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Alice sat in silence, staring at a single spot, and from the outside it looked like someone had just switched her off, like a breaker had cut the connection between her mind and body. But that wasn’t the case at all. In front of her eyes, like scenes from an old film reel, flashed moments from that time, from that damn Game, where she lost everything—including herself.
"Next participant, please step forward."
The words of the game’s curator, frozen in a white lab coat with a black mask on his face, echoed through her head. Back then, she—he, Travis Milton—was standing in line among the other participants, stunned, already broken, especially after pulling the pink ticket from the box. The moment that changed Travis’s life forever. The moment fate decided there would be no more Travis, the 35-year-old failed businessman, and instead there would be... an 18-year-old girl, who went through two more rounds of the Game after that and through things she was too afraid to even think about now, let alone remember... Dirty rich perverts, watchers, clients. They got real pleasure from watching it all.
‘Why the hell am I even thinking about this, dumbass…’ — she thought to herself, snapping back to the present.
Somewhere in the next room, there was a sound—male footsteps, steady, a little nervous. It was her husband, Tom. She knew he was angry. His voice came through with dull irritation:
— Alice, you don’t even want to talk about this properly? It’s just a club. No risks, no commitments.
Alice slowly raised her eyes, scanning his body from bottom to top like a machine. Ten years had passed since that damned Game. She tried not to think about it, not to regret anything, convincing herself it could be her second chance. Maybe not the one she had dreamed of, but still—a chance to fix all the asshole things Travis had done that ruined lives even before the Game, and whose greed led him to total collapse—financial, moral, human. Alice sighed.
— Tom... Tom, please, — she whispered, not even looking at him but through him — Stay with me...
— Oh for God’s sake, babe, what is this nonsense! Can you stop making a tragedy out of nothing already, — Tom said with clear annoyance, but beneath his words rang the loud echo of exhaustion. He stepped closer, placed his hands on her shoulders, and muttered through clenched teeth, — I’ll be gone for a couple of days. I promise, when I’m back, I’ll deal with all the debts and we can even...
He stopped mid-sentence when he caught her sharp look—not angry, not broken, but almost desperate, full of pain he didn’t know anything about. Tom went quiet, like the air had suddenly vanished from the room, and he felt like he wasn’t standing beside his wife, but staring into a void he never truly understood.
— You’re not coming back, Tom... — Alice’s voice was quiet, but it carried the tension of a stretched wire.
— Jesus, Alice! I knew I shouldn’t have said anything! You know what? — he stepped closer, grabbing her hand — I. I was joking, okay? It was just a dumb joke. There’s no invitation, no Game, nothing. I just binge-watched “Squid Game” and thought I’d mess with my sweet wife. I’m just going away on a short business trip.
Alice looked at him silently. Her lashes trembled, but not from tears. She slowly pulled her hand away—not sharply, not in anger, but like the life had just been drained from her.
— You’re not good at lying, Tom, — Alice whispered, never breaking eye contact. — Especially to me.
He tried to smile, but his grin twisted awkwardly, like a broken mask...Full story (11 200 characters - 3 parts) is open to subscribers here or on Patreon