The Heart System

Chapter 213: Chapter 213

I stepped out into a wash of bright LED panels and polished concrete floors, the air humming faintly with the servers behind the glass security wall. A pair of engineers were camped on the couch near reception, half-asleep over energy drinks.

I pushed through the revolving doors and into the cold, zipping my jacket up to my chin. Snow was falling hard now, the ground already buried in white. A couple of smokers huddled under the company awning, but I kept walking, boots crunching, down the slippery stairs toward the parking garage.

Thankfully, my car was in the closest spot. After barely five steps I reached it, unlocked the door, and slid into the driver’s seat.

”Fuck, I’m freezing.”

I started the engine and cranked the heat. Hot air whooshed from the vents as I pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it. Smoke curled lazily toward the roof while I eased the car out of the parking space and headed for the exit.

Kayla’s name suddenly flashed across the dashboard screen. Shit. Her? Why was she calling? I still felt guilty for convincing her to trick Mendy.

I answered with a swipe. ”Hello?”

”Evan, hey,” she said. ”I’ll... I’ll make this quick, okay?”

”Y-yeah? What’s going on?”

”Mendy and I talked,” she said. ”She forgave me a long time ago. But... there’s still something in my chest I can’t shake. Like—it’s like... ugh, I don’t know, Evan.”

”You still feel like you owe her,” I said. ”Yeah. I know that feeling.”

”Exactly!” Kayla said. ”I’m going over to her place for dinner tonight. I want you there. With me. I feel like if you’re by my side, I can... I don’t know, share the embarrassment.”

”Sure,” I said. ”I can do that.”

”Great. Tonight at eight.”

”I’ll come pick you up. What’s your address again?”

”You have a car?”

”Yup. Don’t worry about it. Just tell me where you live.”

”I’ll send you the location,” she said. ”And listen, if you show up with some run-down piece of junk, I’m not getting in.”

”Yeah, yeah,” I laughed. ”Anyway, I’ve got to hang up, Kayla. Take care, okay? And don’t blame yourself. I was the one who convinced you to trick Mendy.”

”And what a convincing it was...” Kayla muttered. ”You really are lethal with those hands of yours. You should be banned from massaging people.”

I popped open the chrome ashtray in the center console, flicked the ash in, and stamped the cigarette out on the glass dish inside. ”Eh, I get by.”

She chuckled. ”Right. Talk later.”

Dinner with Kayla and Mendy. Could be awkward as hell. Could be fun.

Probably both.

Now I had something else to handle. Earlier I’d called Cora, letting her know I was swinging by to pick her up. She’d sounded excited at first, probably thinking I was taking her out somewhere nice. The excitement died the moment I told her we were heading to Stingy Ladies to find Charlotte and apologize. Charlotte had been terrified because of Cora... and because of me. That sat in my stomach like a stone. I couldn’t just ignore it and go home.

The roads were empty, a silent stretch of white under the night sky. Snow kept coming down in slow flakes, adding to the blanket left from last night’s storm. The heater in the car was going, but I still felt cold. Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe it was guilt. All I wanted at that moment was to be home with a cup of hot chocolate in my penthouse, sitting near the window while snow tapped softly outside.

”Hate this,” I muttered.

But I kept driving.

At a red light, I leaned back and shut my eyes for a moment. Instantly, she appeared again in my mind— the woman with the umbrella. No face, just a silhouette in the rain. She had shown up more than once in my dreams lately, and I had no idea who she was. It had to be connected to Dierella or the other gods, but I had nothing to confirm it.

The light turned green and I pressed the gas. A few minutes later, my phone rang, lighting up the dashboard. Kim.

”Yellow,” I answered, eyes still on the road.

”Hey, Evan,” she said, voice low. ”I... needed to talk to someone. And you were the first person I thought of.”

”Honored.”

”It’s about Tom,” she said. ”He texted me.”

”Texted you? What does that bastard want?”

”He wants to get back together. He somehow convinced his mother to approve of me again.”

”So you’re thinking about—”

”Fuck no.” Her tone hardened. ”I told him I was happy with you, then blocked him.”

”Then everything’s good.”

”No, it’s not.” She took a shaky breath. ”Tom is moving back into the city. I don’t want to see him again. But eventually, I know I will.”

”If you do, act like he’s invisible, better yet, act like he doesn’t even exist,” I said. ”He didn’t care when he kicked you out and left you to live on the street, right?”

”And thanks to you, that didn’t happen.”

”Thanks to me? Fuck me, Kim, that’s not the point. He was fine with throwing you away. If he acted like you didn’t exist, then return the favor.”

”I will,” she said softly. ”It’s just... whenever something from my old life pops up, I feel like I’ll break.”

”I’ll keep you together piece by piece,” I said. ”Don’t worry.”

I heard a tiny laugh. ”Great. Now my eyes are tearing up.”

”Allergies?”

”Allergies to people whose names start with E and end with N.”

”Ouch.”

She laughed again. ”I won’t keep you long. Thank you for listening. Really.”

”Anytime. If something comes up, talk to me.”

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EVENT

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Kim’s Interest +5

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”I will. Bye.”

”Bye.”

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WOMEN - INTERACTIONS

===============

Jasmine: Interest: 40 / 60★★

Kayla: Interest: 5 / 20

Tessa: Interest: 27 / 40★

Kim: Interest: 35 / 40★

Delilah: Interest: 75 / 80★★★

Cora: Interest: 100 / 100★★★★★

Mendy: Interest: 6 /20

Nala: Interest: 66 /80★★★

Penelope: Interest: 3 /20

Minne: Interest: 17 /20

Ivy: Interest: 2/20

===============

Progress:

★☆☆☆☆ - 20 Interest: Milestone reward

★★☆☆☆ - 40 Interest: Milestone reward

★★★☆☆ - 60 Interest: Milestone reward

★★★★☆ - 80 Interest: Milestone reward

★★★★★ -100 Interest: Milestone reward

===============

Select a woman to track progress.

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Tom. I didn’t like him from the first second we met. Hearing he was back in town was a headache waiting to happen. Still, Kim shutting him down immediately felt good. She was loyal. Tom was still trash.

Another red light. I stopped, then called Cora. A few seconds later she picked up.

”E-Evan? Are you here?”

”Yeah. Step outside. I’ll be there in twenty seconds.”

”Alright.”

”Bye.”

I turned left when the light changed and drove down the narrow snowy street. Cora stood on the sidewalk in front of her house, wearing an oversized pink hoodie and black pants. Her hair was messy, eyes sleepy and puffy from either crying or lack of rest.

I pulled up and she climbed into the passenger seat. She stayed quiet for a moment, hands worrying at the hem of her hoodie.

”I’m sorry, Evan,” she finally said. ”I shouldn’t have done that to Charlotte.”

”It’s fine. I’m not even mad,” I answered, taking another turn. ”I should have told you to go easier.”

”Easier? But... she isn’t dead.”

”You know what I mean.”

Cora sighed and stared out the window. She looked smaller than usual, all the bite and attitude gone. She had gone too far with Charlotte—the threats, the pain, the fear she drilled into that poor girl. I knew what Cora was capable of when she got angry.

”You think she’ll forgive me?” she whispered.

”I don’t know. But we owe her the chance to hear us out.”

Cora nodded, and her voice dropped to a quiet tremble.

”I didn’t mean for her to break like that. I just... wanted her to understand she couldn’t talk about you like that.”

”And now she’ll never forget it,” I said. ”Which is why we make things right.”

Cora swallowed hard and stared ahead as snow drifted across the headlights.

I pressed the accelerator a bit more and tried to focus on the road instead of the awkward silence in the car.

”Esme seemed... strangely used to you,” I said. ”I mean, she didn’t even blink when she found out you kidnapped Charlotte and tied her up in your bathroom.”

”She took a bath while Charlotte was tied up,” Cora replied flatly.

”Man...” I sighed, stopping at a red light. ”You two have... some problems.”

”That’s what my father used to say...”

Her voice changed—quiet, hurt, and suddenly I realized what I had just stepped on. Her father wasn’t just strict. He was a monster who used to beat both Cora and Esme. And here I was, telling her she had problems, as if I didn’t literally encourage her to torture Charlotte into talking. I knew something like this could happen. I just pretended it wouldn’t. Maybe part of me wanted this result, deep down, even if I wouldn’t admit that out loud.

I was the awful one here. Not her.

I reached over and put my hand on her shoulder. ”Cora,” I said quietly. ”I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m nothing like your father.”

She gave a tiny smile and looked out the window. ”Thanks.”

”Look at me.”

She slowly turned. I held her gaze, and for a moment she looked incredibly small. Just a girl trying to survive in a world that had done nothing but hurt her.

”You’re doing your best,” I told her. ”And I realized I don’t appreciate you enough. I’m sorry.”

Her cheeks warmed with color. ”Heh... thank you, E-Evan.”

The light turned green and I drove forward. Traffic was tighter here because the streets were narrower, and cars coming from several directions were clogging up the lanes. Still, at least I had a car. If not for the system, I’d still be riding a freezing bus somewhere, heading to a gas station job and hoping my fingers didn’t fall off.

Instead, I had this.

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- Quest Available

==========================

- Title: Sucky sucky

- Task: Have Cora suck you in the car.

- Reward: 90c

==========================

- Accept Quest? [Yes] [No]

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