At first, I was angry. I wanted to confront Emily.

Why did she stand me up? Why did she lie to me?

But when the system announced the mission was complete, and Emily coldly told me it was over between us, I suddenly understood.

I was never anything more than a stand-in. I had no right to demand answers.

My disappointment came from wanting something I should never have wanted. I also forgot that my original goal was just to go home.

I had truly let go. But Emily didn't believe me. She lifted her gown, hurried down from the stage, and forcefully shoved a card into my hand.

"There's one million on here. Take it."

The system would send me home in three days. I couldn't take anything from this world with me. There was no point in taking her money.

I raised an eyebrow and was about to refuse again when Emily guessed what I was going to say. She cut me off without room for argument.

"Chris, I've known you for years. I know exactly what schemes you're hiding. If you don't take this money, it's because you're planning to go behind my back and hurt Kyle, aren't you?"

"I won't—"

"I don't believe you. Unless you take the money and swear in front of everyone here that you will never harm Kyle."

I looked at the burly bodyguards surrounding me.

Emily's face grew colder and colder.

I understood. Unless I said what she wanted to hear, she wasn't going to let me leave.

And making a scene only works on someone who loves you. Now that the person she truly loved was back, all my tactics were useless.

"Fine. I swear I won't hurt Kyle. Emily, are you satisfied now?"

I didn't call her by her nickname "Em" like I used to.

My cold tone made Emily frown uncomfortably.

She looked uneasy, thinking I was being sarcastic and hadn't truly given in.

"If you think this compensation isn't enough, we can keep talking—"

"How about I talk with you?"

Before anyone realized it, Kyle had walked off the stage and was standing in front of me, cutting Emily off.

Emily panicked. She quickly shoved me hard, terrified that I might suddenly attack and hurt her Kyle.

But in that moment, Kyle's hidden hand came out. A bottle came crashing down on my head.

The bottle shattered. Blood streamed from my head.

"A stand-in daring to make demands? Who do you think you are?"

Kyle's face twisted with rage. As I stood there dazed, he grabbed another bottle and kept smashing it against my head.

The bodyguards just watched as red wine soaked my entire body. They even took a step back, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

Within moments, I collapsed unconscious in a pool of blood.

Right before I blacked out, I heard Emily's frantic, tearful screams.

"Useless idiots! Why didn't any of you stop Kyle? Now his hand is cut by the glass!"

I closed my eyes.

She not only let Kyle hurt me, but she also ignored my split-open, seriously injured self and ran to fuss over a tiny scratch on Kyle's hand.

Kyle was the only one she ever loved. Every bit of affection and indulgence I had received was just because I reminded her of Kyle.

When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

Emily's face was full of smiles. She bustled around my bedside, personally taking care of me. It was as if everything I had just been through was an illusion.

But the sharp pain throbbing from my forehead made it painfully clear that it had all been real.

Emily looked at me guiltily and handed me two sets of keys.

"You can smash the car for fun. You can burn the house if you want…"

Back when I smashed her car and burned her house, those were missions assigned by the system.

The goal was to win Emily's affection and make Kyle jealous, thereby pushing their relationship forward.

I never expected Emily to see it as a way for me to blow off steam.

Without the system controlling me, I'm not that crazy.

I know who to blame. If I wanted revenge, I'd only go after the one responsible.

"Where's Kyle?"

Hearing this, Emily completely panicked and quickly explained, "He just acted out of impulse. He didn't mean to hurt you. And he was seriously injured too. He even asked me to apologize to you on his behalf.

"Chris, since he's shown such a positive attitude in admitting his mistake, can you forgive him?"

She looked flustered, as if I were some kind of unforgivable monster.

But the one who beat me to a pulp was Kyle.

I looked at Emily speechlessly.

"I just want him to come apologize to me in person. I'm not going to do anything to him."

Emily still refused.

"What do you want me to do to make you leave him alone?"

He was the one who hurt me, yet she made it seem like I was the one targeting him.

When I let out a dismissive laugh, Emily sighed heavily.

"Chris, remember how I saved your life back then? Let me cash in that favor for your forgiveness, alright?"

I froze and stared at her.

Three years ago, I got into a bad car accident. I was seriously injured and nearly died on the operating table.

Emily stood outside the operating room, so grief-stricken she almost fainted from crying.

To save me, she donated 1,000 milliliters of her blood.

If she hadn't passed out, she would have kept going and nearly lost her own life.

I once promised that she could use that favor to ask for anything.

Back then, she just smiled and shook her head.

"All I want is for you to be safe and well. I don't want anything else."

She didn't ask for it, but I never forgot that debt.

I had even planned to use half of my system rewards after I left to help her rise to the top of the world's richest list.

But I never expected this.

Just to keep Kyle from having to lower his head and apologize, she used up that favor.

Right. I almost forgot. Emily loved Kyle so pathetically that she spoiled even me, his stand-in.

I nodded and agreed.

Emily breathed a sigh of relief, a happy smile finally returning to her face.

"Don't worry. I punished him with house arrest. He's gotten what he deserved. If you want anything else, just say it. As long as I can do it, I will.

"I also promise I won't kick you out anymore. I can't give you the title of husband, but I'm willing to give you one-tenth of my love."

She looked as if she were granting me a great gift.

I just smiled and said nothing. I don't want anything less than one hundred percent of someone's love.

When Emily saw that I wasn't talking, she assumed I had agreed. She said cheerfully, "You're badly hurt. Just focus on resting in the hospital. I've cleared my schedule for the next few days. I'll stay here with you."

I was about to leave soon. I didn't want any more ties with her. I was just about to refuse when Emily's phone rang.

It was Kyle's special ringtone. I knew it well.

Emily answered excitedly. But not long after, her face changed completely.

"What? You got into a car accident? Don't be scared. I'll be right there!"

Without a second thought, she turned to leave, completely forgetting the promise she had just made.

Just before Emily left, the corner of her eye caught sight of me, and she felt a brief pang of guilt.

She instinctively explained, "There's an urgent matter at the company. I need to go deal with it. I'll come back to be with you later."

Without waiting for me to respond, she fled.

I didn't try to stop her. I was just a little surprised that she bothered to explain.

Probably just a habit I had drilled into her over the years. She hadn't been able to shake it yet.

And wasn't Kyle supposed to be under house arrest? How did he end up outside and get into a car accident?

It seemed that punishment was just something she made up to fool me.

I couldn't be bothered to expose it. None of it had anything to do with me anymore.

When my friends heard I was hurt, they came to visit me.

In the past, even a minor bruise would have filled my hospital room with visitors. But now, even though I was seriously injured, only a handful of people showed up.

I understood. Emily used to spoil me, and everyone indulged me for her sake. Now that Kyle had hurt me right in front of her and faced no consequences, everyone knew the truth. Kyle was back. I was just the stand-in, and it was time for me to get lost.

I wasn't sad. The ones who came were my true close friends. They felt sorry for me.

"You were with Emily for eight years. How could she be so heartless?"

Watching their grief and anger, I felt nothing.

If time alone could create love, then all those couples who stuck it out for a lifetime wouldn't still be divorcing in old age.

I made plans to meet up with them again.

They didn't disturb my recovery and left one by one. The ward was empty. Soon, I was completely alone.

I took out my phone to pick a place for us to meet when I saw that someone had tagged me on social media.

I clicked on it. It was Kyle.

In the video, Emily—who had never lifted a finger around the house—was wearing an apron and cooking for him.

They had also changed their profile pictures to couple photos of them in wedding attire.

In the latest post, Kyle showed off Emily's pregnancy test results, announcing that he and Emily were becoming parents.

While showing off, he tagged me in the comments: [Chris, did you ever get treated like this as a stand-in?]

A bunch of people joined in to mock me.

[Honestly, if Kyle hadn't wanted to wait so long to get married, Chris wouldn't have even been a stand-in. He's not fit to be compared to Kyle.]

[Exactly. The only reason Emily spoiled Chris rotten was because he looked and acted like Kyle.]

[Now that Kyle is back, of course Emily is settling down to build a real life with him. Chris is nothing.]

Seeing these replies, I wasn't surprised.

I was just curious. Emily once told me that she was afraid of pain, afraid of ruining her figure, and even more afraid of the dangers of childbirth. She said she was determined to be childless for life.

I never thought those words were just meant to fool me. She turned around and got pregnant with Kyle's child right away.

Maybe Emily just didn't want to have a child with anyone else. If it were with Kyle, she was more than happy to.

Calmly, I liked the post to show my congratulations.

But not long after, Emily came back. She rushed into the room anxiously.

I thought she was going to explain the pregnancy. I was about to say there was no need.

Instead, she forcefully pulled me up from the hospital bed.

"Come with me. I've prepared a birthday party for you."

Today was my birthday. To surprise me, she had promised that on this day, we would get our marriage license. But in the end, she stood me up, married someone else, and announced she was pregnant.

I understood. She felt guilty, so she was trying to make it up to me.