I returned home to find the fake heiress had died.
She became the eternal light in everyone's hearts.
Meanwhile, I, the true heiress, was reduced to her shadow.
My parents searched for traces of her in me.
My brother, Cary Wallace, wept, wishing it was me who had died.
Even my husband, Landen Fulton, called out her name in bed.
This counted as a failed mission, didn't it?
"Host, before I vanish, I can grant you one final wish."
A final wish?
I gave a bitter smile.
"Then let their precious light, Rosalyn Wallace, come back."
1
The system fell silent for a long time.
"Is it not possible? Didn't you say Rosalyn isn't dead?"
If she wasn't dead, it wouldn't be defying fate.
It was within the system's power.
"Lydia, are you sure?"
I nodded.
I was exhausted, done fighting.
I had thought this was the simplest task.
If I could get at least one blessing from a loved one on my 23rd birthday, the mission would be complete. It would rewrite my ending.
But that morning, my parents went to Rosalyn's grave.
Cary still had me blocked on his phone.
Landen was changing his shoes at the door when I hugged him from behind.
"Landen, it's my birthday today. Could you..."
Before I could finish, he pushed me away. "Lydia, don't be ridiculous! I'm going to visit Rosalyn's grave today. I don't have time for you."
I froze.
What did Rosalyn's memorial day have to do with my birthday?
"It's my birthday. Could you just say happy birthday to me?"
"Birthday?" Landen sneered. "It's Rosalyn's memorial day, and you have the nerve to mention your birthday? Have you no shame?"
The door slammed shut with a bang.
I stood there, dazed, my vision blurred with tears.
Five years of sharing a bed, all my love and effort, couldn't outweigh his longing for a dead woman.
"I just want to see what's so special about Rosalyn. Why they can't forget her."
I was my parents' real daughter, Cary's true sister. Landen's lawfully wedded wife.
Yet their hearts and eyes were only for Rosalyn.
I wanted to know where I fell short compared to her before I died.
"Alright," The system replied.