"Penalty for mission failure—the passage home will be permanently closed."

Before signing off, Hugo had reminded me, "You need to be careful, Nathan. Jenny is mentally unstable. She throws things at you whenever she feels like it, and she's been keeping Aaron on the side as her sugar baby. Don't do anything rash."

Being perfectly aware of that myself, I nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, ever since I refused the system's renewal package, it became all dejected and forlorn. Even its robotic tone seemed to carry a hint of weary resentment.

It didn't want me to leave, but I was adamant about leaving.

Just as I was about to lay my cards on the table with the system once and for all, the villa's front door flew open. Jenny strode in, radiating a frosty air.

There was something rather off about her today. Her usually attractive face was now dark and stormy, and her eyes were completely bloodshot.

Staring at me, she made her approach.

I couldn't be bothered to speak. I simply moved toward the kitchen to get her a glass of water like I always did—to go through the final motions one last time.

But she grabbed my wrist, her grip unexpectedly strong. "Nathan, I'm telling you right now that you'd better not even think about things you shouldn't. Just behave yourself and stay by my side. I won't mistreat you."

I looked down at my arm. Right beneath the cuff of my sleeve was a particularly eye-catching bruise. It was the "souvenir" I got after she threw a cup at me a few days ago when she was in a bad mood.

It seemed Jenny had a pretty poor understanding of what mistreatment was.

At my silence, Jenny released me and launched into an explanation on her own accord. "Nothing is going on between Aaron and me. I just admire his talents."

I snorted to myself. She had said the same thing a million times by now. I could practically recite it myself.

Back when Jenny and I got married, Aaron showed up in a white suit that looked more like a groom's outfit than mine did. He'd intimately held her hand, tilted his head, and looked me up and down as if I were a piece of filth.

"Who's this, Jenny?" he asked.

What had she said then?

She gently stroked his face and replied, "Someone unimportant."

From that moment on, all I felt toward this woman—and this mission—was numbness.

At that moment, a tiny figure came running toward us. Ryan shot over and hugged Jenny's legs. He raised his chin in the air and shouted at me with open disdain, "Stop trying to convince him, Mom! He's just jealous that Uncle Aaron is more talented and more handsome than he is!"

I looked at Ryan, the child I had raised with my own hands. It felt like an icy fist had clenched around my heart.

I didn't experience the suffering of carrying a baby to term. But Ryan had been a sickly child. I'd spent countless days and nights staying by his side, pulling all-nighters that left my eyes bloodshot from exhaustion.

I quit my job, gave up my career, and learned to cook nutritional meals. I woke up in the middle of the night just to check on him and keep an eye on his condition. I treated him as my only emotional anchor in this godforsaken place.

But now, the very person I considered my light in this world was turning against me.

"Let him leave!" Ryan kept rattling off. "He stays home all day and lives off you anyway. How could he ever compare to Uncle Aaron, who's excellent at everything?"

After transmigrating to this world, I'd admired Jenny's business acumen and gradually handed over control of the company to her. After Ryan was born, I left the company completely to focus on caring for our family.

It was only after Jenny spent all her time wooing Aaron that the last of my feelings died out. The mother and son had been the ones who made me think there was still a glimmer of hope in this darkness of despair. What a mockery it was to see this happening now.

I was shaking with rage. Ryan was a heartless and ungrateful boy. He was indeed cut from the same cloth as his mother.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I raised my hand and swung it at Ryan's pale, delicate face without pause.

The sharp sound of the slap made the entire living room fall into silence.

Ryan clutched his cheek, his eyes wide with shock.

Jenny also froze for a moment before exploding into a fit of rage. She screamed at me, "Nathan! What the hell is wrong with you? What did Ryan do wrong? All he did was say a few words to you! What's the big deal? How could you hit a child so hard!"

There she was, making it sound so insignificant. What son would dare to talk to his father like that, huh?

I'd been too kind to them this whole time.

Ryan finally snapped out of his shock. He threw himself into Jenny's arms and started wailing. "Mommy! Daddy hit me! I don't want him as my daddy anymore. My face hurts!"

Staring at him, I spelled out clearly, "If I ever hear you say such things again, I don't mind finding you another father."

"How dare you!" Jenny completely lost it. She rushed over and slapped me hard across the face before shoving me with all her strength.

We had been standing at the top of the stairs. Since I'd been caught off guard, my body tilted backward, and I tumbled down the staircase.

The housekeepers at the villa were experts at reading the room and siding with whoever they could benefit from the most. As a result, no one stepped forward to help me.

The back of my head slammed against the sharp edge of a step. Something warm immediately began to flow. I reached up and touched my head. My hand came away bright red.

Ever since the system forcibly dragged me into this world, my body had only gotten worse by the day.

The blood loss made my vision go black. As my consciousness blurred, I heard Jenny's and Ryan's voices drifting down from the top of the stairs.

"Mommy, can Uncle Aaron be my new daddy now?"

"Not yet. Your deadbeat father still hasn't completely handed the company over to me."

…

When I woke up again, I was already in the hospital, the sharp smell of disinfectant stinging my face.

Hugo was sitting by the bed. When he saw that I was awake, he immediately asked, his expression furious, "Did that damn bitch hit you again?"

I nodded.

Meanwhile, the system realized it could no longer hide the truth from me, so it resorted to a pitiful ploy.

Using a whiny, high-pitched voice, it tearfully explained, "Host, your son is the male lead of the next installment, which I'm also in charge of… If you leave, he'll transform into a villain! I only told Jenny about it because I had no choice…"

I closed my eyes. I didn't even have the strength to argue with the system.

"So you sold me out?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

Afraid that I'd get too agitated, Hugo patted my hand and said, "There, there. Calm down. The person you planted is already in position, right? Jenny won't be able to keep this up much longer."

The moment he finished speaking, the hospital room door opened, and Jenny walked in. She'd changed into a new outfit.

Staring down at me, she said, "I've already discussed it with your system. You won't be able to leave. Who's going to look after Ryan if you do?"

My lips twitched, which made the wound on my face throb. "What do you mean? A CEO like you can't afford to hire a nanny? If that doesn't work, you can just marry Aaron and let him take care of your son. Problem solved."

"Nathan!" Jenny shrieked like a cat whose tail got stepped on. "Just what did I do that's so wrong, huh? All I want is for my son to have a complete family! Aaron and I are just friends!"

At that very moment, there was a knock on the door.

Eric Cassidy, Jenny's personal nutritionist, came in with a thermal lunchbox. "I've brought you your dinner, Ms. Green. You'll be having shrimp scampi today. Don't forget to take your daily vitamins after eating."

I looked up and met Eric's gaze. He gave me an almost imperceptible nod.

In my heart, I silently counted the days. It was happening soon.

After Jenny finished her dinner, the doctor happened to come in to change my dressing. She immediately took the tray from the doctor.

Acting like the most virtuous and dutiful wife, she said in a gentle voice, "Let me do it. How can we trouble the doctor with this sort of thing?"

What a brilliant actress she was. She should be winning awards for her acting.

Just as she held the cotton swab, pretending to tend to the wound on my forehead, her bodyguard suddenly shoved the door open, calling out urgently, "Ms. Green! Mr. Fuller says he's having severe chest pain!"

Jenny's hand trembled, and the cotton swab fell to the floor. She was no longer capable of sparing any thought for me.

As she hurriedly flung the tweezers she was holding back onto the tray, she cried out, "What did you say? Why are you just standing there then? Get the best doctor to check on him immediately!"

She was off like the wind, disappearing without a trace.

Hugo snorted in disgust. "What the hell? Her pretty boy is having chest pains, huh? He should just drop dead then. She doesn't even blink when your skull cracks open, but the moment her boy toy whines about some pain, she acts as if the sky has fallen!"

My lips twitched, tugging on my wound and making me wince from the pain.

"If she so much as spends a single second longer with me than necessary, it's like her entire day is ruined," I said coolly. "But what's more ironic is that she doesn't even think she's done anything wrong. She still thinks I'm the one who's kicking up a fuss over nothing."

Jenny had spent half her life in an orphanage. The moment she left the welfare system, the only things she valued were her ego and image.

Why was she so devoted to Aaron?

Well, it was simple—because he had also grown up in an orphanage. Only by dominating someone like herself could her pitiful ego feel truly satisfied.

I was lost in thought when the door opened again. This time, it was my "wonderful" son, Ryan, who came in.

As soon as he did, he jabbed a finger at me and questioned me angrily, "How can you be so evil, Daddy? Uncle Aaron is such a nice person! Why did you call him up to insult him?"

Even after searching my memory, I couldn't remember ever doing such a thing.

Hugo's eyes flickered in thought before he snorted. "Oh, my. That pretty boy sure knows how to put on an act. I bet he's just faking it. He acts like some gentleman in front of everyone else when he's really nothing more than a damn hypocrite."

I got the picture now.

Earlier this afternoon, Aaron must've lied to Jenny, claiming that I'd called him up to insult him. He put on a show in front of her to make it seem like he'd suffered a huge grievance.

And now, he claimed he was having chest pains, knowing Jenny would rush over at once to find him clutching his chest like he was about to die. What a perfect display of an innocent and fragile young man.

But if I recalled correctly, based on how this world was supposed to go, his target should've been the female lead. Where did he find the time to keep making his presence known in front of me instead?

I'd always thought that male rivalry over a woman was the most pathetic display. Yet, this supposedly sophisticated male lead seemed to revel in it.

"You heartless, ungrateful man!" Ryan continued lashing out at me. "Mommy should have married Uncle Aaron instead! I'm so ashamed to be your son!"

Hugo was dumbfounded. He jabbed a finger at Ryan, but it took him a while to get his words out. "W-What the hell are you saying? Your dad is the one who painstakingly took care of you and raised you, but this is how you repay him?

"Your dad doesn't even treat you badly, but even if he does, who do you think you are to say such things about him?"

I ignored Hugo's outburst. My gaze swept across the room and landed on the bedside table. A fruit knife lay quietly on the table, the blade gleaming in the light.

I propped myself up and picked it up. The coolness that spread through my palm was the perfect thing to help me calm down.

Then I slowly walked toward Ryan, my expression neutral. Despite being alarmed, he tried to act tough by defiantly questioning me, "W-What are you doing?"

I didn't bother wasting my breath. I raised the knife and aimed it at him.

This little monster didn't deserve to be my son.

Just as the tip of the blade was about to touch Ryan's clothes, the hospital door flew open. A figure shot forward to get between Ryan and me without hesitation.

A muffled thud rang out.

"Aaron! Are you alright?" Jenny's scream rang out.

Both she and Ryan quickly supported Aaron, who'd crumpled to the floor. It turned into total chaos.

When Jenny saw the pale-faced Aaron clutching his abdomen and unable to speak, she shot to her feet and raged at me, her eyes bloodshot. "Nathan Burke! Have you lost your mind? Ryan is your son!"