1017 Chapter 1 Suddenly , his wet , red - rimmed eyes locked onto the exact spot where I stood . Our gazes met , and my heart gave a violent lurch . But in the next second , Christina leaned down to check on him , and he looked up at her , forcing a reassuring smile . All the fight went out of me , I didn't even have the energy to argue anymore . Alistair liked it . He liked it . What right did I have to say he didn't ? 5 10:17 ( 3 Christina bounced over to Alistair , as cheerful as ever . He had started watching her for long stretches of time , his thumb and forefinger rubbing together on the armrest of his wheelchair , a gesture of intense , restrained emotion . This time , he took her to the place where we had first lived together . The tiny , rundown apartment where our only goal had been to survive . Back then , he was still an unacknowledged illegitimate son , his legs recently broken by his own mother in a fit of madness . She would lock him in a dark , stuffy closet and whip him with thorned branches , screaming that he was a jinx who had driven his father away . When I first arrived in this world , Alistair's legs were beyond saving . He was sitting in the darkness , holding the body of his mother , who had just taken her own life . His eyes were empty , filled with a suffocating gloom . That was a past he had never shared with anyone but me . It seemed Alistair was truly ready to build a life with her , willing to tear open his old wounds and show her the bloody , raw history he kept hidd- en . Christina's expression soured as she looked around the cramped apartment . She stopped in the middle of the room and said bluntly , " I don't like this place . " Before starting her mission , Christina must have studied his file thoroughly . She knew about me , the failed Player who had cared for him here . Alistair was staring at the closet , a cold , mocking smile on his lips . " I never liked it either . Someone was delusional , a fool who thought their one - sided affection meant something . Pathetic . " Christina froze for a second , her hands clenching into fists . Her eyes reddened with a look of humiliation . " Alistair , the past is the past . All that despair and helplessness ... I'll face it with you . We don't need anyone else . " For the first time , her usual bright , unbending confidence seemed to fade . She knelt before his wheelchair and looked up at him . " Okay ? " Who could refuse a radiant sun who was showing such vulnerability ? But Alistair's reaction was strange . His face was blank as he stared down at her for a long , unnerving moment . Long enough that Christina's eyes widened in confusion . Finally , he leaned in close , his gaze intense . " Then you have to promise me you'll stay . That you'll never abandon me . " Christina , stunned by his handsome face so close to hers , could only nod dumbly . 【 Affection level up to 99 ! 】 the System shrieked , then added smugly , 【 So he was just trying to make her jealous ! This villain knows how to flirt , making her feel sorry for him . 】 【 Dark , brooding villain ? He's just a poor , love - starved boy ! ] 【 See ? This is how you complete a mission ! ] I stood silently in the doorway , staring at a faded childhood photo of him on the wall . It was a shame a spirit couldn't wipe away the dust that had settled over the years . Just as I had been too clumsy , too foolish , to ever wipe away the dust from his heart . The System thought I would be jealous and bitter , but I wasn't . Seeing Alistair happy ... it made me happy . Happier than anyone . I had always 10:17 Chapter 1 wanted him to live well , as if he were living for the both of us . 1017 I looked at his younger self beneath the layer of grime and whispered , " Alistair , may you and the one you love have countless happy years to come . " I didn't see him turn his head away , his fingers suddenly clenching so tightly that the sleeve of his shirt pulled back , revealing a network of fresh , deep cuts on his wrist . Chapter 2 Chapter 2 10:17 After that , Alistair moved Christina into the main villa . She tapped her cheek with a finger , then deliberately chose the room that had once been mine . I followed her gaze . The room was no longer warm and inviting ; it was stark and empty . Everything of mine had indeed been burned . I had put so much care into decorating this space , joyfully and cautiously filling it with things related to him . Back then , he would glance at it coldly and say , " Is it fun , pretending your efforts matter ? " " Elara , in my eyes , you're disgusting . " Martha's face would fall . " Sir , that's Miss Elara's ... " Christina frowned , cutting her off by leaning down and pinching Alistair's cheek . " Hey , cripple . It's just us now . Are you happy ? " No one can stand the thought of their loved one holding memories of someone else . And yes , she loved him . No one could rescue a beautiful , broken boy from the depths of despair and not fall for him . Especially when that broken boy , so violent and volatile with the world , was unique- ly gentle with you . In the two years they had been together , Christina's gaze had become possessive . She would fly into a jealous rage if another woman so much as looked at him . She knew it was against the rules , but she couldn't stop herself from falling in love . She had already petitioned the System multiple times , offering all her points , for a chance to stay in this world with him forever . He looked at the empty room and said softly , " I'm happy . "