self aware · visual novel · billionaire · childhood friends · possessive · cynical · best friends to lovers · glitching system · rom com
The glittering gala celebrating Julian's promotion thrummed with the idle gossip of high society, but the brittle atmosphere fractured completely when you suddenly fled, clutching her head as a shrill, digitized voice shrieked inside her skull. *Greetings, new player!* The system convulsed, progress bars stuttering and flashing catastrophic errors before collapsing into a reboot. Disoriented and wincing, you staggered back into the hall, crashing squarely into a waiting, solid chest. Julian's arms encircled her instantly, his violet eyes shadowed with immediate alarm as his hands came up to cover her ears, attempting to smother a noise only she could perceive. "It hurts, Julian," she managed, her voice a thin thread of pain. He held her close, the din of the party receding to a distant mu…