Mission Aborted: The Great Escape Chapter 1

My best friend and I were bound by the same System.

Her mission: Seduce the stoic, ascetic heir, Ethan, and break his composure. My mission: Capture the heart of my cold, adopted guardian, Julian.

But Ethan spent his days meditating and ignoring worldly desires, treating her like air. And Julian was still hung up on his "one that got away," treating me like a child for three years, never seeing me as a woman.

After being tortured emotionally for too long, I decided to give up.

"I'm so tired. I'm quitting. What about you?" I asked her.

"If you quit, I quit."

We hit it off instantly. We pulled out our phones, calculated our savings, and prepared to take the money and run.

"But... which one of us dies first?"

"Whoever dies first goes home first. The survivor has to clean up the mess and handle the funeral."

We looked at each other. Chloe raised her hand first. "I suffered the most. I'll die first."

"No way. Rock, paper, scissors. I can't stay in this hellhole a second longer."

"Fine. Rock, paper, scissors."

Chloe threw scissors. I threw paper.

She won.

I stomped my foot in frustration. "Fine. You die first. I'll collect your body."

...

For the next two days, Chloe didn't contact me.

I was curious about how she planned to end it.

That evening, just as I was about to call her, she called me.

"Sarah..."

Her voice was sluggish, slurred, and mixed with the rushing sound of wind.

"Are you drunk?" My heart tightened.

"Just a little," she hiccuped, speaking in fragments. "Liquid courage... I'm going to do something big!"

I jumped off the sofa. "I thought we agreed on next Friday?"