After the Forced Love Faded

Today marks my third year as Rowan's captive.

He changed overnight. He ripped out every security camera in the bedroom. Wiped his phone completely clean.

Then he pulled open the heavy oak doors of the estate. His face was a blank mask. He told me he did not need me anymore. He told me to go home.

Home? I had lived here for three years. Without this place, I had nowhere else to go.

I stood frozen in the doorway. My hands felt utterly useless.

I wondered if he was sick. I reached out to press my palm against his forehead, checking for a fever.

But the second my fingers neared his skin, he flinched away.

My hand hung awkwardly in midair. My entire body went rigid.

Then his voice came, completely devoid of warmth. He told me he was wrong in the past. He never should have locked me up against my will.

He said he had already bought an apartment for me downtown. He would wire twenty million dollars to my account as compensation.

Finally, he said we should never see each other again. He wanted to live a normal life.

The ice-cold words smashed against my ears.

But I heard nothing. The world just faded into static.

For Rowan, it was love at first sight.

Three years ago, my mother fell critically ill. I was drowning in medical debt.

He stepped in and pulled me from the edge. His only condition was that I stay by his side.

I did not love him back then.

I only prayed he would get bored of me and let me go.

But I never expected the man known to the public as the ruthless devil of Wall Street to treat me with such overwhelming tenderness.

When I felt suffocated, he flew me across the globe.

When I mentioned I loved dancing, he spent a fortune custom-making my ballet shoes.

During a vacation that year, a sudden earthquake struck. Our hotel collapsed.

He shielded me entirely in his embrace.

The crumbling roof shattered his ribs. I sobbed until I could barely breathe.

He just kissed away my tears and joked with a bloody smile.

"What are you afraid of? When I die, you can finally leave me. You should be smiling."

My heart ached for him. I surrendered to my fate.

I stayed quietly by his side.

Three years passed. My universe had shrunk until it only contained him.

Now, I did not take the bank card he offered.

My fingers twisted together nervously.

"You are not feeling well. Just rest early."

I turned and fled back to our shared master bedroom.

This time, he did not follow me.

That night, I waited in bed for a very long time.

Rowan never walked through the door.

Usually, he was addicted to my body.

He was obsessed. He would crawl onto the mattress and kiss me with religious devotion, from my toes all the way up to my neck.

Through the wall, I heard the sound of running water in the bathroom.

I slipped out of bed barefoot.

Taking a deep breath, I stripped off every piece of clothing.

I pushed the bathroom door open slowly.

Inside, the thick steam could not hide his sculpted physique.

Broad shoulders. Chiseled abs trailing down his lean waist. And on his back, a terrifying, jagged scar that looked like a giant centipede.

He got that scar saving my life.

Hearing the door, he glanced over his shoulder.

When his eyes dragged over my naked body, they darkened instinctively.

His Adam's apple bobbed. It was a dead giveaway that he was turned on.

But just as I braced for him to pull me into the water...

He spun around, snatched a towel from the rack, and wrapped it securely around his waist.

"Who gave you permission to come in?"

I panicked. He had never spoken to me like that.

"I... I thought you liked it."

The old Rowan absolutely loved it.

He used to coax and beg me daily just to share a bath.

Now, his lips pressed into a thin line. He looked like he was suppressing sheer disgust.

"Have you no shame?"

"What?"

He turned his head away. His jaw clenched in restraint.

"Get out and put your clothes on."

I could not hold back anymore. I bolted from the room.

Ten minutes later, the bathroom door finally clicked open.

I heard his footsteps pause outside the master bedroom. Then, they faded down the hall.

Early the next morning, Rowan's assistant, Nolan, found me.

He held out a set of keys.

And the bank card I had refused the night before.

"Mr. Lockwood's orders. The new apartment is fully furnished. You can move in anytime."

I kept my head down. My eyes burned with fresh tears.

Taking a shaky breath, I looked up at him.

"Nolan, tell me the truth. Is the company in trouble? Is he sick?"

Pity softened Nolan's eyes.

"The boss is perfectly fine. Everything is fine."

I refused to believe it.

"If he is fine, he would never throw me away."

Seeing my red, swollen eyes, Nolan sighed heavily.

He pressed the items into my palm.

"I work for Mr. Lockwood. I probably shouldn't be saying this.

"But feelings come and go. Luckily, the boss is generous.

"Take what he gives you. Don't be foolish and reject it."

The jagged edges of the keys dug into my skin.

"When does he want me out?"

Nolan looked away, unable to meet my gaze.

"Today."

So rushed?

He could not even tolerate me for one more night.

I forced a bitter smile and whispered a soft okay.

I had a lot of things.

All bought by him.

Rowan was incredibly wealthy and never stingy with me.

Over the years, almost as if to compensate me, he bought anything I showed even a sliver of interest in, completely ignoring the price tags.

I did not want to take advantage of him, but I also could not bear to leave my past behind.

I sifted through my belongings, packing only the most important items.

While cleaning out a desk drawer in the study, I noticed a hidden safe.

I frowned.

I knew almost every inch of this house.

But I had never seen this safe before.

On pure instinct, I typed in my birthday. The heavy metal door popped open with a click.

I blinked and peered inside.

No gold bars. No hidden jewels. Just a stack of notebooks.

The pages were yellowed with age.

I pulled them out and realized they were Rowan's diaries.

The pages were packed with dense handwriting. It was all about me.

There were seven notebooks in total.

I checked the dates. The earliest entry was from seven years ago.

But that was impossible.

Seven years ago, I was still in high school. We didn't even know each other.

Confused, I kept reading. That was when I realized our history went back much further than I thought.

Back then, he was just a broke kid making deliveries to pay for his tuition.

He got into a bad accident on his bike, and I helped him out.

Since that day, he could not get me out of his head. Whenever he felt depressed or hit a wall in his career, he would stand outside my dorm building just to catch a glimpse of me.

From a poor boy watching from the shadows.

To a billionaire standing proudly by my side.

It took him four years.

I had only meant to skim the pages.

Before I knew it, the afternoon sun was streaming through the window.

I touched my cheeks. They were completely soaked with tears.

When I stood up, a velvet ring box tumbled out from between the pages of the oldest diary.

A gorgeous, intricately cut diamond ring rested inside.

My mind flashed back to two months ago. Rowan kept kissing my fingers.

He even measured my ring size while I was asleep.

So all this time...

I could not just sit there. I threw everything back into my bag.

I had to find him.

Every employee at Rowan's company knew my face.

I took the private elevator straight to the top floor.

I shoved the heavy oak doors to his office wide open.

"Rowan, we need to talk."

The words barely left my mouth when I saw a young woman scrambling off his lap.

She hastily adjusted her wrinkled blouse right in front of me.

My blood turned to ice.

Yet, in that absurdly painful moment, a strange memory surfaced.

A few months ago, at a corporate dinner, a female client deliberately brushed her fingers against his hand while pouring wine.

Rowan had snapped. He stormed out of the restaurant immediately.

When he got home, he scrubbed his hands raw and knelt before me, crying that he was filthy.

I finally had to kiss every single inch of his skin to calm him down.

Things had changed. I never imagined he would let another woman get this close.

"Who let you in!" he roared.

"Are the security guards dead?"

His secretary rushed in, trembling. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Lockwood. I didn't know..."

"Get out!"

The secretary backed away and looked at me. "Ms. Avery?"

I did not move. I was terrifyingly calm.

I looked straight at him. "I just have a few questions. I'll leave as soon as you answer them."

Rowan stared at me. Finally, he yielded.

He led me into the adjoining conference room, slowly buttoning his dress shirt.

"You have three minutes. Speak."

I slid the diaries and the diamond ring across the table. "What is this?"

He frowned, picked them up, and flipped through the pages carelessly.

"What exactly are you trying to prove with this?"

"You were going to propose, weren't you?"

He stayed silent.

"I refuse to believe your love just vanished overnight. There has to be a reason. Just tell me the truth."

A beat passed.

Then, Rowan laughed.

"Avery, did all those years locked up in my house give you Stockholm syndrome?"

"Before we make this official, do you want me to hire a shrink for you?"

He pulled a sleek silver lighter from his pocket.

His tone dripped with casual mockery.

"If you think a few pathetic journals prove I still care about you..."

His thumb flicked the wheel.

A bright flame danced from the metal.

"...then I'll just burn them."

The yellowed paper caught fire instantly, the flames eating away the memories.

I gasped. "What are you doing?"

Ignoring my panic, he kept talking.

"Let it go. A few burnt books won't change my mind.

"Avery, I was sick for too many years. I want to be normal now. I want a normal relationship.

"You saw the girl out there. She's younger, she's prettier. We are done."

Black ash floated into the air, carried by the AC breeze.

My only thought was that I had to save those pages.

I lunged forward and snatched the burning book. Searing pain shot up my arm, lighting up my nerve endings.

Rowan's mask finally cracked. Raw, unfiltered panic flooded his eyes.

He grabbed my waist and pulled me back. "Are you insane?!"

I managed to stamp out the fire before my brain registered the agony.

The pain was so intense I blacked out.

I woke up groggy to the sound of arguing.

"What kind of host body did you stick me in? The guy is a total psycho."

"Did you read those diaries? Absolute garbage! A grown man playing the devoted saint. He really thought he was Romeo."

"And that woman is just as crazy. Locked up for three years, and when she gets a free pass, she refuses to leave. Pathetic."

I peeled my eyes open.

Rowan was slumped on the hospital sofa.

He looked incredibly annoyed.

The room was empty, but he was muttering to someone unseen.

"Look, let's just drop the breakup with Avery."

"I only borrowed this body to complete the system's mission. I don't want a murder on my hands."

"I actually don't hate her. Let's just keep her in the villa. She's a spineless little canary anyway. She won't cause any trouble."

My ears perked up.

I quietly digested every single word.

Once the room went completely silent, I slowly opened my eyes.

Hearing the sheets rustle, he rushed to my side.

"You're awake?"

I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through my left hand.

"Don't move. Your burns haven't healed."

I finally noticed the heavy gauze wrapped around my arm.

He helped me prop up some pillows and turned to pour a glass of water.

"I want hot milk," I said softly.

He smiled, gently taking my uninjured hand.

"Of course. I'll buy you whatever you want."

My heart turned to absolute ice.

I am severely lactose intolerant.

Dairy sends me straight to the ER.

Rowan knew my body better than I did.

For years, he inspected every single thing I ate or drank.

I casually slipped my hand out of his grip and forced a weak smile.

"Thanks, honey."

My arm injury did not restrict my daily life.

But 'Rowan' insisted on hiring a private nurse.

She was a woman in her fifties, highly efficient.

Seeing him sit by my bed all day, she whispered to me with envy.

"You don't see men as devoted as Mr. Lockwood anymore."

"My husband never spends a fraction of that time on me."

I gave her a hollow smile.

What she didn't know was that the real Rowan cherished me like his own life.

Forget a severe burn. If I bumped my knee on a table, he would kiss the bruise for hours.

He would never trust anyone else to take care of me.

A week later, I was discharged.

He had already ordered his men to unpack all my bags at the villa.

He spoke to me like a generous king granting a pardon.

"Since you refuse to leave, just keep living here."

Originally, when he burned the diaries, I truly intended to walk away.

But now, I had to stay.

I needed to find out where my real Rowan had gone.

From that day on, the fake Rowan fell into a routine of leaving early and coming back late.

He never mentioned the girl I caught him with.

He didn't bring it up.

So I didn't ask.

But that didn't mean I was blind.

At noon, I packed some high-end takeout into a fancy bento box.

I took a cab to his office building.

Instead of calling him, I rang Nolan.

"I made lunch for him. Could you bring it up to his office?"

"I also grabbed coffee for the team. Thanks for helping."

The bags were heavy. Nolan took them with a frown.

"Why not just call the boss yourself?"

"I'm afraid of walking in on... something again. Better not make him mad."

Nolan gave me that look of profound pity again. After a long pause, he sighed.

"The girl's name is Brooke. She's a new intern."

"But it's weird. Before the final hiring list was even posted, Mr. Lockwood insisted on putting her in the executive suite. It was like he knew she was coming."

During my time with the real Rowan, he was fiercely loyal.

He gave me daily reports on every single person he interacted with without me ever asking.

I knew everyone in his circle.

Brooke definitely was not one of them.

Seeing my silence, Nolan rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't mind my big mouth. Just... look out for yourself, okay?"

"Call me if you ever need help."

I nodded and gave him a sincere thank you.

That evening, 'Rowan' surprisingly came home early.

"Why didn't you call me when you dropped by the office?"

I lowered my eyes. "I didn't want to interrupt your work."

I probably looked incredibly pathetic.

A flicker of sympathy crossed his face.

"The lunch was great. Really delicious," he said.

"But I want you to have your own life. Don't just revolve around me."

I nodded obediently. "Okay."

He could not resist patting my head.

Since I had nothing real to say to this imposter, I took a shower and went to bed early.

Not long after I laid down, I heard footsteps pacing outside my door.

He was hesitating.

I held my breath and listened closely. I could barely make out his whispers.

"I just feel sorry for her. Look how obedient she was today. If I don't sleep in there, she'll overthink it."

"I'm doing this for the mission. You don't want my cover blown either, right?"

"Relax, I'm not a freak like Rowan. I'm not gonna touch another man's girl."

A moment later, the door creaked open.

I clamped my eyes shut, pretending to be fast asleep.

He slipped under the covers beside me.

Seeing me asleep, he seemed to let out a huge breath of relief.

He leaned close to my neck and took a deep inhale, sighing in satisfaction.

"Smells amazing."

Lately, his attitude toward me had definitely shifted.

From initial disgust to gradual acceptance.

He even moved out of the guest room and back into the master suite.

But my feelings were the exact opposite.

Every night sharing a bed with him felt like sleeping next to a corpse. It was revolting.

However, there was some good news.

His 'system mission' was going exceptionally well.

I figured that out through Nolan.

The assistant wore his heart on his sleeve. Every time he saw me, he looked unbearably guilty, as if he were the one cheating on me.

One afternoon, the guilt became too much for him.

After taking my 'homemade' lunch, he dropped a heavy hint.

"The boss is going on a business trip to the neighboring city for a few days. He's taking an assistant."

"Parentheses, that assistant is not me."

So it was the intern.

I nodded to show I understood.

When I didn't react, he added quietly, "The downtown apartment is fully cleared of formaldehyde. Are you really not gonna move in?"

I shook my head slowly.

Actually, the villa I was living in was legally transferred to my name three years ago.

If anyone was getting kicked out, it wouldn't be me.

A few days later, 'Rowan' casually brought up the trip.

When the real Rowan traveled, regardless of the distance, he dragged me with him.

He had severe touch starvation. If he couldn't hold me, he panicked.

So, even knowing the answer, I played my part.

"Honey, do you want me to go with you?"

He blinked in surprise. "You want to come?"

I ducked my head, playing shy. "I'm just afraid you'll miss me."

His expression became visibly conflicted. After a long silence, he cleared his throat.

"It's strictly business. You don't need to come."

I nodded eagerly. "Then I'll wait right here for you to come home."

Wait for the real Rowan to come home, I meant.

The minute he left, I grabbed his black card and went on a shopping spree.

I never noticed it when he was around.

But now that he was gone, I actually missed him.

So, I picked out several pieces of highly scandalous lace lingerie.

The exact kind Rowan used to beg on his knees for me to wear.

The silk was exquisite, and the price tags were astronomical.

Thinking about how these expensive pieces usually ended up shredded in Rowan's aggressive grip made my heart ache a little.

When I got home, I laid my loot across the bed and tried them on one by one.

Seductive eyes.

Flawless curves.

No wonder the man was addicted to me.

I was just about to change into the next set when the front door clicked open.

At this hour... was it him?

He was back so soon!

Suppressing my joy, I bolted out of the bedroom.

"Honey, you're"

The words died in my throat.

Wrong.

The eyes were wrong.

When my Rowan looked at me, his gaze was dark, obsessive, and overflowing with desperate love.

The man standing before me looked shocked, and then his eyes clouded with pure, dirty lust.

It made my skin crawl.

Covering up now would look too suspicious.

I forced myself to stay calm. "Honey, why are you back? I thought you were on a trip."

"I figured you'd cry without me, so I rebooked my flight."

Damn it.

That meant the mission wasn't finished.

Hiding my bitter disappointment, I forced a bright smile. "That's great! Let me go change real quick."

I tried to step backward into the bedroom.

But he moved faster.

He snaked an arm around my waist from behind.

"Don't change. I like this one."

My heart plummeted. My muscles locked up.

He leaned directly into my ear.

"Did you buy this just to please me?"

He was too close.

I smelled stale alcohol mixed with cheap women's perfume on his collar.

Nausea clawed at my throat.

"I was just trying it on..."

Before I could finish, his lips dragged across my neck.

"Seriously, did you put a hex on me?"

"Why do I have zero interest in touching any other woman but you?"

At that exact second, a robotic alarm blared in the air.

[Warning. Host has violated Transmigration Rule 384. Intimate contact with anyone other than the designated target is strictly prohibited.]

[Stop immediately!]

"I am Rowan now, and she is my woman," he growled.

"Claiming her is my right. If I fail, so be it. I'm not going back to my old life anyway."

His grip on my waist tightened brutally.

Panic fully set in. I clenched my jaw, swung my arm, and slapped him across the face with everything I had.

Smack!

The next second, he froze completely.

He touched his stinging cheek, his eyes wide, pure, and utterly confused.

"Wife?!"

"Why did you hit me?"

He looked down, taking in my lingerie, and blinked.

Then, he tilted his other cheek toward me.

"Here."

"Hit this side too."

Holy shit!

My beautiful psycho was back!

I couldn't even process my own emotions.

I practically climbed him like a tree, sobbing hysterically and wiping tears all over his expensive shirt.

Rowan instantly panicked.

"What's wrong?"

"Okay, okay, don't cry. Shh, don't cry."

"I'm here. Your husband is right here."

It took a long time for me to finally calm down.

He told me he had been locked in a dark, empty void.

"Most of the time I was unconscious. I could only catch glimpses of the outside world through his perspective."

"Earlier, I thought I heard your voice. I heard something about you wearing a beautiful nightgown, so I fought like hell to open my eyes."

His eyes dragged over my body with zero restraint.

"You look gorgeous."

I was speechless.

It figures.

The only thing that could summon a psycho was psycho energy.

That night, the lingerie met its usual fate.

Torn to shreds in his hands.

Reunited after so long, he completely lost his mind.

I didn't even know how I finally passed out.

Half asleep, I felt a wet tongue trailing over the burn scar on my arm.

It tickled. I tried to pull away.

He sighed heavily against my skin.

"Protect yourself."

"It breaks my heart."

When I regained consciousness, the body beside me was still warm.

Out of pure habit, I nuzzled into his chest.

But he didn't wrap his arms around me like a golden retriever.

Confused, I looked up.

I met a pair of calculating, unfamiliar eyes.

My blood ran cold.

Rowan.

He was gone again.

Rowan briefly seizing control of his body served as a massive warning to the transmigrator.

Gavin did not dare touch me again.

He kept his distance cautiously.

One night, I woke up thirsty.

I walked into the hallway and noticed the light glowing under the study door.

Inside, the man's impatient voice carried through the crack.

"Why did I suddenly black out? Why did he wake up? Have your engineers figured it out yet?"

[This is unprecedented. Technical support is running a diagnostic.]

[But I warned you before. This host, Rowan, has exceptionally high mental fortitude.]

[Especially regarding Avery. You must not touch her.]

[Just complete your mission obediently, and we can both return to our original world.]

"And what about Avery?"

The system paused. [What about her?]

"If I leave, that psycho gets his body back and keeps controlling her life."

The system sounded bewildered. [Why do you care?]

The man scoffed.

"As long as I occupy this body, she is my responsibility."

"I'd rather stay stuck here forever than abandon her to a control freak."

[???]

[You're just doing a dating sim mission. Where did this sudden superhero complex come from?]

"What did you say?"

[Nothing. Do whatever makes you happy, sir.]

I waited until the room fell dead silent before tiptoeing back to bed.

My mind raced.

Slowly, a crazy plan began to form.

If my touch was the key to waking Rowan up.

Then I would go all in.

I decided to seduce him.

No.

I decided to seduce the transmigrator.

Since the last incident, Gavin had been sleeping in the guest room.

The next night, right as he was getting ready for bed, I changed into a silk slip. It wasn't overly scandalous, but it clung to every curve of my body perfectly.

I spent an hour doing 'no-makeup' makeup.

I knocked softly on the guest room door.

"Honey, are you asleep?"

The man reading in bed looked up and froze.

"What are you doing here?"

"I can't sleep."

I padded barefoot across the thick carpet.

My heart hammered against my ribs. I had never done anything like this before.

He closed his book and took off his gold-rimmed glasses.

"What do you want?"

"You haven't touched me in so long."

I looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Are you not attracted to me anymore?"

I let my fingers trail lightly down his chest.

After surviving my intense relationship with the real Rowan, I knew every single sensitive spot on this body like the back of my hand.

The soul was fake, but the nerve endings were real.

His breathing hitched immediately.

I pressed my advantage, swinging a leg over his hips to straddle him.

His eyes darkened violently.

He grabbed my wrists.

A low groan rumbled in his chest. "Wife, keep touching."

That shameless, hungry look.

Who else could it be?

I knew the bastard couldn't resist!

Since my Rowan was back, the seduction was officially canceled.

I scrambled to get off his lap.

He clamped his hands tightly on my waist and pulled me flush against him.

"Where are you going?"

"Why stop now?"

Furious, I smacked him right on his painfully obvious erection.

"Is this really the time for that?!"

He let out a sharp hiss.

Then he grabbed my hand and dragged his tongue across my palm.

"I need a cold shower."

To prevent him from going feral again, I quickly changed into flannel pajamas and sat cross-legged on the bed waiting for him.

A few minutes later, he walked out.

He had taken a freezing military shower.

I rapidly relayed all the intel I gathered.

"The fake guy says he wants to save me."

I rolled my eyes. "Is that the catch? If I leave, his mission is successful?"

"What should I do? Should I actually pack up and cut ties with you?"

He went totally silent.

Then he murmured, "It has nothing to do with you."

"Huh?"

He explained.

"Since I woke up last time, my periods of lucidity are getting longer.

"While I was trapped, I saw his memories."

"His name is Gavin. A broke college grad with too much pride and zero work ethic.

"Before he crossed over, his girlfriend dumped him for being a lazy loser. He got evicted and was sleeping on the streets. That's when the system pulled him in."

"He has absolutely nothing holding him to his original world. He never planned on going back."

His own life was a miserable failure.

Coming here, he instantly became a billionaire CEO.

Endless money. Supreme power.

A perfect body and a handsome face.

It was the ultimate reset button.