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!"

Ryan finally processed the situation and immediately ducked behind Jenny before putting on a clownish display of his own. "Daddy, is it just because I like Uncle Aaron more? You're such a selfish, cruel man!"

I simply looked at Aaron, who was acting like he'd made some righteous self-sacrifice. Snorting derisively, I said, "Stop pretending."

My voice wasn't very loud, but it was enough to silence everyone else in the room.

"Why are you acting like you got stabbed when it was the handle that was facing you?" I pointed at the perfectly spotless knife on the floor. "No matter how crazed I get, I would never kill my own child—unlike a certain someone."

This was something Hugo had mentioned in passing before. It'd been glossed over in the original story of this world.

Hugo told me that Aaron had worked at a bar once and gotten a young woman pregnant. The book claimed she'd miscarried, but in reality, the child had been born. However, thinking the child would only get in his way, Aaron choked it to death.

Aaron's lips trembled. His eyes flickered with panic. "W-What nonsense is that, Nathan? I never had a child."

"That's enough!" Jenny immediately stood protectively in front of Aaron. "That's enough! You can't slander Aaron just because you're jealous of him. Just you wait, Nathan. I haven't settled the score with you for calling Aaron this afternoon and insulting him!"

She immediately turned to Aaron and helped him up, her expression concerned. "Are you okay, Aaron? Don't be afraid. I'll arrange for you to get a full body checkup."

The three of them left in a hurry, and peace finally returned to the hospital room.

I spoke to the air. "System, when are you sending me back?"

After a long silence, the system replied in a clipped, nonchalant tone, "My apologies, Host. I've already discussed this with your wife. You'll just have to stay here."

I exploded. "Who the hell do you think you are? And who the hell does Jenny think she is? Who gave you the right to decide on my behalf?" I fumed.

The system didn't respond to my question. Instead, it said in a patronizing tone, "Host, isn't it great that you can stay here and continue living as a rich man? You'll have endless money and so many people to hang out with you. You should be celebrating how lucky you are!"

"Celebrating, my ass! You piece of shit!" I kept cursing at the system, only to find that I could no longer contact it.

The part of my mind that it usually occupied was now an empty void.

When Hugo saw me thrashing around on the bed in anger, he quickly held me down and said, "What's wrong? Who were you talking to?"

I couldn't take it anymore. Tears and blood both started streaking all over my face. "I can't go back anymore… The system sold me out! I want to go home! I want to go home!"

When I first transmigrated into this world, I was just the unfavored son of the Burke family. I had to pay an enormous price just to survive and get everything I wanted. Ever since I met Jenny, peace had been completely absent from my life.

And now, even my only hope was gone.

Hugo watched as I crumpled in despair. He hesitated for a while before abruptly saying to me, "Stop crying, Nathan."

In a voice only two of us could hear, he told me, "Perhaps my system… can find a way to send you home. It's not like yours. It listens to me."

I whipped my head up and grabbed Hugo. "What about you? What will happen to you?"