Now You Love Me?

Before the mission, I ask Ryan Jamison one last time, "Will you marry me?"

He pauses for a moment before saying, "Alright."

The system and I freeze.

"Oh no," we say in unison.

I'm told that once I get rejected a hundred times, I'll return to the real world. Turns out, it's nothing but false alarm.

In my final mission, I accidentally become the stand-in for his first love.

Ryan spends three days with her before he finally remembers me.

But by then, all he hears is that I've died in the line of duty.

"Tasha, you really don't have to rush.

"Come on, it's your birthday. No one wants to be rejected on their birthday."

My footsteps echoed softly in the quiet hallway.

After three grueling months on a field assignment, I was exhausted and still carrying the weight of the journey, yet the first thing I did when I got back was go straight to find Ryan Jamison.

There wasn't any other reason. After seven long years trapped in this world, I just wanted to go home. According to the system, if Ryan rejected me a hundred times, I could finally return to reality.

Conveniently, the system told me this would be the last one.

On the other side of the door, Ryan was on the phone.

A woman's voice came through the speaker. She sounded like she was crying, and her voice trembled as she spoke. "Ryan, I know you've been with Tasha for three years. I shouldn't be calling you, but I just can't help it…"

He didn't respond. Silence lingered for a long while.

The voice belonged to his first love, Elaine Woods.

Honestly, I owed at least half of my 99 rejections to her.

Ryan finally changed the subject. "When are you coming back? I'll treat you to dinner."

She asked, "What makes you think you can do that? Who do you think you are to me?"

He replied, "Your ex."

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Elaine's spiteful voice came through. "Well, my dear ex, I'm getting married on the 20th. You're welcome to come to the wedding."

Ryan sounded furious. He exhaled sharply and said through gritted teeth, "Elaine."

The line went dead.

The system squealed inside my head.

"Tasha, hurry! He's in a bad mood! Ask him to marry you now while he's upset!"

Normally, I would never have done something so reckless, but the thought of finally going home gave me a courage I didn't know I possessed.

I pushed the door open and walked into the dark room.

Ryan sat by the wide floor-to-ceiling window. The city lights glittered behind him like a sea of stars.

The glow from his phone illuminated his face, outlining every sharp, flawless feature.

When he noticed me, he switched off his phone, leaned back in his chair, and asked impatiently, "What are you doing here?"

The calendar sat right there on his desk, yet he still didn't remember my birthday.

My palms were damp with sweat. "I'm leaving for a mission tomorrow."

In the real world, I was a police academy graduate. In this one, I made the same choice and became an officer again.

Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose and said indifferently, "So, what do you want?"

I gathered my courage. "After the mission, will you marry me?"

The system nearly exploded in my head. "Oh my God, we did it! Mission complete! I'm finally getting promoted!"

Ryan's deep, dark eyes mirrored my reflection, and the faint furrow of his brows revealed his displeasure.

I took a deep breath, lowered my head, and waited quietly for the rejection I needed to hear.

I had liked him for so long, and I knew being rejected would hurt. Still, the system had promised me a generous reward I could actually use once I returned home.

"Alright," he said.

"What?"

The system's cheering cut off mid-scream.

I looked up in shock, meeting Ryan's calm gaze.

He absently flipped his phone between his fingers. "I said, 'Alright.'"

For a few seconds, both the system and I blurted out the same curse.

"Shit…"

…

I hid in the bathroom, and all the frustration I'd been holding back finally erupted.