"Sir? Are you paying or not?"
The cashier’s voice pulled Tristan out of his thoughts.
Tristan blinked and looked at the young man behind the counter. For a brief second he had actually forgotten where he was standing. His mind had carried on, a lot of miles away from here, country away actually. He was thinking how he had never been in this kind of situation before.
Insufficient fund? Never.
He heaved a sigh as he knew he had to do something. He pulled his brows together as he asked gently;
"Is there any payment arrangement for a customer who doesn’t have the full amount at the moment?"
It was the cashier’s turn to furrow his brows as he stared at him like he had lost his mind.
"No..." the cashier opened his mouth like he wanted to say more but kept his shut later.
A faint heat crawled up in Tristan’s throat. Embarrassment was not something he was used to, and he hated the feeling. He had thought of what he wanted to say, he was fully aware that it was absurd but he didn’t have any other choice. The alternative was worse - walking outside to call Cora back and ask her to return some of the items or cover the difference.
His pride refused that option completely. Not after he had told her confidently that the money would keep coming.
He gritted his teeth. Then he turned away slightly from the cashier and focused his attention inward.
"Lysander." he called out.
The System answered almost immediately, with Lysander’s usual light and amused tone.
"Yes, Host?"
"I need money. Can you help?"
Lysander chuckled softly. "I can. I can lend it to you. But you must repay the full amount within twenty-four hours. If you fail, it will increase by one hundred percent."
Tristan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"That’s ridiculous. And unfair."
"The world is rarely fair," Lysander replied sweetly. "Just make sure you earn more before the deadline. It’s that simple or are you planning on not working hard to repay it before the deadline?"
"You just have to complete the task you have at hand and you get more money." She added.
He went quiet for a moment, then gave a short, reluctant nod in his mind.
"Fine. Give me two hundred thousand."
"As you wish."
A few seconds later, he felt a sudden weight in his pocket. When he slipped his hand inside, his fingers brushed against stacks of cash that had not been there before.
Tristan heaved a sigh of relief then turned back to the cashier, his expression once again calm.
"Add my items as well."
The cashier looked at him as if he wanted to ask him if he was sure but refrained. Probably wanting to ask for money again and when he couldn’t provide it, he would then know how best to humiliate him.
.
He scanned the toiletries, clothes, and shoes. The additional total came to a little over one hundred. Tristan paid for everything without another word, collected the bags, and walked out of the store.
"Why did he hesitate before?" The cashier mumbled to himself as he watched Tristan walk out.
Outside, Cora was already loading the heavy grocery bags into a waiting Uber. She didn’t look at him even once. When she finished, she opened the door, slid inside. When she was comfortably seated, she looked out of the window and held Tristan’s gaze;
"Aren’t you getting in? Or do you want to find your own way back?" she asked flatly.
Tristan’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. However,he entered the car and shut the door.
The entire ride home was silent. Tristan would occasionally glance at Cora, hoping to find remorse or some degree of embarrassment on her face but found nothing other than anger despite the fact that she was looking at the other side. Her face was set hard and grim as if she had never smiled before in her entire life.
~~~~~~~~~~
When they arrived at the apartment, Cora still didn’t say a word to him. She also didn’t ask for help.
She got down from the car and simply began carrying the heavy bags inside by herself, moving with surprising strength.
Tristan watched her for a moment, then turned and walked into his room without speaking.
"What a woman!" He scoffed as he walked on.
Getting to his room, he headed straight to the bathroom, stripped off the old, unfamiliar clothes that had been somehow making him uncomfortable, and stepped under the water.
As the warm stream ran over his head and shoulders, his thoughts returned to what Cora had done at the mall. Loading far more than necessary, leaving him with the full bill, and walking out without checking if he could pay. He scoffed again in disbelief.
He couldn’t how a woman would be that brazen. She had brazenly taken advantage of the situation and she was totally unfazed by it.
He shook his head and finished washing.
After drying off, he put on the new clothes. The outfit was simple but properly fitted. When he looked at himself in the small mirror, he frowned at the unfamiliar face that met him. But there was something that seemed pleasant, he finally looked closer to the man he used to be; always looking well put together, composed, and in control of at least his clothing appearance.
He was just about to sit on the edge of the bed and examine the phone that belonged to this body because it had beeped while he was in the bathroom when a knock sounded at the door.
Tristan lifted his eyes.
"Who could that be? " He wondered but stood up anyway, walked over, and opened the door.
His brows raised at who he found, waiting...
Cora, standing there in all her glory, holding a plate of food. Her expression was still cold and faintly irritated. Without saying anything soft or polite, she shoved the plate against his chest.
"Eat, It’s from the groceries I bought with your money." she said flatly.
Then she turned and walked away before he could reply.
Tristan looked down at the plate in his hands, then at her retreating back.