When I entered the house and saw Serena sitting among everyone…
I suddenly felt nothing.
Not anger.
Not sadness.
Not even jealousy.
Only a strange emptiness.
Because for sixteen years, I had spent every day trying to prove that I belonged.
I tried to become the daughter Major Morgan could be proud of.
I tried to become the woman Adrian Walsh would choose.
I tried to become the friend Elliot, Jason, and Mason would protect.
But that night, standing in the doorway, I finally understood.
I was the only person still fighting for a place that had already disappeared.
Serena looked at me.
Her eyes were still red.
But there was something else hidden behind them.
Satisfaction.
A tiny smile that disappeared the moment our eyes met.
Before, I would have questioned myself.
Maybe I was imagining it.
Maybe she was really innocent.
Maybe everyone had a reason.
But now…
I no longer cared.
“You’re back.”
Adrian’s voice came from behind her.
I looked at him.
The man who had held my hand that morning while we signed our marriage certificate.
The man who smiled at me in front of everyone.
The man who, only hours later, turned my humiliation into a celebration for another woman.
“Yes.”
My answer was calm.
Too calm.
Adrian frowned.
“You don’t want to explain?”
I looked at him.
“Explain what?”
The room became silent.
Usually, I would have rushed to explain.
I would have defended myself.
I would have cried.
But this time…
I was tired.
Elliot crossed his arms.
“Ivy, don’t make this difficult.”
I looked at him.
The same Elliot who once carried me home when I twisted my ankle during training.
The same man who promised:
“Anyone who hurts you will answer to me.”
Now he was looking at me like I was a problem.
“Make what difficult?”
His expression changed slightly.
“Serena has already suffered enough.”
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead, I asked:
“Does everyone here know?”
Nobody answered.
But their silence was enough.
They all knew.
They all watched.
They all laughed.
And none of them stopped it.
The system’s voice sounded in my mind.
“Hostess.”
I froze.
It had been years since I heard it.
“Emotional fluctuation detected.”
I almost smiled.
Emotional fluctuation?
If this happened a few months ago, maybe.
But now?
No.
There was only one emotion left.
Relief.
“System.”
“Yes.”
“Can I leave now?”
A brief silence followed.
Then:
“Mission completion conditions have been fulfilled.”
My heartbeat slowed.
Finally.
After all these years.
“The host may return after the body’s life ends.”
I closed my eyes.
So close.
I was so close to going home.
That night, everyone thought I was being quiet because I was hurt.
They were wrong.
I was saying goodbye.
I packed slowly.
Not because I had many things.
But because every object reminded me of a life that was never really mine.
The medals Adrian gave me.
The training photos.
The letters Jason wrote when we were children.
The jacket Elliot placed over my shoulders during winter.
The bracelet Mason bought after my first shooting competition.
Memories.
Beautiful memories.
And painful ones.
I placed everything into a box.
Then I stopped.
I took out the bracelet.
Looked at it.
And put it back.
Not because I hated them.
Because I no longer needed proof that I had once been loved.
The next morning, something strange happened.
Adrian came to find me.
Alone.
“Ivy.”
I looked up.
“What?”
He stood there for a long time.
Like he was searching for something.
Maybe the old me.
The girl who would immediately smile when he called her name.
She wasn’t there anymore.
“You are different.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I looked at him.
“Because I finally stopped waiting.”
His face changed.
Waiting.
That word seemed to hurt him.
“What are you talking about?”
I smiled.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
For the first time, Adrian looked nervous.
Not angry.
Not annoyed.
Nervous.
“Ivy, about last night…”
I interrupted.
“It’s okay.”
He froze.
“What?”
“It’s okay.”
I repeated.
“You don’t have to apologize.”
His eyebrows tightened.
“Why?”
Because I wasn’t waiting for an apology anymore.
Because apologies were only meaningful when the person giving them still had the chance to choose differently.
And Adrian already chose.
Later that day, the military district received unexpected news.
A confidential report.
A report that made everyone stop.
Because the video broadcast the night of my wedding…
Had not been uploaded from Adrian’s account.
Someone else had accessed the system.
Someone with military clearance.
Someone inside the base.
The entire district went into investigation mode.
And for the first time…
Adrian, Elliot, Jason, and Mason began asking the same question:
Who wanted Ivy Morgan destroyed?
That evening, Serena came to my room.
She closed the door behind her.
For the first time, we were alone.
“Ivy.”
I continued folding clothes.
“What?”
Her voice was soft.
“You hate me, don’t you?”
I looked at her.
Before, I would have denied it.
I would have said:
“No, you’re my sister.”
But now…
I simply answered:
“No.”
She looked surprised.
“No?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t hate you.”
“Then why do you look at me like that?”
I smiled.
“Because I finally see you clearly.”
Her expression changed.
For a moment…
The mask slipped.
Only for a moment.
But I saw it.
And she knew I saw it.
Before leaving, Serena whispered:
“You really don’t care anymore.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
She stared at me.
“Why?”
I turned back to my suitcase.
“Because soon…”
I paused.
“None of this will matter anymore.”
That night, the system suddenly appeared again.
But this time…
Its voice was different.
Urgent.
“Warning.”
I opened my eyes.
“What happened?”
The screen appeared in my mind.
A new message.
A message I had never seen before.
“The original storyline has changed.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
The system remained silent for several seconds.
Then answered:
“Someone discovered the truth about your identity.”
My breathing stopped.
“Who?”
The answer appeared slowly.
A name.
A name I never expected.
Adrian Walsh.
I stared at the words.
For sixteen years, I thought I was the only one hiding a secret.
I was wrong.
Because Adrian had a secret too.
And the next morning…
He was going to tell me everything.
