I called my father and told him I wanted to move to Fronville, Frontania to live with him.

After my mother passed away five years ago, he moved there—to the place where they first fell in love—and stayed to keep her company in a sense for the rest of his life.

I, on the other hand, stayed behind for Marvin. I had turned down the chance to study abroad, clung to him, and spent the entire year away from my father.

I thought if I held on long enough, I could thaw Marvin's icy heart and finally win him over. Instead, when his icy heart melted, all that was left was a bitter cold.

What I believed was true love was nothing more than a cruel game of pranks. I was just a clown in his twisted act to impress Shirley, his first love.

When my father heard what I said, he was overjoyed. "I'm so glad you've finally come to your senses!"

I held back my tears and gave a soft hum.

"When I leave, help me stage a fake plane crash."

He didn't understand why, but he still agreed.

The plane crash would be my final gift to Marvin.

I'd make sure he drowned in regret for the rest of his life.

I deleted every photo of us from my phone. But when I got home to pack, a leather-bound notebook slid out from Marvin's safe.

The dark green cover was embossed with the phoenix crest from "Ashen Mythos", a game I had stayed up late 36 nights in a row to design. That was my very first logo draft.

Marvin had it printed on the cover. Inside were all my design sketches from over the years. He'd kept them, carefully organized, like he truly believed in my dreams.

I flipped to page seven and froze. Next to a photo of me coding at my desk with my glasses on was a sticky note.

[Today, she snapped at the computer screen, looking like a puffed-up kitten. The revised version was ten times better. How can anyone be this smart and cute at the same time?]

Every time I pulled an all-nighter sketching, Marvin was right there, massaging my shoulders and cooking for me.

Just because I mentioned it once, he went out in the middle of the night to get me cake. He remembered my period and always made sure I was comfortable.

He got into a relationship with me as a prank, but the truth was, he was just as caught up in it as I was.

Tucked into the back of the notebook was a stub from a flight on Valentine's Day last year. The blank space beside it was filled with his familiar handwriting.

[If I had to do it all over again, I'd still pretend to lose the ticket and trick her into staying up all night at the airport to revise the proposal with me… because that was the 72nd prank I pulled for Shirley.]

Rain slammed against the window.

All that love had been built on lies. Maybe Marvin loved me, in some twisted way.

But he loved Shirley more.

I was just someone he used to entertain her.

With shaking hands, I pulled out my phone and booked a surgery to end the pregnancy.

That night, I lay in bed as Marvin came home, the chill of the night clinging to him. I stayed still, pretending to be asleep.

There was no sound for a long time. It felt like he had paused mid-move.

I hadn't followed through with the prank this time. He must've looked bad in front of Shirley and the others.

But I couldn't figure it out. Was he really just going to let it go?

Then the mattress dipped behind me, and two strong arms wrapped around my waist.

Marvin rested his head against my neck like a tired bird finally returning home. His breath was warm, full of joy. "We're having a baby, Selene."

Selene stands for "moon". That was the nickname he gave me. He once said I was like the moon in the sky, shining only for him. It also sounded like my real name.

But I knew the truth.

Behind my back, he told Shirley and the others that I was just overthinking. He said Selene was just a name he made up for fun to trick me and make me fall so deeply I couldn't see the truth.

All that so he could laugh at how love turned me into a fool.

I said nothing. He had no idea I'd already made my choice to end the pregnancy.

Marvin didn't notice anything strange. He pulled out my test results and drew three tiny hearts on the paper.

He used the fountain pen I'd bought him with my first paycheck. He'd carried it with him for years.

I didn't say a word. He just held me tighter, whispering sweet nothings like any other day.

But my heart felt like it was trapped in the dead of winter—frozen solid, impossible to thaw.

"I'm tired. Let's sleep," I whispered.

He went quiet right away. Then he murmured, "Remember we're going to Shirley's birthday party tomorrow," before quickly falling asleep.

But I stayed awake all night.

He had faked memory loss, and I had given him my heart for three years.

Now, I would fake my own death and let him live with regret for the rest of his life.

At the birthday party, Marvin's friends crowded around me in the private room and pushed the biggest slice of cake right in front of me. "Marvin says you love cake. Have some."

Marvin looked away, pretending not to notice.

The moment the cake touched my lips, a sharp bitterness rose in my throat, and nausea hit me hard.

But Shirley pressed me down while shoving the unfinished cake back into my mouth. "It's my birthday today. It'd be rude for you to spit out my cake. Come on. Finish it!"

Suddenly, my lower stomach clenched with pain, unbearable and sharp.

Marvin's friends started teasing and laughing, treating me like part of some cruel joke.

After finishing the cake, I rushed to the bathroom, vomiting until I felt the world spin around me. From the private room came satisfied laughter—clearly, it was another prank of theirs.

"Is your stomach still bothering you?" Marvin handed me warm water with mint leaves floating inside, an old remedy for nausea he taught me when we first met.

I couldn't respond as my body was wracked with sharp, stabbing pain, like needles piercing through me.

I looked down and froze. Blood was trickling from between my legs, running down my thighs. It was terrifying.

I grabbed Marvin's arm, trembling. "Take me to the hospital…"

But Shirley stood blocking the door, grinning. "Marvin, it's just irregular bleeding. Girls get that all the time. Don't worry about it."

"Move!" Marvin snapped, his voice sharp.

That was the first time he'd ever gone against Shirley.

When I woke up, I overheard Shirley teasing Marvin's friends outside the exam room, "Did you put too much of the drug? Didn't we agree just to embarrass her in public?"

One of them chuckled. "Marvin should be thanking me for helping him get rid of a burden."

"Yeah, it's been three years. If Serena had a baby, how would he get away from her?"

Marvin stayed silent for a long moment, then said, "Pranks are one thing, but you shouldn't mess with her health."

Shirley looked surprised, then angry. "You said you wanted to 'make the bookworm fall from her high horse' to avenge me, remember?

"You suggested humiliating Serena in public for my birthday. What, are you in love with her now?"

Marvin shook his head like he wanted to run from the question. "No way! You're the one I love."

Outside, laughter and cheers started again.

They celebrated the 98th prank's success and immediately began planning the 99th.

I touched my flat belly, the dull ache there a painful reminder.

The baby and I were just part of their game, wrapped up in a bow as Shirley's birthday present.

I wiped my tears and, with shaking fingers, canceled the surgery. It turned out I didn't need to do that because the baby's father had already sentenced it to death.

Just as I was about to call my father, Marvin came in. I shut my eyes tight and pretended to be asleep.

I heard him whisper in a guilty, hoarse voice, "I'm sorry…"

I knew exactly what he was sorry for.

After I recovered and was discharged, Marvin told me his friends and Shirley wanted to apologize and invited me to climb Mount Chessier with them.

He said they wanted to pray for our lost child at a monastery on top.

I knew it might be another prank, but thinking about the baby made my heart ache.

This would be my last goodbye before I left for Frontania.

All the way up, they clustered around Shirley, laughing and flattering her while ignoring me completely.

When we passed by a tree adorned with ribbons on which people had written their wishes, Marvin bought a ribbon strip, and we wrote a prayer for the baby together.

Shirley stood nearby, smiling sweetly at me. "You're such a good mom."

I ignored her false kindness.

There wasn't much space left on the tree. To hang mine, I had to lean over the fence a bit.

Suddenly, someone shoved me hard from behind.

"Ah!"

I fell forward without any chance to brace myself and tumbled down the steep slope. A sharp, unbearable pain shot through me, deep into my insides. My right leg was so badly injured that I could barely move it. Then everything went black.

Half-conscious, I felt Marvin pick me up, his eyes red.

"Selene, don't worry. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Why…" I whispered, tears blurring my sight. "Why do this to me?"

Though my body was wounded, it felt like my heart was breaking into pieces.

Marvin's eyes were full of guilt and fear. His voice shook as he explained, "I didn't know they'd go this far. I really didn't know…"

Then my world faded into darkness.

When I woke up again, my right leg was wrapped in a thick cast.

The doctor said I might have permanent damage. I lay there silently, tears streaming down my face.

Marvin sat beside the bed, looking worn out. His face was tight with pain, his eyes full of guilt and sorrow.

He drew a tiny moon on the cast and said softly, "Selene, I'll stay with you until you get better."

I closed my eyes, and he gently tucked the blanket around me, moving carefully so as not to wake me.

He was busy all morning, running back and forth to bring me everything I needed in the hospital. After almost an hour, he finally got to catch a breath.

He was acting like the most responsible boyfriend when he was the one who caused all this.

I pretended to sleep, but my heart was pounding, aching inside. Marvin stayed up all night and sat by my side.

Every now and then, he kissed the name "Selene" he'd written on the cast, tears falling as he held my hand tight, as if I'd disappear if he let go.

"I'm sorry, Selene. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have listened to them and hurt you.

"At least I still have a chance to stop this. I won't ever hurt you again. You're my reason to live, Selene.

"I almost lost you. I'm so sorry..."

He spoke in a choked voice, watching over me the whole night.

I knew he was hurting because I was injured.

Last time, in front of Shirley and the others, he said it was just a prank and told them not to cause me real harm.

Part of me softened, but I also found it ridiculous.

Marvin's loyalty was to Shirley.

This was the 99th prank. I was still the toy to please her. Marvin had allowed it again.

But who could say what would happen on the 100th prank? Perhaps he still would be an accomplice to hurting me.

The next day, while Marvin went out to get breakfast, I called my father and asked his bodyguards to come get me. I was planning my escape through a fake plane crash.

While I waited, Shirley showed up, glowing with triumph and pride.

"Breaking your leg was part of my plan. That's prank number 99."

I kept my cool, glaring at her with hatred.

Shirley looked me up and down, then adjusted the luxury shawl on her shoulders.

"The 100th prank will be at the Innova Gaming Competition. You'll be accused of plagiarism. Marvin gave me all the drafts for your game.

"He's already bribed the judges. All your submissions will be three minutes later than mine. Prepare to face the biggest humiliation in your life."

The Innova Gaming Competition was the most prestigious game design contest in the country. I'd been preparing for two years, and I'd saved everything on my game, Ashen Mythos, on my computer.

My anger flared as I slapped her hard. "You steal my work and my boyfriend. You're nothing but a trash bin, picking up after me!"

Shirley raised an eyebrow, grabbed my wrist, and twisted it, ready to slap me back.

"You're the one who's picking up after me!"

But the slap never came down.

"What are you doing?" Marvin came back, followed by my father's bodyguards.

For once, he snapped at Shirley.

Shirley understood Marvin couldn't break up with me yet because he still had one last prank to pull on me, so she just sulked and left.

Before Marvin could explain, the bodyguards pushed a wheelchair toward me, ready to take me away.

He sensed something was wrong and stopped it, looking worried.

"What's going on?"

I looked down and said, "I'm going to Frontania for treatment. My dad's really worried."

Marvin didn't want to let me go. He wasn't convinced.

But since he was the one who caused my injury, he had no choice but to agree, especially after I insisted that my father wanted to see me soon.

Then, as if he couldn't wait, he booked a flight for tomorrow right in front of me, promising to come find me and even asking for my flight number.

I hesitated, then told him it was ZX9217.

He wanted to see me off, but suddenly his phone rang.

It was his friend. "Shirley fell down the stairs! Get here now!"

Without a word, he dashed out.

I gave a bitter, cold smile and told the bodyguards, "Let's go."

At the airport.

"Ms. Davison, everything's going according to plan. Mr. Davison said the crash scene will be perfect."

The gate screen flashed QL4032.

I nodded and boarded the plane to Frontania.

It was December 24th, the day we first met, according to Marvin.

No matter the truth of that statement, I chose this day to make sure he would never forget me.

I wanted to make sure he'd remember I died because of his stupid prank game, so he'd regret it forever.

One second before the crash, I sent Marvin my last text.

[For your 100th prank, I'll risk my life to play along!]

My phone exploded with calls and messages.

The ZX9217 crash was complete.