The Hundred Missions Were Just Their Love Game Chapter 01

The Hundred Missions Were Just Their Love Game Chapter 01

My cousin Nina ended up unconscious after saving my life.

When she woke up, she insisted she was a woman who had somehow been transported into another world. She claimed that if she completed one hundred “missions” with my fiancé, Joel, the original host would wake up.

My entire family believed her.

For the sake of those so-called missions, Nina ruined twelve dates between Joel and me, tore up eighty-eight love letters I’d written him, and sabotaged ninety-nine of his marriage proposals.

Until the final mission, when she was supposed to marry Joel.

I’d had enough.

My mom tried to reason with me. “Nina ended up like this because of you. We can’t turn our backs on her now.”

My brother chimed in, “Exactly. You’ve put up with ninety-nine missions already. What’s one more?”

My eyes stung, but I forced myself to stay calm.

Then, on the day of the wedding, my mom accidentally sent a video to our family group chat.

In the video, Joel had Nina in his arms, kissing her as if no one else existed.

The group chat exploded.

My mom texted: [That Steele boy doesn’t just love Nina. He’s completely devoted to her!]

My brother immediately followed up: [Exactly. What System? What mission? Only someone as trusting as Valery would believe it.]

I stared at the screen, unable to process what I was seeing.

So Nina’s claim that she’d been transported into this world from another one was a lie.

The accident had been a lie, too.

Even my family and my relationship with Joel had been nothing but lies.

…

The vibration of my phone finally pulled me back to reality. I lowered my eyes to the screen. They unsent every message they’d sent in the group chat.

My younger cousin tagged me in the group chat: [Valery?]

[What?]

“Nothing. I just wanted to say, I’ll keep an eye on your fiancé for you.”

I let out a quiet laugh. In the message she had unsent seconds earlier, I’d seen the long, heartfelt congratulations she’d written.

The silence in the family group chat said more than words ever could. It made the truth painfully clear.

I left the group chat and canceled my appointment at the county clerk’s office. My phone rang almost immediately.

“You canceled the appointment? What does that mean?”

“Nothing. Congratulations on your wedding.”

“Valery! I’ve already explained. It’s just a System mission.”

I said nothing, only letting out a cold laugh.

Joel’s voice softened as he tried to reassure me. “Valery, listen, it’s only a formality. It doesn’t change anything between us. We’d already completed ninety-nine of Nina’s missions. She’ll wake up once we finish this last step. Don’t you want her to wake up?”

I stared at the red mark around my ring finger and stayed silent.

“Valery? Are you still there?”

I hung up.

In the past, whenever I heard Nina needed to complete another mission, I’d agreed without hesitation.

Even when she and Joel disappeared for an entire week, ruined the wedding decorations I’d spent half a month putting together, or went away together on my birthday, I’d endured all of it.

But after discovering that everything had been a lie, I couldn’t take it for another second.

My phone buzzed again—it was Joel.

“I’ve made up my mind. As soon as the wedding is over, I’ll end everything with Nina, and we’re going to make our marriage official. Come find me now. I’ll take you there myself.”

Joel knew me too well. When I went quiet, it meant I was truly angry.

Eight years of love couldn’t be cut off in an instant, so I decided to give him one last chance.

Half an hour later, I arrived at the wedding venue. The ballroom was packed and buzzing with excitement.

Joel stood in his suit, gently adjusting Nina’s veil.

“My Nina’s all grown up. She’s finally getting married!” My mom cried, wiping away tears. “I promised your parents before they died that I’d take care of you, and I did.”

My aunt blurted out, “Wait a second. Wasn’t Joel Valery’s fiancé? How did he end up marrying Nina?”

Everyone laughed.

“What difference does it make? We’re all family now anyway.”

“Right. And honestly, Nina looks more like your daughter.”

“Not like Valery. She was always wild as a kid, always getting into trouble and making a scene. What man could put up with a woman like that?”

My relatives kept talking over one another, none of them noticing the person standing in the shadows by the entrance. I stood there without blinking, staring at Nina.

The moment Joel saw me, he hurried through the crowd toward me.

“Valery, you’re here!”

My eyes moved past him and landed on Nina’s wedding dress. It was the gown I’d spent three months designing by hand.

From the first sketch to the finished dress, from choosing the fabric to cutting every piece, I’d spent more than a hundred days creating it. Thousands of pink stones had been set into it, every detail finished by my own hands.

The dress had been kept at the bridal shop. No one could take it without Joel’s and my signatures.

And now, there it was, on Nina.

“You gave her my wedding dress?” I stared at Joel.

His eyes flickered away. “Nina’s dress was damaged, and there wasn’t enough time to get another one…”

Nina came running over, lifting her dress with a smile.

“Valery, your dress is gorgeous. The waist is just a little tight, though.”

My eyes dropped to her waist. The moment I saw a tear in the fabric, my heart sank.

I clenched my fist. “Take it off.”