Inside... Amelia’s heartbeats were too quick to be counted.
"He... He waited for me to enter before leaving." Her face flushed thinking about his romantic gesture.
"He is quite romantic." She thought as her hand rested above her chest.
"Amelia? What’s wrong, are you okay?" Said Carmilla as she looked at her daughter with worried eyes.
Amelia woke up from her daze.
"I-I’m fine mom, I just remembered something I forgot." replied Amelia.
"Okay, honey. There is some desserts in the fridge if you want some."
"It’s okay mother, I had dessert before I came."
"I will go change my clothes and probably sleep, I will see you and father tomorrow. Tell him I said goodnight."
She kissed her mother’s forehead and headed to her room.
****
Carmilla glanced at her husband who was changing from his uniform.
"Adam, our daughter has been acting weird recently."
"Honey... Your daughter is in love." He replied, with a smile on his face.
"Amelia? With whom?" she replied with a confused look on her face.
"Think it through..." He said, joining Carmilla in bed.
"Noah!" she said, and it finally hit her.
"Yes, it’s Noah. She was with him on a date earlier today," he said, as Carmilla snuggled into his embrace.
****
Back at Noah’s mansion.
Noah stepped out of his Lykan, glancing at the notification from the system.
[Ding! +10 Affection rewarded]
[Amelia’s Affection: 80/100]
He headed inside straight to the jacuzzi.
Noah leaned back, letting the warm water wrap him in its embrace, slowly melting away any discomfort.
Closing his eyes, he let himself drift, his mind at ease.
After what seemed like an hour, Noah stepped out of the jacuzzi.
After drying himself, he slipped into a new set of comfortable pyjamas.
Just as he was about to turn off the light and settle into bed, his phone vibrated on the small table next to his bed.
He picked it up to see a new message.
Amelia: "I enjoyed tonight, thank you. "
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he read her message.
[Ding! $2,300 has been credited to the account ending in xx04. Current balance: $1,042,069]
Noah smiled lightly, as he read the system notification before drifting to sleep.
****
The next morning, Noah woke up and did his usual routine.
After he was done, he glanced at his phone and saw a new message notification.
Aiden: "Hey man, I wanted to ask if you are still down for filming the video this weekend. Let me know."
[Ding! Ultimate Choice system has been activated!]
Option 1:
Help Aiden film his first viral video.
[Reward: An apartment estate]
Option 2:
Ignore Aiden.
[Reward: Villa Compound]
Noah’s brows furrowed, reading over the choices and their corresponding rewards.
"A villa compound—Its value is something that an apartment estate can’t compare to, but I have to ignore Aiden..."
The thought of ignoring Aiden twisted his gut in a way he hadn’t expected. He never had people he called friends, they could be counted on one hand.
He and Aiden had known each other for about two years now, Aiden had been there for him during times when he didn’t have much to offer in return.
Even though Noah had moved beyond his old life, the way Aiden treated him had remained the same, showing his good character.
He leaned against the bathroom sink, thinking about whether to choose option two, which would help him become the richest person in the world, or option one.
Choosing the villa compound would be the smart move, the one that he would make any time without hesitation.
Aiden had always been sincere, and supportive without asking for anything in return.
[Ding! Option 1 has been chosen.]
[The legal documents of ownership are in the inventory.]
Noah exhaled, an ugly look on his face. Although conflicted, he had chosen option one.
"I’m the one who offered to help him anyway," He said, trying to reason with himself.
Deciding to stop thinking about it, he grabbed his phone and texted Aiden back.
"Yeah, I’m down. Let me know when and where, let’s do it tonight since I’ve been quite busy recently."
Aiden’s reply came almost instantly, filled with exclamation marks and excited emojis.
He then headed downstairs to order breakfast, as he still hadn’t gone grocery shopping nor did he get a housekeeper.
"I really need to get a housekeeper," He muttered, scrolling through his contacts before calling a number.
"Morning!"
"Morning, Amelia!" he replied, a slight smile on his face.
"Hey, quick question, can you ask your dad about any trustworthy housekeepers or an agency he recommends? I want to hire one."
"Sure. I’ll talk to him during breakfast and text you right after."
When he arrived at the kitchen, he decided to not order food.
"I will just go eat at the restaurant," He murmured, as he put on his jacket and took the car keys from his pocket.
He spotted Anderson near the gate, a thermos in his hand, the warm steam rising from it visible in the cold morning.
Seeing Noah, Anderson immediately greeted him as usual.
Noah returned the greeting with a smile and a nod.
He soon arrived at the restaurant.
Before he even stepped through the entrance, the front-of-house attendant came to greet him.
"Mr. Noah, good morning. Are you here to eat?" she asked politely, with a professional look on her face.
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Seeing him nod, she quickly offered to escort him.
"Right this way, sir," she said, her voice calm and collected, already leading him toward the VIP section.
Caroline wasn’t here today, because it was the holidays.
Noah made sure that the contract she received did not burden her physically, whilst also keeping her happy in her work.
Noah flipped through the menu, his eyes glancing over each item.
The attendant stood a few meters back, attentive yet overly disturbing, ready to write down his choices.
Finally, Noah set down the menu, looking up at the attendant with a small nod.
"I’ll have the truffle-infused scrambled eggs, served with sourdough toast, and a side of avocado with microgreens. Add the smoked salmon and lemon-dill cream, please."
"For the drink, let’s go with an iced hibiscus tea."
The attendant smiled, noting down his order quickly. "Of course, Mr. Noah. I’ll have that brought to you shortly."