2026-07-31 06:40:16The room fell silent.
Ethan stood at the door, his hand still on the handle.
Every pair of eyes turned toward him.
For a brief moment, no one spoke.
Then Ryan Crawford smiled.
“Well, well. The delivery boy is here.”
Laughter filled the room.
Ethan ignored everyone else. His eyes stayed on Chloe.
She was sitting beside Ryan, not across from him.
Ryan’s arm rested comfortably around her waist.
The sight made Ethan’s chest tighten.
“Chloe…”
His voice was low.
“What is this?”
Chloe looked at him for a few seconds before letting out a small sigh.
“I was wondering when you’d arrive.”
Ethan forced a smile.
“I came as fast as I could.”
“I even picked up your anniversary gift.”
He gently tapped his backpack.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
Ryan laughed loudly.
“Did you hear that?”
“He brought a gift.”
Another man at the table smirked.
“I hope it’s not another cheap teddy bear.”
Everyone laughed again.
Ethan didn’t react.
His eyes never left Chloe.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
Chloe slowly stood up.
She crossed her arms and looked at him with a cold expression.
“Ethan.”
“We need to talk.”
His heart suddenly became heavy.
“Okay.”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.”
She took a deep breath.
“I don’t want to be with you anymore.”
Ethan blinked.
His mind went blank.
“What?”
“I said we’re over.”
He laughed nervously.
“Stop joking.”
“I’m serious.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“We’ve been together for three years.”
“And that’s exactly the problem.”
Her words hit him like a punch.
“I’m tired, Ethan.”
“Tired of waiting.”
“Tired of struggling.”
“Tired of pretending that love is enough.”
Ethan slowly shook his head.
“You said we’d build a future together.”
“I believed that before.”
“But people change.”
Ryan stood up and walked beside Chloe.
He placed his hand on her shoulder.
“This is my girlfriend now.”
Ethan stared at Ryan.
Then back at Chloe.
“You…”
His voice trembled.
“You’re with him?”
Chloe didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she held Ryan’s hand.
That simple action answered everything.
Ethan felt as if the ground beneath him had disappeared.
Ryan smiled proudly.
“You know, Ethan.”
“You should actually thank me.”
“I saved her from wasting the rest of her life.”
More laughter echoed around the room.
One woman looked at Ethan with pity.
Another simply shook her head.
Ethan ignored them all.
He looked at Chloe.
“Did you ever love me?”
For the first time, Chloe looked away.
Then she answered quietly.
“I did.”
“But love doesn’t pay bills.”
“It doesn’t buy houses.”
“It doesn’t buy cars.”
“It doesn’t give me the life I want.”
Ethan clenched his fists.
“I worked every day.”
“I skipped meals.”
“I worked overtime.”
“I did everything for us.”
“I know.”
“And I appreciate it.”
“But appreciation isn’t enough.”
Ryan reached into his pocket.
He placed a small velvet box on the table.
When he opened it, a diamond necklace sparkled under the lights.
Several women gasped.
“Oh my God…”
“That’s beautiful.”
Ryan smiled at Chloe.
“I bought this for you.”
Chloe’s eyes lit up.
“It’s gorgeous.”
Ryan gently put the necklace around her neck.
“It suits you.”
She smiled brightly.
Then she kissed him on the cheek.
Ethan watched everything.
His heart felt like it was breaking into pieces.
Slowly, he opened his backpack.
He took out the small black ring box.
His hands were shaking.
“I bought something too.”
Everyone looked at him.
He opened the box.
Inside was the simple silver ring.
Compared to Ryan’s expensive necklace, it looked ordinary.
Ryan couldn’t hold back his laughter.
“That’s the ring?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The others laughed with him.
One man even wiped tears from his eyes.
“I’ve seen waiters wear more expensive rings.”
Ryan picked up the ring without asking.
He looked at it closely.
“How much did this cost?”
Ethan stayed silent.
Ryan smirked.
“Five hundred dollars?”
“Maybe six?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
He suddenly dropped the ring onto the floor.
Clink.
The tiny ring rolled across the tiles.
Ethan’s eyes widened.
“Ryan!”
Ryan looked down at it.
Then…
He stepped on it.
Crunch.
The diamond came loose.
The silver band bent out of shape.
Ethan froze.
That ring…
Had taken him six months to save for.
Six months of skipped meals.
Six months of overtime.
Six months of believing he was building a future.
Ryan lifted his shoe.
The ring was completely ruined.
He shrugged.
“My bad.”
The room exploded with laughter.
Something inside Ethan finally snapped.
“You bastard!”
He rushed toward Ryan.
Before he could even touch him, two bodyguards stepped in.
One grabbed his arm.
The other punched him hard in the stomach.
“Ugh!”
Ethan doubled over in pain.
Ryan calmly adjusted his suit.
“You really thought you could touch me?”
The bodyguards pushed Ethan to the floor.
His face hit the tiles.
People watched without saying a word.
Some even took out their phones to record.
Ryan crouched in front of him.
“You know the difference between us?”
“You work sixteen hours just to buy a cheap ring.”
“I earn that money while I’m asleep.”
He smiled.
“You were never my competition.”
“You were just entertainment.”
Ryan stood up.
“Throw him out.”
The bodyguards dragged Ethan toward the door.
He struggled, but they were much stronger.
Just before he was thrown outside, he looked back one last time.
His eyes met Chloe’s.
He was hoping…
Praying…
That she would stop them.
That she would say something.
Anything.
Instead, she looked away.
The restaurant doors slammed shut behind him.
Rain poured from the dark sky.
Within seconds, Ethan was completely soaked.
He stood there without moving.
His hands slowly tightened into fists.
Three years.
Three years of love.
Three years of sacrifice.
Three years of dreams.
Gone in one night.
A few seconds later, the restaurant doors opened again.
Ryan and Chloe walked out together.
Ryan handed his car keys to a valet.
A brand-new black sports car pulled up in front of them.
Ryan opened the passenger door like a gentleman.
Chloe smiled as she got inside.
Before closing the door, she looked at Ethan one last time.
There was no regret in her eyes.
Only relief.
The car drove away.
Ethan remained standing in the rain, watching until the taillights disappeared into the night.
Then his phone buzzed.
He looked down.
Bank Balance: $18.42
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
“So this…”
“…is what my life is worth.”
He laughed quietly.
The laugh soon turned into tears.
Without realizing it, he stepped off the sidewalk and onto the road.
Bright headlights suddenly appeared through the heavy rain.
A loud horn blasted through the night.
Ethan looked up.
His eyes widened.
A speeding truck was racing straight toward him.
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Chapter 146: The Woman Who Was Never Sophia
The blade pointed at Ethan’s throat.He did not move.The woman sitting across the table watched him with eyes that held centuries of anger, though she looked no older than twenty-five.“Tell me,” she repeated. “Why did you steal my name?”Ethan glanced at the system message still floating above the table.[FOUNDATIONAL VICTIM: IDENTIFIED.][NAME: SOPHIA.][STATUS: DECEASED BEFORE FIRST CREATION.][CAUSE OF DEATH: UNKNOWN.]The woman followed his gaze.“That thing has always been a liar.”“Then tell me your name.”She laughed bitterly.“You still think a name is something you can demand.”“No. I think it’s something you have the right to give me.”The blade stopped moving.For the first time, uncertainty crossed her face.Ethan continued carefully.“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what happened between us. And I won’t pretend I remember something I don’t. But if you believe I took your name, I need to understand why.”She studied him.“Do you remember the first woman you loved?
Chapter 145: The Million Lives He Could Not Remember
The screams did not stop.They came from every direction, pouring through the doors that had appeared across the white space. Some were filled with rage. Others carried the terror of people who had waited too long for someone to remember them.And some were silent.Those were the worst.Ethan stood motionless as millions of faces stared at him.He recognized none of them.Yet every time he looked into someone’s eyes, something inside him recoiled as if it remembered being responsible for their pain.The boy lay at his feet.The silver blade had shattered, leaving a dark wound in his chest. Blood spread beneath him, but the wound did not close.Ethan dropped beside him.“Stay with me.”The boy looked up at him.“You’re doing it again.”Ethan froze.“What?”“You’re looking at me like saving me will make everything else disappear.”Ethan glanced at the doors.The faces behind them were still screaming.“I won’t let you die.”The boy closed his eyes.“That’s what you said before.”Ethan s
Chapter 144: The Boy Who Died Before Creation
Ethan couldn’t breathe.The boy kneeling in the white space had his face.Not a resemblance. Not another version of him created by the machine. Not an alternate possibility that had taken a different path.It was Ethan.The same eyes. The same mouth. The same small scar beneath the left eyebrow that had appeared after his reconstruction. Even the way the boy held his shoulders, as if preparing for a blow he knew was coming, was painfully familiar.But the boy was younger.And there was a blade buried in his chest.Ethan stared at the blood spreading across the white floor.“No.”The boy looked at him.“You said that before.”Ethan took a step forward.“No, I didn’t.”“You did.”The boy’s voice was weak, but there was no confusion in it.“You said you weren’t going to let me die.”Ethan stopped.Behind the boy, the original First Choice stood silently, watching them with an expression that was almost satisfied.Noah struggled to move toward Ethan.“Don’t listen to him,” he said.The si
Chapter 143: The Choice That Should Never Have Existed
Noah screamed.Ethan had heard people scream in pain. He had heard them scream in fear, in anger, and in the final moments before death.This was different.Noah’s scream came from somewhere deeper than the body. It tore through the white space beyond the beginning and reached every reality connected to the original agreement.For one terrible moment, every world went silent.Then the doors in the Hall of Unchosen Lives began slamming shut.One after another.Thousands became hundreds. Hundreds became dozens. Behind each closing door, a possibility lost its connection to the world that had allowed it to exist.Ethan stood before the silver door, his hand still pressed against its surface.“Noah!”He struck the door with his fist.“Open!”The door did not move.A system message appeared before him.[COMPLETE AUTHORITY RESTORATION: 100%.][THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT HAS BEEN REACTIVATED.][FOUNDATIONAL AUTHORITY: FIRST CHOICE.][ENDING AUTHORITY: FIRST ENDING.][WITNESS AUTHORITY: UNRECOGNI
Chapter 142: The First Sin Was Mine
For several seconds, Ethan forgot how to breathe.The child stood beside the little girl, holding her hand as though they had known each other for years. His face was identical to Ethan’s, but his eyes carried a sadness that did not belong to any child.He pointed at Ethan.“The first betrayal was committed by someone who wanted to make sure you could never choose freely.”Then he said the words that shattered the silence.“That person was you.”Ethan stared at him.“No.”The child did not look away.“You don’t remember.”“I remember the first choice. I remember the white room. I remember leaving the girl behind.”“Those are the memories you were allowed to keep.”The child’s voice was quiet.“But you don’t remember what happened before the white room existed.”Caelum stepped forward.“Who are you?”The child turned toward him.“You know who I am.”Caelum’s face went pale.“No. You were destroyed before the First World began.”“That’s what you were told.”“I watched Sophia end your ex
Chapter 141: The Woman Who Taught Death to Choose
Ethan could not move.The woman stood at the end of the corridor with one hand resting on the little girl’s shoulder. Her face was calm, almost gentle, but the words she had spoken continued to echo in his mind.I am the reason you were never supposed to become human.Behind Ethan, the stranger who had called her Mother remained motionless.The little girl clutched her drawing against her chest.Nobody spoke.Then Ethan took a careful step forward.“What do you mean?”The woman studied him.“You have spent your entire existence trying to understand what you are. You have searched through memories, questioned authorities, and challenged every rule that threatened someone you wanted to protect.”She paused.“But you have never asked the most important question.”Ethan’s voice was tight.“Which is?”“Why did you need to become human in the first place?”He stared at her.“I was created to experience a life.”“By whom?”“Adam.”“Adam created the conditions that allowed your existence. He
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