Introduction

The music vibrated through the floor at Vance Architecture's biggest project win in a decade.

My husband, Ethan Vance, CEO, stood in the center, smiling, but his gaze was fixed on Sophia Miller, so close they were almost touching.

She was back, and I felt like the invisible woman in my own life.

"To Sophia," he announced, his voice warm with a feeling he' d never shown me, "for coming back. The firm wasn't the same without you."

Waves of applause crashed around me as I stood by the wall, my untouched juice a stark contrast to their champagne, the bitter truth settling in: it was all over.

A quiet, mechanical voice echoed in my head, a secret only I could hear: [Host, your mission completion is at 99%. Are you certain you wish to terminate the task?]

I didn' t need to say yes aloud. My thoughts were enough: Yes, I'm certain.

He doesn't love me. He loves her. All this time, I was just a substitute – a ghost he loved through me.

My five years of devotion, every effort, every believed promise, every step closer... it was all a lie.

Then, just last night, I' d heard his confession, heard him admit I was just a "substitute."

My world shattered.

[Understood. Processing request for termination. A 30-day buffer period has been initiated.]

I wasn' t Chloe Davis originally. I was a soul from another reality, with a mission: win 100% affection to go home, healthy and whole.

I escaped an abusive adoptive family, only to be "saved" by Ethan Vance, who built my world, offered me everything, and then asked me to marry him.

I genuinely believed he loved me for me, switching my mission target to him, and the progress bar leapt to 80%, slowly crawling to 99%... and stalling.

Now I knew why.

He wouldn' t even notice I was gone.

I was done.

I was ready to leave this world.