On the day of our ninth wedding anniversary, I sat in the empty living room and summoned the system I had not contacted in ages.

"System, help me submit an application. I've decided to leave this world."

The cold, mechanical voice came through, and somehow it sounded comforting.

"Understood, Harry. Your departure application has been received. The space-time corridor is being constructed. I will come to retrieve you in one week."

I hummed quietly and stared at my phone screen. A family photo of three stared back.

In the photo, I stood in the center holding an adorable little girl. A beautiful woman stood beside me, kissing my cheek.

On our wedding anniversary, my beloved wife spent the day with her male assistant.

She sweetly called him "Honey," and my daughter called him "Daddy."

I calmly summoned the system I had sealed away for years and chose to leave this world.

I came here for a mission, but I stayed for love. Now I realized just how utterly wrong I was.

After I truly erased my memories and left this world completely, they cried and begged me to come back.

…

"System, I want to leave this world."

On the day of our ninth wedding anniversary, I sat in the empty living room and made my final decision.

"Understood, Harry." The cold, mechanical voice came through.

"Your departure application has been received. The space-time corridor is being constructed. I will come to retrieve you in one week."

I hummed in acknowledgment and stared silently at my phone screen. A family photo of three stared back.

In the photo, I stood in the center holding a cute little girl. A pretty woman stood beside me, kissing me.

I gazed blankly at the photo. The me in it looked so happy.

Ten years ago, I accepted a mission from the system, traveled to this world, and was tasked with winning over the famous actress Naomi Ashford.

It took me one year to complete the mission, but when the system announced the mission was complete and I could leave, I discovered that I had truly fallen in love with her.

I could not bear to see her hurt and I could not bear to leave her, so I chose to stay.

Naomi truly loved me too. On my birthday, even though she was filming out of state and could not get away, she insisted on catching a red-eye flight back to surprise me, then flew right back to work.

Whenever she was in town, she came home every day to be with me, giving me sweet good morning kisses and goodnight kisses.

Even though she was at the peak of her career, she insisted on having my child, saying she wanted our lives to continue together.

The day she gave birth to Peyton Gatlin, she nearly died from hemorrhaging, yet still pulled my hand with tears in her eyes and said, "Harry, meeting you was the luckiest event in my life. Even if I die, I have no regrets."

What did I do to deserve a wife who loved me so much?

Back then, I truly felt I was the happiest man in the world.

After our Peyton was born, she was as smart and adorable as her mother, and just as clingy.

Every day after school, she would shout "Daddy!" and throw herself into my arms, planting a big kiss on my face.

She would cling to me to tell her stories, sweetly beg me to take her to the amusement park, and proudly brag to her classmates, "I have the best daddy in the whole world."

They clearly loved me so much, yet in the seventh year of our marriage, they started another family behind my back with a young male assistant.

My wife gave Avery Kent, fresh out of college, a 4,000-square-foot luxury apartment downtown.

My daughter would hug Avery's legs and sweetly call out, "I love you the most, Avery!"

They started making up excuses not to come home, even sneaking out while I was asleep to go be with Avery.

In the end, I did not escape the seven-year itch.

Perhaps staying here was a mistake from the start. Now, that mistake needed to be corrected.

I was done with both of them.

My phone buzzed, interrupting my thoughts.

I opened it to see a message from Naomi.

"I'm taking Peyton to Mr. Hartley's casting session tonight. We'll probably be back really late, so don't wait for us. Love you."

I couldn't help but laugh bitterly. A feeling of sourness spread through my chest.

Mr. Hartley's casting session? He just called saying that he could not reach Naomi and asked me to tell her that the casting session was rescheduled to the day after tomorrow.

Tonight, she was probably going to meet her lover again.

I finally stopped hesitating. I deleted every family photo from my phone's gallery, changed my lock screen, stood up, and went back to my room.

After nine years of marriage, I really did not have much to my name.

I packed all the gifts Naomi had given me over the years into cardboard boxes and shoved them into the bottom of the closet.

After I finished sorting everything, the room suddenly felt empty, just like these years of mine. In the end, it all amounted to nothing.

I scheduled a courier pickup for a week from now.

These things, along with my wife and daughter, I would send them all to Avery. He would be thrilled, I was sure.

I returned to the living room, poured myself a drink, and sipped it slowly.

I did not know how much time had passed when the sound of the door opening suddenly rang out. Naomi finally came back with Peyton.

Seeing me sitting on the couch, she froze slightly. "Harry, why are you still awake this late? Didn't I tell you not to wait for us?"

"Daddy!"

Peyton immediately let go of Naomi's hand and rushed toward me.

I did not lift her up and swing her around like I usually did. I just patted the top of her head perfunctorily. "Be good, Peyton."

Naomi changed into her slippers and walked over with a gentle smile on her face.

Her gaze landed on the glass in my hand, and her smile stiffened slightly. "Harry, why are you drinking alone? Are you upset that we came back late? Mr. Hartley's session was just so complicated..."

As she spoke, she leaned in naturally, trying to kiss my cheek. When she got close, I clearly caught the scent of men's cologne that did not belong to her.

Nausea immediately churned in my stomach. I instinctively stepped back, dodging her kiss.

"No, I know you're busy. Why would I be upset?"

Naomi froze again, then grabbed my hand and said playfully, "Really? You're really not mad?"

I shook my head faintly. "I knew your work was demanding when I married you. Of course I'm not mad."

Her beautiful eyes studied me for a few seconds before a smile bloomed on her lips again.

"Honey, I knew you were the most understanding. Love you."

I made a quiet sound of acknowledgment and set down the glass. "It's late. Let's clean up and go to bed."

After we returned to the bedroom together, Naomi frowned slightly. "Harry, did you tidy up in here? It feels like the room is so much emptier."

I did not look up, just replied indifferently, "Yeah, it's the change of seasons, so I cleaned up a bit. I packed away everything we didn't need. I'm planning to donate it all when I get the chance."

Hearing this, Naomi's brow smoothed out. She linked her arm through mine again. "Honey, you're always so kind."

I pressed my lips together and said nothing.

Kind. Yes, I was so kind that I was about to hand her and everything else over to my rival.

Naomi went to take a shower. I leaned against the bed alone, half asleep.

Suddenly, I heard her voice mixed in with the sound of running water, speaking in a hushed tone.

"Avery, right now? But I'm already home..."

It had to be Avery calling.

I did not know what he said on the other end, but after a moment of hesitation, Naomi replied, "Wait for me a bit. Let me check if he's asleep."

Hearing this, I immediately closed my eyes.

Soon, Naomi tiptoed out of the bathroom. She carefully walked over to my side, and seeing that I was already sound asleep, she let out a sigh of relief.

"I'll be right there," she said into the phone.

I clenched my fists tightly and heard the sound of the door opening and closing behind me.

A moment later, I heard Peyton's voice from outside the door. "Mommy, I want to go see Avery too! Take me with you, please!"

Worried that Peyton would wake me, Naomi quickly said, "Shh, keep your voice down. Don't wake Daddy."

The two of them quickly gathered their things and left the house again. Everything fell silent once more. I opened my eyes in the darkness.

My chest ached, hollow and raw, like something vital had been carved out.

When I woke up the next morning, Naomi was already making breakfast in the kitchen.

Peyton sat obediently at the dining table. When she saw me get up, she gave me a sweet smile. "Good morning, Daddy!"

Naomi poked her head out as well. "Honey, breakfast will be ready in just a minute. Sit down and wait."

The scene was so warm it almost made me think last night had been nothing but a dream. However, the very next moment, Naomi walked out carrying a plate, and my sharp eyes caught a faint red mark on her neck.

My heart sank to the pit of my stomach.

It was not a dream. She really had snuck out while I was sleeping to meet Avery again.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke. "I'm not very hungry. I'm heading out."

Without waiting another second, I left as quickly as if I were fleeing. I calmed myself down and drove to the funeral home to schedule a cremation for a week from now.

The staff member asked hesitantly, "Sir, are you making this appointment for a family member?"

I shook my head. "For myself."

A flash of sympathy crossed the staff member's face. They probably thought I had some terminal illness.

I continued, "I don't have any family, so I had to come myself. After the cremation, could you scatter my ashes in the ocean?"

I did not want any connection with Naomi and Peyton anymore, and I did not want them putting on a fake show of mourning at my grave. I wanted to disappear from their world completely.

After finishing the appointment, I headed to a nearby mall to get something to eat.

The moment I entered, I ran straight into Avery with his arm around Naomi's shoulders. They were looking at watches at a counter, and Peyton sat to the side clutching a giant stuffed animal.

The three of them looked like a happy family.

Peyton was restless by nature. As she looked around, she spotted me first, and panic flashed across her face instantly.

"Daddy..." she called out.

"What's wrong?" Avery responded instinctively, then looked at her. When he raised his head, he saw me too.

The atmosphere froze in an instant. Only then did Naomi belatedly look up and meet my cold gaze.

Naomi immediately shook Avery's hand off her shoulder and jogged over to me with a guilty smile. "Harry, don't misunderstand. I wanted to pick out a gift for you, but I didn't know what to get, so I asked my assistant to come help me choose."

I nodded noncommittally and glanced at Avery, whose face had gone pale.

He forced out a smile and quickly added his own explanation. "Yeah, Naomi asked me to come out and help pick a gift for you. Please don't get the wrong idea."

Peyton jumped down from her chair and clung to my leg, putting on her sweetest act.

"Daddy, it's really a misunderstanding! Believe me. Mommy brought me out to buy you a gift."

I almost laughed out loud. What a wonderful daughter Naomi had raised.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Did you find something?"

Naomi immediately yanked the watch off Avery's wrist and held it up to me. "We picked this one. Do you like it?"

I gave a light laugh but did not take it. "I'm particular about cleanliness. I don't like things other people have used."

My words had a double meaning. Naomi's face went pale. She awkwardly returned the watch to the counter. "Then... should I help you pick something else?"

I shook my head faintly. "No need. You all keep browsing. I'm hungry. I'm going to grab something to eat."

Seeing that I was about to leave, Naomi grabbed my wrist. "Harry, let's eat together then."

In public, I did not want to make a scene. After a moment of silence, I nodded.

Right now, I really wanted to interview Naomi and ask what it felt like to have a meal with both her husband and her lover.

At the table, Naomi overcompensated. She kept piling food onto my plate and asking if everything tasted alright, leaving Avery sitting off to the side, visibly upset.