Chapter 1 — Betrayal
I didn't lose everything at once.
It happened in two blows.
The first came before noon, in an office that smelled like cheap coffee and old carpet.
"Budget cuts, Alex," my boss said, not bothering to look at me. "Turn in your ID, we're laying you off."
Seventeen fuckin years erased in one sentence.
The second blow waited at home.
I unlocked the front door.
Silence.
Not the comfortable silence of a family house — the other kind. The cold kind. The kind that sounds like something is holding its breath.
I stood there for a moment, briefcase hanging loosely from my hand.
45 years old. Unemployed. Trying not to fall apart in my own doorway.
I exhaled slowly.
I still have my family, I thought.
That was the last comforting lie of my life.
I stepped inside. Shoes off. Tie loosened. My fingers shook, and I didn't notice it until later.
Then I heard it.
Not the TV. Not footsteps. Not the kids.
A sound that didn't belong to silence.
A soft, muffled moan.
"…mmh… right there… yeah!"
I went still.
Emily.
Feet froze on the bottom step.
Another sound followed — heavier breathing — and the faint, rhythmic creak of the bed upstairs. The house I bought. The bed that I paid for. The room I thought was ours.
My stomach went cold.
"No…" the word slipped out.
Moving without thinking. Step after step.
My hands brushed the wall as if i needed something solid to stay standing. The air felt heavier the closer I got.
Another moan. Louder this time.
"Faster… don't stop…"
Emily's voice. No mistake. I had listened to that voice fall asleep beside me for over a decade.
A man's breath followed.
Deep. Confident. Familiar.
Zack.
My childhood best friend. The man who had stood beside him at my wedding. The one who said, Brothers forever.
My fingers curled into a fist.
As I reached for the bedroom door.
It was slightly open.
Looking in
The world stopped moving.
Emily was there — naked, flushed, her legs wrapped around Zack's waist like she had rehearsed it for years. Zack moved inside her with ease. His hands held her body like it was something that already belonged to him.
Their faces had no guilt.
No panic.
Just pleasure.
"Yeah, baby… I'm about to— keep going."
"You like my dick, don't you? Say it."
"Yes… it's better than my useless husband. Harder… harder!"
The words didn't echo — they stabbed.
My breath left me in a broken sound.
Something inside my chest cracked.
I didn't wait. didn't speak. Just slammed the door wide open so hard that it crashed against the wall.
They both jerked in shock.
Zack's eyes widened. Emily gasped. Sheets tangled. Bodies froze.
For one second, nobody moved.
Then, Going straight for Zack. Years of unspoken frustration, swallowed humiliation, and quiet disappointment detonated at once. My fists flew without aim or skill — just pain. Just betrayal. Just why?
"YOU—!" .
I swung again and again. Not caring where I was hitting.
I didn't care if it hurt, Zack blocked easily.
He was taller. Stronger. A gym-sculpted body against a tired, middle-aged man who had spent years behind a desk. It wasn't a fight. It was a beating waiting to happen.
But I didn't stop.
Shoving and clawing.
I tried to reach Emily too — not to hit, but to demand answers. The questions fell out of me like broken glass.
"How long?! Emily, how long?!"
"Alex, stop!" Emily shouted, clutching the sheet to cover herself. "Just— stop!"
"HOW LONG?!"
Zack grabbed my wrist and pushed me back. I stumbled and hit the dresser, then came again like a man with nothing left to lose.
Seventeen years of marriage burned behind my eyes.
Then Emily's voice cut through everything.
Cold,Flat,Done.
"I've been with him for fifteen years. Behind your back."
The room went silent.
Finally stopped moving.
Just staring at her.
She didn't look away.
She didn't cry.
She didn't even look sorry.
She continued, voice steady.
"He is the real father of the children."
Something in my chest collapsed.
My knees weakened, throat closed up. I tried opening my mouth, but nothing came out at first.
"My… kids…?".
Emily didn't hesitate.
"They were never yours to begin with, Alex."
Zack didn't deny it.
He just stood there — confident, calm — like someone who had already won before the game began.
Emily's tone sharpened.
"And I already had my lawyer transfer everything to my name. The house. The accounts. The car. Everything."
I stared at her like I was seeing a stranger.
"You… used me,"
She rolled her eyes.
"Ohh please, Don't be so dramatic. You provided, He satisfied. We were both doing our parts."
The words hit harder than any punch.
My vision trembled. hands shook. heart pounding like it wanted to escape my chest.
Pointing at her, fingers trembling.
"You—"
My voice breaking
"You filthy… lying… bitch—"
Rage drowned sense.
I raised my hand, not thinking, only hurting. About to slap her. About to do something I had never done before in seventeen years of our marriage.
Zack grabbed my wrist.
"Don't touch her," he growled.
I wrenched free and attempted to attack him again.
The vase shattered.
I didn't even notice when Emily pick it up.
Just the impact.
Bright pain exploded across my skull. The room jerked sideways. My knees hit the floor first. Warmth trickled down my neck. Red blurred my vision.
As I struggled to looked up at Emily through the blur.
"Why…?"
It wasn't anger anymore.
It was just… empty.
She didn't answer me.
Their voices faded as my consciousness slipped.
"…we'll get rid of it— before the kids get home"
"No one comes here—"
"Make it look like—"
Darkness swallowed me whole.
Then something pierced it.
A calm, feminine, mechanical tone spoke directly into my mind.
[THE HEAVENLY DESIRE SYSTEM — INITIALIZING]
When I woke up.
Air rushed into my lungs like a drowning man breaching the surface.
Sitting up fast.
There was No pain, No blood, No broken vase. No floor beneath my cheek. No voices plotting over my dying body.
Blinking hard.
I murmured
"Where… am I?"
Looking around. I noticed the Small room. Old curtains. A squeaking ceiling fan tracing lazy circles in the air.
My college apartment.
A place I hadn't seen in over twenty-four years.
Standing up too fast almost falling then quickly placing my hands on the wall to steady myself.
"This… isn't possible," I muttered.
Stumbling into the bathroom, pushing on the light, and staring at the mirror.
A younger man stared back.
No wrinkles.
No gray hair.
No tired eyes.
Strong jawline. Clear skin. A body untouched by long years of stress and overtime.
Twenty-one.
I swallowed.
"That's… me."
I leaned a bit closer.
"That's really me. From twenty-four years ago…"
My heart hammering against my ribs. As my mind raced.
I died.
Emily killed me.
They were going to throw my body away.
So why am I here?
My hands gripped the sides of the sink.
"How did I come back?"
The air vibrated.
A soft feminine voice echoed in My head — calm, warm, almost gentle.
[CONGRATULATIONS, HOST.]
[THE HEAVENLY DESIRE SYSTEM HAS BEEN BOUND TO YOU.]
Blue light flooded the mirror.
Panels unfolded in front of my eyes like floating screens.
Taking a step back
"What… what is this?"
[STATUS WINDOW — OPENING]
Name: Alex Walker
Age: 21
Body Condition: Weak adult male
Charm: Below average
Vitality: Low
Libido: Dormant
Desire Energy: 0
System Rank: F (Locked)
Skills: None unlocked
Titles: None
Quests: Initial Mission pending…
The numbers pulsed softly.
staring at them.
"All of this… is real?"
The voice grew warmer. Almost amused.
[WELCOME BACK TO YOUR PRIME.]
[YOUR FIRST MISSION WILL NOW BE ISSUED.]
A loading bar appeared.
I swallowed as I eagerly watched it climb.
25%
46%
72%
99%
It stopped.
A single line appeared in red letters.
My eyes widening as I read it.
lips parting slowly
voice coming out barely above a whisper.
"…You want me to do… what?"