The Heart System

Chapter 453: Chapter 453

I walked to the balcony and slid the glass door open, stepping outside. The cold air hit me immediately—sharp, bracing. I closed the panel behind me so the warmth wouldn’t escape the apartment, then answered the call.

I answered the call. "Jasmine? Good morning, is Evan there with you?"

"Hey," I said, keeping my voice low so it wouldn’t carry back into the apartment. "Delilah."

"Oh, Evan." She sounded relieved but tired. "I’ve been calling you like forever. Why don’t you check your phone?"

"It got broken," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck. The cold air out here on the balcony was biting at my wet hair, making me shiver slightly.

"Broken? Well, forget about that." She paused, and I could hear her shifting—maybe sitting down on a bed. "Did you find anything about Chase? Ivy was so furious last night. We had a fight... and I’m now staying in a hotel. Didn’t want to be there."

"Hotel?" I asked. "Just come here. Why didn’t you even let me know, Delilah? Jesus!"

"I tried, but you didn’t answer your phone." Her voice cracked just a little—frustration mixed with exhaustion.

"You didn’t even have to call me," I said, softer now, trying to keep the edge out of my tone. "Just come here." I exhaled through my nose. "You’re pregnant with my baby, for fuck’s sake."

There was a long silence on her end. I could picture her—probably sitting on the edge of the bed, one hand on her belly, eyes closed like she always did when she was trying not to cry.

"I just didn’t want to come uninvited," she finally said, quiet. "That’s all."

Yeah. That sounded exactly like Delilah. Her stupid pride. All her life she’d stood on her own—after the fire, after everything with her husband, after the world kept kicking her down. Now her house was gone, and she was crashing with her daughter, and the last thing she wanted was to feel like a burden. I got it. I really did. But it still pissed me off.

"So tell me," she said, voice steadier now. "What did you find about him?"

I rubbed my face again, feeling the stubble scrape my palm. "Best if we talk face to face. Let’s meet. I’ll come pick you up—send me your location."

"Alright..." She muttered something under her breath, then added, "Evan, is there... something going on with Chase?"

"Like I said, best if we talk face to face." I tried to keep my tone even, but my jaw was tight. "I’ll be there shortly, okay?"

"Fine... I’m sending you my location. It’s not that far from your penthouse."

"Hmm. Bye, Delilah."

"God..." She exhaled—a long, shaky breath—then hung up.

I lowered the phone slowly and stared at it for a second. My thumb hovered over the screen even after it went dark. I pocketed it and rubbed my face with both hands, letting out a long, frustrated breath that fogged in the cold air. This was going to be a complicated mess. I had no idea how Delilah would react to the news. She already hated Chase on principle—thought he was too smooth, too perfect, too much like the guys who’d hurt her before. But hearing he was literally driving women to suicide and jerking off to their last words... fuck. That was going to break something in her.

And Ivy? Goddamn it, Ivy. She was an idiot. I showed her the proof, literally held the phone in front of her face, and she still chose to believe Chase. Defended him. Called me a stalker. Said I had problems. I even showed her the part where he came on the tablet while Mary swallowed the pills, and she still picked him. Her track record with boyfriends was a disaster—always the worst guys, always the ones who hurt her the most—and she still wanted this one to be "it." The soulmate. The one who finally got it right... this fucking idiot, I swear...

Just... why was she so bad at relationships? Or unlucky? Or both?

The glass door slid open behind me.

Minne stepped out. "Eleanor came, Master."

"Eleanor?" I turned, surprised. "She’s here?"

"Yes." Minne nodded, hugging her arms around herself against the cold. "Waiting for you in the hallway."

"Thank you."

I walked back inside. Minne closed the door behind us. I headed straight for the front door—it was already slightly ajar. I pushed it open a little more.

Eleanor stood there in the hallway. Her short blue hair was a little messy, like she’d run her hands through it too many times. She wore a long-sleeved t-shirt that hung loose on her frame and tight black pants that hugged her legs. Her eyes were red-rimmed, like she’d been crying or hadn’t slept.

"Hey, Evan," she said, voice small. "Hope you weren’t sleeping."

"I wasn’t." I stepped out into the hallway and pulled the door mostly closed behind me. "Something wrong?"

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, arms wrapped tight around her middle. "I’m... so ashamed even to ask," she began, eyes dropping to the floor. "But... you... can you lend me 2350 dollars?"

"2350 dollars?" I repeated, surprised by the exact number. "That’s specific. Why?"

"You... remember my brother, right? You saw him while I was in the shower."

"Yep, I remember him."

"He’s... he’s into gambling, right?" She swallowed hard, eyes flicking up to mine then away again. "Then... I... well, when he last visited me, he borrowed money from me. And honestly, I don’t earn much at Stingy Ladies. And he’s asking for money again and... I don’t know, Evan. I just don’t have it."

I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the tension there. "Damn. Alright, I’ll... yeah, yeah, sure. Should I send it to you or..."

"Cash," she said quickly. "He lost a big bet on an underground casino. And, well, some not-so-nice people are kind of after him."

"Huh... Alright, just wait here for a second."

"Mm."

I closed the door gently and walked into the master bedroom. I didn’t have that much cash lying around—the glass panel installation had pretty much drained what I kept on hand. But the system shop had the "500 Dollars" option. I pulled up the interface mentally, bought five of them. The money appeared in my hand with a soft golden glow—five crisp bills levitating above my palm for a second before dropping into my grip. I weighed them, fanned them out to check they were real, then tucked them into my pocket and headed back to the door.

I also... for some reason had a small candy bar in my pocket. I didn’t know where it came from, but a candy was a candy, eh?

I opened it again. Eleanor was still there, shifting nervously.

"Here." I held out the cash. "2500. You can keep the rest."

Her eyes went wide. She took the bills with shaking hands. "My god... thank you so much, Evan." She exhaled hard, shoulders dropping like a weight had lifted. "Phew... I’ll pay you back. I promise."

I shrugged, leaning against the doorframe. "Well... I wouldn’t mind seeing you in that blue dress you wanted to get." I paused, then winced. "Wait... that sounded like the beginning of a bad porno video, huh?"

"Yeah." She chuckled—small, relieved—and clutched the money tighter. "You don’t have enough money to pay me? Let’s fuck—type of story."

"Yeah, I guess it was creepy. Sorry," I said, rubbing the back of my neck again. "You don’t have to pay me back, though."

"I will pay you back... somehow." She smiled, real this time, eyes softening. "Thank you again, Evan. You have no idea how much you helped me."

The system UI flickered up.

╭───────────╮

WOMEN - INTERACTIONS

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

Jasmine: Interest: 40 / 60★★

Kayla: Interest: 38 / 40★

Tessa: Interest: 40 / 60★★

Kim: Interest: 100 / 100★★★★★

Delilah: Interest: 75 / 80★★★

Cora: Interest: 100 / 100★★★★★

Mendy: Interest: 20 /40★

Nala: Interest: 100 /100★★★★★

Penelope: Interest: 5 /20

Minne: Interest: 38 /40★

Ivy: Interest: -99/20

Eleanor: Interest: 25/40★

Amelia: Interest: 10/20

Esme: Interest: 60/80★★

╰───────────╯

Holy shit. Her interest had jumped from fifteen to twenty-five. Damn, she really needed that money that much, huh? Her stupid fucking brother... eating through it like that on gambling. Maybe I could talk to him later. No, no, no. Not while I had my own pile of problems. Maybe down the line.

The reward was... funny enough, 250 credits. I basically lost nothing. My balance stayed the same as before I gave her the cash.

"I’ll catch you later, Evan," she said, tucking the money into her pocket. "Oh, and visit Stingy Ladies sometime."

"I’ll be sure to do that." I smiled. "Take care, Eleanor."

"You too."

She gave a small wave, then turned and walked toward the elevator. I watched her step inside, press the button, and give me one last wave as the doors closed.

I stepped back inside and shut the door.

Now... I had to meet Delilah and break her the bad news.

Fuck.

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