Chapter 458: Chapter 458

I was trying to stay positive.

At least I didn’t owe Anotta anything. I hadn’t taken her help. At least Ivy was safe. At least I was still breathing.

Even so, just the thought of Mana watching me from somewhere I couldn’t see sent a chill crawling down my spine. Like I was an ant under a magnifying glass and she hadn’t decided yet whether to burn me.

“Man…”

It apparently took two straight hours for Chase to admit what he did. Two hours. I kept replaying that in my head. Court was in a few days, and I was going to be there. Front row. Watching him squirm.

Unless Mana decided to kill me first.

“I’m actually fucking shaking,” I muttered to myself, staring at my hand. It wasn’t visible, but I could feel the tremor in my fingers. “fuck…”

I was out on the balcony, half-lying on the sunbed. A bag of chips rested on my stomach, already half empty. Minne had made some fancy sauce to go with it—garlic, herbs, something smoky. Way too classy for junk food.

I shifted, adjusting my back against the cushion, and looked up at the glass ceiling of the balcony. Rain tapped steadily against it, a soft rhythm that should’ve been calming.

Instead, my brain replayed that scene. Chase standing beside the bed. Boxers on. That dead look in his eyes. A fucking monster.

I clenched my jaw and shoved a chip into my mouth harder than necessary. How Ivy kept ending up with these messed-up people was beyond me.

But time had rewound. That meant opportunity.

I could focus on other things now. The mysterious K. Eleanor’s idiot brother blowing his life savings on gambling. One mess at a time.

“Still Villain, right?” I murmured under my breath, staring at the rain. “I could just hypnotize Maeve. Get the truth straight from her.”

The sliding door behind me hissed open.

I didn’t turn right away. I already knew who it was.

Jasmine stepped out barefoot, closing the door softly behind her. She dragged the second sunbed closer with a faint scraping sound and dropped onto it with a quiet sigh, stretching her legs out.

I glanced back at her and smiled faintly. Without saying anything, I tilted the chip bag toward her.

She raised an eyebrow at me, reached over lazily, and plucked one chip out. “Don’t mind if I do.”

We both lay there, staring up at the rain-streaked glass. The golden hour was fading, washing the city in a dull amber glow that mixed with the gray clouds.

“Whadaya thinking?” she asked after a minute, turning her head slightly toward me.

“How to end world hunger,” I said seriously, tossing another chip into my mouth.

She snorted softly. “Easy.”

“Oh yeah?” I glanced at her.

“Lots of sandwiches.” She closed her eyes dramatically. “And mayo. An unreasonable amount of mayo.”

I turned my head fully toward her. “No ketchup?”

Her eyes snapped open. She pushed herself up onto one elbow and stared at me like I’d just confessed to murder. “Fuuuck ketchup.”

I barked out a quiet laugh. “Relax. It’s not that deep.”

“It is that deep,” she insisted, pointing a chip at me accusingly. “Ketchup ruins everything. It’s sweet. It’s sticky. It’s a betrayal.”

“I like ketchup,” I said, grinning.

She squinted at me. “I don’t think I can live with someone who likes ketchup.”

“Aw.” I clutched the chip bag to my chest. “You wound me.”

She rolled her eyes but there was a smile tugging at her mouth.

I met her gaze properly then.

And for a split second, the memory slammed into me again—Chase in that room, that disgusting image burned into my head.

My smile faltered.

Jasmine noticed immediately. She shifted closer on her sunbed, her expression softening. “Hey,” she said quietly. “Where’d you just go?”

I blinked, forcing myself back. “Nowhere.”

“Evan.”

I exhaled slowly and looked back up at the ceiling. “I’m lucky to have you.”

She frowned slightly. “Wow. Where did that come from?”

I shrugged, scratching the back of my neck. “Dunno. Just… realized it.”

She studied me for a second longer, then reached over and nudged my arm with her foot. “Well,” she said softly, a small smile forming, “I’m more lucky to have you.”

I turned my head toward her again, lifting an eyebrow. “Wow. Where did that come from?” I mocked lightly.

She copied my shrug perfectly, even tilting her head the same way. “Dunno.”

I huffed out a laugh, shaking my head.

The rain kept tapping against the glass. The city glowed gold and gray. And for a few seconds, lying there next to her, the shaking inside me eased just a little.

Oh, and… yeah. My stats. They’d rocketed since I completed the main quest. I was now basically swimming in points. Though, I’d rather be level one than have to deal with that crazy maniac Chase Bellings ever again—that was for sure.

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Evan Marlowe [Level 18]

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Age:21

Height: 180 cm

Weight: 76 kg

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EXP: 6313 / 12224

[█████░░░░░]

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Level eighteen. Good. That meant I’d earned three new ability points. I had actually forgotten to update my stats, so while I was in a good headspace—surrounded by the rain, Jasmine, and snacks—I figured I’d use them now. But first, I wanted to check my credit balance.

Nice. A total of 7,959 credits. Without a second thought, I bought that Random Passive Skill that had been winking at me from the shop since it first appeared, then waited for the system to update.

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SHOP [Page 2]

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• Hypnotic Perfume (40c)

• Time Stop (90c)

• 500 Dollars (50c)

• 1 Ability Point (150c)

• 1 Mastery Point (160c)

• Desire Aura (100c)

• Reputation Point +30 (200c)

• Mastery Evolve (1500c)

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Credits: 6259c

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Alright… I had a new Random Skill. That was… nice, I suppose? The system didn’t give me any notifications, though. Curious, I checked my stats to see if anything had changed… and yeah. It had changed. A lot.

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CURRENT STATS

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◆ Strength: 20

◆ Charm: 20

– Manipulative Charm

⤷ Honeyed Words (▩▩▩▩▩)

⤷ Gaslight (⏹☐☐☐☐)

⤷ Emotional Charisma (☐☐☐☐☐)

⤷ Seductive Allure (☐)

◆ Libido: 20

⤷ Endless Vigor (☐☐☐☐☐)

◆ Pleasure: 30 (+50)

⤷ Sensory Overload (⏹⏹☐☐☐)

⤷ Erogenous Insight (⏹)

⤷ Bliss Multiplier (▣▣▣▣▣)

◆ Luck: 10

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◆ Passive Skill: On a Roll

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9 Unused Ability Points

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