She had spent the night at her male assistant's house with our daughter, so I asked the system to exit the story mode. When she came home, thrilled and unsuspecting, she discovered I was already gone. Our daughter cried until her eyes were swollen, missing her daddy. My wife called me all night long, but the only response she got was that automated voice.
The number you have dialed is no longer in service.
That night, mother and daughter collapsed on the sofa, sobbing until dawn.
System, I want to go home now.
I spoke to the system in my mind. The system immediately replied, "Confirmed. Host is initiating exit protocol. In two weeks, you'll be able to leave this world."
The system was usually razor sharp. But this time it paused for a few seconds, then asked with a hint of confusion. "Host, you have a wife who loves you and a devoted daughter here. Isn't this your home? They're your family."
Hearing the word family, my gaze slowly drifted to the TV screen. At that moment, a live broadcast showed Lennox Whitmore, CEO of Whitmore Corporation, stepping off a plane with her daughter, Summer Whitmore. Lennox was carrying Summer in her arms, striding forward with confident, powerful steps.
The reporter rushed up. "Miss Whitmore, we heard you just finished your conference in Paris yesterday, flying through the night to get back so urgently. Is there something important happening?"
Lennox, always stoic in public, turned toward the camera and broke into an impossibly tender smile. "Today is my husband's birthday. Of course my daughter and I need to celebrate with him."
Little Summer beside her held up the shopping bag in her hands. "Daddy, Mommy and I picked out the perfect birthday present for you. We're almost home."
The reporter tried to ask more questions, but Lennox said her time was limited and wouldn't answer further, leaving behind for the camera only her retreating figure hurrying away.
The reporter sighed with admiration. "Miss Whitmore's love for her husband hasn't faded one bit. More than ten years together, and she still loves him like day one. Miss Whitmore is truly the perfect wife. Even her daughter, Summer, is just like her mother, a mirror image. With a wife and daughter like that, I think Mr. Grant must be incredibly happy."
I laughed bitterly and turned off the TV.
Happy. Two weeks ago I would have answered yes without hesitation. But now, I couldn't bring myself to say those words anymore.
No one knew that I didn't actually belong in this world. Eight years ago the system brought me here. My first mission: save young Lennox Whitmore. Back then she had just lost both her parents. When I first met her, she was a little girl with severe autism who refused to speak to anyone. It took me an entire year to help her slowly emerge from that darkness, until finally she became the ice-cold CEO of Whitmore Corporation we know today. The moment I watched her take control of the Whitmore family shares, right then and there, my mission was complete.
But when the system asked if I wanted to leave, I hesitated, because all I could see was Lennox clinging to me desperately on her knees, begging me not to go. I couldn't bear to imagine what would happen if Lennox, who'd already lost her parents, lost me too, the person she loved more than anything. What would become of her?
So I decided to stay in this world, to keep living alongside her.
At our wedding, I told Lennox with complete sincerity that if she ever betrayed me, I would vanish from her life forever. I still remember how Lennox gripped my hand that day and made me a solemn vow: that I would never have to wait for that day to come. That her love for me would last forever.
After the wedding, just as she promised, her love nearly drowned me in its intensity. Every anniversary, big or small, she would drop everything to be with me. At business trips or events, if strange men approached, she'd kick them to the curb without a shred of politeness.
The day Lennox gave birth to our daughter, I was rushing to the hospital when I got into a car accident and ended up in the ICU. She didn't care about her own weakened body. She knelt outside the operating room all night, praying to God to bring me back safely. After my surgery ended, she dragged her numb, senseless legs, stumbling to my bedside, cradling my pale face in her hands as tears streamed down.
"Aaron, thank God you're safe. If anything had happened to you, I couldn't go on living."
When it came time to name our daughter, she chose the name Summer without a moment's hesitation. She said it meant that I was the only one in her heart. And because Summer grew up so close to me, she became especially attached to her daddy. Every morning before leaving the house, she'd plant a kiss on my cheek. The first thing she'd do after school was run around looking for her daddy.
That's why I'd always believed I would be happy in this world forever.
Too bad promises fade like wind, lost somewhere in the passage of time without warning. The mother and daughter who once loved me so deeply had built a new home with that male assistant. A brand new life. They'd snuck behind my back countless times to be with him at night. My wife of five years could nestle into Becket Thorne's arms, calling him honey with intimate ease. The daughter I raised with my own hands could curl up in Becket Thorne's embrace, sweetly calling him Daddy Beck.
Hell, just yesterday they weren't even flying to Paris for a conference. They went to Switzerland with Becket Thorne to go snowmobiling on the glaciers.
The wedding vow had become a bitter reality. The moment I discovered the truth, I knew I had to leave this world. Leave this mother-daughter duo who lied without blinking an eye.
I stared at the cake on the table slowly melting away, muttering to myself, "They're not my family anymore. I have to get away from them."
The words had barely left my lips when two female voices rang out in unison. "Who wants to leave?"
I jerked my head up, startled to find Lennox and Summer standing in the doorway. Summer jumped down from Lennox's arms and ran straight into mine with light, quick steps. "Daddy, who were you just talking about leaving?"
My heart stuttered. "Just a friend. His marriage fell apart. He's leaving his wife and daughter."
Summer pressed both her little hands against my cheeks and gave me a big, forceful kiss. "Daddy's friend is so sad. Good thing Mommy and I will love you forever."
Lennox set down her luggage too, walking over to lean against me, her voice gentle as always. "She's right, you know. Aaron and I will be happy together forever."
I said nothing, just nodded silently, my hair falling forward to hide the bitterness in my eyes. Forever. There was no forever for us anymore.
Summer spotted the cake on the table and eagerly held up her shopping bag. "Daddy, this is the gift Mommy and I picked out so carefully for you."
Lennox pulled the gift box from the bag and opened it. An expensive Rolex gleamed inside. Her voice carried a hint of guilt. "Aaron, work in Paris was so hectic. That's why we got back a little late. Please don't be mad at us, okay?"
As she spoke, she took out the watch, ready to fasten it on my wrist. The instant it came close, a thick, woody cologne smell hit me square in the face. And I absolutely hated that scent. My stomach turned violently. I couldn't help but shove them both away before bolting to the bathroom.
Here's the thing. Lennox had always been hypersensitive about my health. Even a single sneeze from me and she'd act like we were under attack. The moment she saw this, she frantically called a doctor in the middle of the night.
I grabbed her hand, my reddened eyes staring at her unblinking. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about my friend's wife and daughter. How disgusting it is that they deceive him like that. Lennox, if you ever stopped loving me, I would absolutely—"
"That could never happen." Before I could finish, Lennox cut me off on the spot. The next second, she threw herself into my arms as if she wanted to melt into my body, never to be separated again. "Aaron, don't you understand how much I love you? You're the only man I'll ever love in this lifetime. I'll never let you leave me."
Summer clenched her small pink fists too, her expression deadly serious. "Don't worry, Daddy. Mommy and I would never hurt you. I'll help you keep an eye on Mommy, too. I'll always be on your side, Daddy."
That made Lennox laugh. "Is that really what you think of Mommy?"
Summer shot her a fierce look. "I love Daddy the most. I want to protect him."
Watching the two of them banter back and forth, there wasn't even a trace of a smile on my face. I just felt like a sharp blade was tearing my heart into jagged pieces.
Lennox said she loved me, but she was sneaking around with another man. Summer said she wanted to protect me, but she was helping Lennox cover it up. Lying to me. I couldn't tell anymore which of their words were real and which were fake.