Caleb Finley tells me he wants to have a child with me during the year when our love is at its strongest. I agree, but that very same night, I fake my death and make my escape, becoming his first love who meets an early death.

Six years later, the system seeks me out, on the verge of a breakdown.

"Ms. Rockworth, Mr. Finley told me to let you know that your son has just entered the operating room. Do you want to visit him?"

"I never gave birth to his child," I answer calmly.

The system breaks down even more.

"He lost his mind and suddenly turned evil on the night you faked your death. To maintain the balance of the world, we gave him a child who has both your genes.

"Now that he has completely gone insane, he told me to tell you that you must meet with him today. If you don't, he'll remove your son's oxygen tube."

Upon hearing the system's words, I immediately returned to the book world. It dropped me into a ward where a five-year-old child was sitting on a bed.

Although I had appeared out of thin air, there was only a hint of surprise on the boy's pallid and young face. He scrutinized me with dark eyes before stuffing one hand into his pocket while arrogantly offering a card to me with his other hand.

"Stay and be my mother. I'll give you ten million dollars."

The young child's refined and proud air was a carbon copy of Caleb Finley's.

The system explained, "Ms. Rockworth, this is the child with both your and Mr. Finley's genes. His name is Arthur Finley, and he'll be six years old this year."

I was shocked as I looked at the card that Arthur was offering me. "Do you know who I am?" I asked.

Arthur stared at me unwaveringly. He had a sense of maturity about him that didn't match his childish appearance. "I know that you're my mother," he said. "I've seen your photos in the album that that person keeps in his safe."

My shock only intensified when I realized Arthur was unwilling to refer to Caleb as his father. I wondered if their relationship was strained.

"Mr. Finley and Arthur do not share a close relationship. Mr. Finley didn't visit Arthur even once when the latter was hospitalized for a week for his surgery," the system explained.

I frowned. Caleb seemed to be quite irresponsible as a father. When it came down to it, Arthur was still his child.

Arthur's little hands were clenched into tight fists as he looked at me. "So, are you willing to stay and be my mother?"

I choked on my words for a few seconds, not knowing how to answer him. I was all too aware of Caleb's temper. When I was kidnapped a few years ago, he turned the entire city upside down, even though I had only been away from him for less than half an hour.

He wore his usual expression even as he broke the kidnappers' legs and left them on the curb. He then knelt next to me, took my hand, and used a towel to clean the parts where I was touched by other people again and again.

Caleb's love was as crazy and dark as him. He wanted to start a family and raise a child with me, but I faked my death and escaped, leaving him for six whole years. If I agreed to Arthur's request, I would surely run into Caleb again. I couldn't imagine what Caleb would do if we encountered each other again.

Panic flickered in Arthur's eyes at my silence. "Are you not satisfied with the money I'm offering you? If 10 million dollars isn't enough, how about 100 million dollars? I can start an IOU slip. I'll pay back every single cent I owe you once I'm all grown up."

Arthur pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a long string of zeroes on it before handing it to me to sign. In the next second, a maid rushed into the ward. She tossed the bottle of medicine she was holding aside and snatched the paper out of his hand before ripping it to shreds and throwing it into the trash.

"You're being foolish, Mr. Finley! This is the 9,999th evil woman who did plastic surgery to trick you! I'll tear her disguise off right now!"

The maid then lunged toward me and tried to pull my hair off my scalp.

Ignoring his own pain, Arthur hastily climbed off the bed and stood in front of me. His brows knitted together as he scolded, "Who said you could touch her? Do you really think that I can't recognize my mother?"

The maid pursed her lips. "Mrs. Finley passed away six years ago, Mr. Finley. How could she be her?"

"Shut up! Mommy didn't die! That person personally told me that Mommy is a strategist. She had to play the role of his first love, which was why she intentionally faked her death to trick us."

I was shocked that Caleb knew I was a strategist. He was too intelligent. I couldn't hide the truth from him when I was trying to get close to him, so I told him what I was, but I never told him the events of the story.

How did he find out that I had to play the role of his first love who died early? Did he always know? Or did he only find out after I faked my death and escaped?

"She's my mother!" Arthur exclaimed. "It wasn't easy for us to meet. Get lost! Don't touch her!"

Arthur glared fiercely at the maid, reminiscent of a beast protecting its young. He stood in front of me, shielding me behind him. He chased the maid out of the ward, but before she left, I saw her making a call.

He bit his lip and tried to wipe his tears discreetly. An uncomfortable feeling churned in my heart when I saw how red his eyes were.

"Did you strain the wound from your surgery?" I asked. "Does it hurt?"

Arthur scoffed. His arrogance was truly identical to Caleb's. "It's just an appendectomy."

I was stunned. An appendectomy? Why did Caleb make Arthur's condition sound so serious? Why did he mention removing his oxygen tube? His words made me assume that Arthur already had one foot in the grave!

The system explained timidly, "Perhaps he threatened you the way he did to trick you into coming back, Ms. Rockworth."

It certainly sounded like something Caleb was capable of. I massaged my brow as I looked at Arthur's pale face, feeling my heart softening. Spotting the bottle of medicine on the table, I tried walking over to it, only for Arthur to grip the hem of my shirt tightly.

"Mommy, I… Let me write a new IOU slip for you. You can ask for as much money as you want. I'll definitely pay you, so please don't leave me, okay?"

My heart melted completely as I gazed at his pitiful expression. He looked as if he were terrified that I would abandon him. Even though I had just learned of his existence—even though this was our first time meeting, I could feel the guilt of abandoning my husband and child festering within me.

I picked Arthur up and placed him on the bed. "I'm not leaving. I don't need an IOU slip, either. Let me get your medicine for you. Your wound won't hurt anymore once you take it."

"I'm not hurting," he said, shaking his head vigorously. "I'm easy to take care of."

"I won't leave if you take your medicine," I murmured.

Arthur's eyes suddenly brightened. He took the medicine from me, pinched his nose, and drank everything in one breath. He choked on the liquid, coughing a few times before clutching the hem of my shirt in a death grip.

"You can't leave even after I finish my medicine. You have to stay by my side!"

"Okay, I will."

"Swear it to me!"

Helplessness washed over me. It was no wonder Arthur was Caleb's son. They were so fond of making me swear to them.

"I swear that I'll stay by your side. You aren't fully recovered yet. You need to rest more. Go ahead and sleep," I said while patting his back gently.

Arthur's ears had reddened. He scrutinized me with wide eyes, but in the end, he couldn't fight against his drowsiness and succumbed to sleep. His fingers were still fisted tightly in my sleeve, unwilling to loosen them even by a fraction.

The system that had been silent the whole time suddenly came to life, blaring its alarms urgently. "Ms. Rockworth, something happened to Mr. Finley!"

Surprise gripped my heart. "What happened?"

A large screen appeared in front of me in the next second. The footage showed the villa that Caleb and I used to live in in the past. The hall was packed with wooden dolls. Caleb sat in the very center of it. His sharp and defined features made him look as handsome as he did six years ago.

He was holding a carving knife, slowly shaping the earlobe of the wooden doll. When the last wood carving fluttered to the floor, he muttered, "Lena, this is the 2,090th carving of you. I've been waiting for you every day for the past six years, but why do you refuse to come back?

"Am I not good enough? Is that why you abandoned me?"

His eyes were completely hollow. The wild glint in his gaze had completely disappeared, replaced by hopelessness and numbness.

I felt my heart stuttering in my chest and couldn't help but think about the first time I met Caleb. He had been chased out of his home by his father and was only wearing a set of thin pajamas during a freezing winter day. He was covered in bruises as he walked toward the ocean on bare feet.

Just like now, his eyes had been completely devoid of light at the time.

I was the one who dragged Caleb back to the shore, after which I forcefully draped more clothes on him. His gaze was wary, and his voice was hoarse as he asked, "Why did you save me?"

"Because I can see the future," I had said simply. "I know that you're going to become a force to be reckoned with in the future—the type of person who can turn the entire world upside down."

I hadn't been lying. Caleb was a major antagonist in the book. As long as he managed to overcome the toughest period of his life, he would become even more powerful than the main character.

Caleb was naturally suspicious, but he chose to believe me. In the end, he only used three years to become the person that everyone referred to as the madman who would stop at nothing to gain power and wealth.

As for me, I was his only weakness.

I snapped back to my senses when I saw Caleb raise the carving knife. He didn't hesitate for even a second when he sliced his fingers, letting the fresh blood drip onto the wooden doll's lips as the finishing touch.

He smiled as he slid his bloodied fingertip across the doll's face, his eyes shining with satisfaction and obsession. "My Lena is so pretty. It's a shame that you're not her, no matter how much you resemble her."

My body trembled as I traced his line of sight, feeling the blood in my veins turn to ice. The wooden dolls that filled every nook and cranny in the villa looked exactly like me. They were extremely lifelike, showing how obsessed the sculptor had been—how much care he had placed into creating them.

It had been six years since I last saw him, but it seemed that Caleb had become even more insane.

"Ms. Rockworth, Mr. Finley has been locking himself in the villa all the time with the dolls ever since you left. He can't bear to be away from them for even a moment. Even when he's severely ill and vomiting blood, he'd still rush back here as soon as he can."

I pursed my lips, feeling the guilt fester in my heart.

There was a series of knocks on the door. The caretaker, who had just arrived, said carefully, "Mr. Finley, Ms. Westley couldn't get in touch with you, so she asked me to pass on her message. Another woman who looks like Mrs. Finley has appeared by Mr. Arthur's side.

"The new woman has Mr. Arthur wrapped around her finger thanks to her lies. He insists on acknowledging her as his mother. I'm assuming that he's missing Mrs. Finley because he just completed his surgery.

"I'm a little worried that the woman will trick Mr. Arthur into leaving with her. Why don't you visit him?"

Caleb's voice was colored with displeasure at being disturbed. "He can acknowledge whoever he wants as his mother. He can also leave if he wants to. Don't get in my way. Mrs. Finley and I are celebrating our anniversary."

The caretaker sighed before leaving quietly. The furrow between my brows deepened as the conflict in my heart grew. I wondered why Caleb acted so terribly toward his own son. What on earth happened between the two of them?

"I'm sorry. I was a little loud just now, wasn't I? Did I scare you?"

Caleb murmured as he ran his fingers up and down the doll's hair. His eyes were like two bottomless pits of despair and loneliness. "I miss you so much, Lena. When are you coming back to see me?"

Subconsciously, I held my breath, worried that he would notice me. I told the system, "He seems to have lost his marbles, but he still looks quite energetic. What did you mean earlier when you said something had happened to him?"

Before the system could answer, a flash of red popped up on the screen. Caleb didn't hesitate at all before slicing his wrist open. His gaze was cold as he watched the blood stain the wooden doll's skirt.

My pupils contracted as I exclaimed, "What is he doing? Is he trying to kill himself?"

The system replied, "This is a ritual. Apparently, if a person drops their own blood on a wooden doll during their wedding anniversary, their other half's soul will take over the wooden doll's body. Perhaps he's using this way to try to summon you."

"He's really gone mad," I said through clenched teeth.

There wasn't a single maid in the villa at the moment. The caretaker had been chased away by Caleb earlier, too. He continued to deepen the cut on his wrist. If he didn't stop, it was highly likely that he was going to die today.

Panic rose within me, and my voice trembled as I asked, "Didn't you bring me back to stabilize the world, System? If an antagonist of Caleb's caliber dies, the main character won't be able to show off his true prowess.

"The main character only seems strong when the antagonist is equally as strong. Hurry and think of something to save him!"

"Don't fret, Ms. Rockworth. There is a way."

In the next second, the photograph that had been hanging on the wall fell and crashed on the coffee table. It knocked the first-aid kit off the table, landing heavily next to Caleb's foot.