Chapter 2Erasing the Substitute: A Script Unwritten

Leo's cheer slipped through the crack in the door and pierced my ears.

A freezing chill washed over my entire body.

Eight years ago.

To save my husband and daughter who were in a horrific car crash, I agreed to the System's demands.

I transmigrated into this angsty romance novel.

My mission was to strictly follow the plotline until the very end.

If I deviated from the plot, the System would issue a "plot penalty."

Mild penalties meant illness; severe ones meant fatal accidents and forced extraction from this world.

If I completed the plot smoothly, I would be rewarded with points to wake my husband and daughter from their comas.

I wasn't a very good host.

From meeting Arthur at nineteen, stumbling through our relationship, to marrying him and giving birth to Leo at twenty-two...

I had managed to drag us through more than half the plot, but the male lead, Arthur, eventually grew sick of me.

I started getting sick frequently.

At its worst, my vision blurred, and my hearing faded.

Because I gave birth to Leo, he was also affected by the penalties, experiencing one-tenth of my pain.

Leo cried day and night, his tiny body growing weaker and frailer.

Risking total mission failure, I confessed the existence of the System to Arthur.

I told him that if he left me, I would die, and Leo would die too.

The only way out was to wait until the plot ended.

At that time, there were only five years left.

Arthur started forcing himself to stay by my side.

Occasionally, we would fight, and Leo and I would both fall ill.

I felt immensely guilty towards Leo.

But Leo was always so understanding, taking his medicine and eating his meals on time.

Gradually, we grew very close.

Finally, just a few days ago, the System announced that the plot had concluded.

I excitedly shared the news with Arthur.

From now on, we were no longer shackled by the plot system.

We could live freely.

And I had a choice: I could either leave this world or stay.

Selfishly, I didn't want Leo to be lonely.

So I planned to stay until he was an adult.

But reality just delivered a brutal, crushing blow to my selfishness.