Chapter 2

Chapter 2

But three years ago, I traded my soul to the System to save him from terminal cancer.

Now, the Sienna Xavier by his side was nothing more than a hollow shell.

The android looked exactly like me. It had all my memories and a single primary command: Love Silas Hayes forever.

The System told me that once Silas divorced me and married Kendra, it would take my soul away for good.

Now that Kendra was back, I knew my time was running out.

The System asked me if I regretted my choice to stay.

I looked down. My heart, which had stopped beating long ago, still felt like it wanted to ache.

I couldn't say I regretted it, but I couldn't say I didn't.

The old Sienna, full of passion, would have insisted Silas would never betray her.

But the current me could only smile bitterly and admit that I was full of regret.

Both versions were me. I had loved, and I had learned.

Kendra returned on our sixth wedding anniversary.

Predictably, Silas didn't show up that night.

Even though I was technically dead, it still hurt. Then I forced myself to be rational.

Silas wasn't even there when I died. Why would he care about an anniversary?

The memory of the pain from my final days flooded back.

Three years ago, when Silas was diagnosed, I made the deal. I transferred his cancer cells into my own body.

He got healthier and more vibrant every day. I withered away in weeks.

On the day I died, I called him and begged him to come home.

He just sighed with irritation. "Sienna, stop being so dramatic. I'm busy and I don't have time for your games."

Through the System's eyes, I saw him wrapped in Kendra's arms. They were sharing a desperate, lingering kiss.

Kendra was leaving the country, and he couldn't stand to let her go.

I sighed, a single tear escaping my eye.

I told the System to take me right then. Pull my soul out.

The moment I left my body, the android was activated.

My physical remains dissolved into nothingness within seconds.

For three whole years, Silas never realized his wife was a fake.

His affair with Kendra, however, was common knowledge.

Everyone knew the rising tech mogul had a trophy wife who had blackmailed him into marriage. Everyone knew his true love was the Sinclair heiress.

Now that she was back, people were taking bets on how long it would take for me to be kicked to the curb.

Back in the present, the android finally regained enough function to crawl out of the pool.

Inside the house, Silas and Kendra were sipping hot tea and laughing together.

Kendra reached out and playfully ruffled his hair.

Silas looked down, blushing slightly. He had a look of tenderness I hadn't seen in years.

They looked like a perfect, harmonious couple.

The android stood at the door, water dripping onto the hardwood floor. It tried to step forward, but its leg glitched again.

Kendra was the first to notice. She smirked.

"Sienna, why are you just standing there?"

The moment Silas heard my name, his face turned to stone. He looked at me with cold eyes.

"Hah. So you finally decided to crawl back in."

He noticed the water soaking through my clothes and frowned.

"Sienna, Kendra has a bit of a cough. Go get her some medicine."

Kendra stopped him, covering her mouth with a delicate, fake cough.

"Forget it, Silas. Sienna will get angry. Let her change first so she doesn't get sick."

She was playing the part of the saint perfectly.

Silas shook his head. "No, Kendra. Your health is more important than her temper."

He glared at me.

"Did you hear me? Go find the medicine for Kendra. Now."

The android's internal systems finished a minor repair. It looked at Silas and forced a smile.

"Of course, Silas. I'll go right away."