Chapter 1

After a heated argument with Joanna Gordon, Gus Harding was in a foul mood and insisted that I accompany him for a reckless joyride. The result was a catastrophic accident. The front of the car slammed hard into a tree, causing the airbag on the passenger side to deploy violently.

I felt like my insides were crushed. Turning to check on Gus, I was relieved to see he was unharmed. He dragged me out of the car and propped me against the tree trunk. I managed a silly grin and said, "Does this count as us going through tough times together?"

Gus smirked and was about to respond when his phone suddenly rang.

"Don't worry. I'll be there soon," he said, anger radiating from him as he turned to leave.

After taking a few steps, he abruptly remembered that I was heavily injured.

"Genevieve, just head back by yourself. Joanna's in trouble with some thugs, and I need to go save her."

"But it's the middle of nowhere—"

My desperate protest was cut off.

"Genevieve, don't add to my troubles."

With that, he jumped into his damaged Bugatti and sped off.

A chill ran through me. If Joanna was being harassed by thugs, shouldn't she have called the police? Why was she calling my fiancé instead?

[Host, you have failed the mission and will be terminated soon.]

I glanced at the time. It was 11:59 PM.

I had a system that set my goal as successfully marrying Gus by the age of 25. But today was the last day of my 25th year; tomorrow I would turn 26.

A tear slipped down my cheek.

[Host, you could call Gus. If he proposes on the spot, it counts as a successful mission.]

The usually cold voice of the system carried an unusual hint of sympathy.

I shook my head gently.

"No, it's pointless. He won't come back."

He could abandon me after a car accident, so there was no way he would turn around to propose to me.

I closed my eyes, quietly awaiting death.

At first, I coughed up a small amount of blood, but soon it turned into a steady stream. My insides felt like they were on fire.

I vaguely heard the system mention that my current pain wasn't due to failing the mission but rather because of the accident. In other words, even without the failed mission, being abandoned by Gus in this desolate place meant I was as good as dead.

I strained to lift my hand, trying to grasp the moon above, but it was futile.

It was just like how I had tried to alter the trajectory of the story's main characters yet still failed to win Gus's affection.

When I first entered the story, the system had informed me that this was a tale of a fake heiress.

Gus was the male lead, and the genuine heiress, Suzie Clark, was the female lead.

I was merely the phony heiress who desperately tried to steal the male lead away from the true heiress.

To avoid being ousted from the wealthy family, I had made an effort to befriend the true heiress on her first day back, striving to become Suzie's best friend.

That night, as we shared the same bed, I shyly confessed my feelings.

"Suzie, I like Gus. What do you think of him?"

Suzie smiled and replied, "You two are engaged. What's wrong with you liking your fiancé?"

This time, Suzie genuinely hadn't developed feelings for Gus.

I had thought that our childhood bond would make marriage a sure thing. But instead, he fell for the new girl in town—our maid's daughter—a character who didn't even exist in the book.

I frantically called out to the system, desperate for answers, but it remained silent.

With no other options, I had to continue on my own path to win him over.

It wasn't until my 22nd birthday that Gus announced he wanted to break off our engagement.