I Cashed In His Lies

After Julian Hart and I got back together, I was the one who brought up getting engaged. He swore I was the only woman he'd ever love. I smiled and held out my hand, and a chime sounded in my head as the system deposited another $150,000 into my account. From that day on, I became his lowest-maintenance fiancée. I stopped asking why his notes app still had his ex-wife's period tracker. I never called out the hotel receipt from the "business trip" he'd lied about. Not even when Vanessa Lane posted the diamond ring he'd bought her, with the caption "My ex-husband still knows me best." Not even when he went over in the middle of the night to fix her pipes and stayed out until morning, or when he bought two sets of Valentine's gifts. Even when he told me marrying me was his greatest dream, his eyes sliding away as he said it, I could still smile sweetly and play along. "I know. You love me most." It wasn't that I was dying to marry him. It was that the system's rewards had a clear price tag. Every lie he told me put more money in my account. I'm not stupid. If I was going to let him lie to me this long, I might as well get something out of it. Chapter 1 By the time I reached the bar, Julian Hart had his arm hooked through Vanessa Lane's arm, the two of them drinking like newlyweds. The moment he spotted me, he started explaining on reflex. "Hannah, it's not what it looks like." A second later, a chime sounded in my head. Another $150,000 had just landed in my account. I nodded. "Relax. I get it." His buddies muttered to each other. "Does Hannah actually love Julian?" "Did you forget she almost died jumping into the river over him last time?" "But her expression hasn't changed once this whole time." Julian got up from the booth and ground the cigarette ash out under his shoe. His buddies went quiet, their eyes darting between him and me. Vanessa caught his sleeve. "Julian..." Julian looked at me, his expression hard to read. "Why aren't you jealous?" I used to be. Three years ago, on the day Julian and I made things official, Vanessa stormed into the restaurant in her old wedding dress, threw her arms around him, and cried as she wished us happiness. I smashed the cake into her face and grabbed her by the hair, and we went rolling across the floor until security threw us both out. On a trip once, Julian ditched me to take care of Vanessa when she suddenly came down with a fever. I didn't sit still either. I hired twenty cars to block the hospital entrance so the ambulance couldn't get in. My friends said I was the jealous type. Julian's mother, Diane, told me to be the bigger person. "Vanessa is his ex-wife, after all. Julian can't just leave her to die." I got torn to shreds for it and was forced to apologize to Vanessa. Then she turned around and swallowed half a bottle of sleeping pills. When she came to, she weakly held Julian's hand, sounding like someone giving her last wishes. "Julian, don't blame Hannah. She's young. I'm the one who crossed the line. "Go back to her. Don't let her be upset." The fear of almost losing Vanessa crushed Julian. He broke up with me. I said fine. Then I turned around and jumped into the river. That was when the system found me. It offered to turn every lie I heard into money: $150,000 per lie. I looked up and gave him a perfectly measured smile. "You don't like it when I get jealous, so I won't get jealous anymore." Julian's brow eased a little, and his buddies started hooting. "Julian's the man. He's got his fiancée trained to be this easygoing." "Julian's got it made from here on out." A few more fake compliments, and another few hundred thousand dollars hit my account. "Julian, your phone lit up a minute ago. I was worried it was urgent, so I took a quick look. Martha was asking what time you're coming home for dinner tomorrow." Vanessa, who'd been quiet the whole time, handed the phone over. Someone nearby teased her. "Vanessa, you're still running the household? Julian, aren't you with Hannah now?" Vanessa waved it off. "Don't be ridiculous. I've known Martha since I lived at the family house. She's just used to asking me." She shot me a quick glance, the corners of her mouth curving ever so slightly. Julian took the phone, switched off the screen, and slipped it into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. "It's getting late. I'll have someone drive you home." Vanessa stood, picked up her bag, and walked over to me. "Hannah, Julian doesn't eat cilantro. Martha's getting older and forgets things, so remember to remind her." Before she'd even finished, she clutched her stomach, her face suddenly pale. "Julian, my stomach really hurts." Chapter 2 Julian scooped Vanessa up without a second's hesitation. "I'm taking you to the hospital." His buddies jumped in to cover for him. "Don't take it the wrong way, Ms. Hannah. Julian's just being a good Samaritan." It wasn't the first time he'd played the good Samaritan. When Vanessa said a pipe had burst at her place, he drove over at three in the morning. I blocked the door, crying, and he pried my fingers off one by one and called me cold, called me heartless. When Vanessa said her depression was back, he sat with her on the beach until sunrise while I called him seventeen times. When he got back, all he said was, "Can you just be reasonable for once?" One time I refused to let him go. That night, Vanessa slipped in her bathroom and knocked herself unconscious. As he ran out the door, he turned back and snapped at me. "If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive you." On all those hysterical nights, I cried until my voice was gone, and he never once looked back for me. Now I just picked up a glass of juice and smiled at him. "Go ahead. Stomach pain is no small thing." He'd already grabbed his jacket, but at my words, his fingers stiffened and he turned to look at me. The private room went eerily silent. His throat worked. He tossed the jacket back onto the couch and said to Vanessa: "Let them take you to the hospital. "Tonight's Hannah's birthday. I promised I'd stay with her until midnight." My fingertips tightened around the glass, and I shoved that flutter of feeling right back down where it belonged. Don't read into it, Hannah. He's just gearing up for another lie. Strangely, though, the chime never sounded in my head. Sure enough, Julian stayed. He bought me the handbag and jewelry I'd been wanting, and then, at a dessert shop, he made me a cake with his own hands. But the second the clock struck twelve, a phone call pulled him away. I didn't get angry. I just blew out the candles and smiled at him. "Go. I'll be fine on my own." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "That's my girl. I'll be right back." The next second, the chime went off in my head. I glanced at his retreating back, picked up the cake, and carried it over to the trash can. Then Julian suddenly turned around. "Hannah, what did you wish for just now?" I froze for a beat. He answered before I could, smiling tenderly. "I know. You wished for the perfect wedding, right? Don't worry. I'll keep every promise I made you." The door shut again. I dumped the cake in the trash and let out a cold laugh. What I'd wished for was to make $15 million as fast as possible and then leave him forever. In the middle of the night, I came across a post Vanessa had just shared. A photo of an ultrasound, with a vague caption. "So grateful! Someone was so excited he almost cried." Caught off guard, it still stung. The year things got ugliest between us, I found out I was pregnant. Julian knelt in front of me in tears, swearing he'd change, that from then on his heart would belong only to me and our baby. I believed him. He behaved for less than two months. Then one phone call from Vanessa, and he was driving to her place in the middle of the night again. That night, I jumped off a bridge. When I woke up, the baby was gone. The system suddenly spoke up. "Host, Julian's guilt value just shot up to ninety percent. "He probably won't betray you again. The wedding's set on an island, and he won the dress and the diamond ring at auction by outbidding everyone, whatever the price. Maybe you should think about staying?" I scoffed. "I'm not about to pin my happiness on someone else's guilt." If I couldn't have all the love in the world... Then I'd take all the money in the world instead. It wasn't until five in the morning that Julian finally called. Vanessa was in the hospital, he said, and she had no one with her. When I got there, Vanessa was in the hospital bed, her eyes red-rimmed. "Julian, the doctor says I need to keep my spirits up. Could you stay with me tonight? I'm scared of the dark." Julian was about to answer when everyone's eyes turned to me. I pulled out a sleep mask and earplugs and held them out. "Perfect. I brought you both some overnight things. "Ms. Lane's afraid of the dark, so stay, Julian. I ordered breakfast for you two. Don't forget to eat." I said it lightly, like it was nothing. If anything, Julian's face darkened. Vanessa looked up, wounded. "Julian, you should go. I'll be fine by myself." The next second, Julian yanked Vanessa toward him, cupped the back of her head, and kissed her. Everyone held their breath. But Julian's eyes looked past her, locked on me, as if he were waiting for my reaction. I was long gone. I'd made it to the nurses' station when hurried footsteps came up behind me. Julian caught up. "Hannah, why are you running?" I took out one earbud and looked at him calmly. "What did you say?" "Vanessa's baby is mine." His throat bobbed, and he deliberately raised his voice. But I stayed perfectly calm, as if I'd seen it coming all along. "Oh." He stared at me in disbelief. "That's it? You don't have anything to ask?" Chapter 3 "What's there to ask?" How did you get your ex-wife pregnant? Like he'd ever answer that. "I forgot to congratulate you. Didn't you always say you wanted a baby more than anything?" Word for word, I handed back what he used to tell me. Julian's face got even uglier. "Hannah, can you just say what you mean? Enough with the snide act. What are you up to?" "Up to?" I blinked. "I'm just congratulating you. Is that wrong now?" His jaw went tight. "Something's off with you." So he'd finally noticed. I tilted my head and smiled. "So what, you want me to make a scene? Or hide a knife in my purse and ruin your happy little moment?" "Enough!" Julian's voice shot up, a vein throbbing at his temple. "Are you not happy until you've turned into some unhinged lunatic? She's pregnant. If you lay one finger on her, I..." He stopped short, unable to finish. I finished it for him, offhand. "You won't marry me?" Julian pressed his lips into a thin line and glared at me. In the middle of the standoff, Vanessa walked over and softly looped her arm through his. "Julian, are you snapping at Hannah again? She's young. Can't you go easy on her? "I'm not going to make a fuss with someone who's about to get married. Hurry home. Don't leave her handling the wedding all by herself." Julian's buddies chimed in to smooth things over. That little drama earned me another $900,000 from the system. Vanessa took Julian's hand and mine and stacked them together with hers. "Hannah, all I want is for the two of you to be happy. Don't let me come between you. "Julian's just like that. Bear with him. Once you're married, you'll see how sweet he can be." I didn't say anything. But Julian's face darkened even more. "Stop talking." Vanessa leaned forward as if by accident, and her neckline slipped to reveal a hickey. "Julian always bites me right here. He says the spot closest to the heart is where two souls connect. He just didn't know his own strength." I went still. Inside my pocket, my fingers curled into a tight fist without my meaning them to. Julian's pupils shrank. He grabbed my wrist and yanked hard. "I knew you brought something! Talk! What were you planning to do to her? When are you going to drop the jealous shrew act?" My lower back slammed into the corner of a fire hose cabinet. A jagged strip of rusted metal sliced me open, and blood immediately ran down the small of my back. A huge red stain bloomed across my pure white dress. When you've already died once, this kind of thing doesn't scare you. It still hurts, but it doesn't reach your heart anymore. "I'm fine." I ignored the hand Julian held out and pulled myself up against the wall. As everyone stared in shock, I smiled and tugged Vanessa's neckline back into place. "Careful, don't catch a chill. You're going to be a mother. The baby comes first." The whole place fell silent. I turned to Julian and said evenly, "I'm going to get this treated. You stay and look after her." Julian came after me, quickly took off his jacket, and draped it over me, his eyes full of regret. "I'm sorry. I overreacted. Let me take you..." "Julian! Vanessa's crouched on the floor and can't get up!" Julian was stuck, his eyes darting between her and me. As his ever-so-considerate fiancée, of course I had to be the bigger person. "Go. Don't worry about me." The guilt in his eyes deepened. "I was wrong just now. I'll definitely come home tonight." With that, he rushed off. The system suddenly spoke up. "Host, Julian's guilt value just hit ninety-nine percent! You really could stay now." "But it's still not a hundred, is it?" Water one degree shy of boiling still isn't safe to drink. People are the same. He wasn't worth loving anymore. Ding. That familiar deposit chime. I gritted my teeth through the pain and went to the ER. "The wound's deep. We'll keep you two days for observation." Clutching the paperwork the doctor gave me, I lay in the hospital bed counting the drips from my IV. My phone buzzed a few times. Every message was from Julian. "Vanessa's pregnancy is high-risk. I'm staying with her another half day." "Order yourself some takeout. Don't go hungry." "Sorry, it'll be a few more days before I'm back." I skimmed them as the system chimed with each new deposit, and it all struck me as strangely ironic. Chapter 4 The day I was discharged, I dragged my still-healing body home. A rotten stench hung in the stairwell. A black garbage bag sat outside my door, fluid seeping out across the floor. My chest tightened for no reason. I crouched down and pulled open the bag. Inside was a matted ball of gray-and-white fur. It was the stray cat I'd been feeding for half a year. His name was Marshmallow. Every time I got home from work, he'd rub against my legs. I always kept his favorite treats on me. He'd listen quietly while I talked about Julian, and when he wasn't happy, he'd let out a few little meows. Now his body was stiff, his eyes half-open, a ligature mark around his neck. Julian opened the door and stopped short when he saw me. "You're back? That animal just lunged at Vanessa out of nowhere. "She's pregnant. She can't handle a scare like that, so I took care of it. Take it downstairs and toss it while you're at it. Don't leave it by the door drawing bugs." I stared at the tiny paw poking out of the bag, my nails digging deep into my palms. Without a word, I turned, carried the bag downstairs, and took him to a pet shop to have him washed. I'd always said I wanted to adopt Marshmallow, but Julian wouldn't allow it. He called me selfish. "Vanessa's allergic to cats. You can't just think about yourself." My eyes stinging, I pointed to the most expensive cat bed in the shop and swiped my card. After I'd laid Marshmallow to rest, I came home completely drained. Julian was on the couch with a gilt-edged binder open across his knees. "What took you so long to take out the trash? Come here. Look at our wedding plans." He acted like nothing had happened. He flipped to a page and tapped the stained-glass windows of a church. "Vanessa said the beach would be too sunny, so I moved it into a church. "And the white gown you picked, she said it's so long you'd trip on it, so I switched it to a short dress. Anything else you're not happy with?" I clenched my fists as hard as I could. "No." It didn't matter. I was never going to marry him. I already had it all planned out. On our wedding day, I'd fake my own death, take the fortune his lies had earned me, and live the rich life on the other side of the planet. The day before the wedding, my phone rang. It was my mom's attending physician. "Ms. Collins, the donor heart has been reassigned. Your mother may not make it through the night." A sharp pain stabbed through my heart, and I raced to the hospital. When I got there, the light above the operating room door was glowing red. When Julian saw me, a flicker of guilt crossed his face. "What are you doing here?" I pointed at the closed door, my voice shaking. "What happened?" "Vanessa's mom suddenly took a turn for the worse, so I had the heart redirected to her at the last minute. Trust me, your mom's going to be okay. I'm already reaching out to..." The system's deposit chime rang out. He was lying! I shoved him away and burst into my mom's room. She was deathly pale, barely breathing. "Mom..." I was sobbing so hard my whole body shook. Julian followed me in, his eyes full of pain. "Baby, don't cry. This hurts me too, but it was the only way to save Vanessa's mom." I broke down, screaming until my voice gave out. "You swore you'd keep my mom alive! Please, I'm begging you!" But no matter how I pleaded, Julian didn't say a word. His eyes full of pain, he planted himself in front of me. "I'm sorry. This is all on me. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you." I screamed at him like a madwoman. "I don't believe you! Not unless you give my mom back her heart!" The operating room door opened. Vanessa stood there clutching her stomach, looking miserable. "Just give her the heart back. Let my mom, me, and the baby I'm carrying fend for ourselves." Julian's eyes went red as he looked at me, full of anguish. "Hannah, I'm sorry. I swear, just this once. After tonight, I'll do whatever you say." He took Vanessa's hand and walked out without looking back. "Julian, after tonight, you'll never see me again." His back went rigid, but in the end, he didn't turn around. The heart monitor's alarm blared. The system's voice sounded. "Host, I'm so sorry for your loss." I screamed myself hoarse, clinging to my mom's body, sobbing so hard I couldn't breathe. "I don't want to accept it! I don't want to! I want her back!" I don't know how long I cried. I reached over and tucked the white sheet neatly around my mom. When I looked up again, there wasn't a trace of tears on my face, only a cold, dead stillness. "System, pull me out of this world."