Chapter 1

After my mission failed, I bound with the Perfect Spouse System and became Ethan Vance’s ideal wife.

When a video of him grinding on a rising starlet at a yacht party went viral, I proactively handled the PR.

He forgot about my alcohol allergy and brought home booze-infused chocolates left over from his mistress. I ate them anyway, acting touched.

Even when I ran into his pregnant starlet at the hospital for her prenatal scan, I thoughtfully booked a VIP suite for her delivery.

But just when I was about to complete my mission and leave this world forever, he did a complete turnaround.

With bloodshot eyes, he cornered me in the hallway, his voice hoarse:

"Chloe, do you love me?"

I remembered how much he used to hate it when I said I loved him.

So, I flashed my most polite, flawless smile and replied,

"Of course. Just as you wished, I don't love you."

When Ethan came home, he smelled like a mix of cedarwood and orange blossom.

It was the limited-edition perfume he had gifted Hailey Bennett last month.

He loosened his tie, looking down at his phone, replying to some whiny voice notes with a doting smile.

"Be good, babe. I’ll take you bag shopping tomorrow."

But the moment he looked up and saw me sitting on the living room couch, the smile instantly vanished from his face.

"You're out of the hospital?"

I didn't mind his cold tone. I simply smiled and nodded.

A few days ago, Ethan had brought home half a box of chocolate truffles.

They were the exact same handmade liqueur chocolates Hailey had bragged about on Ins.

Giving his wife the scraps of a gift meant for his mistress showed just how little he cared.

If I were my old self, I would have thrown the box in his face and screamed.

But now, I was Ethan’s perfect partner.

Making him happy was a program hardwired into my system.

So, I gratefully took the chocolates, ate them one by one right in front of him, and ended up in the ER.

At the time, he was surprised. Why would someone who loved social drinking suddenly have an alcohol allergy?

But the one who actually loved drinking was Hailey, the rising starlet he was currently obsessed with.

He forgot about my alcohol allergy.

He also forgot that he used to shield me from every drink, downing glass after glass for me at our wedding.

The first time I caught Ethan cheating, he knelt before me, begging for forgiveness.

"Chloe, she’s just a distraction. You’re the only one in my heart."

But as the cheating played out over and over, he stopped pretending.

Not only did he openly parade other women around, but he even publicly ridiculed me as a liar who only married him for money.

That was when I realized he had overheard me talking to my system shortly after our wedding.

He became convinced everything I did for him was just a "mission."

He refused to hear my explanations. During one argument, he even pushed me down the stairs, making me lose our first child.

Seeing me silent, Ethan frowned.

"If you're not feeling well, why aren't you in bed?"

"Look at this," I said, pointing to the TV.

On the screen, reporters were surrounding me outside the hospital, shouting questions.

"Mrs. Vance, what do you think of your husband’s yacht video with Hailey Bennett?"

"Is your hospitalization related to Mr. Vance’s affair?"

"This is the third scandal this year. Are you considering a divorce?"

While I was hospitalized for my allergy, a video of Ethan and Hailey grinding on each other on a yacht went viral.

In the video, Hailey wore a tiny bikini, wrapping herself around Ethan, laughing brightly.

But when we first married, Ethan threw away all of my sexy clothes.

He said he didn't like his wife dressing provocatively. A wife of the Vance family had to be elegant and dignified.

"Since you married into this family, you follow our rules. Throw these trashy clothes away."

He also hated public displays of affection, calling them classless.

In our three years of marriage, I had never even held his hand in public.

Yet Hailey was wild and free, rubbing against him on the yacht while he held her tight.

I had begged Ethan for three years to wear his wedding ring, but he never did.

Yet in the video, on the hand gripping Hailey's waist, a diamond ring gleamed under the sun.

So, it wasn't that he hated sexy clothes, or PDA, or rings.

He just hated me.

If this were before, I would have screamed at him hysterically.

But now, I was his perfect partner.

My job was to handle his messes so he had no worries.

So, the version of me on TV looked elegant and composed, smiling as I deflected every sharp question.

Suddenly, Ethan grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, his face dark.

I didn't understand why, but I apologized anyway. "I’m sorry. I’ll handle it better next time."

The last time something like this happened, a reporter had asked Ethan about flirty texts with Hailey at a brand launch.

I had lost control, thrown the microphone, and stormed off.

Afterward, Ethan called me immature and said I disgraced him.

He even locked me out on the balcony all night during a severe thunderstorm, knowing I was terrified of thunder.

I huddled in the pouring rain, freezing, feeling the endless, agonizing stretch of time.

It was long enough for my burning love to turn cold, long enough for my beating heart to go numb.

In the dark, the system's mechanical voice had sounded crystal clear:

[Mission failed. Activating backup plan.]

[Perfect Spouse System successfully bound.]

The system's cold voice had no emotion:

"As long as you become his ideal wife, you will get a new lease on life."

And the first step of this new mission...

Was to strip away all of my love for Ethan.