Across Desolation to the Stars

I was trapped by a System, forced into a mission: save the tragic hero, Keir Vance. For him, I bore two children. For him, I drowned in a five-year fog of postpartum depression. And for five years, Keir took care of me. To the outside world, we were a story of enviable devotion. The System’s voice was a constant whisper in my ear. “See? Isn’t this happiness? A husband, children… such a perfect family. Why would you ever want to go back?” On the television in my hospital room, a news report flashed across the screen: Keir Vance, spending a fortune on his new girlfriend. That supposed girlfriend was my son’s tutor. The photo showed the three of them in a tight embrace, a perfect, happy family. For the first time in years, a genuine smile touched my lips. “He seems to have found his true love,” I said softly. “Can I go home now?” The System shrieked, its voice hysterical in my mind. “I’ve had a hundred hosts, and you are the most ungrateful one I have ever seen!” “So what if his affection for Sophia has spiked to fifty-one percent? He hasn’t divorced you, has he? He hasn’t thrown you out! That means he still loves you! Are you really going to give up after everything you’ve been through?” I managed a weak, tired smile. Five years. Five years swallowed by the suffocating darkness of depression. Countless pills. Round after round of electroshock therapy. A fine web of scars crisscrossing my wrists. My only reason for living, the single thread I clung to, was the thought of returning to my own world, to my parents. I stared at the track marks from countless needles covering my arms. My voice came out as a raw rasp. “But you promised. You said I could leave when the mission was complete.” Just as the words left my lips, a small, sweet voice came from behind me. “Mommy, are you leaving?” I froze, turning my head slowly. My daughter, Mia, stood in the doorway of my room. Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, but she forced a brave little smile. “If you leave… does that mean you won’t have to cry secretly every night anymore?” I crossed the room and pulled her into a fierce hug, the dam of my own tears finally breaking. She burrowed into my chest, her voice muffled. “If that’s the case, then you should go, Mommy. Mia will be a good girl. I’ll listen to Daddy and Aiden.” This was the daughter I had pushed away, a casualty of my depression. And yet, she was so perceptive, so kind. Her words were like a knife twisting in my heart. I wanted to go home, but how could I leave her? Suddenly, the door was kicked open. Sophia stormed in, her face a mask of fury. She marched up to me and slapped a newspaper across my face. “Mrs. Vance, I took pity on you. I helped you take care of Aiden because of your depression. Is this how you repay me?” The corner of the paper sliced my cheek, a sharp, stinging pain. I picked up the newspaper. The headline made my blood run cold. [VANCE MATRIARCH’S DEPRESSION OPENS DOOR FOR HOMEWRECKER TUTOR] The accompanying photo was the one of them on the Ferris wheel, locked in their family embrace. Sophia’s face was flushed with rage, but she stood tall, defiant. “As Aiden’s tutor, I have given him nothing but the best care and guidance. And you, instead of being grateful, you turn on me like this.” “It was your own flaunting that…” Before I could finish, my son, Aiden, burst into the room, his face contorted in anger. “I was the one who asked Miss Sophia what it felt like to have a mom! That’s why she hugged me!” he screamed at me. “You’re a psycho! Why don’t you just die? How did I end up with a mom like you?!” The color drained from my face. It felt as if all the strength had been ripped from my body. Mia stepped in front of me, her small face red with indignation. “Mommy’s not a psycho! She loves us so much! Miss Sophia is the bad one! She’s always pinching me when no one’s looking!” Aiden glared at his sister, his eyes vicious. “You’re lying! That crazy woman has already corrupted you!” Without another word, he lunged forward and shoved Mia hard. My heart seized as I watched her stumble backward. I threw myself forward to catch her. At that exact moment, Keir pushed the door open, his brow furrowing at the chaos in the room. His gaze landed on Sophia, and his voice dropped, turning cold. “Didn’t I tell you that you weren’t allowed to come here?” Sophia flinched but recovered instantly, plastering a gentle smile on her face. “A child’s education must be nurtured from a young age. I came to take Mia home. She’s old enough to begin professional instruction, not spend her days in a hospital watching over… a depressive.” Her words hung in the air, pointed and cruel. Keir’s eyes shifted to Mia. Mia clung to me, shaking her head, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t want to leave Mommy! Miss Sophia pinches me and hits me, and she tries to make me call her ‘Mama’!” Any hesitation on Keir’s face vanished, replaced by a cold, hard mask. “So instead of focusing on your treatment, you’re spending your energy slandering Sophia? You’ve even taught Mia to be a liar. It seems it’s past time she was away from your influence.” His words struck me like a physical blow. I clutched Mia tighter. “I didn’t…” “You’ve disappointed me, Clara. Deeply.” He turned to the nurse, his face a picture of strained patience. “Give Mrs. Vance a sedative. She needs to rest.” The needle pierced my skin, and a wave of weakness washed over me. Powerless, I watched as they took my daughter away. A moment later, the System’s voice buzzed in my head, practically seething. “This is all Sophia’s doing! She orchestrated the newspaper leak to frame you! She’s the one who brainwashed your son and abused your daughter! Now even Keir is on her side!” “Clara, stay and fight her! Fight for your husband, for your children!” I closed my eyes, my voice a dry whisper. “You leaked the story to the papers, didn’t you?” The System went silent. After a long pause, its voice returned, softer now, laced with an irresistible, soothing quality. “It doesn’t matter who did it. Just stay, Clara.” “Time is frozen in your original world. You can go back whenever you want. There’s no rush.” “You are Keir’s true love.” As it spoke, images of my parents flickered in my mind. But five years is a long time. So long that if I didn’t actively try to remember, their faces would begin to blur. A spike of panic shot through me. I spoke to the System, my voice firm. “I want to go home!” Before the System could protest, the phone a nurse had left for me began to ring. It was a video call. On the screen, my daughter’s face was beet red. She was crying, her voice choked with sobs. “Mommy, I’m so hot. I feel sick.” My heart twisted. I looked past her, at the electric heater on the wall behind her, its dial cranked up to a hundred and fifty degrees. My pupils contracted in horror. “Mommy, I can’t breathe. Daddy and Aiden went out. Miss Sophia told me to be a good girl and do my homework.” I fought down my rising panic, soothing her as best I could. The second I hung up, I ran. I didn’t even stop for shoes. I flew out of the hospital like a madwoman. The taxi hadn’t even come to a full stop when I leaped out and started pounding on the front door of our house. The door opened quickly. Sophia stood there in a pristine white dress, a look of perfect, polite confusion on her face. “Mrs. Vance? This late, you…” I shoved her aside and sprinted for my daughter’s bedroom. The door was locked. From inside, I could hear faint, shallow breaths and weak cries. “Mrs. Vance, the child is doing her homework. Barging in like this will only disrupt her concentration.” Seeing her put on this sickening act, raw fury burned through me. I raised my hand and slapped her, hard, across the face. Then I turned to the maids, who had come running at the sound. “The key!” I screamed. They just stared at each other, then looked helplessly toward Sophia. Just then, footsteps sounded on the stairs. Keir was home. He looked surprised to see me, but his gaze fell on Sophia’s red, swollen cheek, and his face instantly darkened. “Clara, what the hell are you doing?!” Sophia swayed, leaning against him, her body trembling as she put on a brave front. “Keir, I know Mrs. Vance is unwell. For five years, I have tried to be patient. I have helped raise your children.” “But it’s clear she will never be grateful. Perhaps it’s time for me to leave.” Keir looked at me, at my wild eyes and disheveled state, and rubbed the bridge of his nose in weary frustration. “Clara, I am begging you, please stop this.” “I have taken care of you for so long. I have done more than enough. Can’t you just be normal for once?” “After all these years… I can’t take it anymore.” I’m the one acting crazy? Tears streamed down my face, but my laugh was desolate. I was the one who pulled him out of the darkness. The day his company went public, he swore he would love me forever. I really thought I had found true love in this world. I had even considered choosing him over my own parents. And now, he couldn’t take it anymore. In the next second, Aiden shot out like a cannonball, slamming into me and sending me tumbling down the stairs. “How dare you hit Miss Sophia! I’ll hit you back for her!” My head cracked against the wall at the bottom of the staircase. Blood blurred my vision. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony ripping through my heart. I staggered to my feet, staring at Aiden in disbelief. The hatred and disgust in his eyes were a mirror, reflecting my shattered heart back at me. I had almost died giving birth to him. His birth was the trigger for my depression. But in my moments of clarity, I would hold him all night, my heart melting with a love so fierce it hurt. I gave him all the love I had. And for Sophia, he had just tried to kill me. And Keir… Keir just stood there. He didn’t move. My voice was a raw croak. “Mia is in there! It’s a hundred and fifty degrees! I’m begging you, just let her out!” Seeing the cold indifference on Keir’s face, I crawled to him, grabbing at the leg of his pants. “Please. My baby is in there.”