No Way Home

Scarlett Poole’s voice was icy. “Ten million on the insane father and son to die.”

The crowd broke out in laughter, shaking their heads.

There were clearly no winners in this game.

Anyone with limited mobility and a child strapped on their back would have trouble evading the pack of hyenas and young, aggressive NPC pursuers.

However, Scarlett couldn’t care less. She simply slid a stack of high-roller chips onto the table.

“Ten million bucks to keep my Jayden happy.”

“You’re the queen, Scarlett. You just dropped ten mil on your lover boy, but I believe your husband’s wedding band only cost a grand. He’d cry his eyes out if he ever finds out. Hahaha!”

Scarlett lit a cigar for Jayden Cast while uttering matter-of-factly, “Lovers are meant to be spoiled. Damian is sensible and frugal. A credit card with a modest limit is enough to make his day.”

Listening to her voice, I could hardly reconcile the woman speaking with the loving wife I knew.

Through eight years together, I stood by her side as she built an empire, growing from a broke college student into a self-made billionaire.

When she dropped to one knee to propose with a thousand-dollar plain ring, Scarlett could barely hold the box through her sobs.

I pulled her into a kiss and said yes with a smile while holding my hand out for the ring.

Here I thought we had the fairy-tale romance everybody envied, but I never dreamed she’d been keeping a side piece for five years.

To make the ten million bet worthwhile, the NPC of the game shoved a hood over my head, hauled me up by the rope around my neck, and showcased my vitals to the camera from all angles.

I hung there limply, my feet off the ground and dangling like a broken doll.

A vivid pool of red spread beneath my feet.

The game host projected the data onto the big panel and scoffed.

“Well, if you look at that, two heartbeats! Two hearts beating as one, now and forever.”

Through the hood, I saw Scarlett’s eyes narrowing, and her grip on Jayden loosening.

A wave of sad relief washed over me when I thought she had recognized me.

However, Scarlett simply curled her lips. “I thought my Damian was one of a kind. I didn’t expect to meet someone with the same condition.”

As she sank back into her seat, despair gripped me.

It took everything in me to gesture a sign.

It was the signal we’d come up with after I got lost at the amusement park for the first time. Back then, Scarlett looked at me, her eyes full of tenderness.

“Damian, if we ever get separated again, pull this gesture. I’ll always find you even if you wear a mask in the crowd.”

Yet the moment I used the sign for real, her eyes held nothing but disgust as Scarlett instructed the NPC to break my fingers.

“That gesture is reserved for Damian. You’re practically half-dead and still, you had the audacity to get my attention by pretending to be him.

“Release two more hyenas. That should show him.”

Foul, dripping fangs sank into my flesh. I coiled my body around my baby, screaming and rolling in the dirt as a trail of blood painted the ground.

Her best friend, Yvonne Reel, was the first to cheer, her voice dripping with envy.

“If you ask me, Damian sure has it good. He’s the luckiest man in the city to have your heart for years.

“The same thing can’t be said for this loser here. It’s his terrible luck to end up with a heartless wife.”

Amid the darkness, I pulled a wry smile.