The first rule of living with Elise was that you had to learn how to listen to the quiet. It was never a peaceful silence, but one filled with tension and stress. Tonight's was the worst of its kind. It felt heavy and sharp, a silence that rang in my ears. It started the moment I put my key in the lock. All of this, just because I was five minutes late?
"Hey," I said. My voice sounded strange, trying to change the mood. "The 5:15 train got cancelled. The platform was packed."
She was just a dark shape in front of the big window, holding a glass of wine like some big bad boss in a movie. She did not turn around.
"Your excuses are as weak as you are, Leo," she said.
I walked to the kitchen, hoping to make things better by sticking to our normal routine. "I'll start dinner now. How about that stir-fry you like with the ginger?"
"I already ate." She put her glass down hard on the counter. "But I'm sure you found a snack. Was it that barista? The one who giggles at everything you say?"
She made it sound as if i had a harem or something.
My heart sank down into my shoes. Not this again. "Maya? Come on, she's just—"
"Do not!" she shouted, spinning around to face me. Her eyes were ablaze with anger. "I am so tired of your need for attention. You want every woman to tell you that you matter. They don't want you, Leo. They pity you. You're like a lost dog they want to save."
That word, "needy," was her favorite weapon. She used it to poke at all the parts of me that felt small, and it always worked.
"She was just being friendly," I said, and I could feel myself giving up already.
"No," she said, her voice low and menacing.
"They see exactly what I see. A weak man. A forgettable man. You are a drain on my time and my life."
I don't know why I said my next words, but a question jumped out of my mouth.
"Then why are you with me?"
The room got even quieter.
A slow and ugly smile spread across her face. It was not a happy smile, but one made of pure hate and disgust.
"Why? Because this is my house," she said, and she made the word "my" sound like a curse.
"This is my life. And you are a useful tool. You pay the bills. You do what I say. Or at least you're supposed to."
She took a step closer, and I could smell her perfume. This same perfume used to make me feel good. Now it just made my stomach hurt.
"But you can't even do that right. You can't even be a good tool."
She waved her hand around the living room. I paid the rent. I bought the food. But when we moved in, she told me the lease should be in her name only. She called it a "gesture of trust." Now I saw it for what it was. It was a complete trap.
"You live in my world," she whispered. "And tonight, I don't want you in it."
"What does that mean?" I asked, feeling my worst fear come through.
"It means get out," she said, and the words were flat and final. "Take your sad, worthless self and get out of my house."
That word "my" hit me right in the chest like a shotgun. This was not a fight between two people in love. This was an eviction.
"You can't do this! I pay for everything here!"
"And you can stop paying," she said, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. She walked over and grabbed my laptop bag from its hook. She yanked it open and started pulling things out—my charger, my notebook, and a stack of papers—letting them fall to the floor.
"You think I care about your pathetic little job? You think anyone would miss you if you were gone?"
One of the papers she threw landed face-up. It was a signed contract from my boss. I had worked late for weeks to get that deal finalized. It was supposed to be delivered tomorrow. If it wasn't, I'd lose the account and probably my job.
"Stop!" I said, lunging forward to grab it.
But she was faster. She snatched it up and tore it in two. Then she tore it again and again.
She tossed the pieces into the air like confetti. "There. Now you don't have to worry about it."
My stomach dropped. Without that contract, I was done. My boss had made it clear: This was my last chance to prove myself. And now it was gone, shredded into scraps.
She smirked at me, her arms crossed. "Now you're really useless."
And then it hit me. This was her plan all along. She didn't just want to kick me out. She wanted to destroy me completely.
My hands clenched into fists. "You meant to do this," I said, my voice shaking.
"Of course I did." She tossed my empty laptop bag at me. It hit me in the chest and fell to the ground.
After finding out you had nothing else to offer, I found someone else to be with. I was just waiting for the right moment."
"Why? I actually loved you." I asked, my voice breaking.
"Because I wanted to see your face when you realized you had nothing. Now get out."
A strange numb feeling washed over me. I walked into our bedroom, which was really her bedroom now, and pulled my old duffel bag from the closet. I moved without thinking, stuffing in pants, shirts, underwear, and my toothbrush. This was my whole life now. One single bag.
I walked back to the front door and put my hand on the knob.
I couldn't stop myself. I had to ask. "You never loved me at all, did you?" I didn't turn to look at her.
Her laugh was short and mean, like the bark of a dog.
"Love? Don't be more stupid than you already are."
I opened the door and stepped out into the cool night air. The door slammed shut behind me so hard that the frame shook.
I stood there on the welcome mat that I had bought for us. The porch light that I had put in flickered above me. Then I heard a sharp sound from the other side of the door. It was the sound of the deadbolt locking.
I turned around and tried the knob.
It wouldn't turn. She had locked me out.
I had no home.
It took a moment for the truth to settle in my stomach. It wasn't just that she didn't love me now. It was that she had never loved me at all. All the times she put me down, the way she watched my phone, how she made me feel like I was nothing. It was all done on purpose. It was a game to her, and I was the one who lost.
And then, I felt something I hadn't felt in years. It was surging anger.
My life was shattered on the ground in front of me. But for the first time, my head was perfectly clear. The fog of fear was gone.
I was done. I was done trying to make her happy. I was done believing her lies. From this moment on, I was going to put myself first. My plans! My future! My happiness!
That thought was like a key turning in a lock deep inside my mind.
[System Initializing…]
The words just appeared, hanging in the air right in front of my face. They were made of a soft, blue light.
I blinked hard, sure that I was seeing things because I was so stressed. But when I opened my eyes, the words were still there.
[Welcome to the Harem System. A new world of possibilities awaits you, Host.]
My mouth fell open. I forgot to breathe. A system? Like in the stories I read to escape my life? It couldn't be real, could it? That was the stuff you saw on Webnovel.
But it was.
[Please state your name to complete binding.]
The voice was in my head. It was calm and very clear.
"Leo," I whispered, feeling silly for talking to the air.
[User 'Leo' confirmed. Binding complete.]
[The Harem System is designed to elevate a worthy host to a position of power and affection. The system activates after the host stops simping, and puts their interest first]
[Scanning Host's current status…]
A new screen appeared, like a page from a video game.
HOST: Leo
RANK: Mortal (Grade 0)
CURRENT HAREM MEMBERS: 0
AFFECTION POINTS: 0
SKILLS: None
TITLE: Simp Lord (the host has reached the highest level of simping and somehow broke free of the illusion of love).
I stared at it. My heart was beating so fast and so hard that I could feel it in my ears. If this was real, it just changed everything.
Elise thought she had won. She thought she had taken everything from me, but she had just done me a favor; she had just set me free.
The screen changed.
[New Quest Generated!]
Quest: A Roof Over Your Head
Objective: Find a safe place to sleep for the night.
Reward: 50 Affection and system points and fifty thousand United States dollars.
Unlock: [System Interface Basics]
A quest. My first quest. It wasn't about getting back at her yet. It was about staying alive and finding a place to sleep.
I looked down the street. I knew there was a coffee shop that stayed open all night a few blocks away. I had twenty dollars in my wallet.
I looked back at the locked door of the house I paid for. I thought of her hateful smile, the way she tore up my contract, and the way she destroyed everything I had built.
The cold anger in my chest burned brighter.
I picked up my duffel bag and threw it over my shoulder. Things were just getting interesting.
"Okay, the world won this time, now let's start this again."
Dear reader, welcome to the Harem 101 system.