Chapter 73: Having An Epiphany or Meeting Maya
ADRIAN’S POV
Some moments ago.
The hallway was as quiet as expected by the time Adrian got back to his apartment.
He turned the lock behind him and stood there for a second.
He’d been waiting for something to surface. Some leftover reaction from seeing Maya, or maybe the urge to sit there and think about it.
Nothing much came.
He checked anyway, mostly because he expected something to be there.
There wasn’t.
There was still the awkwardness of it.
Standing in a hallway with his ex while his girlfriend stood beside her wasn’t exactly a situation he had any interest in repeating.
Unfortunately, his blessed System had apparently decided that complications were part of the package.
He moved toward his bedroom, thinking about it one more time.
He probably should have stayed inside. If he had, none of that would have happened.
Then again, he would’ve never had the business idea.
Was it worth it?
He searched for an answer but couldn’t get one.
He stripped down until he was left in his boxers, dropped his phone on the drawer so he wouldn’t be tempted to check it again, and fell onto the bed.
A loud sigh escaped him as he settled against the mattress.
He turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
There wasn’t anything interesting up there.
That was probably the point.
His eyes drifted toward the desk. After a moment, he reached for his phone.
10:12 PM.
He scrolled past the time and opened the System, navigating to his current mission timer.
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TARGET REGISTRATION
Time Remaining: 22:09:47
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Twenty-two hours.
Adrian stared at the timer for a moment.
Jenna had agreed to try.
The System, unfortunately, had its own definition of what counted as a registration.
He still wasn’t sure he’d finish it before the timer reached zero. Which raised the more annoying question.
What happened if he didn’t?
Adrian closed the interface. He’d find out if it became relevant. For now, sleep seemed like the better investment.
He turned over and was asleep soon after.
===
Adrian’s eyes opened.
The lights were still on. That was the first thing he noticed.
He tried to turn over anyway. His body cooperated for about half a second before apparently deciding that was enough.
Adrian exhaled through his nose.
Once he was properly awake, sleep was usually finished, that much he’d learned a while ago.
He sighed and reached for his phone.
2:19 AM.
Definitely not six. He let out a slow breath and sat up. Since he was already awake, there wasn’t much point pretending he could go back to sleep.
Then another thought hit him.
Adrian looked at his phone and navigated to the System.
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DAILY TASKS RESET!
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His eyes moved through the list. Then to the time.
Well. If he wasn’t sleeping anyway, there wasn’t much reason to waste the time.
The workout turned out to be suspiciously easy. That was Adrian’s first thought after finishing the push-ups.
One hundred and fifty. No break. His arms still worked.
He checked his form anyway, mostly because there had to be a catch somewhere.
There wasn’t.
So he kept going.
The sit-ups went the same way. The squats weren’t much different.
By the time he finished, it was already past three in the morning.
Adrian stood in the middle of his bedroom, breathing normally, and looked down at himself. Ninety minutes of exercise.
He wasn’t exhausted.
He wasn’t even particularly tired. That was... convenient. He decided not to question it at three in the morning.
A few moments later, the System notification appeared.
Adrian glanced at it.
Enhanced Physique growth.
He dismissed it without bothering to read through the details.
He already knew what it meant.
He showered, changed into a loose shirt and comfortable pants, then walked into the kitchen.
The moment he opened the cabinet, his appetite reminded him that waking up at two in the morning came with consequences.
He poured cereal into the largest bowl he owned.
By the time he sat down, it looked less like breakfast and more like a minor challenge.
He took a spoonful.
Bzzzzt!
His phone buzzed.
Adrian glanced at it, expecting the System. Drew was another possibility, seeing that he had history of ignoring what the time was.
Rose.
Hmm. He set down his spoon and opened the message.
Rose: you still awake?
Adrian looked at the time. Three in the morning. Something was definitely up.
Adrian: yeah.
Her reply came almost immediately.
Rose: Can I come upstairs?
That was quick.
Had something happened downstairs? It was certainly possible. Another message arrived before he could ask.
Rose: I’d rather not do this over text.
Adrian looked at the screen for another second. His mind offered several explanations. He ignored all of them. Guessing wasn’t going to help.
Adrian: you can come up.
He barely had time to set his phone down before someone knocked on the door.
That was quicker than expected. Adrian got up and opened it. Rose stood there.
Her eyes moved briefly past him, taking in the apartment before returning to his face.
"Am I interrupting something?"
"I was eating."
She stepped inside and headed toward the kitchen.
Her eyes landed on the bowl. Then on Adrian. Then back at the bowl.
He wasn’t sure what conclusion she’d reached, but judging by her expression, it wasn’t a flattering one.
She shook her head and took the chair nearest the kitchenette.
Adrian sat back down with the bowl.
Rose took the chair closest to the kitchenette doorway and crossed her legs. She wasn’t tense, exactly, but she wasn’t relaxed either.
"So..." Adrian took another spoonful. "What’s up..."
"I..." Rose stopped and looked at the table for a moment before meeting his eyes again.
"When I told you earlier that Maya probably wasn’t coming over, I meant it." Rose kept her voice level. "I thought she’d text and push it to another day. She just showed up."
Adrian waited.
"And then she decided to stay."
"Okay."
Rose looked at him.
"I’m not saying that as an excuse."
"I know."
"I just didn’t want you thinking I arranged it."
Adrian took another spoonful.
"Why would I think that?"
"I don’t know."
She studied him for a moment. "I wouldn’t be surprised if you did."
"You don’t need to worry." Adrian swallowed. "Whatever Maya thinks about me isn’t really important anymore."
Rose watched him for a moment.
"She had things to say."
"About me?"
"About you. About what she apparently remembered versus what she was seeing now."
Adrian paused, absorbing that without comment. "Should I be worried?"
"No."
The answer came sharply enough that Adrian looked at her.
"Of course not. I handled it."
"Handled it?"
Adrian set the spoon down and leaned back.
"Handled what?"
"She said things..." Rose hesitated. "Bad things about you."
Adrian’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
"I couldn’t just take it." She added.
"So you told her about us?"
Rose’s expression barely changed. "Do I need to ask permission for that?"
Adrian paused.
"You kind of sounded like you didn’t want Maya to find out."
"That doesn’t mean I’ll sit back and let her slander you."
Her voice remained steady.
"You’re still my boyfriend. So that gives her no right."
Adrian looked at her. He hadn’t expected her to say it that plainly.
Rose had just stood up for him against her own sister without even making it sound like a decision.
That was the sort of thing the System had been talking about.
A target wasn’t valuable just because of what Adrian could gain from them. Sometimes it was what they were willing to give up for him.
The corner of Adrian’s mouth lifted.
"That sounds chivalrous."
Rose gave him a small, unimpressed look. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"
"I’m still deciding."
She shook her head, though there was the faintest hint of a smile before it disappeared.
Adrian let it go. The joke wasn’t really the point.
Rose had come upstairs at four in the morning because she hadn’t wanted to leave the situation sitting between them.
He understood that much. She glanced toward the window. The building was quiet. Outside, the city was still dark.
"It’ll soon be six."
"It’s still four." Adrian looked at her. "That’s a long way from six."
"That’s your contribution?"
"I thought you’d appreciate the optimism."
She almost smiled again. Then she looked at him for a moment, and the room went quiet.
Adrian waited.
"So..." he said. "What do you want to do now?"