Before the mission, I ask Ryan Jamison one last time, "Will you marry me?"

He pauses for a moment before saying, "Alright."

The system and I freeze.

"Oh no," we say in unison.

I'm told that once I get rejected a hundred times, I'll return to the real world. Turns out, it's nothing but false alarm.

In my final mission, I accidentally become the stand-in for his first love.

Ryan spends three days with her before he finally remembers me.

But by then, all he hears is that I've died in the line of duty.

"Tasha, you really don't have to rush.

"Come on, it's your birthday. No one wants to be rejected on their birthday."

My footsteps echoed softly in the quiet hallway.

After three grueling months on a field assignment, I was exhausted and still carrying the weight of the journey, yet the first thing I did when I got back was go straight to find Ryan Jamison.

There wasn't any other reason. After seven long years trapped in this world, I just wanted to go home. According to the system, if Ryan rejected me a hundred times, I could finally return to reality.

Conveniently, the system told me this would be the last one.

On the other side of the door, Ryan was on the phone.

A woman's voice came through the speaker. She sounded like she was crying, and her voice trembled as she spoke. "Ryan, I know you've been with Tasha for three years. I shouldn't be calling you, but I just can't help it…"

He didn't respond. Silence lingered for a long while.

The voice belonged to his first love, Elaine Woods.

Honestly, I owed at least half of my 99 rejections to her.

Ryan finally changed the subject. "When are you coming back? I'll treat you to dinner."

She asked, "What makes you think you can do that? Who do you think you are to me?"

He replied, "Your ex."

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Elaine's spiteful voice came through. "Well, my dear ex, I'm getting married on the 20th. You're welcome to come to the wedding."

Ryan sounded furious. He exhaled sharply and said through gritted teeth, "Elaine."

The line went dead.

The system squealed inside my head.

"Tasha, hurry! He's in a bad mood! Ask him to marry you now while he's upset!"

Normally, I would never have done something so reckless, but the thought of finally going home gave me a courage I didn't know I possessed.

I pushed the door open and walked into the dark room.

Ryan sat by the wide floor-to-ceiling window. The city lights glittered behind him like a sea of stars.

The glow from his phone illuminated his face, outlining every sharp, flawless feature.

When he noticed me, he switched off his phone, leaned back in his chair, and asked impatiently, "What are you doing here?"

The calendar sat right there on his desk, yet he still didn't remember my birthday.

My palms were damp with sweat. "I'm leaving for a mission tomorrow."

In the real world, I was a police academy graduate. In this one, I made the same choice and became an officer again.

Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose and said indifferently, "So, what do you want?"

I gathered my courage. "After the mission, will you marry me?"

The system nearly exploded in my head. "Oh my God, we did it! Mission complete! I'm finally getting promoted!"

Ryan's deep, dark eyes mirrored my reflection, and the faint furrow of his brows revealed his displeasure.

I took a deep breath, lowered my head, and waited quietly for the rejection I needed to hear.

I had liked him for so long, and I knew being rejected would hurt. Still, the system had promised me a generous reward I could actually use once I returned home.

"Alright," he said.

"What?"

The system's cheering cut off mid-scream.

I looked up in shock, meeting Ryan's calm gaze.

He absently flipped his phone between his fingers. "I said, 'Alright.'"

For a few seconds, both the system and I blurted out the same curse.

"Shit…"

…

I hid in the bathroom, and all the frustration I'd been holding back finally erupted.

"Breaking out the champagne already? You sure know how to stay in your boss' good graces."

The system chimed in furiously, "This is all your fault! Why did you have to remind him that it's your birthday? Could you stop triggering his cheap sense of guilt for once?"

A throbbing pain split through my skull. Days of overtime had drained every ounce of energy I had left. I leaned weakly against the sink, feeling hollow inside.

The system piped up timidly. "What if you just asked him to sleep with you?"

I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "How about I ask him to die instead?"

If only it were that simple.

The creator of this damned game had made sure there were no loopholes. Words like sleep and die were automatically banned. Repetition wasn't allowed either.

Seven years in, even being turned down after a proposal was one of the last cards I had left to play.

Things had reached an impasse.

The sound of running water echoed softly through the bathroom.

I sat on the toilet while staring blankly ahead. I was racking my brain for another reason he could reject me.

Just then, my phone lit up with an unknown number.

When I answered, a woman's gentle voice came through.

"Ms. Cullen, this is Elaine."

My hand tightened around the edge of the sink

Faced with my silence, Elaine let out a soft, self-satisfied laugh.

"You probably don't know me very well, and that's fine. But I know you. I've eaten the lunchboxes you made for Ryan. I've worn the white shirts you washed for him. Last year, after he celebrated your birthday with you, he came to see me. His tie clip still had one of your hairs caught in it."

I leaned against the bathtub and said coldly, "So what?"

Elaine laughed again. "Are you really that clueless? Didn't you get the point? Last year, on your birthday, I gave him my first time. This year, I came back just for your birthday, and he's already forgotten it. Do I really need to tell you who he loves?"

Seven years had passed. Faint lines had formed at the corners of my eyes. The eyes that used to brighten whenever I saw Ryan were now dull and lifeless.

I took a deep breath. "No need. Ryan's marrying me."

There was a pause on the other end, then Elaine sharply said, "You don't have to say that just to spite me. You'll never beat me."

A knock came from the door. It was Ryan.

I hid the phone behind my back, opened the door, and asked softly, "I want to try on wedding dresses tomorrow. Will you come with me?"

He froze for a second, then pulled me into his arms. His voice carried a rare trace of tenderness. "Sure. You'll be the most beautiful bride on our wedding day."

I hung up the call.

Forcing back the nausea, I accepted his kiss.

I silently hoped Elaine wouldn't screw this up. I couldn't afford to be disappointed.

…

That night, I waited for hours, and Elaine never called Ryan.

Ryan's kisses burned against my skin, and his desire was unusually intense, but just as things were about to go too far, I pressed my hand against his chest to stop him.

"I've got a mission tomorrow. Let's call it a night."

He looked frustrated and unsatisfied, and when I turned away, wrapping myself tightly in the blanket, he let out a long, resigned sigh. "Alright."

A moment later, the sound of running water came from the bathroom.

The system sounded uneasy. "Do you think you were too harsh earlier? Maybe Elaine backed off?"

"Not a chance."

If I knew Elaine at all, she'd rather die than let Ryan go.

…

The next morning, the sky was heavy and gray.

For once, Ryan didn't dash off. He sat across from me at the dining table, calmly eating breakfast with me.

The only sounds in the room were the occasional clinks of silverware.

After a while, Ryan said, "When this mission's over, you'd better transfer to a desk job. You're marrying me. You don't have to work so hard anymore."

Inside my head, the system chirped, "Hey, I want some scrambled eggs."

I lowered my gaze as I sliced the ham. "Okay."

Ryan sounded like he was briefing an assistant. "From now on, I'll be at the office on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I'll be home the rest of the time. I don't want you coming to the office to find me."

The system wailed in protest inside my head. "I don't want cheese! I want spaghetti!"

I smiled faintly. "Okay."

Ryan frowned as he watched me finish my milk, push back my chair, and stand.

"Tasha."

I glanced over my shoulder. "Yes?"

He studied me. "You used to be less obedient. What's wrong with you today?"

Honestly, his little speeches hadn't registered at all.

"Nothing," I said with a smile. "Maybe good things are coming."

Ryan adjusted his tie, yet the tight line of his mouth betrayed his frustration. Even agreeing to marry me clearly went against every fiber of his being.

I smiled slightly. "Hey, Ryan? Can you at least wish me a safe return?"

He blinked, snapping back to reality. After a moment, he said, "Come back safely."

"Thanks."

I turned and walked out.

The system was snarky. "That was boring. I thought he'd refuse."

…

I'd been here seven years, and the city's crime rate was fairly manageable. Violent incidents were rare. I never expected my last call as a cop would hit me like this.

It was a brutal kidnapping. The kidnappers demanded 30 million dollars and a van to escape the city.

By the time I arrived, a light rain was falling.

Amy Miller, my partner, sat at the foot of the stairs. Her eyes were red when she saw me.

"Tasha, the negotiator already went in. The kidnappers want to swap the hostage," she said.

"Swap the hostage?"

"Yes, the current hostage is a pregnant woman."

The team went silent.

If the kidnappers agreed to switch hostages, we'd have to take the replacement.

"So, has someone been chosen?" I asked.

Amy bit her lip. "They want a woman."

Among the team, only Amy and I were female officers.

Amy's husband worked in homicide and had been injured recently. He was still in the hospital. I unstrapped my gun and handed it to her.

"I know. I'll do it."

The system screamed in my head, "Tasha, this is not a joke. If you die, you can't go back!"

I couldn't let Amy go in. She had been with me longer than Ryan had over these seven years. We were the best partners. Amy collapsed into my arms, sobbing. "Tasha, I'm sorry. I know you're getting married, I'm sorry, but James is still in the hospital…"

"I know," I said, patting her shoulder before stepping out into the rain.

The factory on the outskirts of the city was abandoned.

Through the drizzle, I could see the woman cradled in the kidnapper's arms. Her face was pale, but her beauty shone through the blood. Her long dark hair clung to her cheeks, and her wide eyes were filled with pleading.

She pressed her hands to her belly, trembling. "Please, help me. I'm pregnant. I'm carrying the Jamison family heir."

My heart skipped a beat.

The system reminded me, "It's Elaine."

I met her eyes through the rain and felt an odd, complicated twist in my chest.

The kidnappers drove the knife into her, and crimson blood poured over her skin.

"Get over here, or I'll send her to hell!"

Elaine's eyes widened in terror as she looked at me. "Tasha, please, I can't die. Ryan will go crazy. If he finds out you didn't save me, he'll hate you forever…"

She knew who I was. I glanced at Amy and sighed. Then, I walked toward the kidnapper.

When the blade hovered at my throat, Elaine stumbled, then scrambled into the safety of the police perimeter.