Chapter 3

Chapter 3

To help him rebuild his fallen enterprise, I defied my own family and drained my personal savings to fund his startup.

Gradually, the way he addressed me shifted from Valerie to Val, his sweetest nickname for me.

We transitioned from loyal friends to devoted lovers.

The night he dropped to one knee and opened a velvet ring box, the system chimed in my head:

"Target affection progress: 80 percent."

His hands shook slightly as he held the diamond ring, his entire body trembling with nervous energy.

Yet, his eyes overflowed with profound adoration.

I saw the intense, burning hope in his gaze.

"Val... my sweet Val..." his voice cracked. "Will you... will you marry me?"

I was completely hooked on him.

"Yes! A thousand times yes!" I swore that was the happiest day of my entire life, a moment I thought I'd cherish forever.

Yet, real life had no fairy-tale ending.

Shortly after our wedding, his so-called childhood friend, Mallory, reappeared in his life.

Now, sitting on the hospital bed, I stared at this man with a heavy, bitter ache in my chest.

"Declan, do you really love me?"

People only ask such foolish questions when they are at their most vulnerable.

He set down the food containers and gently wrapped his arms around me. "Of course I do, silly girl. More than anything."

"You love Mallory too, don't you?"

A wave of suffocating bitterness surged in my throat.

His expression shifted into mild annoyance. "What kind of nonsense is that?"

"I only see Mallory as a little sister."

Seeing how weak and pale I looked, his tone immediately softened again.

"I was wrong, Val. I shouldn't have left you alone here. I swear I won't do it again, so please don't be angry, okay?"

"You saw how hysterical she was. If I hadn't gone after her, she might have hurt herself..."

Tired of his rehearsed excuses, I cut him off calmly. "I'm not angry."

My eerie composure caught Declan completely off guard.

"Don't worry, Val. I'll make this up to you. I'll stay here and nurse you back to―"

"No need," I replied evenly. "I've already hired a private nurse."

Confusion flickered across his face. In the past, I leaned on him for everything.

"Then I'll come pick you up when you're discharged," he insisted, assuming I was still giving him the silent treatment.

"That won't be necessary either. I'll just take an Uber home."

His confusion deepened into visible shock.

I suffered from terrible motion sickness. To make car rides bearable for me, Declan always drove with extreme care, and his car was the only vehicle where I never felt nauseous.

He couldn't fathom why I suddenly refused all his help, even if it meant feeling sick in a cab.

Why didn't I need him anymore?

Perhaps it started the night he bolted out in the pouring rain to comfort Mallory, leaving his pregnant, feverish wife home alone.

Perhaps it was when he sped recklessly down the highway just to thrill Mallory, completely ignoring how pale and sick I looked in the back seat.

Or perhaps it was because across three lost pregnancies, he had abandoned me every single time.

The last time I watched his back as he sprinted out of the chapel, I thought I would break down screaming just like before, begging him to choose me.

Instead, an uncanny calm washed over me.

I sat on the cold floor, quietly waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

I lay on the stretcher, staring blankly at the hospital ceiling lights passing overhead.

And Declan?

At that exact moment, he was in Mallory's apartment, whipping up gourmet meals to cheer her up.

I remembered looking at Mallory's seventh story update on social media.

"Nothing beats being spoiled and cared for by my childhood boy."

Underneath was the picture of Declan wearing an apron by her stove.

I remembered Declan telling me once that he hated the smell of grease in the kitchen.

Before I realized it, warm tears had soaked half of my hospital pillow.

I had lost another baby.

And I had lost the man I loved, forever.

I closed my eyes and summoned the interface.

"Requesting to terminate the mission."

"The main mission is not yet complete. If you choose to terminate now, the system will arrange an exit scenario to end your timeline in this world. Do you confirm?"

"Confirmed."