Chapter 1

Chapter 1

In the fifth year of Garrett's infidelity, the long-lost System finally returned.

It told me I could finally go home.

During my final seven days, I stopped arguing and fighting with him.

I let him stay out all night with his mistress.

I watched silently as he gifted my most precious belongings to another woman.

The day of my departure happened to be our fifth wedding anniversary.

He stormed through the front door with Brianna, kicked over the dinner I had prepared, and pinned a jagged glass shard against my throat.

He furiously demanded to know why I had tried to harm Brianna and their unborn child.

"How did you become so venomous? You disgust me."

I merely smiled, offering no defense.

"I did it all. I am that wicked. Is this really the first time you noticed?"

"So, congratulations. I wish the two of you a lifetime of misery together."

Then, right before his eyes, I dragged the sharp edge across the artery in my neck.

I ended everything I had in this world.

……

When the System first reactivated, Garrett and I had just finished screaming at each other.

The bedroom floor was a disaster zone, littered with shredded papers and shattered glass.

He had just returned from a getaway with the college girl he was keeping on the side.

The second he walked in, he wanted to touch me.

He pulled me close, pressing unwanted kisses onto my skin while his hands wandered.

I shoved him away in sheer disgust.

My rejection enraged him like a wounded beast, his eyes turning bloodshot.

He glared down at me with pure venom.

"Do you have any idea how hard women outside try to please me? What are you pretending for? Didn't you beg to be with me back then? Why act like a saint now?"

I stared at him in disbelief, unable to fathom that he was comparing me to his paid mistresses.

He was the one who had broken our vows.

Yet here he was, self-righteously demanding that I submit to him.

I could not bring myself to swallow my disgust just to stroke his ego.

Did he ever think about me while wining and dining other women?

"You make me sick. Don't touch me!"

My voice shook with fury.

I wanted nothing more than for him to vanish from my sight forever.

Garrett let out a cold sneer.

He grabbed my wrists and forced me in front of the vanity mirror, gripping my jaw painfully tight.

"Look at yourself. You are nothing like the girl everyone used to chase on campus."

"Wake up, Annette. You look like a haggard, washed-up housewife. Aside from your body, what else do you have that is worth a second glance?"

I stared at my reflection.

My clothes were disheveled, faint lines framed my tired face, and deep sorrow filled my eyes.

I truly could not compete with the young college girls he kept.

They were youthful, obedient, and knew how to flatter him.

Meanwhile, I had become a thorny rose that refused to speak sweet lies, pricking him until he bled.

Yet that was who I had always been, and he was the one who once claimed to love my fierce spirit the most.

His voice dropped to a sinister whisper.

"You've turned into a miserable shrew, just like your mother."

That single sentence shattered whatever pride I had left, crushing it beneath his heel.

I snapped.

Breaking free from his grip, I threw all my strength into a stinging slap across his face.

Tears spilled uncontrollably down my cheeks.

He was momentarily stunned, raising a hand to strike back before freezing at the sight of my absolute agony.

I had always been proud and stubborn.

In our five years together, I had never wept in front of him like this.

No matter how much pain he had inflicted on me, nothing had ever cut as deep as this moment.

"Say that again, Garrett. I dare you."

My voice choked with tears, but he remained silent.

"Say it!"

I despised him with every fiber of my being.

I hated his betrayal, his indifference, and the fact that he dared to compare me to my mother.

He knew better than anyone that my childhood trauma was my deepest wound, yet he weaponized it without hesitation.

Perhaps he had harbored those cruel thoughts for years, finally spitting them out in the heat of anger.

Garrett scoffed, dismissing my breakdown as pure dramatics.

"There is nothing left to talk about. I meant every word I said."

"Look in the mirror. Tell me I'm wrong."

A suffocating lump lodged in my throat, making every heartbeat feel like a stab wound.

My fingernails dug deep into my palms, breaking the skin, yet I felt numb to the physical pain.

A wave of despair threatened to drown me.

"So that's your excuse? That's why you cheated on me?"

"Why? Why do this to me?"

As I spoke, Brianna's youthful, ambitious face flashed through my mind.

She was radiant, lively, and possessed a seductive charm that drew people in.

It had only been a matter of time before Garrett fell for her trap.

"Isn't that enough? If you just behave, I can keep this marriage going. After all, you have no one else to rely on."

"Brianna might be better than you in every way, but she's just a toy to me."

"She won't threaten your position as my wife. What are you so insecure about?"

Garrett stepped closer, murmuring softly into my ear as his thumb wiped away my tears.

"So don't step out of line."

My heart felt crushed in an iron grip.

He was a complete monster who toyed with people's lives.

"Besides, having her on my arm makes me look good at social events."

He looked me up and down before letting out a mocking laugh.

"You? You're not young anymore. Taking you out in public only embarrasses me."

I lowered my head and said nothing.

Just as he lost his patience and turned toward the door, I finally spoke in a hoarse, ragged voice.

"Garrett, did you ever really love me?"

He paused for a fraction of a second, then slammed the door behind him without looking back.

Silence engulfed the room.

After a long time, I let out a dry, self-deprecating laugh.

Then, the dam broke.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, smashing every fragile object within reach.

I collapsed onto the floor amidst the wreckage, letting the grief consume me entirely.

Right then, the long-dormant System chimed in my head, its tone both divine and eerie.

"It is time to go home, Host. Your mission is complete."