Chapter 1

This was the third time Ethan Stone had broken up with me this year.

And this was the third time I had to win him back.

His tests were always public, always designed to humiliate me. The first time, it was a public apology on all my social media, admitting I was a clingy, insecure girlfriend. The second time, I had to stand outside his company headquarters for eight hours in the pouring rain, holding a sign that said, "I was wrong, Ethan. Please take me back."

Each time, I did it. Because I had to.

This time, the test was the most dangerous yet. An extreme sports event he' d orchestrated. A high-stakes, uninsured motorcycle jump over a canyon.

The wind whipped around me, so strong it felt like it could tear me right off the bike. I looked down at the sheer drop, my stomach twisting into a knot. My hands were slick with sweat inside my gloves.

"Are you scared, Chloe?" Ethan's voice crackled through the earpiece he' d insisted I wear. It was smooth, amused, like he was watching a movie.

I swallowed hard. "No."

"Good girl," he purred. "My friends are all watching. Don't disappoint me."

I glanced at the viewing platform. I could see him, a tall, handsome figure surrounded by his wealthy, laughing friends. He raised his champagne flute in a mock toast. He was enjoying this. He was enjoying my terror.

The signal flared. It was time.

I revved the engine, the roar of it drowning out the pounding in my ears. I focused on the ramp on the other side of the canyon. It looked impossibly far.

I closed my eyes for a second, picturing my mother' s face. Healthy. Smiling. That was the only thing that mattered.

Then I sped forward.

The bike launched into the air. For a single, terrifying moment, I was flying. Then, gravity took over.

A sudden gust of wind slammed into me from the side. The bike tilted violently. I fought to control it, but it was useless.

I didn't make it to the other ramp.

The motorcycle hit the edge of the cliff, and I was thrown. I heard a sickening crack as I landed, a blast of pure agony shooting up my leg. The world spun, then went black.

When I came to, I was lying on the rocky ground. Shards of my shattered leg bone were sticking out through the fabric of my pants. Blood was everywhere.

My head throbbed, and a wave of nausea washed over me. I tried to push myself up, but the pain was blinding.

A few people from the crowd had rushed over, their faces pale with shock. One woman started to call for an ambulance.

"Don't," a cold voice commanded.

Ethan.

He strode over, looking down at me not with concern, but with an appraising glint in his eyes, as if I were a piece of equipment that had malfunctioned. He gestured for his security to push the onlookers back.

"She's fine," he announced to the crowd, his voice carrying an authority no one dared question. "Just a little fall. The show is over."

He crouched down beside me, his expensive suit jacket not even wrinkled. He didn't touch me.

"You were magnificent," he whispered, a twisted smile on his lips. "The look on your face... priceless."

He stood up and pulled out his phone. He sent a quick text.

"Get up, Chloe."

I stared at him, my vision blurry with tears of pain. "I can't. My leg..."

"I said, get up," he repeated, his voice losing its playful edge. "My car is waiting. Don't make a scene."

I always did what he said. For two years, I had been his perfect, obedient plaything. I' d given up my friends, my hobbies, my entire life to revolve around his. All because he promised that if I was good enough, he would love me.

I dragged myself to my feet, using the cliff face for support. Every movement sent a fresh wave of agony through my body. My vision swam.

The sky opened up then, a cold drizzle starting to fall, plastering my hair to my face and soaking my clothes. Ethan didn't offer me a jacket. He just watched.

When I finally stumbled to his car, he held the door open. But not for me.

A young woman with bright, ambitious eyes stepped out. Brittany Hayes. His new "protégé," he called her. She was wearing a dress that I recognized-one I had picked out for a gala we were supposed to attend together before he broke up with me.

Ethan ignored me completely, draping his jacket over Brittany's shoulders.

"Did you see that, Brittany?" he asked her, his voice full of pride. "That's devotion."

Brittany looked at me, her gaze a mixture of pity and triumph. She was me, two years ago.

"Now, Chloe," Ethan said, finally turning his attention back to me. His face was a cold mask. "I'm throwing a party tonight to celebrate a successful business deal. You will be there."

It wasn't a request. It was an order. One more test.

"If you do well tonight," he added, a sliver of a promise in his voice, "we can talk about getting back together."

That promise. It was the only thing that kept me going. It was the reason I was in this world in the first place.

I wasn't Chloe Davis, aspiring architect. Not really.

I was a soul from another world, one who had made a deal with a cosmic entity-a "system"-to save my mother. My real mother, Sarah, was dying from a rare disease. The system promised to cure her if I completed one task: travel to this world and make the male lead, Ethan Stone, fall genuinely in love with me.

When I first arrived, Ethan was different. He was sweet, attentive, and kind. He would bring me breakfast in bed and hold me when I had nightmares. I thought the task would be easy. I found myself actually falling for him, hoping we could have a real future together.

Then, one day, he just changed. He broke up with me for the first time. He said I was boring him. And that' s when the tests began. That' s when Brittany appeared.

The system told me his sudden change was a part of the "trial." That his true love was buried under layers of narcissism and cruelty. I had to peel them away. I had to prove my love was unconditional.

So I endured. The humiliation, the pain, the constant presence of Brittany. I endured it all for my mother.

I had set a deadline for myself. One more month. If I couldn't win his love in one more month, I would give up. I would let the system fail the task and accept my fate.

But first, I had to survive this party.