After the mission failed, I traded my emotions away with the system so that I could return to my own world.

But two years later, the system urgently summoned me back.

The system said my target had tried to destroy the entire world, and all she wanted was to see me.

I rejected it on the spot.

Even though I had already lost my emotions, I still did not want to stay next to someone who had hurt me out of rationality.

The system grew frantic and threw out one reward after another. In the end, we agreed that I would only go back for three months.

Once I returned, not only would my emotions be restored, but I would also receive a huge sum of money. Legal and after tax.

But when I returned to Jessica Sand's side with no emotions at all, her madness seemed to have become even more erratic…

"Host, I'm begging you. You're the only one who can save this world now." The glowing orb trembled in front of me nervously. "Jessica has gone insane and is attempting to blow up the world's core. She said that if she doesn't see you, she'll take everyone down with her."

I sat in the void as I watched the flickering lines of data on the verge of collapse.

Two years ago, I had given up all my emotions for a chance to leave this place and return to my own world after I failed the mission. Now, I felt neither joy nor anger, neither love nor hate. My heart was like a cup without a bottom. Anything that was poured into it would simply go through.

"I can go back," I said slowly in a calm voice. "But she has gone mad, and I don't have any emotions. I can't give her the response she wants."

"It's fine! As long as you're around! Just keep her calm for three months. Once the world's firewall is repaired, I'll send you away immediately! Not only will I return your emotions, but I'll even give you five million dollars for retirement!" The system quickly threw out the bait.

I considered it for a moment. Five million dollars was enough for me to live a worry-free life. And so, I agreed.

When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in front of that familiar villa halfway up the hill. The front door was open, and Jessica stumbled out.

After two years, her face was filled with bitterness and malice. But the instant she saw me, the madness in her eyes immediately turned into disbelief.

"Wil?" She mumbled as she reached out for me with a trembling hand, but she was too scared to touch me, as if I were a mirage that would vanish the moment she did.

I looked at her, and the memory of her leaving me for Henry Gibson two years ago flashed through my mind.

I knew I should have hated her or felt hurt, at the very least. But at that moment, all I felt was a blank, confused emptiness.

I gave her a faint smile, just like I used to, according to my memory, and said softly, "Jessica, I'm back."

She jumped into my arms right away as she held me so tightly that her whole body was shaking, and her tears instantly soaked through my collar. She desperately whispered my name into my ear repeatedly, "You finally came back... I knew that if I forced your hand, you'd show up... Wil, don't leave me again. Please..."

I let her hug me, and my hands slowly rose and patted her back.

My movements were steady, and I dutifully comforted her, but deep down inside, I couldn't sense anything at all. My body was in her arms, but my soul seemed to be floating above us in mid-air, watching this emotional reunion coldly.

Jessica brought me home and treated me like something fragile. She had become extremely suspicious. The entire villa was filled with bodyguards, and security cameras were installed everywhere.

Meanwhile, she rarely left my side. She was worried that if she looked away for even a second, I would disappear again.

"Wil, these are your favorite barbecued ribs. I made them myself." Jessica placed a piece of rib on my plate as we sat at the dinner table, her eyes full of expectations.

She had never cooked for me before.

Even when I ran through the rain to deliver a contract for her and caught a fever afterward, all I got was her ordering takeout food for me. She had changed so much after I left, but why did she never care when I had given her my whole heart?

"It's really good. Thank you." I set down my fork and knife and tried to smile at her.

Jessica stared at me for a moment, and the light in her eyes dimmed a little. "Wil... Do you still blame me?"

"No." I shook my head and told her the truth. I did not blame her, because I neither loved nor hated her. Why would I blame anything on a stranger?

"Then, why are you..." Her voice trailed off, almost as if she wanted to ask how I could be so calm. Why was I acting so differently than before, when I would be touched by the smallest thing she did for me in the past. Now, I acted like a polite guest staying in someone else's house.

Just then, the person most responsible for bringing us to this point showed up.

Henry.

He was Jessica's best friend, and he was also the wedge that had come between us two years ago. He was still dressed in that polished way, but there was a trace of jealousy in his eyes when he looked at me.

"Wil, you're back." Henry sat on the couch, holding the cushion that used to be mine, and he looked at me provokingly. "Jessica had been having it hard for the past two years. You can be pretty heartless when you want to, leaving just like that."

Jessica was peeling an apple for me. When she heard that, she paused with the knife still in her hand, but she said nothing.

She was observing my reaction.

I guessed she wanted to see me get angry and jealous, then argue with Henry the way I had in the past because I cared about her. But I no longer felt that way. I simply gave Henry a brief glance as my heart remained still.

"I was," I said as I went along with him, my tone calm as if I was commenting on something insignificant. "Good thing you two are so close. Thank you for taking care of her these past two years."

Henry froze, clearly not expecting his attack to be deflected so easily.

Jessica's expression darkened. She slammed the peeled apple down onto the table. "Wil Lane, what do you mean by that? You don't mind it at all?"

I turned to look into Jessica's eyes and the anger she was trying to hold back. It was confusing for me. I was being generous, reasonable, and not making a scene. Was that not exactly what she wanted?

"Why would I mind?" I asked in a mild tone. "He's your best friend. Of course, he should be taking care of you. I just got back, and I'm getting tired, so I'm going upstairs to rest."

I stood up and left, my steps unhurried.

Behind me, I could hear Jessica let out a muffled roar of anger, followed by the sound of glass shattering.

Jessica was beginning to grow restless. She could not stand how I wouldn't give her any reaction. She began to indulge Henry to get a reaction out of me.

Henry stayed in her study until late at night. When I brought her a glass of milk, I saw her sitting on his lap, the two of them together in an intimate position.

When Jessica saw me come in, she did not push him away. Instead, she looked at me with open provocation.

Meanwhile, I simply stood in the doorway and watched them, my heart completely empty. If this had happened two years ago, I would have been furious. I would have demanded an explanation and probably even thrown a punch at him.

But now, my only thought was how uncomfortable that pose was and how the milk was getting cold.

"I'm sorry for interrupting." I walked over and set the milk on the table. Then, I closed the half-opened window for them. "The wind is quite strong tonight. Don't catch a cold. Please, carry on."

With that, I turned and closed the door behind me.

The second the door shut, Jessica roared in fury from inside. "Leave! Get out!"

Right after that, I could hear Henry arguing back in a pitiful voice.

That night, Jessica stormed into my room reeking of alcohol and pinned me to the bed.

"Wil! Do you even have a heart?!" Her eyes were red as she stared at me. "I went that far, but why didn't you get angry? Don't you love me anymore? Or have you never loved me?!"

I looked at her face as she was on the verge of collapsing and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. I then said to her in a calm voice, "Jessica, stop. I just thought that if you liked him, I could step aside. As long as you're happy."

"I'm not happy! I'm not happy at all!" She buried her face in the nape of my neck and broke down sobbing.

"What I want is for you to love me! You can hit me, yell at me, hate me... just don't treat me like this. Don't act like a puppet around me..."

I let her tears soak my pajamas, but I was already counting the days in my mind.

Just a little over a month left.

All I needed to do was hang on a little longer, and my mission would be completed successfully. I could then take the money and leave. As for her pain… She had brought it upon herself. It was not my problem.

I thought that was how we were going to pass the days between my numbness and her madness, until Henry came looking for me one day.

"Wil, you're so disgusting." Henry looked at me with malice in the garden. "You obviously don't love Jessica, so why are you still keeping her to yourself? Look at what she has become. You've driven her insane!"

I simply trimmed the branches and gently replied, "That was her choice."

"Heh. Just you wait." Henry let out a cold laugh. "You won't have the right to stay by her side anymore soon."

I did not know what he meant, but I didn't pay any attention to it. I had not expected him to be that vicious, however.