Chapter 202: Wrapping Up Loose Ends

A few hours later, after Nobelia finished their photoshoot in their stage outfits for the company’s official website cover, Jade was picked up by Mike to head back to his place, while Ruby and Tania headed home to their apartment just a short distance from the office building.

Eric and the six girls rode the elevator upstairs. He looked over at Emma, who was completely exhausted, while Laura and Chloe were clearly nodding off as well. Monica was already asleep in her wheelchair, and the two pushing her, Priya and Heidi, had gone completely quiet.

"Today was a huge success... but man, it was exhausting. It’s totally understandable that they’re wiped out and sleepy, I’m feeling pretty spent myself," Eric thought as he looked at everyone.

Once the elevator doors slid open, Emma, Laura, Chloe zoomed straight off to their respective bedrooms to crash after saying brief goodnights. Eric carried Monica upstairs in his arms, while Heidi and Priya carried the folded wheelchair behind him. Laying Monica down gently onto her bed, Eric sat on the edge of the mattress and brushed a hand across her forehead.

"Alright, get some rest now," Eric said.

"Okay, babe," Monica replied softly.

"Phew... I’m just gonna crash here too and keep you company," Heidi said, flopping onto Monica’s bed.

"Same... count me in, I’m too lazy to move," Priya added.

"Good grief, we literally all have our own rooms here," Monica said, chuckling weakly.

"Hey, then who’s gonna look after you? You should be grateful, it’s cozy," Priya said.

"Right on the money, hehehe," added Heidi, already sprawled flat on her back across the bed.

"Alright then, I’ll head out. You guys just rest up. Later this afternoon, we can just order some food delivered here so nobody has to go out," Eric said, standing up.

"Sounds good, babe," Monica replied simply.

Eric leaned down, planting a kiss on Monica’s lips, then moved over to kiss Priya, and finally Heidi. Heading out of the room, he walked over to his own bedroom. Stepping inside, he sat down on the edge of his bed, letting out a long "phew" as he unzipped his jacket. Suddenly, "ding," a notification popped up on his smartphone. He glanced at his phone to find a ping from his company’s streaming platform. Opening the app, his eyes went wide.

All Kind of Love, performed by Nobelia, had instantly broken onto the Billboard chart, going viral with nearly five million views just a few hours after being uploaded by his media team, though it hadn’t quite matched the staggering numbers of Our Forever and Ever by The Empress. A smile broke across Eric’s face as he stared down at his phone screen. Suddenly, "vwooong," a holographic display expanded right in front of his face:

[Second Quest: Create a 4-member vocal group with a maximum age of 18, compose one song for them to perform, record it, and share it to reach 200,000 views and 100,000 likes. Completed.]

[Reward received: Advanced Creative Mind Skill, Choreography Mind Skill, Miniature Private Jet x1, $1,500,000.00.]

"Whoaaah!"

A surge of energy washed over Eric as he unlocked the new skills. He opened his system inventory and spotted the Miniature Private Jet x1 sitting inside, right below the Miniature Yacht he had unlocked earlier. Moments later, "ding," another notification flashed on his smartphone, one he was already expecting.

Opening his banking app anyway, he confirmed that $1,500,000.00 had officially cleared into his account, boosting his total balance. He tossed his smartphone onto the bed and collapsed backward, spreading his arms wide against the mattress.

"Finally finished both of those quests... man, it took a whole four months... but the payout was so worth it... and a lot has gone down over these past four months," Eric muttered to himself in his head.

He closed his eyes and began to reflect, tracing his journey all the way back to the day he was kicked out, a moment when he had felt utterly hopeless and lost, right up to where he stood today. As Eric lost himself in nostalgia, suddenly, "click," his bedroom door unlocked.

Opening his eyes, Eric sat up on the edge of the bed to see Laura, wearing only a silk bathrobe draped over her lingerie, shutting the door behind her. Without missing a beat, Laura charged forward and pounced on Eric, sending both of them tumbling back onto the mattress with Laura sitting right on top of his waist.

"Hey... weren’t you completely exhausted and sleepy a second ago?" Eric asked.

"The moment I hit my room, I got a random burst of energy, so I came over here. Besides, you asked me for a favor earlier and you haven’t paid me back yet," Laura said with a smile.

"Haha... and what kind of payment are you asking for?" Eric asked.

Laura slid her bathrobe open to reveal her figure, then rested her body against Eric’s chest, turning her face to look directly into his eyes.

"Hmm... what should it be... I’m actually not sure... I feel like I’ve got everything I need, but there’s still one thing missing," Laura said.

"Oh? What’s that? If it’s within my power, I’ll definitely give it to you," Eric said, gently stroking Laura’s hair.

"I want to have an Abby," Laura replied boldly.

The room fell dead silent as Eric simply stared at Laura, who held his gaze right back. Eric smiled, pulled Laura toward him, and pressed his lips to hers. Releasing the kiss, he spoke softly,

"Sorry, but that’s off the table for now. After you graduate, I gave Uncle Joe my word," Eric replied.

"Uuuh... honestly, I don’t even wanna go to school anymore... what’s the point of school anyway? You didn’t go to college yourself, didn’t you?" Laura asked.

"Hmm... I don’t think I even need to consider college anymore. Even if I went, it would just be to pass the time, and I definitely don’t have the time," Eric answered with a smile.

"See? Exactly! So why do I have to keep going to school?" Laura asked.

"Because Uncle Joe is officially your dad now, and he obviously holds more authority over you than I do. Plus, he’s helped me out so much, so I refuse to let him down," Eric answered with a smile, running his hand through Laura’s hair.

"Ugh... fine then. As for right now... please just exhaust me so I can crash, hehehe," Laura teased, hooking her fingers into her lingerie and tugging it upward while resting on top of him.

"Hmm... now that, I can definitely do. Consider your debt settled," Eric said.

"Nope, this doesn’t count! You’re paying me back properly later, hehehe," Laura countered.

They leaned into a kiss, and naturally, one kiss quickly led to another without further delay.

***

Meanwhile, inside the federal prison’s visiting room, "blam," the heavy door swung open. A correction officer escorted Jason inside, wearing an orange jumpsuit with his hands bound in handcuffs. Waiting inside were Melissa and Vivian. Taking him in, Jason looked like a broken man, haggard, thin, bloodshot eyes, a thick messy beard, and shaggy overgrown hair. Jason took a seat directly across from them, raising his head to look at Melissa and Vivian. "Hmph," he let out a bitter grunt and leaned back into his chair.

"So what are you two doing here? Came to mock me?" Jason asked.

"No need to mock you. Your trial hasn’t even started and sentencing hasn’t been handed down yet, but you already look like this. Guess prison is teaching you a valuable lesson," Melissa answered with a smirk, giving him a quick thumbs-up.

"And you, what are you doing here? Don’t you hate my guts enough to report me to the cops?" Jason asked, shooting a glance at Vivian.

Vivian remained silent, her eyes locked on Jason, though her gaze was devoid of any hatred, anger, fear, love, or any emotion whatsoever.

"I just wanted to see you and confirm something for myself," Vivian said softly.

"Huh... so you still love me after all... "

"Confirm whether I’ve truly moved on or not. Turns out, looking at you right now, I don’t feel a single thing. So now I’m certain I’ve moved on," Vivian added, cutting Jason off mid-sentence.

The tiny glimmer of hope that had briefly flickered across Jason’s face instantly collapsed into complete gloom. He squeezed his eyes shut, as if Vivian’s words had plunged a blade straight through his chest. The room plunged back into silence, neither woman offering another word, until Jason finally broke the quiet,

"In that case... what are you actually here for?" Jason asked.

"Ah... as for me, I’ve got this," Melissa answered, sliding a manila folder across the table in front of Jason.

Jason opened it up to find a formal civil lawsuit filed by Melissa over his breaking her smartphone, violating her privacy, and causing intentional emotional distress. Stacked right beneath it was an official restraining order issued by the police.

"Hmph... hahahaha... alright, alright... just stack it all on top of me," Jason said, letting out a bitter laugh.

"I just wanted to drop this off personally since Mike hasn’t had the chance to come down here yet. Besides, shouldn’t you be thrilled to get a look at two gorgeous girls in here? Because moving forward, you won’t be seeing girls like me and Vivian ever again once you’re locked away in prison for good," Melissa replied with a cold smile.

Hearing Melissa’s words, Jason lowered his head, his hands clutching the manila folder in front of him so tightly his knuckles turned white. Melissa and Vivian watched as tears began dripping onto the paper, though neither woman showed the slightest shift in expression. After a heavy silence,

"Mel... Vi... I’m so sorry. I hurt both of you. I know what I did is unforgivable, and I don’t expect you to ever forgive me, I just needed to say it out loud," Jason said, keeping his head hung low.

"Alright, thank you. I forgive you, but an apology is just words. Nothing that happened can be undone, and an apology isn’t a bridge to build things back," Melissa said.

"That’s right... just like Melissa said... I forgive you too. But after stepping out of this room, we’re total strangers," Vivian added. Turning to Melissa, she said, "Let me buy you a drink, Melissa. Let’s go."

"Yeah... let me lead the way. Our business here is done," Melissa said.

Both women stood up and turned around, walking straight out toward the exit without uttering a single goodbye, leaving Jason sitting alone in the room with his head hung low, clutching the folder in his hands.