Building a Second Life

anket and settled deep in my bones. The beeping of the heart monitor was th

hoed in my head, cold

Mission Failure imminent. System bond

the part of the villain the System assigned to me. I loved my adoptive aunt, Eleanor Vance, with everyt

octors couldn't explain, waiting to die alone. My refusal to sabotage

ive perfume, Eleanor' s signature scent, filled the air. It was a smell I o

, a carefully practiced melody of concern. "Li

ed with Liam's. He was a celebrated artist, the man the System had called her destiny. He looked down at me with a pain

My throat was dry, and

t' s... not looking good." She squeezed Liam' s arm, leaning into him for suppor

n her shoulder. "Eleanor, m

er gaze fixed on me. "I just wanted h

ody. I was a loose end, a messy reminder of a past she wanted to erase. My devotion, which she had used for y

remembered all the years I spent trying to earn her love, designing buildings for her gallery, hoping one

ved me. She had

urned, a flat, emotionl

e Liam Stone. Accuse him of stealing Eleanor from

would have held my tongue and protected her happiness. But now, staring at their united front, something inside me snapped. Th

last of my strength. I looked past

ce cracking but filled with

ce registered s

the effort making my head swim. "You think you' re so great, don' t you? The

dramatic gesture. "Ethan! How could you say suc

. I felt a wetness on my lips and knew it was blood. "There is no 'us.' Ther

ng him the perfect audience for this tragedy

y as the 'villain' felt strange, but i

hurt and real anger. "We' re going. I can' t believe you, Ethan. Afte

System washed over me, a temporary numbness that only highlighted the deeper agony. I collapsed back ag

to a local arts channel. A breaking news banner ran across the bottom of t

m, radiant under the lights. Liam stood beside her, his hand on her

balm for the cameras, "is a testament to love and art.

sign I had made for her years ago, a birthday gift. It was the first thing I ever

tinged with a practiced sadness. "It was a gift from someone from my past. A

ge. Without a moment' s hesitation, she tossed the wooden bird into the fl

she declared to the applause of the c

in my room

Valu

bond ter

saw was Eleanor'

ing I felt