kisses all over her face. "Harper, your face is so incredibly beautiful." Harper smiled even brighter, her delicate hands tracing his chest. "Am I more beautiful, or is Chloe more beautiful?" Mentioning my name in Arthur's presence used to be the ultimate taboo. But Harper was so favored she had already moved into my old room and usurped everything that used to belong to me. But human greed knows no bounds. She had his exclusive favor, but she wanted all of his love. Yet everyone in Arthur's inner circle knew exactly how deeply he loved me. He loved me enough that, during a hostile corporate takeover, he was willing to surrender the entire empire just to ensure my safety. He loved me enough that when I was poisoned by a rival, he was the only one willing to test the untested antidotes on himself. He loved me enough that if I shed a single tear, he would hate himself for days, believing he had failed to protect me. How could a boy who loved me that much... fall in love with someone else? I couldn't understand it. "Seven years can change a lot of things. I just didn't expect that love turning to hate could be this terrifying." The system's voice was just as depressed as mine. I originally thought Arthur would be furious she mentioned me, but he wasn't. He just paused for a second, then rolled over, pinning the beauty beneath him. Kissing her cheek, he whispered, "You're more beautiful." A single, uncontrollable tear slid down my ghostly cheek. "System... I didn't know souls could cry." I reached up, wiped the tear, and tasted it. It didn't actually taste like anything, but I felt an overwhelming, agonizing bitterness in my heart. "Stop looking. Chloe, let's abandon it. Who cares about the punishment? I'll be with you forever." The system was crying. It even tried to cover my eyes. But it was just a string of data existing in my mind; the most emotion it could muster was pity for me. I nodded slowly. "System. I give up. Declare the mission a failure." All that bone-deep, unforgettable love could never outweigh the sheer agony of witnessing this with my own eyes. He imprisoned me in the name of love, and now he was stabbing me to death with it. Every single injury inflicted in the name of love only brutally grinded down the last remaining affection I had for him. Neither of us knew what punishment awaited a failed mission. It was the terror of that unknown that had forced me to endure seven years of torture. But now, I truly couldn't endure it for another second. "The absolute worst-case scenario is deletion," the system sobbed. "It's okay. If we get deleted, I'll go down with you." That's nice. At least I still have the system. 03 The price for failing the mission was being permanently trapped in this world as a wandering spirit. I would be ground down by the passage of time, slowly forgetting who I was, until I became a truly isolated, hollow ghost. And because of Arthur's obsessive entanglement with me while I was alive, I was physically forced to remain tethered to his side. The system was furious on my behalf. "You suffered so much torture because of him while you were alive, and now that you're dead you're forced to watch him be all lovey-dovey with another woman?!" "Chloe, did you dig up someone's ancestors in a past life? Why is your luck in this life so utterly tragic?" I had been feeling deeply depressed, but hearing that, I couldn't help but laugh. Maybe I really did do a lot of terrible things in a past life. So this time, God was stepping in to punish me. I was forced to follow Arthur everywhere. The sun was bright outside by the time he finally got out of bed. Harper was still fast asleep, her face flushed red, covered in dark bruises and marks. Arthur glanced at her, his eyes overflowing with gentle love, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He used to do that exact same thing to me every morning. I had asked him why. He said, "Waking up every morning and seeing the person I love lying next to me... it's the greatest happiness in the world." What was my reaction back then? Like a lovestruck teenager, I pulled the blanket over my head to hide my blushing face. Then he would pull me into a tight hug, coaxing me softly. The maids who came in to serve us would blush and quietly leave the room, and he would kiss me again. And finally, he would whisper, "My Chloe, you're the best." Now, he was taking everything he used to do for me and doing it to another woman. How pathetic. My thoughts snapped back to the present. Even as a ghost, my chest ached agonizingly. Those endless nights of intimacy had become the dullest, rustiest blade, slowly sawing into my heart every single second. I couldn't bleed, but the pain was constant. As Arthur got out of bed to dress, his personal assistant immediately stepped forward to hand him a meticulously crafted cologne sachet to tie to his belt. "Where is the old one?" He suddenly spoke. I couldn't help but look at the newly swapped sachet on his waist. The stitching was flawless, the embroidery beautiful. It was thousands of times better than the one I had made. The assistant knelt on the floor, trembling. "Miss Harper said the old one was too worn out and the craftsmanship was terrible, so she ordered me to throw it away." Terrible? I stayed up for three nights straight, pricking all ten of my fingers until they bled, just to finish that sachet. It held all my love, and it contained a protective charm I had walked miles to a remote temple to pray for. To get that charm, I knelt and bowed every single step up the mountain until my knees were swollen and bleeding. Arthur had promised me he would keep it on him for the rest of his life. People who break their promises get long noses like Pinocchio. The system defended me indignantly. "Exactly! The sachet our Chloe made is the absolute best!" I threw a punch straight at Arthur's face. But since I was just a ghost, my fist just generated a weak gust of cold air. Suddenly, Arthur exploded in fury. He kicked the assistant violently in the chest. "Who gave you permission to decide that?! Go find it right now!" The assistant's face turned deathly pale. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled to dig through the trash until he found the sachet I had embroidered, and frantically tied it back onto Arthur's belt. "If he doesn't love you anymore, why does he insist on wearing it? What the hell is going through his head?" The system couldn't understand it. It decided it needed to read more romance novels to expand its database on human psychology. I didn't understand it either, but I couldn't say that out loud. Otherwise, the system would mock me, saying a string of data understood human emotions better than I did. Arthur stared at the sachet in his hand, looking strangely lost in thought. Despite his careful preservation, after seven years, the sachet was completely frayed and worn out. Just like our relationship. It could never be repaired. His grip on the sachet tightened, and his expression turned terrifyingly cold. "How is she doing in the abandoned manor?" Before the assistant could even open his mouth, the system sarcastically chimed in: "Not much, just rotting and smelling bad." Me: ... "I... I don't know, sir." The assistant knelt on the floor, knocking his head against the ground repeatedly, completely unable to hide the sheer terror in his eyes. If Arthur refused to visit me personally, how would any of his staff dare to sneak over there? Everyone knew exactly what happened to the last housekeeper. The staff were so traumatized that they would probably never step within a mile of that manor for the rest of their lives. No one dared to cross Arthur's absolute boundaries. The ruthless CEO standing before me had long ago shed the gentle, warm facade of his youth. Bloodthirsty and brutal—that was who he truly was now. Arthur delivered another vicious kick to the assistant's chest, cursed him for being an idiot, and stormed out. The assistant coughed up blood, but not a single person dared to step forward to help him. "I really don't recognize him anymore." The system agreed. "Me neither. I watched you two grow up together. Back then, even though Arthur was a loner, he would never slaughter innocent people. Now... he's genuinely terrifying." I floated behind him, watching the direction he was walking, and guessed where he was going. "When he walks into the manor and sees my corpse... what kind of face do you think he'll make?" I was suddenly incredibly curious. Would it be the cold indifference of a stranger? The agonizing, heart-shattering grief of a deeply devoted lover? Or would he feel a sick, euphoric satisfaction, driven purely by hatred? I was dying to know. So I followed Arthur, drifting slowly toward the manor where I had been imprisoned for seven years. 04 The abandoned manor was heavily guarded. A single glance showed how terrifyingly desolate it still was. The occasional howling wind rattled the broken window panes, creating an eerie, ghostly creaking sound. Even the guards stationed outside looked incredibly uneasy. After all, this was widely rumored to be the most haunted place on the entire estate. The moment Arthur appeared, all the guards immediately dropped to their knees. Someone rushed forward to unlock the heavy iron gates. As the rusted hinges shrieked open, I floated beside Arthur, stepping back into the prison I had lived in for seven years. But the moment he crossed the threshold, Arthur stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to another assistant beside him and viciously kicked him in the chest. "I ordered you to maintain this place! Is this how you maintain it?!" I followed his gaze. Because no one had stepped foot inside for so long, the massive oak tree in the courtyard had dropped a thick layer of dead leaves that no one bothered to sweep. The layer was so thick that even stepping on it produced a loud crunch. Weeds grew wildly through the cracks in the stone pathways, and thick spider webs coated the corners of the building. The assistant knelt on the ground begging for mercy. Even though it was entirely Arthur's fault. "What an absolute hypocrite! If he actually gave a damn about you, Chloe, he wouldn't have let you rot in this shithole for seven years!" The system raged on my behalf. Lately, Arthur had spent all his time with Harper, never once coming to see me. These snobby, opportunistic assistants naturally assumed the boss had forgotten about me, so why would they waste their energy maintaining the place? In the end, it was all because Arthur had moved on to someone else. How hilarious. But before Arthur could push the front door open, a maid came sprinting frantically toward us. She dropped to her knees and gasped, "Sir! Miss Harper... she's pregnant."
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