Chapter 1
1260words
My air was rapidly sucked away. My vision darkened as sharp pain radiated from my lungs.
The man in the wheelchair—my newlywed husband Ethan Holt—stared at me with eyes that regarded me as nothing more than a corpse.
His face was breathtakingly handsome in the dim light, but the violence and malice in those eyes transformed his beauty into something deadly.
"The Sullivan family is truly audacious." His voice was infused with ice, each word hammering against my collapsing nerves. "How dare they send a different bride? What, did you think because I'm in this chair, I wouldn't notice?"
My mouth gaped open, but no sound came out. I futilely clawed at his iron-like wrist.
Just when I thought I was truly going to die at this absurd proxy wedding, a mechanical voice exploded in my mind.
[Warning! Warning! Target's vital signs abnormal! Heart rate soared to 150! Blood pressure rising rapidly! If host doesn't take soothing measures immediately, target will be in mortal danger and mission will be judged as failed!]
[Mission failure penalty: Immediate termination!]
What the hell?
Before I could think, that voice sounded again, its tone so urgent it cracked:
[Emergency protocol activated! Host must immediately engage in intimate contact with target to reduce stress response! Hurry!]
As he choked me until I saw stars, pure survival instinct kicked in.
Intimate contact?
What kind of contact?
Looking at Ethan Holt's face just inches away, his thin lips pressed tightly together from exertion, my mind short-circuited. I made the boldest decision of my life.
Using my last bit of strength, I lunged forward and, under his bewildered gaze, kissed him hard.
Time froze.
The pressure on my neck suddenly disappeared. Ethan Holt's hand froze in mid-air, his entire body tensing like steel.
His lips were cool with a faint hint of medicine, yet surprisingly soft.
I didn't dare let go, pressing firmly against him like a drowning person clutching the only piece of driftwood.
In my mind, the system's voice chimed again, this time with relieved excitement.
[Ding! Target's heart rate decreased to 110, vital signs stabilizing! Soothing effective!]
[Ding! Target's Villain Meter decreased by 10%! Current Villain Meter: 90%!]
[Ding! Congratulations host for completing beginner's task, reward being randomly selected… Congratulations! You've received one bottle of 84 Disinfectant!]
Me: "?"
Ethan Holt: "?"
He violently shoved me away with such force that I staggered back and slammed into the corner of the bed. A dull pain spread across my forehead.
"Are you insane?" His voice was hoarse, the coldness in his eyes replaced by shock and disgust.
He raised his hand and wiped his lips harshly with the back of his hand, as if he'd touched something filthy.
I covered my forehead, staring at him in shock, my mind spinning.
System? Target? Villain Meter?
And… 84 disinfectant? What the hell?
What kind of sick joke is this?
"Speak!" Ethan Holt's gaze sharpened. "Who exactly are you? Where is Jade Sullivan?"
Jade Sullivan is my sister—the very sister who ran off with some broke guy the day before the wedding, throwing me into this mess.
I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the metallic taste in my throat. "My name is Eve Sullivan, Jade's sister. My sister… she didn't want to marry, so…"
"So you volunteered instead?" He sneered, his mockery almost drowning me. "The Sullivan family will stop at nothing to climb the social ladder. When one daughter fails, they just send in the spare."
His words stabbed my heart like knives.
I lowered my eyes, clutching the hem of my wedding dress, speechless.
Did I have a choice?
My father used my mother's medical expenses to force me into this wedding dress that wasn't even mine, to marry this man rumored to have the temper of a demon.
"Cat got your tongue?" Ethan Holt controlled his electric wheelchair, slowly approaching me.
The wheelchair's whirr in the silent room felt deafening, each inch forward crushing my spirit.
"Weren't you quite bold just now?" He stopped before me, his gaze like a scalpel, dissecting me inch by inch.
"Or is this some new trick your family taught you? Using your lips to please men?"
Humiliation burned through me. I snapped my head up, meeting his mocking eyes.
"That's not it!"
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying the show.
"Then what is it? Love at first sight? You're so madly in love you couldn't help yourself?"
His tone was utterly humiliating. I trembled with rage.
Just then, the damned system chimed in again.
[Daily Task Issued: Wipe the corner of target's mouth. Task Reward: Random. Failure Punishment: One electric shock.]
Looking at his lips, slightly reddened from his harsh wiping, and thinking about that electric shock punishment, I felt dizzy.
Is this system the devil incarnate?
Ethan Holt saw my pale face and assumed I was terrified. The corner of his mouth curved upward.
"Scared? Too late for that."
I closed my eyes briefly, steeled myself, grabbed a tissue from the nearby table, and went for it.
I knelt on one knee before his wheelchair, looked up at him, and forced what I hoped was a gentle smile. "Mr. Holt, there's something at the corner of your mouth. Let me get that for you."
The mockery on Ethan Holt's face instantly froze.
He probably thought I'd lost my mind.
Hell, I thought I'd lost my mind too.
I held the thin tissue, my palms soaked with cold sweat, slowly moving toward his face.
His gaze shifted from bewilderment to wariness, and finally to intense disgust.
"Get. Lost." He squeezed out those words through gritted teeth.
I didn't move. The system's cold countdown had already begun in my mind.
[10, 9, 8…]
I steeled myself, steadied my wrist, and precisely pressed the tissue against his lips.
Then quickly, haphazardly wiped twice.
"Done." I withdrew my hand like lightning, as if I'd touched fire.
[Ding! Daily task completed! Rewarding host with one "Power Pill," effective for ten minutes.]
Before I could even process this bizarre reward, Ethan Holt exploded with fury.
"Eve Sullivan!"
He grabbed my wrist, his grip so strong I thought my bones would shatter.
"Do you think my words are just empty threats?" His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging at his temples—even more terrifying than when he'd been choking me.
[Warning! Warning! Target's emotions experiencing violent fluctuations! Villain Meter rising 5%! Current Villain Meter 95%!]
Holy shit!
It can actually go back up?
I grimaced in pain, my free hand instinctively trying to pry his fingers loose, but they wouldn't budge.
"Let… let go…"
He only gripped tighter.
In desperation, I remembered the "Power Pill" reward from the system.
Though I had no clue what the hell it was, at this point I had nothing to lose.
I silently commanded: "Use Power Pill!"
A wave of heat instantly surged through my body. My arms filled with unprecedented strength.
I tried again to pry his hand away.
There was a crisp "crack" sound.
Ethan Holt let out a muffled groan and released me.
I froze.
He stared at his fingers—now bent at an unnatural angle—equally frozen.
The room fell into deathly silence.
Oh God… I think I just broke his fingers.
Looking at Ethan Holt's finger bent at that sickening angle, my mind went completely blank.
I'm dead.
On my wedding night, I kissed my wheelchair-bound husband and then broke his finger.
I don't think I'll live to see tomorrow's sunrise.
