Chapter 2
At that moment, I looked at Ronnie’s phone lying next to his pillow and couldn’t resist picking it up.
In all our years of marriage, I had never checked his phone.
Quietly, I unlocked it with his fingerprint and was shocked to see the pinned chat at the top. It was with a girl.
She looked a lot like me. Her Instagram location showed she had recently been in Andor.
That was during the days I was visiting my parents, and Judith had just returned to the country.
Suddenly, I recalled how Ronnie, always so composed, had inexplicably gotten drunk that night.
When he murmured, “I miss you so much,” who was he really looking at through me?
Tears fell unconsciously.
He had fooled me and everyone else.
Then, I found a folder in his phone containing a journal, all written about one person.
Judith Mosley, his high school crush, the heiress to a wealthy conglomerate, his unreachable dream
Back then, Ronnie hadn’t yet inherited his family business, and when he confessed, Judith rejected him.
Now, she was back and had reached out to him.
She loved shopping at high–end stores. I created a fake account as a beauty store manager and added her. Judith didn’t suspect a thing.
The next day, Ronnie still drove me to the design conference himself.
In the audience, he sat in the front row as usual, watching me with admiration as I presented my work.
The presentation ended with thunderous applause.
Then, suddenly, something caught his attention. He stood abruptly, apologizing to me in haste.
“Andrea, something urgent just came up. I’ll join you later.”
6:53 PM
<
Before I could clearly see the anxiety on his face, he had already left me behind.
Looking down, I instinctively checked Judith’s Instagram.
Five minutes ago, she had posted a tearful selfie with the caption that read, “It’s such a sunny day. I even made breakfast, but I dropped a plat and cut my hand. I feel so strangely calm. I just want to die.“”
Her makeup was flawless, her red–rimmed eyes against her pale face evoking pity.
Thinking of Ronnie’s anxious expression just now, I tightened my grip
on my phone.
Still, I kept my composure and finished the day’s activities.
Afterward, I didn’t return to the home I shared with Ronnie. I went back to my parents‘ house instead.
The moment I saw my mom, I couldn’t hold back anymore. Choking on tears, I said, “Mom, Ronnie… he has someone else.”
It wasn’t even someone new, it was the love he never let go of. I was just a laughable substitute.
Mom once told me that when she was young, she gambled everything on love, her life, and her belief in a man’s devotion.
It was absurd.
Back then, I didn’t understand her words, but now, I felt them in my bones.
They were fighting over the phone again.
Mom spoke calmly, “If you’ve fallen for someone else, let’s divorce.”
But Dad only thought she was threatening him.
“Brynlee, you just want to take half of my wealth and leave. Listen, unless you walk away with nothing, it’ll never happen!”
The line went dead abruptly, leaving Mom with a bitter smile.
“See? Men are all the same. Andrea, maybe neither of us needs to stay with them anymore.”
I felt my heart shatter into pieces. “Mom, is there really no way to save the price we’ve paid?”
She chuckled softly and shook her head.
“In three days, I’ll leave this place.”
Mom told me she had accumulated millions of points over the years from her missions, converting them into real–world money, a billion dollars.
She had already transferred it all into my private account.
“The freedom I couldn’t have in my lifetime, I hope my baby can have instead,” she said.
I held her tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.
Chapter 3
The system gave Mom one month.
If she could make Dad change his mind within that month, she could avoid the fate of being erased.
But Mom firmly refused. Her feelings for Dad had completely died. She didn’t want to cater to him, not even a little.
Dad took his young secretary to Mangria for business, but I saw on Irene’s social media that their location was tagged on Santo Island.
They were clearly out there enjoying themselves, hiking and sightseeing, with no word from them.
6:53 PM
<
On the day Dad left, he never came home.
I stayed by Mom’s side until dawn, watching as her breathing slowed and stopped. Her warmth faded bit by bit in my hands.
Tears blurred my vision.
That night, after Mom passed, I called Ronnie, my voice choked with emotion.
“Hello?”
There was no immediate reply, just the sound of his labored breathing.
I knew that sound all too well. Ronnie only breathed like that when he was making love.
After a long pause, he finally sighed and said, “Babe, I know you’re hurting, but I really can’t leave right now. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, I’ll be there to help you make all the arrangements for your mom.”
Then, the call ended abruptly.
When I tried calling Dad, it was the same busy signal.
Holding back my grief, I made all the arrangements with the hospital and the funeral home on my own.
Later, I saw Ronnie’s chat logs with Judith. She told him she had severe depression and thought about ending her life every day.
This trip back home was, she said, to spend time with him and check off 100 things she wanted to experience before she died.
She had sent him a long, detailed list, including talking with someone all night, drinking until blackout drunk, watching the sunset on an islai
making love seven times in one night with someone she loved, going skydiving…
Ronnie had promised her with utmost sincerity.
[Judith, I’ll help you fulfill every item on your list. I just hope, after completing these 100 things, you’ll find the courage to keep living.]
Her 100th wish was to wear a wedding dress and hold a wedding with her one true love.
Tonight, they were probably working on the third item.
I spent that night alone at the funeral home, keeping vigil over Mom. I watched as she was reduced to ashes.
But my mind was startlingly clear.
By the time I left, the sky had fully brightened.
I received a call from the contact I had reached out to a while ago.
“Ms. Gardner, congratulations. You’ve secured permanent private residency on this uninhabited island, along with a custom–designed partner service. It will be activated once you arrive.”
Using the money Mom left me, I spent 100 million dollars creating a private island for myself.
On this deserted island, no one would ever find me again.
If no one in this world loved me, then I would love myself.
“Alright, I’ll head over as soon as I’m done here.”
Outside the funeral home, I finally saw Ronnie rushing toward me.
He noticed my red, swollen eyes and pulled me into his arms with a pained expression.
“Andrea, I’m so sorry. I came back too late. How could Brynlee pass away so suddenly?”
6:53 PM
<
In his hurry, Ronnie hadn’t noticed that he still smelled faintly of another woman’s perfume, a detail someone as careful as him would never
usually overlook.
I stood there, cold and unmoved. These hypocritical people and their lies disgusted me.
What Ronnie didn’t know was that soon, Andrea Gardner would no longer exist in this world.
