"You're shooting this idea down, again? Jason, don't you want to just end this game quickly? We promise that no one's going to get killed! We'll wait until the very last moment when she can no longer hold it anymore, then we'll open the door."

Jason's tone remained icy. "No. It's risky. Nothing can happen to her."

Someone said, "Wait a second, Jason. I heard that you abandoned Felicity and ran after Ivy today! Felicity cried for an entire night, and you took a long time to console her.

"Then, to appease her, you told us to come up with the ninety-ninth round of revenge. Why are you being so picky now? Do you still remember who your true love is?

"Quickly break up with Ivy and return to Felicity. Didn't you always want that?"

Jason's breathing staggered. He wanted to retort when Felicity's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Jason, I heard what you all said. I'm asking you right now: I want you to do what they said on Ivy, as revenge. Do you agree or not?"

Jason was silent.

Felicity said with a catch in her throat, "You promised me you'd do anything for me!"

Jason finally said with a hoarse voice, "Alright, I'll agree. I'll do whatever you say."

Felicity chuckled in delight. His friends also said excitedly, "Alright! We can't wait for that day!"

Jason reminded them once more, "Make sure nothing serious will happen."

Ivy stood in the shadows. It felt as if some invisible hand was squeezing her heart tightly. It was so painful that she could not breathe.

She quietly returned to bed, picked up her phone, and sent a text.

…

On the day of their anniversary, Jason went according to plan and said to Ivy, "Ivy, I've prepared a surprise for you tonight. Close your eyes. I'll take you to a place."

Ivy quietly looked at him, holding her gaze for a long while before she eventually closed her eyes.

Jason smiled and blindfolded her with a piece of silk. Then, he led her to the car.

When they arrived, Jason led her inside the mansion and said softly, "Wait here for me. I'll go and get the gifts. I'll be back soon."

Ivy stood in the same spot, listening to Jason's footsteps getting further away.

Just as he was about to shut the door, Ivy suddenly called out to him, "You know, Jason, I really like you."

Jason stopped in his tracks, listening to Ivy.

"I've liked you for a very long time. When you agreed to be with me, I was over the moon and thought all my dreams had finally come true. That night, I couldn't even sleep. I was so excited I cried on my pillows the entire night. Pretty silly of me, huh?"

Jason said nothing, but his breathing quickened ever so slightly.

Ivy continued, "Today is our third anniversary. This is also the first time you prepared something for me. I'm really looking forward to it."

Jason's throat felt a little dry. A moment later, he said, "I'll be right back. Wait for me."

Then, he shut the door.

Ivy immediately took off her blindfold. Soon, she could smell gasoline in the air. She smirked and walked over to the corner of the wall.

Then, she dragged a fake body that she had prepared beforehand. After she overheard the phone call, she got a fake body custom-made according to her looks and height.

After the fire, everyone would think that it was her.

She placed a recorder on the table. She had recorded her voice asking for help.

"Well, Jason… Since you've fooled me ninety-eight times, the ninety-ninth will be my turn to fool you," Ivy gently said before playing the recording.

Soon, the entire mansion echoed with her voice. "Help! Open the door! Jason, help me!"

She turned and left through the back door without ever looking back. She hailed a taxi and headed straight to the airport.

In the distance, fire raged against the backdrop of the star-lit skies.

Not far from the mansion, a group of people stood watching the raging flames, screaming in excitement as they snapped photos.

"Hahaha! Revenge number ninety-ninth! A success!"

"Jason is finally free from that lovesick idiot Ivy Yarley!"

"When we go in later, I'm taking a few ugly crying shots of her and posting them online. Let the whole city enjoy the show!"

The dark red firelight illuminated their twisted, exhilarated faces with brutal clarity.

Standing behind the crowd, Jason felt something unfamiliar for the first time.

Discomfort.

Somehow, Ivy's expression from earlier resurfaced in his mind.

Only then did something click.

She had been too calm. Every previous anniversary, she had always been the most excited. From choosing the venue to decorating every tiny detail, she had taken care of everything herself. The entire anniversary had always been her effort alone. He had never once bothered to participate–and he had been perfectly fine with that.

After all, he did not love her. In fact, he had even resented her.

If she had not stolen Felicity's championship back then, the girl celebrating anniversaries with him would not have been Ivy in the first place.

Mere minutes ago, however, Ivy had been too quiet. On the drive to the mansion, she sat silently in the passenger seat. Other than saying a few strange, almost farewell-like confessions, she had not asked a single question about the anniversary plans.

She had been like a doll, letting him arrange everything.

At that moment, he had been gone for so long. The fire had been burning for so long.

Still, she had not called him even once. Nothing.

A chill ran down his spine. He fumbled for his phone, refreshing the screen again and again. Call log. Messages.

Nothing. No missed calls. No texts. No desperate pleas for help.

His heartbeat began pounding violently.

A suffocating sense of dread spread through his entire body.

Slowly, he lifted his head.

His face had gone pale as he stared at the mansion being devoured by flames.

Then, he suddenly broke into a run.

"Hey, Jason, where are you going?!" The others panicked and rushed to stop him.

Just as he was about to say something, a loud explosion split the air.

Boom! A massive mushroom cloud burst upward from the mansion.

Everyone's faces were drained of color.

Before they could react, explosions after explosions blasted in the sky. Thick black smoke billowed into the rain-soaked night. Debris shot outward like deadly arrows.

"Ivy!" Jason's mind went blank. All he could think was that Ivy was still inside!

He tried to charge into the mansion, but several people held him back.

"Jason, calm down! You'll die if you go in!"

"We've already called the cops! The rescue teams are on their way!"

"She'll be fine!"

Jason's eyes were bloodshot, locked on the sea of fire.

"Get lost!"

He had no idea where that surge of strength came from, but he broke free from the crowd and charged toward the flames.

"Jason!"

Boom!

Another violent explosion.

Rain poured down in sheets, extinguishing the fire, but the mansion was still smoking under the storm.

Rescue workers and search dogs combed through the debris.

They were searching for Ivy's body.

Yes, body. After all, no one was surviving that kind of fire and explosion.

In the distance, Jason stood in the rain with blood running down his face, ignoring the doctor trying to pull him away.

He waited for the verdict.

"Over here!"

A rescuer’s shout immediately lit up the light in his eyes. He dragged his stiff body and rushed as quickly as he could.

He arrived in time just as the rescue team lifted a body from the wreckage.

The corpse was barely recognizable. Its face had been destroyed. Blood and soot were caked together across burned flesh. The intense heat and explosions had curled the body inward, twisted grotesquely.

The horrifying, ruined face tilted toward him.

Unrecognizable to anyone else, but Jason knew. After all, not long ago, he delivered her into the fire.