Gabe froze like a chicken whose throat was held by the butcher. All he could do was watch as the butcher put his throat under the knife.There wasn’t any cash in Gabe’s pocket, either, so he just didn’t know how to react to this situation.Mia took out the money from her purse and paid the bill. The waiter left, but Gabe was still blankly staring with his mouth partly open.“There must have been some kind of issue with the card,” Mia said, even after she believed that there was no money in Gabe’s bank account. She didn’t want to make him feel embarrassed.Gabe pressed his lips together before putting the debit card back in his purse. He wanted to say thank you to her, but words didn’t come out of his mouth for some reason.[You should look at your face in the mirror right now. It’s hilarious.] Systa leaked out an annoying laugh to further test his nerves.Gabe’s face had no more color left to lose.[I told you already that the punishment will make you cry and beg me to forgive you.] S
Venkat’s face darkened like the night. He wanted to slap Gabe straight away, but after experiencing Gabe’s strength on his shoulder, he didn’t want to risk it.Instead of giving way for Gabe to leave the cafe, he walked alongside him and went to where Mia and Nora were talking.“Why don’t you two join us?” Venkat asked with a smile.“We just ate, so…” Mia apologized. “Sorry.”“Then, you can at least treat us to a nice meal,” Venkat suggested. “You two got married but didn’t even call us, so you can at least do this much for us, can’t you?”“Uh, sure,” Mia agreed out of shyness.“I’ll wait outside,” Gabe said and was leaving, but Venkat grabbed his hand.“Don’t go, my friend. We have a lot to talk about,” Venkat forced him to come with them and sit at the same time once more.“Order anything you want,” Mia told Nora. “I’ll pay for everything.”“That’s the Mia I know,” Nora excitedly called the waiter and then began to look at only the premium items. From burgers and ice creams to milk
The word ‘poor’ struck a vein in Gabe’s heart, especially because Mia was not talking back to Venkat anymore, which meant that she accepted his words probably because in her eyes Gabe was really poor.Gabe might have been able to clear his debts away, but he was still someone who was living in a small house that hasn’t been painted in decades.“Do you really work in UTS?” Venkat further questioned Gabe’s identity. “It’s a big company, so it makes me wonder if you’re really working there, or did you make a fake identity card to trick an innocent woman like Mia?”Mia looked at Gabe, wondering what he’d answer.“Why do you care where I work?” Gabe asked back.“Because you claimed that you earn more money than I do,” Venkat replied sharply. “So, obviously, I want to see if what you said was true or not. Why don’t you call your boss and talk with him in front of us?”Gabe slightly frowned.“Or, you can just show your bank statement for the past couple of months to show us your salary,” Nor
“Why are you spacing out when I asked you to do such a simple thing?” Mia snapped her fingers before Gabe’s face.“M-Mia, it’s a long story,” he grabbed her hand and took her to the elevator. Inside, they were alone, and he tried to explain things to her. “I want to give your money back, but I can’t. You know about the system I have, right? That thing is taking my money away.”“Huh?” Mia kept staring at him without blinking.“You don’t believe me?” He quickly showed the transactions and proved to her that his bank balance was zero. However, Gabe could easily have transferred the money to another account also owned by him, so Mia wasn’t too sure about what he was saying.“If the system is troubling you, then why don’t you take it off?” Mia asked.“Like I said, it’s a long story,” Gabe couldn’t tell her about the millions of dollars that he earned through the alpha system and then breaking the deal. It was too sensitive of an information that he didn’t want anyone to know.“Alright,” M
Claire didn’t trouble Gabe as much as he thought she would. After eating the chocolate ice cream, she just shook hands with him and Mia, and wished them luck. In the end, she lightly hugged Mia and whispered, “I was planning to go after him, but you got to him first. You are lucky.”Mia’s eyes enlarged in response.“See ya later,” Claire waved goodbye to Gabe and left as a happy woman. She looked more like a teenage girl now who didn’t care about looking a bit childish, whereas in the UTS, she looked like a lioness.Gabe didn’t even wave back at her, but Mia raised her brows and asked him, “She seems to be more than a co-worker. Did you two perhaps date in the past?”“What? No!” Gabe was quick to respond.“Then, do you have feelings for her?”“Of course not,” Gabe’s reply was faster this time. “I told you that I love you, didn’t I?”“I don’t believe your words anymore, Gabe,” Mia blew air through her nose. “From today, I’ll keep a knife with me, so think twice before trying to take ad
Mia and her family returned home. Everybody had bought something for themselves, except for Gabe. He was the only person who didn’t buy anything. Even if he wanted to buy, he didn’t have any money, so he couldn’t buy anything for his aunt either.As everybody rushed into Mia’s home, Gabe was walking toward his house.“Wait,” Mia’s voice reached his ears. He stopped and looked back. She gave him a bag and walked into her house without saying anything.Gabe looked inside the bag, and there were two pairs of clothes, and also the cake packed inside a small box. One pair of clothes was for a male, and the second pair for a female.“Did she buy clothes for me and my aunt as well?” Gabe got a bit emotional because he thought Mia only bought clothes for herself and her family. “Look at what she’s bought for me and my aunt, Systa.” He scolded the system. “You said she’s selfish, but she bought clothes for me after we sort of had a fight. She even bought a pair for my aunt. Will you take your
Gabe had a hot bath, and it eased his stress. He loved it very much because he didn’t have a hot bath before. This was his first time, and it felt like a luxury.After bathing, he came and hugged Nicole and kissed her and thanked her without telling her the reason.Nicole was a bit confused because she didn’t figure out that it was the hot bath that made Gabe so content.Gabe had never prepared hot baths for Nicole because her body used to suffer from inflammation, and so she only had cold baths even during harsh winters. The same was the case for Gabe.“Did you check the dress, Mom?” Gabe’s eyes were glowing with bright light. “Mia bought it for you.”“Was it Mia’s selection?” Nicole checked the dress and looked impressed. “I think she got the size right. She has good eyes.”“She has experience as a fashion designer, Mom,” Gabe told her. “So, I think that’s why she was able to pick the right size.”“Ah, that makes sense, but…” she looked up at him. “You are going to pay the money for
Bart’s father, William, was eating while making a lot of noises with his barbaric chewing because he was so hungry and no one was around. But when he saw Gabe casually enter through the front door, he just couldn’t digest it. He angrily dropped the chicken leg piece on the plate and stood. Gabe’s gaze met with William. Seeing the arrogant and cold look on William’s face, Gabe remarked, “I can see where Bart got his arrogance from. Are you going to waste the food on your plate?” “I’m full,” William burped. “Why don’t you finish what’s left on my plate? Oh, wait, you haven an aunt, don’t you? It must have been a long time since she ate chicken, so why don’t you feed her with this leftover food? I’m sure she’ll be over the moon.” Gabe clenched his fists. William saw that and faintly smiled. “Or does she not have the teeth to chew on the chicken bones? What a pity. I truly don’t see the point of such a person living in this world. It would have been much better for her to have killed h