Six years into our marriage, my husband suddenly "woke up."
He shoved me off the bed, eyes filled with undisguised disgust. “Loretta Butler, my body was being controlled by a Player before. He used my body to win you over, and that's the only reason I married you.”
“Now his mission is over and he's gone, so I want a divorce.”
After that, he showered his first love, Victoria Cox, with affection and ground me into the dirt.
He was intimate with Victoria right in front of me. Made me hand-wash her underwear.
He even tossed a used condom onto my head, his voice dripping with contempt. “I already told you the real Frederick is back. What are you trying to do? Summon that vanished Player to take over my body again?”
I shook my head, eyes brimming with anguish. “I just can't believe it's true. Maybe you just lost your memory somehow.”
His lip curled in revulsion and he had someone throw me out of the mansion.
I stood outside the gates all night in the pouring rain until I collapsed.
Through the haze, I heard Frederick's voice, talking to a friend.
“Aren't you afraid she'll find out the truth and leave you? I'd love to see how you plan to clean up that mess.”
“I'm just making up for a regret from my youth. You know how it is. The one that got away always keeps your heart racing.”
“Once I've had my fun, I'll just tell her the Player is back in my body and that I've already driven him out. Problem solved.”
“Loretta loves me so much, she'll believe every word.”
A cold smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. So it was all a lie.
Since you love playing the Player game so much, Frederick, then this Player should leave for good.
……
The truth is, I really am a Player. I only stayed because I fell in love with Frederick Harding.
Now it was time to go.
I called out to the System in my mind and told it my decision.
A mechanical voice I hadn't heard in six years echoed through my head once more.
「Understood, Host. I will arrange your departure in one week. Once confirmed, this choice is permanent. You will never return. Are you certain you wish to leave?」
Permanent departure meant I would never see Frederick again. The thought sent a dense, spreading ache through my chest.
Then Frederick's voice drifted over again. “Honestly, if Victoria hadn't gone abroad to chase her dreams back then, I never would've agreed to be with Loretta. I only did it to spite her.”
“Truth is, whenever I missed Victoria so badly it drove me crazy, I'd pretend Loretta was her and take everything I wanted. And Loretta loved me so much she gave in to every demand, no matter how far I pushed.”
“I even went too far once and she lost the baby. She cried for weeks, blaming herself. But it was me. I'd switched her vitamins with birth control pills. She still has no idea I never wanted her to carry my child.”
My heart tore open all over again. So that miscarriage was because of him.
And I'd spent all that time drowning in guilt, convinced it was my fault, putting myself through acupuncture and herbal treatments until my body was wrecked, all trying to get pregnant again.
In the end, I was nothing but a joke.
When I opened my eyes again, the only thing left in them was resolve.
「Confirmed. I'm leaving.」
「Understood, Host. The departure countdown begins now. In one week, this body will be pronounced dead.」
“You're awake, so get up and cook. Stop playing dead.”
“Victoria's stomach is bothering her today. Make her some congee. Cook it longer so it's thick. Got it?”
Frederick walked over, every inch of him radiating authority, like I existed only to follow orders.
When I didn't respond, he grabbed me and hauled me off the bed. My knees cracked against the marble floor, and the pain ripped a sharp breath from my lungs.
