System Failure: The Replacement Wife's Final Ten Days Chapter 1

Valentine’s Day. It was my son’s birthday. It was also the fifth year of my mission to conquer my husband, Harrison Sterling.

That night, my son, Noah, made a wish in fluent German, looking straight at his father.

"I wish Dad and Mom would get a divorce. I want Aunt Bella to be my mom."

Harrison smiled and replied in German, "Your wish will come true very soon."

Aunt Bella. That would be my biological older sister, Bella.

Ten minutes later, Harrison called me into the study.

He slid a divorce agreement across the mahogany desk. "Let’s divorce. I’m giving you a billion dollars as a settlement. You need to retire from acting and move abroad permanently."

I stared at the papers, my throat tight. "Harrison... did you ever love me?"

He set down his pen and looked me dead in the eye. "Chloe, have you forgotten? You were just a stand-in for your sister."

"Now that Bella is back, you need to exit the stage."

His words were precise, surgical cuts to my heart.

The light in my eyes finally went out.

Five years ago, Harrison was in a car accident and ended up in a coma. His fiancée, Bella, refused to marry a vegetable and fled the country. The family forced me to take her place.

I agreed because I had terminal cancer, and a "System" offered to cure me if I successfully made Harrison fall in love with me.

For five years, I waited on him hand and foot. When he woke up, he protected me. He flew halfway across the world when I was sick. He even got jealous of our son.

I thought he loved me.

I was wrong.

"Sorry," I said, my voice steadying. "I lost my composure."

I picked up a pen. "I’ll sign."

Harrison looked at my red-rimmed eyes. He remembered how I’d given up my career for him, how I’d run out at 3 AM in a blizzard just because he craved dumplings.

His conscience pricked him. "As long as you don't disturb my new life, I’ll bring Noah to visit you abroad when I have time..."

The room was warm, but I felt freezing cold.

He left the door ajar when he walked out. through the crack, I saw Noah cheering.

"Dad! My birthday isn't over yet! Let's go find Aunt Bella!" Noah shouted in German.

"Aunt Bella plays the violin so well. She speaks different languages with me. She lets me eat ice cream. I love being with her."

"Unlike Mom. She always makes that gross sugar-free chocolate cake. I hate it. Aunt Bella brings me imported Godiva."

"Mom is so annoying. Why can't she be like Aunt Bella?"

Every word stomped my heart into the dirt.

Harrison laughed. "Let's go then. To Aunt Bella's."

I closed the door emotionlessly.

They didn't know I spoke eight languages. I understood every word.

The son I poured my life into wanted me gone.

I made sugar-free cake because his teeth were rotting. He forgot who carried him to the ER when his toothache made him scream. He forgot who stayed up all night telling stories when he was scared of thunder.

Five years of devotion couldn't beat the three months Bella had been back.

Ding.

My phone buzzed. A special notification.

It was Harrison’s Instagram post.

#HarrisonSterling: The only one for me in this life.

The photo showed him holding hands with Noah and Bella, standing in front of the Sterling family estate.

In five years of marriage, he never took me there. He said his parents thought an actress was too low-class.

Now, Bella had been back for three months, and she was the lady of the manor.

The post trended immediately. And naturally, my name was dragged through the mud.

#Ex-MovieQueenChloe Dream Shattered!

I looked at the toxic comments. My heart finally flatlined.

I logged into my account, tagged Harrison, and typed:

#Congrats to the happy couple. Thanks for the billion-dollar breakup fee.

I loved them with everything I had. If they didn't want it, I’d take it back.

For the first time in four years, I summoned the System.

"System, I request to leave this world permanently."

Three seconds later, the mechanical voice echoed in my head.

[According to mission parameters, the Host successfully completed the conquest four years ago upon the birth of the target's son. Request approved. You will be permanently deleted from this world in 10 days.]