Chapter 1

"Congratulations, Quill. You've completed five years of companionship. In just seven more days, you'll leave this world and bring your family back to life in the real world."

Quill Milton couldn't hold back his tears of joy upon finally hearing the system's voice he'd longed for over five years.

He wasn't originally from this world. Five years ago, his wife and child in the real world became comatose after a car accident. Devastated by grief, he unexpectedly bonded with a companion system.

The system informed him that if he accompanied Aspen Sanders, the richest woman in this world, and her child, Nora Milton, for five years, his family would be resurrected. Quill had agreed without hesitation.

Quill knew that Aspen loved Corey Hudson from the first day he arrived in this world. Unfortunately, Corey despised the idea of marriage and valued his freedom.

Corey abandoned his family and disappeared without a trace right after Nora was born. It was at that moment Quill entered the picture.

He pretended to fall for Aspen and went to great lengths to approach her. He treated her with care, and ultimately succeeded in marrying her.

He worked tirelessly to care for Aspen and raised Nora with painstaking effort for five years. Yet, their hearts gravitated back to Corey as soon as he returned.

People mocked and ridiculed Quill because of this, and they called him a joke. But he didn't care. His real wife and child would be revived in seven days, and he could finally go home.

Suddenly, a message notification chimed from his phone. He glanced down at it and saw that it was from Aspen.

"Lux Club. Stomach hurts. Bring some medicine over."

The message was brief and to the point. Quill walked to the window, opened it, and saw large snowflakes fluttering down.

The bitter cold struck him the instant he opened the window, making him shiver uncontrollably. Going out in such weather felt like torture.

He sighed in resignation and closed the window. He went looking for the medicine and got dressed before stepping out.

There was no choice. The companion system's rules forbade him from refusing any requests from the mother and daughter.

Quill then hurried to the designated private room in the club. Just as he was about to push the door open, he heard one of Aspen's friends inside.

"Aspen, are you going to divorce Quill now that your beloved Corey is back?"

Quill froze in place. The next moment, Aspen's voice, magnetic, soft, and slightly tinged with alcohol, responded, "I won't.

"Corey is naturally free-spirited and hates being tied down. I love him and just want him to be himself. Quill is attentive and reliable—he does whatever needs to be done. He's perfect as a husband and father."

As soon as she finished speaking, five-year-old Nora's childish voice followed.

"He's better suited to be a nanny. He's taken great care of Mommy and me all these years. But no matter what he does, I'll only ever have one dad."

As soon as Nora spoke, everyone burst into laughter. "Nora nailed it with that description!"

"But is Quill really that obedient?" One person asked curiously, and someone chimed in with a reply the next moment.

"Of course! Quill's reputation as a people-pleaser isn't exaggerated. Just wait and see for yourself."

With that, the person turned to Aspen. "Aspen, can I borrow your watch for a moment?"

Aspen gave her a cool glance. It was as if she already understood her intention, but she said nothing. Slowly and deliberately, she removed her watch and handed it over.

Then, the person intentionally threw the watch in an elegant arc out the window and into the lake below with a loud splash.

At that moment, someone approached and noticed Quill standing outside the private room. "Quill, why are you standing out here? Why didn't you go in?"

As they spoke, they pushed him into the room before he could react.

Quill stumbled inside. The group was far from feeling guilty, and they seemed even more delighted by his arrival.

"Quill, you're just in time! Aspen's watch accidentally fell into the lake. Can you fish it out for her?"

Quill turned to Aspen and remained silent for a moment before asking, "Do you really want me to retrieve it?"

Aspen nodded while maintaining her casual demeanor. Nora's eyes sparkled with mischief as she added, "Aren't you always the one who does whatever we ask? And willing to do anything for us?"

He pulled his lips into a tight line and shook his head after hearing Nora's words. "No, not always. Only for seven more days."

Aspen furrowed her brows, not understanding what he meant. "What did you just say?"

But Quill didn't even glance at her again. Instead, he walked straight to the window.

The private room was on the second floor, and the distance from the window to the lake wasn't particularly high. He stepped onto a stool without hesitation, climbed over the window, and jumped straight into the lake.

The loud splash echoed as he hit the water. It was the dead of winter, and the icy lake water bit into him, making his entire body tremble.

He clenched his jaw tightly to keep from sinking, and he could hear the sounds of the crowd's jeering followed closely behind.

"See? I told you Quill is head over heels for Aspen and Nora. He jumped in because of a simple instruction!"

"Honestly, I kind of wish I had such a hardworking and devoted husband."

Before the words were fully out, Aspen shot the speaker a cold look. But her mind kept drifting back to what Quill had said earlier.

"Only seven more days."

She let out a sarcastic laugh, thinking he was just throwing a tantrum. But what did it matter? Even if he was upset, it still took just one word from them for him to jump.

Chapter 2

Aspen thought back to the first time they met. Everyone claimed Quill loved her, so much so that he even doted on her child with another man. She believed it too.

He had relentlessly pursued her from the moment they first met. Over the years, many sought her wealth or beauty, but no one else seemed to love her so genuinely—not even Corey. That was why she married Quill.

Now, five years had passed, and his attitude toward her and Nora had never wavered. How could he possibly be willing to leave?

While she pondered this, Quill appeared at the private room's door, dripping wet. He was holding the watch he had retrieved from the lake.

His voice sounded faint as he addressed Aspen. "I found it."

His lips were pale, and he clearly wasn't in good shape. Just speaking those words seemed to drain all his strength. The next moment, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the floor.

Before he lost consciousness entirely, he vaguely thought he saw Aspen's expression change as she rushed toward him.

It must have been an illusion. Since Corey's return, Aspen and Nora couldn't distance themselves from him fast enough. Why would they care if he fainted?

When Quill regained consciousness, he realized he was lying at home. The sound of cheerful conversation drifted in from the living room. He slowly got up, steadied himself, and walked out.

There were only three people in the living room: Aspen, Nora, and the one person they both wholeheartedly acknowledged—Corey.

They were seated on the couch, chatting animatedly. But their laughter faded as soon as Quill appeared.

Aspen glanced at him and said flatly, "Corey will be staying here for a while. Get a room ready for him later."

Nora, who rarely acted obedient in front of Quill, was now nestled in Corey's arms. She was speaking in a sweet, childish tone. But when her eyes turned to Quill, her words grew sharp.

"This is my home, and he's my dad. Of course, he should stay here. Uncle Quill, you're not going to object, are you?"

Quill forced a faint smile. What right did he have to object?

Aspen had never loved him. Nora used to call him "Daddy" before Corey's return, but now she called Corey "Daddy" and referred to him as a mere "uncle".

He was nothing more than a nanny in their eyes. How could he possibly have any say in their decisions?

"Alright," Quill replied calmly while nodding as if this were the most ordinary request in the world.

Aspen narrowed her eyes in mild surprise at how easily he accepted the demand for Corey to move in. Nora, however, didn't think much of it and grew even more demanding.

"I'm hungry! Go make dinner right away. Daddy likes lobster bisque and baked fish filet—you have to make it yourself!"

Quill's head was still spinning from diving into the icy lake earlier, but he couldn't refuse her orders because of the system's requirements. Forcing himself to push through the discomfort, he headed to the kitchen.

He had to manage everything alone without any household staff to assist. He could even see Aspen and Nora fussing over Corey in the distance through the transparent kitchen door.

One was feeding him pre-dinner fruit brought by the housekeeper, while the other carefully refilled his cup with warm water. They looked like the perfect, harmonious family.

And, in truth, they were. They had always been a family. He was the outsider.

Quill lowered his eyes to avoid the scene and focused on preparing the ingredients in silence. There wasn't a hint of pain in his gaze. After all, it wouldn't be long before he reunited with his real family.

Chapter 3

Two hours later, Aspen and Nora naturally took their seats at the dining table with Corey in tow when Quill brought the dishes to the table.

During the meal, Corey completely ignored Quill and busied himself doting on Nora by repeatedly placing food on her plate. However, her expression darkened a bit more with every serving he gave her.

By the end, Nora could no longer hold back. Her voice was filled with frustration as she said, "I don't like this. I never eat that one. I told you before, Daddy…"

"Sorry, I'll remember next time," Corey apologized awkwardly with a strained smile. He then turned to Aspen after hitting a wall with Nora.

Picking up a shrimp, he was about to place it onto her plate when her expression turned cold. "I'm allergic to shrimp. Don't you remember?"

Corey's face turned red with embarrassment. His missteps soured Aspen and Nora's moods, but neither paid much attention to his reaction. Instead, they both looked toward Quill.

Quill, ever perceptive, picked up a plate and served them each their favorite dishes. Only then did the mother and daughter begin to eat contentedly.

Quill looked over at the time, and remembered the stew simmering in the kitchen and got up to fetch it. He turned off the stove, but the kitchen door opened before he could retrieve the pot. Upon turning around, he saw Corey entering the kitchen.

The faint smile on Corey's face made Quill frown. Just as he was about to ask why Corey was there, Corey spoke first.

"I'll help you carry it."

"There's no need." Quill's refusal came instinctively as Corey moved toward the pot. In the brief moment Quill turned to grab a ladle, Corey had already reached out for the pot.

"Ah!"

A cry of alarm followed the sound of the pot shattering. Scalding stew splattered everywhere, and some even landed on Corey's hand, leaving him red-faced from the pain.

The commotion drew Aspen and Nora into the kitchen. They immediately rushed to Corey's side upon seeing his pitiful state.

"What happened? What's going on?" Aspen asked.

Corey began to explain, "I suppose Mr. Milton probably doesn't like me very much. That's why he deliberately spilled the stew on me.

"I mean, I did abandon you both back then, and Mr. Milton stepped in to fulfill the role of husband and father. Now that I'm back, it's natural for him to feel upset. But I never intended to compete with him for anything…"

Corey's exaggerated and embellished words immediately fueled Aspen and Nora's anger. They didn't give Quill a chance to explain, and instead unleashed a torrent of disdain toward him and sympathy for Corey.

"Why are you even trying to compete with Corey? Nora and I have always been his. You have no right to lay a hand on him!" Aspen snapped. Her voice was filled with fury.

Nora chimed in, and her tone brimmed with righteous indignation as she echoed her mother's words. "You vile man! Mommy only married you to take care of me. You didn't seriously think you were the head of the Sanders family, did you?"

"Know your place. Don't let this happen again," Aspen said as she cast Quill a cold glance before helping Corey up and walking out. Nora followed closely behind.

No one noticed that, while Corey's hand had only a minor burn on the back, a large section of Quill's thigh was red and scalded from the spilled stew.

Or perhaps, they wouldn't have cared even if they had noticed.

After all, the difference between love and indifference was as vast as the sky and the earth.

Their harsh words replayed in Quill's mind as he watched their retreating figures. He then let out a bitter laugh at himself.

From the very beginning, he had understood his position. He wasn't their husband or father, and he would have to leave eventually.

Nonetheless, he had thought that after years of tireless effort, there might at least be some affection between them even if love wasn't possible. Now, it seemed like nothing more than a cruel joke.

Still, it didn't matter. He would be going home soon.

Chapter 4

Afterward, Quill hobbled back to his room and applied ointment to his burn. As he sat down, the screen of his phone lit up unexpectedly. Glancing at it casually, he saw that it was a video message from Corey.

"So what if you married her? In the end, they still chose me. Even though I abandoned them, the only person they'll ever care about is me."

Corey's burned hand was carefully bandaged in the video. Despite her obsessive cleanliness, Aspen was peeling a pomegranate for him and feeding it to him bit by bit.

Nora, who had complained countless times about hating piano practice, was now seated at the instrument, playing a piece to please him.

The cheerful and harmonious dynamic between the three in the video stood in stark contrast to Quill's indifference.

His family had never been Aspen and Nora. Whoever they loved, whoever they wanted to be close to, had nothing to do with him.

He turned off the video and looked around his sparsely furnished room. He then quietly began packing his belongings, intending to discard them the next morning.

At dawn, as Aspen and Nora returned, they caught sight of him tossing his packed items into the trash.

Aspen frowned as she looked at him. "What are you throwing away?"

Quill paused briefly before lowering his gaze and replying dismissively, "Just some useless junk."

Suspicious, Nora stepped closer to take a look. She saw the trash can filled with his clothes and personal items and curled her lips in disdain.

She sneered. "It really is just a bunch of useless junk."

Her blatant ridicule elicited no reaction from him. He remained silent.

Then, Aspen's phone rang. Quill only caught fragments of the conversation, but it was enough to gather that she had a meeting to attend.

As expected, she turned to him after ending the call.

"I'm heading out. Take good care of Nora."

After she left, Quill turned to Nora, whose face was etched with dislike for him. Since Corey's return, she hadn't reviewed her studies in days. Although her intelligence was remarkable, earning her the label of a prodigy, even prodigies couldn't afford to slack off indefinitely.

He was about to lead her to the study when Corey walked in, carrying a pile of junk food. He smiled warmly while kneeling gently in front of Nora.

"Nora, Daddy has time to spend with you today. Do you want to be with Daddy or with Mr. Milton?"

Nora instantly pulled her hand from Quill's grasp and threw her arms around Corey. Her face lit up with joy. "Of course, Daddy!"

Corey's satisfaction was tinged with smugness upon hearing her answer. He scoffed at Quill, and he led Nora to the living room while brimming with arrogance.

Quill couldn't stop them. He could only watch helplessly as, in just an hour, they littered the floor with snack wrappers and turned the house into chaos while playing video games on the ground.

Then, Corey carried Nora upstairs to the second floor, playing a game of "high toss" in the brief moment Quill looked away.

"Mr. Hudson, this is the second floor. Tossing a child so high like that is dangerous. Please put Nora down," Quill said.

"It's just a game of high toss. What's dangerous about it?" Corey dismissed the warning with a careless laugh.

Even Nora, who was cradled in his arms, pouted as she said, "Ignore him! He's just jealous that I'm close to you, Daddy."

Spurred on by her words, Corey threw her even higher this time as he basked in her gleeful squeals. But in that moment of overconfidence, tragedy struck.

Corey lost control, and tossed her too high. He then failed to catch her when she fell.

"Ah!"

Nora plummeted directly from the second floor. The thud of her landing echoed through the house. She didn't even have time to cry out before she lay unconscious in a pool of blood.

Corey froze, and panic began draining the color from his face. He stood paralyzed, unable to move. Quill was equally shocked, but he quickly regained his composure and dialed for an ambulance.

The paramedics arrived swiftly and rushed Nora to the hospital. Thankfully, the emergency treatment was successful, and her life was not in danger. Aspen had arrived by the time she was transferred to a VIP ward.

Aspen's expression darkened when she saw that Nora's head was wrapped in bandages. Her fury was palpable. "Who did this?"

"It was Quill! He was jealous of how close Nora and I are, so he threw her from the second floor to get back at me!" Corey exclaimed.

Quill stared at Corey in disbelief. Just as he opened his mouth to defend himself, Nora regained consciousness.

Aspen rushed to her side. "Nora, how's your head? Does it still hurt? Tell Mommy, who threw you down?"

Nora's eyes flickered briefly at the question. Corey's heart raced and pounded in his chest as he wondered whether she would tell Aspen the truth.

Slowly, she lifted her hand and pointed directly at Quill. "It was him! He threw me down!"

Chapter 5

Quill's pupils contracted sharply when he saw Nora's unwavering finger pointing at him, and he froze as if struck by lightning.

"I didn't…"

Before he could finish, Nora's wailing cries for her "Daddy" drowned out his voice. Corey then rushed forward, scooping her into his arms.

"Quill, no matter how much you hate me, you could have directed it at me! Why'd you harm Nora? She's only five years old. How could you be so heartless?"

Corey's accusations, coupled with Nora's convincing performance, painted a damning picture. If Quill hadn't been the one accused, even he might have believed their version of events.

But all he felt was a deep, chilling despair in that moment. His lips pressed into a thin line as he stared intensely at Nora.

"Tell the truth. Who really threw you from the second floor?"

"Enough, Quill!"

Aspen stood abruptly as her eyes blazed with fury.

"I married you because you seemed honest and obedient, but I never imagined you could be so malicious as to harm a five-year-old child!

"If you refuse to admit your wrongdoing, fine. Someone, lock him up in the isolation room. He'll stay there until he confesses!"

Aspen was fully convinced by Corey and Nora's claims, and she rendered her judgment without hesitation. Her gaze toward Quill brimmed with contempt, and she didn't care to hear another word from him. She ordered the bodyguards to take him back to the villa and lock him in the isolation room.

"Aspen, it wasn't me!

"I have claustrophobia. You can't lock me in there!

"Help! Someone, please let me out!"

In the pitch-black isolation room, devoid of even a sliver of light, Quill's face turned pale as he pounded relentlessly on the locked door.

His voice was hoarse and raw from shouting for hours by morning. Even so, no one came to his aid.

His cries for help gradually weakened, and his pounding on the door grew feeble. The oppressive air in the room made it difficult for him to breathe, suffocating his thoughts and eroding his remaining awareness.

Eventually, his consciousness began to fade into darkness.

A hazy memory of his wife and child surfaced in his mind before his last shred of consciousness faded.

They were still waiting for him in another world and were waiting to reunite with him.

They were different from Aspen and Nora—they were his true loved ones and his real family.

He remembered how he was afraid of the dark, and how his wife would gently soothe him to sleep every night. His sweet, tiny daughter would lie beside him while her chubby little hands patted his back as she reassured him, "Daddy, don't be scared!"

Back then, he was genuinely happy. But a sudden car accident had shattered everything. His wife and child were left in a vegetative state, and he was trapped in this world.

He couldn't give up.

He must not give up.

He was so close—just a little more, and he could leave this place and reunite with them.

Quill was finally released the next day, and his face was pale and drained.

Aspen stood before him. She was silent for a moment before speaking. "I reviewed the surveillance footage. It wasn't your fault, but Corey didn't do it on purpose either."

Quill found it laughable when he heard her casually dismiss everything with such indifference. When she thought he had hurt Nora, she had locked him in the isolation room without a second thought.

But now that it was Corey, all she could say was that it wasn't intentional?

He couldn't help it—he simply laughed out loud. Aspen frowned at his reaction, and her tone was tinged with impatience.

"What are you laughing at? Nora didn't mean to falsely accuse you. Now she's asking for the food you make. Prepare it and bring it to her."

She spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It was as though no matter what injustice he suffered, he should still be grateful to serve them whenever they needed him.

Quill wanted to refuse, but the system's constraints forced him to suppress all his emotions. Pressing his lips together, he reluctantly agreed.

"Fine. Only five days left."

Aspen's frown deepened as she heard his muttered remark. "What's with all this talk about seven days, five days—what are you going on about?"

"Nothing," he replied without a hint of nervousness as he brushed her question aside. Fortunately, she seemed to ask only out of passing curiosity and didn't dwell on it.