Chapter 8
“The marriage simulation game has ended. Please confirm whether you are willing to become partners with the person before you.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, I pressed “No.”
I ignored Levi’s anguished screams from across the table.
Only then did Levi finally realize he was inside a game. Everything he’d schemed and fought for was nothing but an illusion.
Ever since the government introduced the marriage reflection period, the Granthol Group has developed this “Marriage Experience” holographic VR game in response.
Inside the game, both NPCs and players experienced every sensation as if it were real.
Once a player’s memory was wiped, they truly believed they were married to their beloved, even raising children together.
The reason Vanessa looked so much like me in the game was that she was modeled after me, down to every detail.
She represented my real–world identity as the daughter of the wealthiest man in the country.
Not long ago, I’d been determined to marry Levi, but my dad had firmly refused. I’d even threatened to cut ties with him over it.
Eventually, my father relented. He said if Levi could pass the company’s “Marriage Experience Game,” he’d give us his blessing.
He explained that the game’s greatest feature was revealing each person’s
Chapter 8
true nature to the other.
In the simulation, everyone’s life and identity were ordinary and peaceful -there was no crushing pressure.
Whether or not to give in to temptation was up to each individual.
Even if you resisted temptation, that choice wouldn’t affect your original life in any way.
Everyone got two chances–because one heartbreak might not be enough, but two would leave a lasting mark.
When the game ended, Levi, Daniela, Edward, and Fiona all knelt before me, begging for forgiveness, blaming their actions on the overwhelming temptations of the game rather than themselves.
The once warm and eager me now regarded them as strangers.
Daniela, furious, slapped Levi across the face. “I begged them to let me back into the game just to warn you, and you still refuse to change!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her outburst.
If not for my arrangements, how could she have appeared at that exact moment?
After all, as the only daughter of the company’s chairman, I had the highest level of design authority in the game.
That wedding scene was my special gift to them–a one–of–a–kind.
scenario.
Levi was overwhelmed with regret.
He lunged forward, clinging desperately to the hem of my dress. “Evie, I know I was wrong. I promise, if we get married, I’ll treat you right.
“We can have two adorable children together–I swear, in the real world, I’ll cherish them with all my heart!”
His words made my heart ache.
Even though it was just a game, I could still remember the overwhelming emotion when Jeremy and Kimberly called me “Mommy.”
Furious, I kicked Levi away. “Get lost!”
Seeing that I no longer had any feelings for him, Levi finally broke down. “Evie, this whole game was set up to target me! If you were faced with this kind of temptation, do you really think you’d pass?
“I bet your dad designed this whole thing just to set me up and drive us apart!”
Chaer D
