Part 1The Four Targets

After failing to win over my first three targets, I made a final, desperate play: I got engaged to the paralyzed heiress of the Beaumont family.

I spent every last point I had with the System to grant her the ability to walk again.

The very first thing she did with her newfound strength was to publicly annul our engagement and throw a spectacular wedding at sea for a man named Adrian Thorne.

From the deck of a nearby boat, I watched as all four of my targets gazed at Adrian, their faces soft with a tenderness they had never once shown me.

A sudden, overwhelming wave of homesickness washed over me. I wanted to go home. So I turned my back on it all and threw myself into the ocean.

But as my body hit the cold water, four figures dove in after me, their expressions twisted in masks of terror and regret.

...

On the lavish yacht, Seraphina Beaumont, radiant in her wedding gown, was sharing a blissful kiss with Adrian. As the guests cheered, the System’s mechanical voice echoed in my mind.

【Host has failed the mission. You will be terminated in fifteen days.】

A bitter smile touched my lips. I had been reborn into this body, transmigrated from my own world with a single purpose. The System had given me four targets. If I could get just one of them to a 100% affection score, my original body, riddled with a terminal illness, would be cured.

For years, I had debased myself, humbled myself, and catered to their every whim. But every single time, just as I was about to reach that final threshold, Adrian Thorne would appear, and my progress would be wiped clean, my affection scores reset to zero.

And now, my very last target was marrying him.

With that thought, I walked to the edge of the deck and let myself fall into the deep, dark water.

The ocean embraced me, a cold, silent shroud. I spread my arms, surrendering to the crushing weight, letting my body sink toward the abyss.

But then, an arm hooked around my chest, dragging me back toward the suffocating light.

Fresh air flooded my lungs, and before I could even register what was happening, a vicious slap sent my head snapping to the side.

“You chose Adrian’s wedding to pull a stunt like this? You just had to ruin it for all of us, didn’t you?”

I wiped a trickle of blood from my lip and looked up into the disgusted eyes of the woman who held me. The pain in my heart was a familiar, throbbing ache.

My sister, Clarissa Rhodes. My first target in this world.

After our parents died, we had only each other. When the car crashed, I hadn't hesitated to shield her with my own body, taking the brunt of the impact. It left me with ruptured organs and a long stay in the ICU. She had wept over my hospital bed, promising that no matter what, she would always protect me. We were, she’d said, the only family we had left.

But the day I was discharged, she brought Adrian home, announcing he was our new "little brother." She moved him into my room and did nothing when he tortured my dog of eight years to death. Every argument between Adrian and me, she took his side, calling me petty and cruel for not being more welcoming.

The ninety-seven points of affection I had painstakingly earned over eight years were erased by Adrian in less than a week. From that day on, her affection for me plummeted, and she eventually stopped acknowledging me as her brother at all.

Seeing me sitting there, dazed and silent, Clarissa fished a bottle of heart medication from her purse and threw it at my chest.

“Are you going to fake another heart attack? Take your pills and get the hell out of my sight!”

I didn’t have a heart condition. The chest pains were a punishment from the System. In the past, she’d always carried these pills out of fear for my life. Now, her gesture held no warmth. I picked up the bottle, twisted off the cap, and poured a handful of the small white pills into my mouth.

Clarissa’s eyes widened in shock. “Ethan, are you insane?!” she shrieked, slapping the pills from my hand.

The bitter tablets scattered across the deck. She gripped my wrist, her hand trembling.

I wasn’t insane. I just wanted to go home. I wanted one last chance to say goodbye to my real sister.

I remained silent. Clarissa shot me a venomous glare. As a crowd of wedding guests began to gather, she impatiently ordered her bodyguards to drag me off the boat.

Just as I set foot back on the main yacht’s deck, I heard the click of high heels behind me. A sweet, melodic voice followed.

“Ethan, what are you doing here?” A soft gasp. “Oh my god, you’re soaked!”

I turned to see Seraphina Beaumont, the woman who was almost my wife. A sliver of warmth pierced through the icy despair in my chest.

So, she did still care, didn't she?