Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My mission to win his heart had officially failed.

The system gave me a final grace period of five days to put my affairs in order before pulling me out of this world.

During those five days, I finally transformed into the submissive, understanding wife Jesse always wanted.

I let him dote on Nola without a word of protest, watching him give away all our household labor credits and ration vouchers to her.

He even handed over his own spot for the upcoming state university exam.

Yet, strangely enough, my sudden compliance seemed to throw him off balance.

At the county co-op, the storekeeper rang up my purchases and gave me a knowing smirk. "Spending this many work credits all at once? Stocking up for your husband?"

"No," I replied casually. "I'm heading home soon."

Jesse's head snapped up, his eyes widening in shock.

"Aren't you an orphan? What home could you possibly have?"

***

When the system finally reconnected with me, Jesse had already spent the past two weeks living at the farm commissioner's house.

He had waged a bitter cold war against me all fortnight, acting as if he would never back down until I yielded to his demands. He had even threatened to divorce me.

All of this was simply because he wanted to hand over all the hard-earned labor credits he had accumulated to improve Nola's living conditions. He even insisted on giving her what few food stamps our family had left.

When I refused, he turned icy cold, resorting to threats to protect his beloved.

"Nola came out here from the city on her own," he had shouted at me. "She has nobody to help her, and she's starving every single day! Can't you stop being so damn selfish? A human being is wasting away, and you're picking fights over petty scraps. When did you get so spiteful?"

"If you're throwing a tantrum out of jealousy, save your breath. Nola and I are just friends. You're both volunteers from the city, so looking out for her is the right thing to do."

"Stop acting like an entitled shrew! If you keep targeting Nola, I swear I'll divorce you!"

His accusations had left me entirely speechless. Did he truly not care about the reality under his own roof? Our ailing grandmother needed constant care, and his father was bedridden and paralyzed. Both of them depended entirely on those meager rations and work credits to survive.

Our entire household relied on his labor chits just to keep porridge on the table. If he gave them all away without a second thought, what would Grandma and his father eat? How were they supposed to survive?

Because I refused to let him strip our pantry bare for another woman, he abandoned his own family. He packed his bags and moved into the commissioner's home under the excuse of helping with the harvest, but everyone knew he was just avoiding me while catering to Nola's every whim.

Anyone with working eyes could see his blatant favoritism toward Nola. Yet for the past five years, I had turned a blind eye, pouring my heart and soul into building a life with him.

His open neglect of me quickly became the favorite gossip topic among the neighborhood busybodies. They spread rumors that I deserved his cold shoulder because I hadn't managed to bear him a child after five years of marriage.

Grandma had held my trembling hands, wiping away her own tears. "Child, you've suffered so much since marrying into our family. Don't hold it against him. Jesse is just confused right now and doesn't see who truly cares for him. I'm old and feeble, and we can't survive without you. Please, just have mercy on an old woman."

His father lay paralyzed on the cot, staring at the ceiling in heavy silence, his eyes filled with sorrow and utter disappointment in his son.

"I know it's unfair to ask this of you, Sierra," Grandma had sobbed. "Jesse is in the wrong. But he's your husband, and you two have shared so many years together. You know how the neighbors talk about you not having a baby yet."

"Just endure it a little longer, Sierra. Men are all reckless when they're young. Wait for him to come to his senses, and he'll settle down and treat you right."

I had closed my eyes, unable to bear the pleading desperation in the old woman's weathered face. I knew exactly what terrified her. She was terrified that if I walked away, no other woman would ever be willing to marry Jesse.

She was terrified that no one would be left to nurse the sick and cook the meals, leaving their broken home abandoned.

Jesse was an educated man, and deep down, he understood perfectly well what he was doing. He simply didn't fear losing me. He possessed the arrogant courage of a man who believed his wife would never walk away.

After all, when I first arrived at the commune as a young volunteer, I had chased after him relentlessly. I hadn't cared about his crushing poverty, his family's burdens, or the mocking stares of the entire county. To earn his affection and become his wife, I had gladly endured every hardship.

Because of that, he felt entitled to demand a divorce on a whim. He felt justified in trampling over my years of sacrifice, my tireless care for his family, and every tear I had ever shed, dismissing my pain as manipulative drama.

Just as I was about to swallow the bitter pills of humiliation and sign the separation papers, the long-silent system chime echoed in my mind.

"Greetings, Host. The system has detected that you failed to complete your romance objective. However, in recognition of your diligent labor and endurance, you have been granted an unconditional extraction pass to return to your original world."

I froze, my eyes snapping wide as a violent shiver of exhilaration tore through my chest.

Finally, I was going home!

I would never have to endure another second of humiliation in this wretched place.