The Ultimate System Mission And The Sacrifice For A Second Chance

After failing to win over my first three targets, I proposed to Scarlett Thorne, the paralyzed heiress.

I cashed in every last reward point I had to give her back the ability to walk.

The moment she was back on her feet, she called off our engagement to marry Liam Cole in a lavish ceremony in Newport.

At that wedding, all four of the women I'd ever tried to love watched Liam as if he hung the moon.

Suddenly, I longed for home. So I turned my back on them all and stepped off the boat into the cold Atlantic.

But the moment I hit the water, four figures dove in after me, thier faces etched with a panic I'd never seen before.

...

On the gleaming yacht nearby, Scarlett kissed Liam in her white gown, radiant with joy.

Amid the clinking glasses and happy cheers, that awful, mechanical voice echoed in my mind,

Host mission failed. You will be forcibly eliminated in 15 days.

I couldn't help the bitter smile that touched my lips.

Ever since I woke up in this man's body, the System gave me one task, win the absolute devotion of one of four women.

Succeed, and the illness wasting my real body back home would be cured.

For years, I'd bent over backward for them. I swallowed my pride and put their happiness above my own.

But every single time one of them started to truly see me, Liam would show up and their affection would reset to zero.

And now even my last target, the one I'd practically bought with my own sacrifice, was marrying him.

The thought was too much to bear. I walked straight to the railing and let myself fall.

The saltwater was a shock, swallowing me whole. I just spread my arms and let myself sink.

Then, strong hands were grabbing me, hauling me roughly back toward the air and the noise.

I choked, my lungs burning, just as a sharp slap cracked across my face.

"Jumping at Liam's wedding?" Vivian's voice was pure venom. "You planned this little stunt to ruin her day, didn't you?"

I wiped a trickle of blood from my lip and stared into my sister's disgusted eyes.

My chest ached.

Vivianmy first target, and in this life, my only family.

After our parents passed, it was just the two of us against the world.

I still remember the car accident, throwing myself over her to take the impact, rupturing my spleen for my trouble.

She'd held me in the wreckage, sobbing, "No matter what, I'll protect you. We're all each other has."

But when I got out of the hospital, she brought Liam home.

"He has nowhere else to go," she'd said. "He's our brother now."

She gave him my room.

She stood by when he 'accidentally' let my spaniel, the one I'd raised for eight years, out into the street.

In every argument, she took his side, calling me I was being petty and jealous.

Eight years of building a life with her, of grinding for 97% affection ratingLiam erased it all in a week.

After that, it was like I became a ghost in my own home.

As I sat there on the deck, dripping and dazed, she hurled a small pill bottle at my chest.

"Are we really doing this again? The heart problems act? Take your pills and get out of here!"

I never had a bad heart back home.

The seizing pain was from System punishments for failingand Vivian, my ever-practical sister, always carried my medication, fearing I'd collapse in front of her.

Now, feeling completely numb, I just grabbed the bottle, shook out a handful of pills, and dry-swallowed them.

Vivian screamed, slapping the remaining pills from my hand.

"My God, are you trying to kill yourself?!" she choked out, her fingers gripping my wrist like a vise.

I wasn't insane. I was just so desperately tired. I just wanted to see my real sister's face one last time.

Silent, I met her glare as bystanders gathered.

"Security!" she finally barked, her voice trembling with a mix of fury and something else. "Get him off this boat!"

I stumbled to my feet, my sopping clothes heavy on my shoulders.

Just then, a voice, soft with concern, cut through the murmur of the crowd.

"Caleb? Good heavens, what happened? Why are you soaked?"

I turned to see Scarlett, my almost-bride, her brow furrowed.

Against all reason, a tiny, foolish flicker of hope sparked inside me.

Could it be that she still cared, even now?

A flicker of warmth scut through the cold numbness that had settled in my bones.

Before I could even form a word, Scarlett's hand connected sharply with my cheek.

"You think this pitiful display will work on you? Don't flatter yourself!"

"Was ruining my wedding your final, desperate ploy? I'll make you pay for this."

Her hands flew to my shoulders, shoving me back against the railing until I was bent precariously over the water.

I didn't resist. Death felt kinder.

As I accepted my fate and shut my eyes, Scarlett suddenly released me, stepping back as if burned.

"Why won't you fight me? Do you actually want to die?!"

What would it change if I told her the truth?

I'd tried, so many times before. She always dismissed me a liar, driving her further into Liam's waiting arms.

A hollow, broken sound that was supposed to be a laugh escaped my lips. "There's nothing left for me here. Why not die?"

Her face went pale. She grabbed the front of my soaked shirt, her eyes suddenly glistening. "Your life is my responsibility. You don't get to make that choice!"

I remembered when we first got engaged, how her family had scorned me.

She had endured their harsh words and punishments to defend our relationship.

When I found out, I took her punishment at the Thornes' estate.

Afterward, half-conscious, she'd clung to me and whispered, "You are not allowed to leave me. Not ever."

Before that memory could fade, Chloe Miller charged over.

My second targetonce the person I trusted most in the world.

She stomped on my cheek, her eyes blazing with fury.

"You wanted to destroy Liam's happiness? Now everyone will see what you truly are."

The photos showed me beaten like a dog, stripped and carved with "WORTHLESS."

Chloe had taken them herself, right after I exposed Liam's cheating in a photo contest.

The laughter erupted around us. Chloe raised her camera, capturing my shame all over again.

And there, on her camera's edge, two engraved words gleamed,

Chloe & Caleb

A gift from a lifetime ago.

After her mother passed, Chloe's father brought a parade of cruel women into their home.

We became friends when I stepped between her and his drunken friends, taking a beating that left me temporarily blind.

Even after I healed, she never put it downuntil Liam became the only thing she wanted to see.

"Get on your knees and apologize to Liam," she hissed, "or I'll post these everywhere."

When I stayed silent, she tried to haul me up. Weakness sent me crashing to my knees.

Scarlett moved instinctively to help, but Chloe stepped in her path.

"Don't fall for his act, Scarlett. He framed Liam with those fake photos and rigged the contest. Liam was so distraught he almost took his own life!"

Scarlett's expression, which had softened for a moment, frosted over completely. "Get out! If you cause one more scene, I'll make sure you experience every bit of pain Liam went through"

I scrambled to my feet and ran, not caring where I was going, my only goal to escape the suffocating betrayal.

The roar of a semi-truck on the coastal highway filled my ears. I shut my eyes and stepped toward itonly to be violently shoved back onto the gravel shoulder.

Scarlett was there, limping on her injured leg, her face a mask of fury and fear. "Who are you trying to guilt-trip, Caleb?!"

The System's voice, cold and mechanical, chimed in my mind,

Scarlett Thorne's Affection Level rising. Resume mission?

I could only stare in shock as she told her assistant, "Cancel the rest of the reception. Now."

Her eyes, full of a turmoil I couldn't decipher, met mine. I had to look away.

"No."

I didn't want a mission. I just wanted to go home.

Later, in my sparse apartment, I cleaned gashes caked with blood and grime.

Chloe stormed in, her eyes wild.

"Where's Liam? What have you done with Liam?!"

Vivian and Scarlett were right behind her, their faces dark with accusation.

"You faked suicide to cover your crimes!" Scarlett spat. "If Liam's dead, so are you!"

I didn't know where he'd vanished.

But their rage, their absolute conviction of my guilt, sparked a desperate hope.

If they believed I had hurt him, perhaps they would end this for me.

Scarlett snatched a bottle of rubbing alcohol from my first-aid kit. "Start talking. Or suffer."

She poured it over the open wounds on my arms.

The pain was excruciating, a white-hot fire that stole my breath.

Bodyguards pinned me down. Chloe brandished fireplace tongs. Scarlett tipped the bottle again.

Pure, animal terror surged through me. I wanted an endnot this agony.

I fought against their hold with a strength I didn't know I haduntil a sharp impact from a wooden bat cracked against the side of my head.

Warm blood sheeted down my face. The world swam, and I was too weak to even scream.

"Just kill me..."

Scarlett raised a kitchen knife, her hand trembling. "You think we'll spare you? Where. Is. Liam?!"

The point of the blade hovered just before my eye.

I grinned, my mouth filling with the taste of my own blood. "Liam? He's gone. I made sure of it."

"You all love him? Want to marry him? Too bad."

"Go on. Be the heroines. Avenge him!"

Scarlett drove the knife toward my heart

"Hey, everyone! I brought dessert! Wait... what in God's name is going on in here?!"

Liam's voice, cheerful and confused, cut through the room.

The blade veered, missing its mark.

I woke in a sterile hospital, all hope finally extinguished.

Was this forced elimination my only way home?

My real family was waiting. I needed to find a way to say a proper goodbye.

I crept to the rooftop but backed away from the crowded street below.

As I turned, I found Serena Lowe blocking the doorway.

My third targetonce, she had looked at me with stars in her eyes.

"Go on and jJump. Or are you just a coward after all?" she sneered, her voice dripping with contempt.

I remembered when her wealthy parents had tried to marry her off to settle her brother's debts.

I saved her when she tried to jump over an arranged marriage.

After that, she followed me everywhere, a grateful shadow.

I even signed over a billion-dollar patent to secure her freedom.

That night, she crashed into Liam while driving to meet me.

While nursing his minor "injuries," her devotion shifted to him. She never mentioned us again.

When Liam got caught in a lie, he pointed the finger at me. Serena became my enemy.

She'd sent strangers to my bed. She tried to ruin my career.

I moved to walk pass her. She grabbed my hospital gown and violently yanked me toward the ledge.

Suddenly, half my body was hanging over the terrifying drop. Pure hatred burned in her eyes.

"You deserve this! Liam's reputation is ruined because of your lies!"

Vivian and Chloe rushed onto the roof. Seeing Serena holding me, they froze.

Liam stepped forward. "Serena, don't blame Caleb. His stunts are just cries for attention."

He turned to me and gave a theatrical bow. "I'm so sorry for whatever I've done to make you despise me."

Then he grabbed my hand and lurched backwardpulling us both toward the edge.

"Liam!" four voices screamed in unison.

In the chaos, Serena shoved me. I closed my eyes, a strange relief washing over me.

Finally.

But I didn't die. Firefighters pulled me from a safety airbag they'd deployed on the street below.

"We received an anonymous call about a potential jumper," one of them explained.

Liam looked at me, feigned shock and hurt. "You called them before you jumped? This was all a setup!"

He then touched his ear dramatically. "My eardrum never properly healed after you hired those men to attack me."

Scarlett ran to him, holding him close. "If Liam dies, I'll end you!"

She kicked my injured legthe same leg I'd used my last reward points to heal.

I crumpled to the ground in agony. She stood protectively in front of Liam.

I couldn't help but remember the day she could walk again, when she held my face and vowed,"I'll protect you forever."

Scarlett brought me back to the Thorne estate. The four women stood in the grand foyer, their glares a palpable force.

She didn't say a word, simply played a video on the large screen.

It showed a hit-and-run, the very one that had paralyzed her.

"The driver fled, leaving me broken in the street." Scarlett said, her voice tight.

"Liam was the one who begged me not to press charges. He even got on his knees for you!"

Serena's eyes turned murderous. Any shred of pity in Vivian and Chloe's pity vanished.

"That's your car, Caleb. Do you recognize it?" Scarlett paused the footage.

The custom decals were unmistakableVivian's birthday gift to me.

But Liam had taken the keys weeks before the crash ever happened.

"It was my car," I admitted quietly. "But Liam had borrowed it that day and hadn't returned it."

All eyes snapped to Liam. He went pale.

"That's a lie! He he must have sneaked it out that night," he stammered.

I turned to my sister, my voice barely a whisper. "You know I couldn't drive it after the accident."

Under the weight of everyone's gaze, she looked at the floor and whispered, "It's true. Caleb wasn't driving."