System Error: The Ex-Wife's Awakening

I stared at the glowing screen floating above my head: [The Male Lead's ExWife].

Five minutes ago, we had walked out of City Hall. "Babe, we're official." Dominic pulled me into his chest. He held the marriage license up high, the ink on it barely dry.

Our fingers laced together. His palm burned warm against mine. My blood went to ice. A voice with no feeling in it drilled straight through my skull: [Congratulations.

The male lead has successfully captured the supporting character. The Main Quest is now unlocked.] I tore out of his arms.

Over by the car door, a halftransparent ID tag popped up above the driver's head. I spun to the car window and found my own reflection.

A line of text flickered above my head too: [Fallon Pierce. Exwife of the male lead, Dominic Sinclair.] The Affection bar beneath it sat buried under storm clouds.

That gorgeous, devoted look in his eyes was not love. It was just a Side Quest. Something to push his Main Quest along. The marriage I thought was perfect was a stepping stone.

Use it. Toss it. Move on. Chapter 1 And the Affection bar stayed dark under those clouds, impossible to read.

Dominic hooked an arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek. "Fallie, I love you so much." His smile was that beautiful. Like the sun had come out just for him.

And in all that light, my shadow showed plain on the ground. [The female lead, Priscilla Winters, has arrived at the mall. Male lead, proceed at once.

Complete the chance encounter to raise Affection.] Dominic opened the car door for me, then glanced at his phone.

His face pinched with apology. "Babe, something came up at the company. I can't do dinner tonight." Something squeezed my heart, hard, and would not let go.

I called after him. "Do you know a Priscilla Winters?" He stopped. Half a beat. Then he shook his head. "Never heard of her. Baby, I gotta run." So that was a yes.

I followed him to the mall. I stood back and watched a bright, polished girl argue with a clerk in a designer boutique.

Dominic strolled in, played it like a chance meeting, and paid her bill. He carried her bags out for her, smiling and shaking his head like she was a handful.

They bickered like two kids. Then she stumbled into his chest, and her face went red. The tips of Dominic's ears turned pink. Wonder sat all over his face. That falling look.

He was still wearing the white shirt he had married me in. [Main Quest milestone achieved: First Meeting, First Spark.] The voice rang out again.

It made the woman in the corner look like a clown. That woman was me. I rode back in Dominic's Maybach, back to the house I shared with him.

Every single thing in that house he had hunted down from halfway around the world, just to make me smile. And he had just bought designer for another girl without blinking.

I watched the streets blink past the window and opened my file: [Fallon Pierce.

Exwife of the male lead, Dominic Sinclair.] Right under it, one more line: [A gold digger who married up.] I skipped straight to the ending: [Frames Priscilla Winters out of jealousy.

Disgusts the male lead. Returns to her old line of work and is tormented to death by powerful men.] "Ma'am? Are you all right?

You look pale." Denny's eyes found me in the rearview mirror. In the glass, my makeup sat perfect on a face gone white. Only the lipstick still had any color.

Dominic had been up at dawn getting ready, dressing me in the matching outfits he had custommade for us. He had been so excited. So happy. Happy that we were married?

Or thrilled that his Main Quest could finally begin? I had not even made it through the front door when Dottie came hurrying over. "Ma'am, Mrs.

Sinclair is here." I nodded, walked in, and met the woman on the couch headon. Same vicious eyes as always. Every wrinkle on her face carried its own sneer. "Fallon. Impressive.

You actually dragged my son to City Hall." I headed for the stairs. "Your son begged me to go." Her voice went shrill with rage: "A woman who has been to prison!

The Sinclairs will never claim you. Not in this lifetime!" I wanted to slam the bedroom door. I shut it instead, and shut her voice out with it. I looked up.

Dead center on the wall hung our wedding portrait. In it I held a pinkandblue bouquet, laughing, a flicker of surprise caught on my face.

Dominic had stolen a kiss when I was not looking. When we picked that photo, he grinned. "This one.

This is exactly how much I love my baby." I walked to the computer, calm as anything, and printed the divorce papers. Chapter 2 I went into the closet to pack.

Two full walls of clothes and jewelry, and I could not find one single thing that belonged to me. Every piece of it, Dominic had bought after I got out of prison. It hit me then.

Somewhere along the way, I had drifted very, very far from the old Fallon. I did not know when I fell asleep. When I woke up, Dominic was back.

He lay wrapped around me, kissed the corner of my mouth, and nuzzled in close. "Babe…" He must have showered the second he got home. He smelled like body wash.

But Dominic always showered before bed. Always. Was there perfume he needed to cover? I turned my head away. His lips landed on my shoulder instead.

My stomach rolled. "Babe, I know you're upset because of my mom." He hummed low, fingers stroking my hair. "I promised you.

I won't let anything make you unhappy." "I'll go down and talk to her." He pressed one last kiss to my forehead.

And above his head, I watched the numbers glow: [Priscilla Winters capture progress: 20%.] The lamp was dimmed to a low gold.

His doing, the way he always kept it so the light would not wake me. I raised my hand and looked at the ring on my finger.

The day I got out of prison, Dominic came for me in a Ferrari. He went down on one knee, ring box open. "Dearest Miss Fallon Pierce, will you marry Mr.

Dominic Sinclair, the man who loves you most in this world?" So, Dominic. Loving me was just your task. Right? I took nothing. I left the ring on the nightstand.

I slipped out the side door and ran into Dottie. "Ma'am, your eyes are so swollen. Did something happen?" I shook my head and kept my voice even. "I'm stepping out for a bit.

Back soon. No need to tell him yet." I walked out of that mansion and finally let out a breath. The world was free again. Some impulse made me pull out my phone and open the camera.

Really swollen. Had Dominic pretended not to see? Or had he simply stopped caring? I opened my texts and found a message I had missed: [Dad: Fallon.

Find a time and come home for dinner.] By the time I got there, he was half asleep. He saw me and frowned. "Just you? Where's Dominic?

Did you two fight?" I gave him a flat mm and headed for my room. "That temper of yours is too much. That man puts up with you. Count yourself lucky.

You can't keep—" I cut him off. "That's between the two of us. Stay out of it." "Fallon! Is that how you talk to your father? You went to prison and a man still wanted you!

What more do you want!" My nails bit into my palms. The hit coming from family was the last straw. Everything I had pinned down, so carefully, tore loose: "Get one thing straight.

He begged me. He begged, over and over, to be with me!" I deleted Dominic. Every number, every account, every trace.

The money he had given me over the years was enough to live on for the rest of my life. I wanted to be the old Fallon again. The free one.

So I opened a bakery in a city a few hours away. Busy, and happy. Chapter 3 "Boss! Boss! We got a big one!" Zach worked the counter at my bakery.

Some company was celebrating its grand opening and had ordered a showpiece cake. Simple requests. Serious money. We hustled all morning. At delivery time, I saw the Maybach.

Dominic's Maybach.

The girl who stepped out was soft and sweetlooking, and the tag above her head blazed: [Priscilla Winters.] So Dominic had pulled it off after all. "You're Fallon Pierce?" She tipped her chin up at me.

Haughty, with something naive underneath.

A girl who had been protected her whole life. "That's me." The customer is always right. "Dominic told me there is nothing between you two." "Correct." My smile only grew. "Miss Winters, do me one favor.

Tell Dominic to hurry up and sign the divorce papers." Priscilla blinked. "Don't you lie to me. He said you two divorced ages ago." I gave her my best helpless look. "Oh no.

He lied to you too?" And just like that, she puffed up, spun on her heel, and stomped back to the car. The payment cleared.

I started closing up. "Fallie." Dominic appeared out of nowhere, one hand slamming flat against my door. He looked worn thin.

His eyes were webbed red, like he had not slept properly in weeks. His voice came out begging. "Let's not divorce. Okay?" I pulled the door shut.

He jammed his hand into the gap, and the edge pressed a red line into his skin. He looked wrecked. "Fallie, why? Why divorce me out of nowhere?" "I upset you somehow. I know I did.

Just don't leave me, okay?" "Fallie, you said you'd be right back. I waited for you. I waited so long." [Warning. Deviation from the script.] The world turned heavy all at once.

Wind tore down the street. The sky pressed low, like it meant to come down. The warning rang out, over and over: [Fallon Pierce has gone offscript.

Correct immediately.] The mechanical voice repeated it. I went still. Why me? Dominic's face was pure panic. "Fallie, come home with me. Now." So he heard it too. "Dominic.

I know everything." He was a smart man. I watched him string it all together. "Fallie.

You can hear it too?" I nodded and ignored the warnings climbing louder. "You saved my life once. We're even now. Go finish your quest. I'll go live mine." "Dominic.

Let's sign the divorce." The voice cut off. Everything snapped back to normal.

He looked at me like the strength had drained out of him. "Fallie, if you defy the World, you will die." "It has never once been kind to me. Why would I bow to it?" Fallon.

I used to hate my own name. Fall, sitting right there at the front of it. Later, I learned to make peace with it. The first time I met Dominic, he smiled and asked, "Fallie.

Can I call you that? Your name is beautiful." He was the first person who ever called my name beautiful. The private room at the club was loud that night.

A man had me tucked under his arm. Everyone in that room knew exactly what that meant. Dominic was the only one who looked me in the eye.

I had been poor long enough to be scared of it for life. All I had left was this face, so I rented it out. Arm candy for trustfund boys. They wanted my youth. I wanted their money.

Men like Dominic scared me most. All heart, no brakes, holding nothing back. He gave more than any of them. He was the only thing I never dared to take. Chapter 4 Then Mrs.

Sinclair found me and offered me money. I took it. Happily. And the moment I did, she turned around, teamed up with my exes, and pressed charges. They put me in prison for it.

They said I had scammed them out of their money. Dominic ran himself ragged finding me lawyers. He visited every two days.

In those cutoff days behind those walls, he was the only light I had. Back in the present, I went on with my life. Dominic came by often. He only ever bought a cake and left.

The divorce papers stayed unsigned. "Boss, the landlord says he won't rent to us anymore." Zach's whole face drooped. "How is our luck this bad?

First somebody reports us and we're down at the police station, and now we don't even have a shop." I kept my voice light. "It's fine.

I'll go find us another spot." Too much had happened lately. Absurd enough that I had to take Dominic's words seriously: [Defy the World and you will die.] No. Not possible.

I pushed the thought down. The bell over the door rang. A middleaged man walked in. "Welcome i—" Wrong. The knife in his hand. I turned to run.

He charged at me, face twisted, laughing out loud. "Hahaha! Die!" I was not fast enough. The blade went into my stomach. My legs quit. I hit the floor.

Blood came up my throat, one mouthful, then another, and I could not hold it in. [Fallon Pierce has gone offscript. Erasure imminent.] The voice rang out. The world smeared gray.

For all my tough talk, some part of me used to hope the world might spare me one small kindness. Not anymore. Never again.

The instant before my eyes shut, I thought I saw someone running at me, full speed: "Fallie!" I woke to the Affection bar, finally visible above my head