I left right after that, not because I didn't want to stay to feel more womanly touch, but Tanya said it was her time to catch a flight or something, which I didn't question because that woman is a weirdo afterall.

The bus rattled like it was trying to shake me out of my seat, I love public transportation, but sometimes, it just got too much on my nerve, so I moved to the far back and sat with my arm pressed against the window to anchor.

Opening the note app, I started typing away, recording all the information that I try not to forget, though, I didn't bother with sentences; I just wrote things down before I forgot how they felt.

"Seven fuckers, Ann mercenary with Valerie, who helped her, Lion's Destiny being pawns, guild's definitely gonna be disbanded"

Yeah, I'm going to forget what they mean in a week with such limited notetaking. Writing it all out didn't make the worries and stress go away, but at least it temporary trapped them somewhere that wasn't inside me.

Outside the window, the city rolled by in slow motion, people were crossing streets, buying snacks, scrolling on their own phones.

Everyone looked so normal. I stared at them, wondering what it must be like to never question what's real.

When the bus hissed to a stop, I got down and started walking.

It was going to be another good three minutes of walking to get to the front door, and I gotta check in at the gate, too, cus, y'know, gated community, rich ass people.

The Sonder estate loomed like something out of an architectural magazine, all clean lines and deliberate wealth.

Even the air smelled expensive here, a mix of trimmed grass and imported flowers. I pocketed my phone and walked up the path, half-expecting my reflection to vanish from the windows again.

But then, unexpectedly, I saw her strolling… uh, ahem, rolling around the giant front garden.

Hailie Sonder.

Sitting in her wheelchair as Gerald, guided her across the sunlit grass. She was just as beautiful and captivating as ever… Made my insides twirl just thinking about the things I wanna do to her with my bursts of lust that I never really admitted.

In fact… After I first squeezed her chest in the Poison Dragon Cave, nothing much happened…

I wonder if I can pull a stunt on such a naive and brightful soul?

God… Why must you be so beautiful and tempting?

I digress.

Her hair glowed in the light, and she waved at me so energetically that her new bracelets she bought a few days ago jingled like wind chimes.

"Coryyyy!" she called out, her voice soft but filled with that unwavering brightness that made you felt at ease immediately.

I waved back and tried not to look like a train wreck. We met halfway, I took a few steps, she got pushed by Gerald a few feet.

Hailie held her arms out the moment Gerald stopped pushing and we were in contact distance, and I bent down to hug her.

She smelled faintly of daisy and something sweet, maybe the tea she always drank, her hair was silky smooth, made me just wanna chomp on it like a goat, and during our brief exchange, I feel the biggest urge to squeeze her so hard she would pop, cuteness aggression, I might say.

Her small frame fit perfectly against my awkward one, like she could hug the exhaustion out of me. Though, at this angle, I couldn't feel her breast, which was such a crying shame.

We let go, and I clicked my tongue silently a bit, savoring the smell, Hailie smiled as she made exaggerated hand movements as she spoke.

"Oh, and Cory! Um- I heard the leader of New Destiny is making an announcement soon! About the state of the guild and um… What's next for them, they're going to be on the Darkmoon Adventure forum! I didn't know we had a forum and um… I just made an account, we should totally follow each other! Do you have one?"

My smile froze halfway.

Did I have a forum account? Hailie asked.

Oh you sweet summer child… I got just a tiny little profile that had somehow survived over a decade of suspension, mutes, and warnings for slurs that weren't really slurs and arguments that definitely were.

The mods practically had my name engraved on their blocklist, and from what I remembered from my first conversation with Eirlys in my old apartment, she was the one keeping me safe.

"Um- Uh… Errr…" So, obviously, I lied. "No, I don't."

Hailie blinked, surprised but not suspicious.

"Oh… Really? I figured you would. You know so much about the game! And you're really socialable too, you know so much people!"

"Heh, that's called lurking, homegirl. I am around, just not… visible, like a shadow." I said, cringing myself in the process.

She laughed lightly, accepting it, yet deep down, I could already imagine her curiosity brewing.

Just one search, Hailie just need to make a barebone attempt of searching the forum's usernames tonight. She was not that dumb like that.

If she stumbled on CJS69 the forum account, I might just combust from sheer embarrassment. You know the rules of the internet… We do not forgive, we do not forget.

God, did I make any dark parapalegic jokes? Probably like 11 or something.

"Can I walk with you?" I asked.

"That'd be great!" She answered.

Only later did I realized I should've used a different word than walk… But she didn't care so eh.

As we moved along the path, she shifted topics with her usual grace, looking up at me who stood on her right. And Gerald was quiet as ever.

"Oh, did you hear about Anshur?"

"Anshur…?" I blinked. "No? What about her?"

"She's moving in three days," Hailie said, her tone light. "To my uncle's beach house, um… Still the same job, just different location, it's something her contract. I thought you two got along so well so I wanted to tell you, I hope you're not sad, she's one of the staffs that really stick up for you and liked you."

"...Huh? What? Wha-?" It took me a second to process. "She's… moving?"

"Yup!... Didn't she tell you?"

I shook my head slowly, hiding my confusion behind a polite smile.

Inside, my stomach twisted, because the idea of Anshur suddenly leaving was… Both reassuring and weird.

I still had that hidden camera footage saved, evidence of that one cruel night she made ridiculous moves on me.

It was my silent revenge plan, locked safely on the cloud because I hadn't decided what to do with it yet, but knowing it existed made me feel like I still had some control.

And now she was just leaving?

Am I that big of a bitch to now release it to ruin her life? Hand it over to Eirlys? The police? Blackmail her to stay and be my lapdog?

I gotta do something about this… Three days, huh?

I reached for the doorknob and paused.

There was something inside, sounds of soft, mechanical clicking.

A pulse of unease crawled up my neck.

I pushed the door open.

Anshur was sitting at my desk, her back to me, framed by the cold glow of my monitor.

She was still in her maid uniform, but she had taken off her apron, leaving the neckline of her blouse open.

My gaming chair spun a few degrees as she turned toward me, eyes calm, lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile, her ginger hair caught the light in tiny copper strands, freckles standing out sharply against her pale skin. .

"Anshur?" For a moment, my mind failed to process it. Then the words burst out of me. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You can't just… You can't- you can'tjust sit at my computer! Are you going to blame it on cleaning now? GET OUT!"

My voice cracked halfway through, and yet she didn't even flinch.

Her gaze slid toward the window sill where the tiny camera sat, still blinking faintly, and I knew that my life was over.

"I know about what you did." She said, standing up slowly, adjusting her gloves.

"I didn't-"

Her hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of my hair before I could speak. She yanked upward and pulled me from the ground until I had to rise onto my toes to stop the pain from tearing through my scalp. And I could feel Anshur's breath close to my ear.

"Don't lie," she murmured. "I know exactly what you're recording."

"You… You're hurting me…" My heart thudded unevenly as I whispered. "Let go! Let me go!... Please…"

She didn't.

Her grip only tightened, pulling another sharp sting out of me.

"You've made an online purchase last week for a webcam decoy and a hidden camera," she said. "And you made me admit to my doings, what were you planning to do with it?"

I wanted to say something clever, to throw her words back, but my throat wouldn't work.

I stayed silent, teeth clenched, trying to remind myself that she wouldn't dare hurt me here. Not in this mansion where there was Eirlys and the staff around… And not when I still had that video of her choking me saved on the cloud.

Then she said it.

"I know about the cloud too."

The air vanished from my lungs.

I had thought that this bitch wouldn't know anything about technology, and once again, just like reading my mind, she smirked.

"Cory Jay Smith…" She leaned closer, voice almost gentle. "You're not as smart as you think you are."

I started voicing off small "help", trying to grab the attention of anyone nearby.

From a whispering "help", then gradually louder to my indoor-voice, then an exclaim, then… Yet the next thing I knew, her face was inches from mine, and then she kissed me.

I feel her spit clear as day in my mouth, as if it was her intention to let me know who I am.

When Anshur von Rodolfo pulled away, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, looking disgusted and content, as if she knew for a fact I would shut the fuck up.

"Just as I thought," she whispered. "Still the same rat."

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