System Override: Swapping the Cheating Husband for the Psycho Villain Chapter 1

I was reborn. The timing was impeccable—it was exactly our fifth wedding anniversary, right at the moment Carter Hayes claimed he had amnesia.

"I only remember being deeply in love with your sister, Stella..." he said, clutching his head in mock agony.

Our son pulled at my hand. "Mom, don't blame Dad. He just wants to take care of Aunt Stella. She's such a good person, and even I can't bear to see her all alone."

The System popped up, exactly as it had in my previous life: "Host, amnesia is fine! You succeeded last time, and you can do it again. Just re-conquer the devoted second male lead and your son!"

I calmly lit a Virginia Slim, placed the framed photo of our "happy family of three" face down on the table, and pulled up a picture of the story's obsessive, villainous antagonist on my phone.

"System," I exhaled a thin stream of smoke. "I remember I still have a one-time 'Target Swap' token available. I can change who I conquer, right?"

* * *

"Huh?" The System froze.

"I mean, yes, you never used your Target Swap token, but why would you want to? Carter just has amnesia!" "And you guys have a son! If you change targets now, what happens to little Mason? No, no, I don't approve of this."

I scoffed.

Amnesia.

In my last life, I bought Carter's bullshit. I tried every possible method to help him regain his memory, desperately trying to make him fall in love with me again.

Instead, I had to watch as his bond with Stella grew deeper and deeper.

"I'm sorry," he had told me. "Maybe we really did share beautiful memories, but I don't remember any of them. I only have Stella in my heart."

No matter how hard I tried, all he had for me was the pity you'd give a stranger. He even asked for a divorce.

And our son, Mason? He was a miniature, carbon-copy of Carter. When I was drowning in the pain of trying to salvage our marriage and find his father's memories, Mason stood firmly by Carter's side.

"Mom, you always tell me to help people. Why are you so mad that Dad is helping Aunt Stella? You're acting really selfish and annoying."

Even my own parents came to persuade me. "Why torture yourself? Carter loves your sister now. He can't remember you, so why cling to this marriage?"

"Besides, Mason loves Stella too. Even if you and Carter divorce, we'll all still be family."

Later, their persuasion turned into accusations: "Your sister went through a terrible divorce. She's so pitiful, why don't you have any empathy for her? She and Carter genuinely love each other now. Because you won't divorce him, she has to bear the stigma of being the 'other woman.' She's your sister. How can you be so selfish?"

Eventually, the prolonged depression took its toll, and I fell severely ill.

When I went to the hospital, I saw Carter holding Stella up. She was leaning into his chest, sobbing.

"Carter, shouldn't we just tell Serena that your amnesia is fake?"

He went silent for a moment. "We were married for five years. I'm afraid the truth would hurt her too much."

"But she keeps dragging her feet on the divorce! My belly is getting bigger. How can I show my face? How can I have this baby?" Stella cried pitifully.

That was when I realized—Carter had never lost his memory.

The so-called amnesia was just a convenient excuse to cheat on me without looking like the bad guy.

And I, like an absolute idiot, had believed he still loved me, frantically trying to restore "memories" he had never lost.

That night, I went back to an empty, echoing house. By midnight, I was burning up with a dangerously high fever.

I called Carter, Mason, and my parents. Not a single person answered.

They were all out celebrating Stella's birthday.

In our family group chat, festive photos popped up one after another.

My hand trembled as I typed a few words into the chat:

"I think I'm dying."

The group chat instantly went dead quiet.

A moment later, Stella called.

"Serena, are you purposely trying to ruin my birthday? Do you really hate me that much?" Her voice wavered with fake tears.

"If you didn't want to come, just say so. Don't act out for attention," my father's voice boomed through the speaker.

"Saying you're dying—who are you trying to guilt-trip?" my mother chimed in from the background.

"Auntie! Auntie, ignore my mom! It's midnight, time to blow out the candles!" Mason's cheerful voice rang out.

The other end of the line erupted in laughter and cheers. As the phone slipped from my weak grip, I heard a mechanical chime.

"Host has failed the Extra Chapter Conquest. Ultimate Ending: Conquest Failed. However, because you achieved the 'Marriage' milestone halfway through and have valid points, you may trigger a one-time rebirth protocol with the original system. Rebooting in 5, 4, 3, 2..."

So, this was just an "Extra" chapter.

It all made sense. When I married Carter and told the System I wanted to stay in this world, it had stayed suspiciously quiet.

I had never actually completed the conquest. I had never escaped the plot's constraints.

In this spin-off chapter, the female lead (Stella) divorced her husband and finally ended up with the devoted second male lead (Carter), whom she had loved all along.

And I? I was just the vicious supporting character in their extra chapter. A stumbling block on their road to romance. The catalyst to prove their true love.

I was someone who died alone, without a single person caring enough to check on me.