Chapter 69 GUEST

The next morning I dropped onto the floor after the last push-up, chest heaving.

Another Endurance quest done. The reward was 150 EXP... eh, not much. But better than nothing.

Nice.

I had leveled up the day before but never allocated the points. The sex with Sarah had left me too scrambled to think straight. Now I sat on the couch and opened the interface properly.

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LEVEL UP ! [13?14]

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> LUST REFILLED

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[!] UNSPENT POINTS: 5

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> [CHA] : 25 [+]

> [END] : 11 [+]

> [PER] : 30 [+]

> [LCK] : 4 [+]

> [IBE] : 31 [+]

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IBE was still the priority long-term, but Charisma had been quietly working in the background. I looked sharper. People noticed me more. And I was only five points from the next milestone.

I dumped all five into CHA.

The milestone window appeared immediately.

Three options. The first gave a Charisma boost when two or more women were nearby. The third I barely glanced at. The second one was the real prize: the minimum points you could invest in Charisma became 2, but each point only cost 0.5. In other words, putting two points into CHA only consumed one actual point.

Broken. I took it without hesitation.

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MAIN MENU

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NAME: Chance Brooks

LVL: 14 [183/1240]

RANK: Homewrecker

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[ CORE STATS ]

> CHA: 30 [Min. 2 | 0.5 cost]

> END: 11

> PER: 30

> LCK: 4

> IBE: 31

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[ ENERGY ]

> LUST: 200/200

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[ACTIVE PERKS: Expand]

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SIN POINTS: 1509

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Better. Still not enough. I needed more levels. More of everything.

Another window flickered open on its own.

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TARGET: Sarah Angi

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[ RELATIONSHIP ]

> Partner: [Hubert]

> CORRUPTED

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[ SYSTEM SYNC ]

> Favor: 77% [?]

> Threat: None

> The Lover: +25% EXP

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x6 Sexual Encounter EXP

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> GRIEVANCE LOG

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Seventy-seven percent.

That was a massive jump. Normal arguments with Hubert usually only moved the needle four or five points. Whatever had just happened upstairs had to have been brutal.

I could hear raised voices through the ceiling, but the words were muffled. Then my phone rang.

Sarah.

"Hey, Sar..."

"Chance..." Her voice was thick. She was crying. "Meet me at the Jolted coffee shop. Please."

"Okay. Are you alright?"

"Yes..."

The last word came from right outside my door. I heard the building’s front entrance open. I moved quickly to the bedroom window and looked down. Sarah was already on the sidewalk, phone still to her ear, walking fast.

"I’ll be there in ten," I said.

"Thank you..."

She hung up.

I stood there for a second, staring at the empty street.

What the hell had Hubert done this time?

The old me would have felt bad for her. Genuine sympathy. Now all I felt was opportunity. Hubert didn’t deserve a woman like Sarah. I could take care of her better, in every way that mattered. Including the ways he clearly failed at in bed.

I let out a short, quiet laugh.

"Oh, Hubert, Hubert, Hubert. You damn idiot."

Looks like I was going out.

????????????

The Jolted coffee shop sat on the corner of a quieter street, the kind of place that tried to look independent with its mismatched furniture and chalkboard menu. Usually there were a few small tables out front, but the snow had put an end to that for now. The sidewalk was half-cleared and empty.

I pushed the door open. Warm air and the smell of roasted beans hit me immediately. The interior was modest, dark wood counters, a few hanging plants that looked like they were barely surviving the winter, and clusters of tables with worn chairs. Soft indie music played low enough that conversations could still be private. Only a handful of people were inside this early.

Sarah was in the far corner, back to the door, both hands wrapped around a ceramic mug. Steam still rose from it.

I walked over and touched her shoulder lightly from behind.

"Hey."

She turned. Her eyes were already red.

"Oh... hey, Chance."

I sat down across from her. The second I did, her face crumpled. She tried to hold it together and failed. Tears welled up fast.

"Hey, hey... what happened?"

She wiped at her cheek with the heel of her hand and took a shaky breath. For a few seconds she just stared at the table like the words were stuck.

"I told Hubert," she finally said, voice thick. "About Karim. About what he said through the door. About the things he offered."

I waited. "And?"

Sarah let out a short, bitter sound that wasn’t quite a laugh. "He didn’t even get angry at him. Not really. He just... waved it off. Said that’s just how Karim is. That I shouldn’t take it seriously. That men like him talk like that when they’re bored or drunk or whatever."

She wiped her nose and kept going, the words coming faster now.

"I told him Karim knew I was alone. That he was listening to me, and then came up and said those things. And Hubert looked at me like I was the problem. He asked why I was even making noise in the first place. Why I was ’moaning like a slut’ while he was gone. Like the only thing that mattered was that I had been... loud while I masturbated. Not that some creep downstairs offered to come up and fuck me."

Her hands were shaking around the mug.

"He basically defended him, Chance. He made it sound like Karim was just being Karim, and I was the one who needed to calm down and stop overreacting. He didn’t even ask if I was okay. He just... accused me."

I stayed quiet and let her talk herself out. Every sentence was another crack in whatever was left between her and Hubert, and I wasn’t about to interrupt the process.

Sarah’s voice dropped lower, almost ashamed.

"I kept trying to explain and he just talked over me. Said I was being dramatic. Said if I didn’t want attention from guys like Karim then I shouldn’t... shouldn’t act like I needed it. Then he grabbed his keys and left. Didn’t even slam the door. Just walked out like the conversation was finished and I was being ridiculous."

She finally looked up at me. Fresh tears were running down both cheeks.

"I don’t even know why I’m surprised anymore."

Silence settled over the table after that. The soft music and the distant hiss of the espresso machine suddenly felt too loud. Sarah stared at her coffee like it might give her an answer. I watched her for a moment, then let my gaze drop to the table as well. There wasn’t much useful to say that wouldn’t sound like I was pushing an agenda.

My phone rang.

Unknown number.

Sarah flinched at the sound, then quickly wiped her face with both hands and stood up.

"I’m going to wash my face," she said, voice rough. "Sorry."

"It’s fine."

She walked toward the back of the shop where the restrooms were. I watched her go, then looked down at the still-buzzing phone in my hand.

I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, kiddo. It’s me. Remember?"

"Uh..."

"Mark!"

Mark. The silver-haired man from the underground table. The one I’d basically stolen my sister out from under. And now he was calling me. How the hell had he even gotten my number? Of course he was connected. I’d spent my whole life trying to stay clear of people exactly like him.

"Yes..." I rubbed my temple. "Mark. Or should I call you Mr...."

"No need. Mark is enough." He laughed, easy and confident. "So, kid, I was thinking... how about you come by the bar tonight? I’ve got some guests who want to play a little blackjack."

"If you’re calling me, you don’t like those guests much."

"Mark is enough," he repeated, a little sharper. "And you’re right. I hate them with every bone in my body." A quiet sneer came through the line. "Tonight. Ten o’clock. Don’t be late. I don’t take no for an answer."

"I..."

Shit. Shit. Shit. Just what I needed.

"...Okay."

"Send me your location. I’ll have a car pick you up."

"No need. I’ll see you at ten."

"Whatever floats your boat, kid. Ten. Don’t forget."

Like hell I was giving him my address.

I hung up and leaned back in the chair, phone still in my hand. So Mark wanted me to sit across from people he already planned to fuck over. Dangerous didn’t even cover it. Skill only took you so far at a table like that, the rest was variance. And the only reason I was even in his orbit was because of Jodi. What a lucky bastard I was turning out to be.

A few minutes later Sarah came back from the restroom. She looked a little more put together, the worst of the crying wiped away. She sat down, exhaled slowly, and wrapped both hands around her coffee again. For a moment she just stared into the cup before taking a small sip.

"I don’t know what to do anymore," she said quietly. "Hubert’s... God. I hate him. I’ve been scared of him for so long I almost forgot what it felt like not to be."

"You don’t have to be."

"He made me forget I was even a woman." Her mouth twisted. "It’s so fucking annoying, Chance. He’s just... God..."

"Hmm."