Chapter 1: The Last Proposal

I caught Jason Carter just before the mission, my heart hammering in my chest. The hallway smelled like burnt coffee and old paper. "Will you marry me?" I blurted, barely above a whisper.

He went silent, eyes unreadable. "Okay."

For a moment, even the system in my head froze. "Crap."

Wasn’t the deal that after being rejected a hundred times, I could go back to the real world?

Turns out, it was all a false alarm.

On the last mission, I’d accidentally become the stand-in for his first love.

Jason Carter spent three days with his first love before he remembered me.

But all he heard was the news that I’d died in the line of duty.

1

[Chill, you’ve got time. Nobody wants to get dumped on their birthday, right?]

My breathing echoed in the quiet hallway, the sound bouncing off pale walls and worn linoleum, the kind you find in old city apartments or the back halls of a police precinct at 2 a.m. The stale scent of vending machine coffee lingered in the air. Overhead, the fluorescent lights buzzed and flickered, making my nerves itch even more.

I’d just finished a three-month assignment overseas. My suitcase was battered, boots still caked with Afghanistan’s red clay. My body screamed for sleep, but I dragged myself here for one reason only: Jason Carter.

Seven years I’d spent in this world, and homesickness pressed down heavier every year. This city was never really mine. The hush felt suffocating, as if the whole world was waiting for me to finally break.

All Jason Carter had to do was reject me a hundred times, and I could go home.

The system had just whispered the news: I only needed one more rejection. That hope fizzed somewhere inside me—one more, and I’d be free. My hands shook as I clenched them, not about to wimp out now.

Just a door stood between us. Jason was on the phone, his voice muffled by the thick wood. A thin band of light glowed under the door, mixing with the distant hum of city traffic. I pressed my ear to the cool door, the faint sound of Jason’s voice bleeding through. Every word from Emily felt like another stone on my chest.

"Jason, I know you’ve been with Rachel for three years. I shouldn’t bother you, but I just can’t help it..."

He answered with a long, loaded silence. You could almost hear him weighing every word, every sigh. On the other end was his first love, Emily Lane.

All these years, more than half of Jason’s rejections had been thanks to her. She was the ghost at every dinner, the name I never said but always tasted in the air. Jason changed the subject. "When are you coming back? I’ll throw you a welcome dinner."

"In what capacity will you welcome me?"

"As an ex."

A pause, then she fired back, voice edged with pettiness:

"Ex-husband. I’m getting married. On the 20th this month, I invite you to my wedding."

Jason sounded irritated, sighing her name like a curse. "Emily Lane."

She hung up. The air felt heavier, as if her memory lingered even after the call ended.

The system piped up, snarky as ever. [Host, hurry up and go in! He’s in a mood—prime time to ask for a rejection.]

Normally, I’d never pick a moment like this to get shot down. But the hope of going home gave me guts I didn’t know I had. I shoved the door open without knocking, letting momentum and desperation carry me inside.

Stepping into the apartment, I was swallowed by shadows. Only the outline of the furniture broke up the gloom.

Jason sat in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, the city skyline flickering behind him—red brake lights and blinking billboards, the sound of sirens in the distance. The cold blues and golds painted him into something almost unreal. His phone cast a pale glow across his sharp features. For a second, he looked like he belonged to this city more than I ever could.

When he saw me, he turned off his phone, closed his eyes, and leaned back. His tone was ice-cold.

"Why are you here?"

The calendar was right there in plain sight, but he still didn’t remember my birthday. My palms were slick with nerves. "I have a mission tomorrow."

In the real world, I’d graduated from the police academy. Here, I did the same—maybe out of habit, maybe because it gave me purpose in this borrowed life.

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose, voice extra cold. "So? What is it?"

"Mm, after the mission, will you marry me?"

The system was already doing a victory dance in my head. [Ahhh, finally finished the mission! Gonna be a regular soon, cue the confetti!]

Jason’s eyes locked on me, his brows furrowed in clear annoyance. I took a deep breath, looked down, and waited for the words I needed to hear. My heart pounded—hope and panic tangled in my stomach, making me dizzy.

Honestly, after chasing him for so long, rejection still stung. But the system promised me money—a real, fresh start back in my own world. The thought was bittersweet, just out of reach.

"Okay."

"What?"

The system’s celebration screeched to a halt. I looked up, shocked, meeting Jason’s eerily calm gaze. He slowly turned his phone in his hands. "I said, I can."

A few seconds later, both the system and I cursed out loud.

"Damn..."