After I Chose to Die, They All Regretted It Chapter 01

After I Chose to Die, They All Regretted It Chapter 01

That morning, Caleb Moretti and I had just gotten married at New York City Hall.

That afternoon, he brought me back to the same building and signed the annulment papers.

I stood in the cold white hallway, holding the two freshly stamped documents. Around me, a few young Morettis burst into laughter.

“Caleb, just because Lydia made one little joke, you really married the Grayson heiress and threw her away the same day?”

“Look at her face. She’s gone white. Is she seriously about to cry?”

Caleb didn’t even look at me.

He simply pulled Lydia Thorne into his arms. His voice was so soft that he sounded like a different person.

“There. The marriage papers and the annulment papers are both done. Will you smile for me now?”

He used to coax me like that too.

If I shed even one tear, he would panic, grab my hand, and tell me I mattered more to him than all of New York.

Lydia finally smiled.

Her cool, beautiful face softened into the kind of smile only a winner would have.

What did they take me for?

A toy?

…

I wanted to rush up and demand an answer, but my three brothers held me back hard.

Victor Grayson, my oldest brother, ran most of the family business for our father. He frowned and lowered his voice.

“Only Caleb can make Lydia smile. Ivy, don’t embarrass the Graysons in front of the Morettis.”

When we were little, someone at a banquet laughed and said I didn’t look like a Grayson child. Victor threw that person out on the spot.

Now, he was afraid I would embarrass him.

He didn’t even bother to ask if I was hurt.

Leon Grayson, my second brother, moved in Hollywood circles. In public, he was a star and a producer. In private, he handled connections for the family.

But right now, he shoved me against the wall, his eyes full of impatience.

“Lydia’s had a hard life. You grew up with everything. Why do you have to fight her over one man?”

In the past, Leon would leave a light on for me even when he was shooting night scenes. He said his sister should never have to swallow even the smallest grievance.

Now, he shoved me against a wall, only afraid that Lydia might frown.

Nolan Grayson, my third brother, was a doctor. He ran the family’s private medical center and knew medicine better than anyone.

He looked at me with a dark expression.

“Caleb should have chosen Lydia a long time ago. Ivy, stop clinging to them.”

Nolan once stayed up all night for me just to adjust my fever medicine.

Now, he looked at me as if I were a problem that should not exist.

They forced me into a black sedan, not allowing me to get in the way of Lydia and Caleb’s so-called happiness.

The moment the car door shut, the system that had been gone for years finally came back online.

[Host, main mission completion detected. Do you wish to return to your original world immediately?]

I sat in the back seat and looked out at the gray streets of New York. I almost laughed out loud.

This miserable show I had been trapped in for fifteen years was finally over.

From now on, I would no longer play along with these people’s love, hate, and drama.

[Detected: the affection scores of the three Grayson brothers and the male lead, Caleb, have all reached 95.]

[Marriage registration with the male lead completed. Congratulations, Host. You have completed the main mission.]

[Once the Host’s current body dies, you may return to your original world, receive a reward of one hundred million, and have your late-stage bone cancer cured.]

I forced down the wild joy that almost burst out of my chest.

I could finally go home!

Victor and Nolan stayed at City Hall to help Lydia deal with her so-called shock.

Leon was put in charge of dragging me back to the Grayson estate.

I subconsciously looked at Leon beside me.

From the moment he got into the car, his face had been cold and unwilling. Only when Lydia sent someone with a message did a small smile finally appear.

He used to smile like that when he got my messages too.

Later, that smile slowly belonged only to Lydia.

When he noticed me looking, he frowned.

“What? Still not giving up? You want to go back and ruin things for Caleb and Lydia?”

“Lydia’s still young. She suffered enough growing up in the slums. Why can’t you just leave her alone?”

I dug my fingers into my palm and smiled at myself.

If we were talking about age, I was a year younger than Lydia.

Maybe I looked too awful, because Leon suddenly sighed.

“Go back and say you’re sorry to Lydia. Stop acting out.”

He reached out, wanting to pat my head.

When I could not sleep in the past, he often comforted me like that.

Back then, he would sit beside my bed and tell me funny stories from the film set until he was too sleepy to keep his eyes open.

Now, when he reached out, it felt like he was handing me an old habit as charity.

This time, I gently avoided his hand and only asked, “Why am I the one apologizing? What exactly did I do wrong?”

Leon’s hand froze in midair.

He quickly grew impatient.

“Ivy Grayson, don’t be so ungrateful.”

I closed my eyes.

Even though all those years had started because of the mission, I had truly treated them as family.

Their neglect and favoritism had once hurt me so badly that I couldn’t sleep at night.

But now, all of that was over.

Leon was still speaking.

“When Lydia wins the Ivy League Physics Invitational, you’ll come with us and apologize to her. If she’s willing to forgive you, this whole thing will be over.”

I did not answer.

In my mind, I checked with the system.

[As long as this body dies, I can go back, right?]

[Yes.]

I slowly let out a breath and looked out the window.

The road ran near the Hudson River. There were no pedestrians nearby, and the cars behind us were still far away.

After making sure I wouldn’t hurt anyone else, I pressed the door lock.

Under Leon’s terrified stare, I yanked the door open.

“Ivy, what are you doing?”

I ignored him.

The moment the wind rushed in, I jumped without hesitation.