Sophie had appeared at his side during that critical time. She not only lowered his Darkness Value but completely replaced me in
his heart.
Aidan was not an easy man to win over. She must have gone through hell.
But Sophie just smiled brightly. “He had just been abandoned by his ex–wife and was completely heartbroken. I was just there for
him, comforting him. It didn’t take long for us to make it official.”
Was it really that simple?
I could hardly believe it.
Once again, the screen of my vision was flooded with mockery:
“Hahaha, the ex–wife is having a meltdown. Aidan has zero resistance when it comes to our girl Sophie.”
“Don’t forget, it took the ex ten whole years to win him over. She threw herself at him countless times before he finally, reluctantly,
agreed to be with her.”
“Sophie just had a few conversations with him, and all of the ex’s years of work went down the drain. That’s the power of true love,
baby.”
fu
I silently watched the jeering words scroll by
They were right. My journey with Aidan had been incredibly difficult. So difficult that I never wanted to live through it again.
4
20:43 CD
Aidan’s parents never loved him.
At a young age, they abandoned him in a psychiatric hospital, leaving him to the mercy of abusive orderlies. The place was filled with violent, unhinged patients, a veritable prison guarded like a fortress. Even with the System’s help, I nearly died getting him out
of there.
I took Aidan to a new city where no one knew us. I made sure he went to school, got an education, stayed on the right path. I even arranged for expensive therapy sessions every week. I did all of it hoping he would finally, completely, trust me.
But Aidan was too smart.
He effortlessly saw through the façade of this world, including my identity and my mission.
After graduation, Aidan was the state’s top scholar. I threw a party to celebrate, overjoyed for him. But he quietly pulled me aside, his expression cold, a flicker of self–deprecation in his eyes.
“You’re doing all this to win me over for your mission, aren’t you?”
After the initial shock, I sighed, my voice catching. “I’m in love with you. That’s my mission.”
Aidan scoffed, clearly unconvinced.
My heart hammered in my chest. I pressed my head against his chest, my voice a small murmur. “Aidan, please, don’t get hung up on all that. These last few years… they’ve been so hard. You have to hurry up and make my life easier.” My voice broke. “I really, really love you. Please don’t question me like this again. It hurts too much.”
—
After college, Aidan started his own company. We moved into that tiny, rundown apartment. It had no heating in the winter. I was always cold, and my feet would get so numb they ached. Every night, Aidan would massage them for me, his eyes red with unshed tears, silent but full of pain for me.
By then, we were married.
His life goal had shifted from building a tech empire to destroy the world to the mundane task of making enough money to buy his wife a house. We hustled during the day and held each other in that small bed at night. I remember being harassed by an investor I was trying to win over; I didn’t dare tell Aidan, so I just walked the streets alone, crying. Another time, when a rival company came after us, I stood in front of Aidan without a second thought, taking the blow that sent me to the operating room.
I don’t know how many times I went through things like that before Aidan slowly, painstakingly, fell in love with me.
And compared to my decade–long effort, Sophie had done it in just three short weeks. She’d brought his Darkness Value down to negative one hundred and pushed his Affection Meter all the way to one hundred percent.
5
Sophie was still chattering on about the sweet little moments she shared with Aidan. She said it was love at first sight for him.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a sip of my milkshake.
“Has he… ever mentioned his ex–wife to you?”
Sophie thought for a moment, then a triumphant smile spread across her face. “Never. I think he’s completely over her.”
I nodded
dt was better this way. I didn’t actually want to ruin their relationship. When Aidan showed up, I’d just act like I was full of regret.
It was better this way. I didn’t actually want to ruin their relationship. When Aidan showed up, I’d just act like I was full of regret, pathetically throwing myself at him. Given his personality, he’d probably be disgusted and push me away.
Once he rejected me, I’d take my fifty thousand dollars and happily exit this world.
As I was plotting. Sophie’s phone rang. Her face lit up. “My boyfriend’s meeting is over! He’s coming to pick me up. We have a date tonight, so let’s deal with the apartment tomorrow, okay?”
I froze for a second, then forced a smile and a nod. “Okay, I’ll just be going then…”
“Where do you live?” Sophie asked, grabbing my arm affectionately. “I’ll have my boyfriend give you a ride,”
The smile on my face froze solid.
Sophie was just too insistent. Before I knew it, the car door had clicked shut, and I was inside.
