I Work for the Bureau of Dimensional Affairs: Losing the Bet to Forget You

As a senior agent for the Bureau of Dimensional Affairs, I was assigned to a romance novel universe where I fell in love with the gentle second male lead.

I became his salvation, cherished him, and even gave up my interdimensional career to stay in this world as he tearfully begged me to.

But when the original female lead found herself in danger, he abandoned me without a second thought.

He told me that she was his unattainable treasure, the one he could never let go of.

He said that after half a lifetime, his memories with her still kept him warm.

What he didnt know was that the very moment he turned his back on me, I lost my bet.

And the price for losing was to forget him entirelyand start over.

1.

At my engagement party with Arthur Vance, the crystal chandelier above us suddenly shattered.

Shards of glass exploded through the air, reflecting blinding shards of light.

Arthurs pupils shrank. Without a moment of hesitation, he lunged to the side, throwing his body over Luna Hayes.

Amidst the screaming and chaos, he frantically asked her, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Luna leaned weakly against his chest. "I'm fine..."

Still visibly panicked, Arthur stared at her for a long time, scanning her for injuries before letting out a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Ihis actual fiancehad been knocked hard to the floor. Shards of glass were embedded in my arm, beads of blood seeping through the fabric of my dress. Yet, no one was looking at me.

I looked down at my bleeding arm, the jagged glass glinting in the wound.

I was never someone with a high pain tolerance, but in that moment, the overwhelming numbness washing over my heart made the physical agony feel almost distant.

"Arthur..." I said softly. "It hurts."

Arthur froze, finally noticing I was there. He furrowed his brows and took a step toward me to help me up, but Luna grabbed his sleeve.

"My head is spinning," she whispered pitifully.

Arthurs attention instantly snapped back to her. He threw a quick glance my way and said dismissively, "I need to get Luna to the ER. Your cut doesnt look too badhave someone get you a first-aid kit."

With that, he scooped Luna up into his arms and sprinted toward the exit.

A lot of people had told me that Arthur Vance was a man of intense, passionate warmth.

When he loved someone, his devotion was so raw and sincere it could melt a heart of stone. When he loved me, I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

But this time, he didn't choose me. He poured all that fierce, protective love onto someone else.

The banquet hall fell dead silent. Our friends and family didn't dare make a sound.

After a long pause, Lunas older sister, Stella, let out a sharp scoff.

"I guess Arthur still cares about our Luna just as much as he used to," she sneered, her eyes locked on me. "Don't take it personally, Hazel. They grew up together. Youve only known Arthur for a few years. Its perfectly normal for him to react this way."

Right. How perfectly normal. The devoted second male lead choosing the female protagonist.

2.

My history with Arthur Vance was complicated.

I was a senior agent at the Bureau of Dimensional Affairs, tasked with hopping between parallel universes to complete assignments.

I had seen millions of worlds, but I had never stopped to rest in any of themuntil I met Arthur, the tragic second male lead of this novels universe. He made me want to stop running.

He was the unloved, illegitimate son of the wealthy Vance family, silently harboring a deep, unrequited love for the female lead, Luna.

Because he was gentle and kind, he naturally lost out to the arrogant, billionaire male protagonist. In the original plot, Arthur was destined to die young, consumed by depression and regret.

I originally approached him just to complete my mission: saving the doomed supporting character.

I pulled him out of the toxic swamp that was the Vance family. I held his hand and taught him how to build his own tech startup, how to fight for his rightful inheritance, and how to love himself.

"You don't need to drown in the misery of unrequited love," I told him. "You can be the best version of yourself."

It took seven years. He transformed from a despised outcast into the powerful head of the Vance empire, standing toe-to-toe with the original male lead. My mission was officially a resounding success.

But when he found out I was leaving, his eyes went red. "I don't want you to go. Stay with me. Please?"

The system in my head screamed frantic warnings: There is a massive price to pay for staying in a host world! Think this through!

I knew the risks. But looking at him, my heart softened.

I accepted his proposal. I promised to stay by his side forever.

He jumped up and down, cheering like a little boy who had just won the world.

I truly believed he loved me. I believed he had fallen for the woman who saved him.

That was, until the engagement party, when Lunathe original female lead who had just moved back from abroadmade her smiling entrance.

The moment Arthur saw her, the look in his eyes completely shifted.

His gaze was so tangled, so steeped in a tragic, profound longing.

He was still in love with the girl he could never have. And the second she was in danger, he abandoned his fiance without a second thought.

But what about me? What about the seven years I spent by his side? What about the fact that I gave up everything to stay here for him?

Faced with Stellas mocking sneer, I didn't have the energy to fight back.

I was nothing but a joke.

3.

After having the hotel staff patch up my arm, I went home alone to wait for Arthur.

I waited from noon until the dead of night. Finally, the familiar sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Arthur walked in, looking utterly exhausted. Seeing me sitting on the couch, he looked a bit guilty. "Why are you still awake?"

I lifted my bandaged arm, trying to keep my voice light. "It hurts too much. I couldn't sleep."

"Are you mad that I helped Luna first? Hazel, Luna isn't like you. She's fragile, she gets hurt so easily. I was terrified something terrible would happen to her..." Arthur explained nervously. "You aren't going to hold this against me, right?"

How could I not be mad?

It was true that I used to be different from Luna.

As a Bureau agent, I had abilities that defied human limits. I wouldn't have batted an eye at a falling chandelierhell, I wouldn't have flinched at a speeding truck.

But I surrendered all of that power the day I chose to stay for Arthur.

Now, I was completely mortal. I bruise. I bleed.

If my luck had been slightly worse today, that glass could have killed me. But Arthur never once stopped to worry about that.

Before I could even form a response, Arthurs phone rang.

He glanced at the screen, muttered a quick "I have to take this," and walked into the bedroom.

I couldn't help but follow him. Standing by the door, I clearly heard Luna's voice on speakerphone.

"Arthur, I had a nightmare," she cried softly. "Can you come keep me company?"

Arthur's voice instantly melted into distress. "Don't be scared. I'm on my way."

Luna hesitated. "But... won't Hazel be angry?"

Arthur paused for a split second before answering with absolute certainty, "No. She would never blame me."

Right. Because I loved him so much. Because I had done so much for him.

Because I threw away my entire existence just to stay trapped in this world for him.

He was so certain I would never blame him, which meant he felt completely free to hurt me without consequence.

But tonight, I was done tolerating it.

I stepped out and blocked his path to the door. "If you walk out that door right now, don't ever come back."

Arthur frowned, impatiently pushing past my shoulder. "Can't we have a little more trust in this relationship? I seriously don't know why you've become so paranoid lately!"

That sentence was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

My eyes welled with tears. I looked him dead in the eye. "A long time ago, you asked me if there was a price for choosing to stay in this world. I'm answering you now: Yes. There is."

When he had asked me that question years ago, he was a man whose entire universe revolved around me. He was terrified, gentle, desperate to make sure I wouldn't be hurt.

Because I didn't want him to worry, I lied and told him there was no cost.

Hearing my words now, Arthur froze.

His lips parted, as if he wanted to say something.

But his phone chimed again. His expression tightened, and he brushed past me, rushing toward the door. "We'll talk about this later! I need to go check on Luna!"

Twice in one day. He still didn't choose me.

4.

The Bureau of Dimensional Affairs is an agency governed by a divine entity.

Its employees are all souls who have died in their original worlds, deployed in spiritual form to execute missions across the multiverse.

Because of this, it is strictly forbidden for an agent to permanently reside in a host world.

When I submitted my resignation to stay, the AI system and my colleagues nearly lost their minds.

They asked me, "What is so great about Arthur Vance that you're willing to sacrifice half your soul for him?"

It was true. To sever my ties with the Bureau, I had to violently rip the system out of my consciousness. The process was agonizing, and it nearly destroyed my soul.

I probably wouldn't have survived it, but that day, I happened to cross paths with my ultimate bossthe legendary God who ran the Bureau.

The God had looked down at me with pity, brushing a hand over my hair with a faint smile.

"Why don't we make a bet?" he offered.

"Seven years. If, in seven years, Arthur Vance is still deeply in love with you, you can stay in this world forever."

"And if he stops loving me?" I asked.

The God replied, "Then you pay the price."

The price was that all my memories of Arthur would be erased.

I agreed without a second thought. Back then, I was absolutely certain I would win.

Because Arthur loved me so intensely.

This fiercely proud man had dropped to his knees, sobbing, begging me not to leave.

When I told him I didn't want kids, he faced the wrath of the entire Vance family just to promise me we would remain child-free forever.

His eyes used to sparkle as he told me, "Hazel is my most precious treasure."

But as time slipped by, that warm, devoted love slowly eroded. Maybe he still loved me in his own way, but he couldn't erase Lunathe golden girl he had been destined by the universe to chase.

As the sound of the front door slamming echoed in the quiet house, my memories of Arthur violently blurred for a fraction of a second.

In that fleeting moment, a suffocating wave of heartbreak and bitter regret washed over me.

I stood frozen in the hallway for a long time. Finally, I grabbed my car keys and drove straight to the hospital where Luna was staying.

5.

When I reached the door of Luna's VIP suite, she was clinging to Arthur's arm, whining for him to peel an apple for her.

"Stop messing around, I'm an engaged man," Arthur said, though his tone was fond and helpless. Ultimately, he caved, carefully slicing the fruit and handing it to her on a small plate.

Then, I heard Luna ask him, "Arthur, if I said I regretted it... if I said I still have feelings for you... would you... come back to me?"

Her voice was laced with desperation. Outside the door, I stopped breathing.

What would Arthur say?

After a painfully long silence, Arthurs gentle voice echoed through the room. "Luna, we can't go back to how things were."

Luna's eyes dimmed, and Arthur immediately rushed to comfort her. "But you will always be my Luna. I will never, ever forget the time we spent together. Even after I marry Hazel, you will always hold a special place in my heart."

He had no idea I was standing right outside the door, biting down on my lip so hard I tasted copper, just to keep from sobbing out loud.

Years of sacrifice. Years of standing by his side through the darkest moments of his life. And it still couldn't compare to the pristine moonlight of his first love.

The female lead would always live rent-free in the second male lead's heart, no matter what happened.

Arthur was still talking. "Hazel loves me deeply. She won't mind if I take care of you. If you ever need anything, you can always come to me..."

I did love him deeply.

And the one who loves more is always the one forced to bow their head.

The fracturing in my brain grew violent. Arthur's face in my mind was rapidly dissolving into static.

Trembling uncontrollably, I stumbled away from the door, sprinting desperately toward the hospital exit.

By the time I reached the main lobby, the agonizing surge of vertigo forced me to a halt. My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the polished tile floor.

A familiar figure suddenly stepped into my blurred line of sight. Long, elegant fingers held out a single, perfectly blooming red rose. A voice spoke in a melodic, highly amused tone:

"Darling, you lost."

I did. I lost.

A blinding flash of white light consumed my vision, and I blacked out.