Chapter 278
The mechanical ring of the notification left Suzy momentarily paralyzed.
Success.
Against all odds, she had finally succeeded in completely breaking Derek’s defenses. For a long, quiet moment, her mind struggled to fully process the weight of it. The sensation settling in her chest was entirely different from the hollow victory of completing Thomas’s route.
With Thomas, she had relied on a shortcut—a little outside help in the form of an affection card.
But Derek was different. Every single percentage point of his loyalty and love had been clawed out little by little through her own genuine efforts.
Both routes had concluded with a maximum score, yet the raw sense of accomplishment couldn’t have been more polarized.
Suzy had always known Derek’s affection was dangerously high, hovering just a breath away from completion for what felt like an eternity.
But ever since the system had plunged into its sudden dormancy, she had been stripped of her progress bars and real-time updates, completely blind to how close he truly was. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected the final dam to break under these specific circumstances.
Then again, looking back, it made perfect. She stretched herself thin, staying by his side through the fevered nights, neglecting her own body, and pushing herself until she literally collapsed.
If his heart hadn’t melted after witnessing that level of self-sacrifice, that would have been truly disheartening.
"Suzy?"
"Suzy!"
Three distinct voices fractured the silence, calling her name in a discordant chorus. Though her eyes were wide open, she had remained entirely unresponsive for several seconds, sending a cold spike of panic through the men crowded around her bedside.
Finally, Suzy blinked, pulling herself out of her thoughts. Her gaze drifted past the others, landing immediately on Derek—the man who had just handed her the grand prize.
"Suzy...?" Noticing her fixed attention, Derek moved closer instantly, crowding the edge of the mattress. His brilliant amber eyes locked onto her face, burning with an intense, fragile concern, as if he genuinely believed she might vanish into thin air if he dared to look away.
Slowly, feigning a deep weakness, Suzy lifted a pale hand and brushed her fingertips against the rough stubble of his cheek. "How... how are you feeling?"
Her voice was raw, a strained, raspy whisper. The sheer hoarseness of it made the simple, selfless question sound utterly heartbreaking.
The moment the words left her lips, Derek’s eyes flooded with a brilliant, painful crimson. "Mmm... Suzy..." His throat seized violently, his voice cracking as he forced the words out. "I’m fine. I’m completely fine."
Of all the things she could have said upon waking from a total physical collapse, her very first instinct was to ask about him.
A violent wave of emotion crashed over him, stinging the back of his nose. For the first time in his adult life, Derek felt a desperate, unprompted urge to weep.
She had broken herself to keep him alive. She had starved and sleeplessly guarded his bed until her body surrendered to the fatigue.
The sheer volume of gratitude, raw affection, and fiercely sweet devotion swelling inside his chest was becoming a physical weight, almost too heavy to bear.
And now, even with the fog of unconsciousness barely cleared from her brain, she was still prioritizing his well-being over her own.
How could any man remain unmoved?
Watching his eyes grow shinier by the second, Suzy let a soft, fragile smile touch the corners of her lips. Satisfied with the reaction, she turned her head slightly toward the other two figures in the room.
"I’m okay," she murmured, her tone gentle and reassuring. "Please... don’t worry."
"Are you hungry?" Leonard broke in immediately, his brow furrowed with paternal anxiety. "Do you want us to get you something to eat right away?"
She had been completely blacked out for more than half a day, and the three of them had spent every torturous hour hovering over her like sentinels. Leonard’s primary concern was her sheer lack of physical stamina—after all, she hadn’t been taking care of herself even before this crisis hit.
Suzy offered a faint, weary shake of her head, her smile remaining carefully intact.
"I’m alright, Uncle Leonard. Really. I’m not hungry." She paused, letting her eyelids droop with heavy, calculated exhaustion. "But... I’m still so tired. I think I just want to sleep a little longer."
"Then rest," Derek insisted, his grip instantly tightening around her limp hand as if anchoring her to the bed. "I’ll stay right here. I won’t leave your side."
Leonard nodded in firm agreement. "That’s right. Get some sleep, sweetheart. Your uncle will stay and keep watch over you, too."
The dual promises had barely left their mouths when both men felt a sudden, aggressive jerk at the backs of their collars.
They spun around simultaneously, glares mounting, only to find Thomas standing directly behind them. His face was a mask of cold, unreadable stone.
"Suzy needs a quiet environment," Thomas said, his voice entirely flat, brooking absolutely no argument. "We are leaving."
Only when his eyes flicked down to meet Suzy’s did the ice in his expression thaw, replaced by a fleeting trace of genuine warmth. "Get some rest," he told her softly. "I’ll take care of them outside."
Before either Derek or Leonard could voice a syllable of protest, Thomas clamped a heavy, uncompromising hand onto their shoulders and began firmly executing a forced march toward the exit.
Leonard’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief as he began to actively struggle against the grip. "What the hell are you dragging me for? I can sit beside her without making a sound! I don’t even need to—"
The heavy wooden door clicked firmly shut, cutting his muffled protests off mid-sentence.
A profound, beautiful silence finally settled over the room.
A tiny, knowing smile flickered deep within Suzy’s eyes. As expected, Thomas understood her best of all.
What she required right now wasn’t a crowded room of doting suitors or overprotective family. She needed absolute, uninterrupted peace. No Leonard. No Thomas. And no Derek.
Just herself.
Slowly, she let her eyes close entirely, pulling her consciousness inward. In the quiet theater of her mind, she spoke silently.
’System... are you awake?’
A beat of agonizing silence passed before a familiar, synthesized voice answered directly in her mind.
[Temporarily.]
A massive wave of relief flooded her system. Finally. A tangible response.
Yet, as the syllable echoed, Suzy noticed a distinct shift. The system’s voice sounded noticeably weaker than before—not fragile, exactly, but more distant. Muffled. Almost as if it were transmitting from across an unimaginable void.
Even so, simply hearing that digital tone again filled her with an intense wave of satisfaction.
’Does this mean you’ve fully recovered?’
There was a long pause before the system replied, its tone stark and devoid of its usual processing power.
[The newly acquired energy from the target’s completed route is only sufficient to sustain my standard operations for a limited window of time.]
[Warning: I will be forced to re-enter a state of deep dormancy very soon.]