Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I spent ten years trying to make Hayden Cross fall in love with me.

Yet, in the end, he still divorced me for his first love.

Even when I was dying in the hospital after a brutal car crash, he was busy celebrating her birthday.

The System declared my mission a total failure and announced my impending erasure.

Right before I slipped away, I texted him, begging him to come see me one last time.

His reply was cold and filled with disgust. "Trying to use death to get my attention again? I don't give a damn."

Much later, he finally remembered me.

But all that was left of me was a box of ashes.

He broke down, sobbing hysterically over my tombstone, but I was never coming back.

......

"Host, this is your final chance," the System's mechanical voice chimed in my head. "If Hayden Cross doesn't show up, you will be permanently erased."

I opened my eyes in the sterile ICU room and reached weakly for my phone on the nightstand.

The anesthesia hadn't worn off, and my battered body refused to cooperate. My trembling fingers knocked the phone onto the linoleum floor.

The System gave a helpless sigh.

Without a physical form, it couldn't help me pick it up.

Gritting my teeth, I hauled myself toward the edge of the bed and strained to reach the floor.

When I finally unlocked the screen, there were dozens of missed notifications, but not a single one from my husband, Hayden.

I opened his pinned chat and typed with numb, shaking hands.

"I was in a terrible car accident. Can you please come to the hospital to see me?"

This was my last shot at surviving.

If Hayden just stepped into this room once, I would get to live.

His reply flashed on the screen almost instantly.

"Playing this trick again? Sienna, are you really faking your death just to get my attention? I don't care."

"Don't forget, we finalized our divorce this morning. We're nothing to each other now."

Those two freezing lines crushed the last ember of hope in my chest.

My hand went limp, and the phone clattered loudly to the floor.

The System sighed again, offering a gentle tone of pity. "Host, I will make your passing as painless as possible."

Ten whole years of devotion, and this was where it got me.

I closed my eyes and surrendered to the void, quietly waiting for death to claim me.

Even with the System dampening the pain, the agony was excruciating.

It felt as if my beating heart was being ripped from my ribcage without any numbing medicine.

I wanted to scream, but not a single sound escaped my lips.

Finally, my soul detached from my physical body and floated upward.

Below me, the vital monitors flatlined with a sharp, piercing beep. A team of doctors and nurses rushed into the room, desperately performing CPR.

It was completely useless.

I was already gone.

Ten years ago, when I transmigrated into this world, the System gave me one objective: make Hayden Cross fall in love with me.

If I succeeded, I could live. If I failed, I would be erased.

The very first day I saw Hayden in high school, I fell for him instantly.

It wasn't just because he was my target.

He was genuinely charming, radiant, and brilliant.

Starting from our freshman year, I did everything I could to get close to him, eventually becoming his best friend.

We spent countless afternoons at the local diner, helping each other with homework until the streetlights flickered on.

We skipped classes together just to sneak into concerts of our favorite bands.

We promised we would attend the same Ivy League university.

Back then, Hayden was truly good to me.

Whenever I called, he would drop everything and rush to my side.

He never missed an anniversary and always clung to me, begging me to hang out.

I genuinely believed my mission was almost accomplished. That was until Yvette Palmer returned.

Yvette was Hayden's childhood sweetheart and his golden girl.

His buddies once told me about their past.

They grew up together in the same gated neighborhood, sharing every major milestone of their lives.

But when the Cross family hit rock bottom financially, Yvette abruptly moved abroad for school without even saying goodbye, cutting off all contact.

She abandoned him when he needed her the most.

Because of that, I never thought she would be a threat when she showed up again.

I never imagined Hayden loved her so desperately that he would dump me the very next day after she landed.

Desperate to survive, I had my father propose a business merger between our families. When Hayden fiercely resisted, I threatened to end my own life to force him down the aisle.

From that day on, Hayden hated my guts.

I foolishly thought time would soften his resentment and turn it into real affection.

Instead, his disgust only deepened over the years.

He openly flirted with Yvette right in front of me. He ditched me at public banquets to run to her side, and he even brought her back to our home while I was there.

It was his brutal way of retaliating against me for forcing him into marriage.

The System had granted me multiple second chances, but Hayden's heart remained a fortress of ice.

That car crash was my absolute final opportunity. As long as he visited me once, my life would be spared.

Too bad he couldn't even be bothered.

Now that I was dead, this ten-year nightmare was finally over.