It was already evening by the time Tom walked back through the front gate.
After the encounter with the cashier, he had taken his time outside. He had branched a coffee shop and sat for two rounds of coffee.
After that, he had begun walking slowly around the area, his hands in his pockets, with nothing and absolutely everything on his mind.
"Now, I have started to live life..."
For that moment, he hadn’t bother to think if this new life would bring chaos or challenges or anything other than goodness, riches and ultimate enjoyment.
He had completed the five-kilometre walk on the way home.
When he reached the entrance of Sienna’s property, a different bodyguard from the one he had paid earlier stood on duty. The man straightened the moment he saw Tom approaching from outside the property.
He peered at Tom, determined to start interrogating him of where he was going but Tom didn’t slow down. He knew what was coming. And with the daily task still circling, he opened his mouth;
"Hey man, keep it cool?" he threw the word at the man casually almost off-hand, and kept walking. Even he was surprised by the way his voice came out. It was steady and loud.
He smiled within himself and straightened his shoulders, wearing the his newfound confidence with excitement.
The bodyguard blinked, clearly surprised both by the greeting and by the fact that Tom was returning from beyond the gate. Before the man could form a question, Tom had already passed him and stepped into the house.
He went straight to his room, closed the door, and let out a long breath.
The System’s interface appeared almost immediately.
[Daily Tasks complete.]
[Rewards issued.]
A small but bright smile tugged at Tom’s mouth. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the new balance on his phone, then at the modest shopping bag he had brought back with him. Inside it were toiletries, a proper shaving stick, several bars of the cheap soap he used to ration because he couldn’t let go yet, and sitting right on top - one expensive bar of the brand a former colleague used to boast about. He had bought it without checking the price twice.
Small things. But they were his.
"I’m going to keep up with this," he muttered under his breath with utmost satisfaction.
[Hope Host does not suddenly remember how to be shy when the next real mission appears,] the System replied him, dry as ever, even though Tom wasn’t talking to him.
Tom’s smile didn’t fade. "No, I won’t." he said with conviction.
He was still looking at the expensive soap, perceiving the smell, checking why exactly it was different when a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," he called, expecting the housekeeper. He had thought she brought his dinner.
The door opened and the person who stepped inside made Tom’s mouth open in shock.
Davina Williams...
Tom stood up so quickly the edge of the bed creaked. His mouth opened wider, but no sound came out at first. The last time he had seen her, she had been on her knees with his cock in her mouth while Sienna watched from the doorway.
The System’s interface flickered into view at the edge of his vision.
```
[DAVINA WILLIAMS – Relationship Meter]
Curiosity: 1/100
Attraction: 0/100
Love: 0/100
Obsession: 0/100
```
[Host.] [Don’t just stand there with your mouth open. Start a conversation. Be a man.] The System’s voice was calm but pointed.
Tom’s throat felt dry. He managed the most basic word he could find.
"...Hey."
Davina studied him for a moment, her head slightly tilted, as though she was seeing something she hadn’t expected. Then she spoke up in about even voice.
"Come with me."
The order landed in the old, familiar place - the same place Sienna’s commands and her friends’ casual demands used to hit. For a second the old reflex tried to rise. Tom felt it, recognised it, and crushed it immediately. And the response his brain had for this was anger.
He snorted, the sound sharper than he intended;
"I don’t take orders from anyone."
[Good going, Host.] the System murmured, almost pleased.
Davina’s eyebrows rose. She looked briefly taken aback, then something like approval flickered across her face. She preferred this version of him; it showed in the way her shoulders relaxed a fraction.
Then she cleared her throat.
"I wasn’t giving you an order," she started calmly. "I need to talk to you somewhere your wife won’t barge in." She paused, then added quickly, "But if you don’t want to go anywhere, fine. We can talk here."
Before Tom could answer, she reached behind her, turned the lock on the door with a soft click, and faced him again.
"There. Now we can talk."
Tom blinked, still standing in the middle of the room, his heart beating a little too fast.
"What did you come to say?" he asked.
Davina stayed by the locked door, watching him for a moment before opening her mouth.
"I’ve been thinking about what happened between us last time," she said. Her voice was calm, but there was a thread of genuine curiosity underneath.
"It shouldn’t have happened..." As that left her mouth, she paused and shook her head as if she had phrased it wrongly.
"I mean It wouldn’t have happened if nothing changed. You were different. And I’ve been wondering what changed."
Tom fought back a satisfied smile tugging at his lips but he lost. The mere admittance that something had changed in him was like a pleasant song to his ears.
’Yeah, let the world know Tom Harlow is a new man.’ Tom’s mind sang.
But before he could say a word in response to what Davina had just said, the System’s interface flickered into view at the edge of Tom’s vision.
```
[SIDE MISSION]
Respond shamelessly.
Do not soften it. Do not apologise.
[REWARD: $1,000]
[TIME LIMIT: 10 seconds]
[PENALTY: $5, 000]
```
Tom’s pulse kicked. He looked at Davina - at the same woman who had once treated him like he was invisible, the same woman who had always said he wasn’t supposed to be in their midst and the old hesitation tried to rise. He pushed it down. Because he wasn’t going to pay $5, 000 penalty.
He thought for a second for what shameless thing to say, then met her eyes immediately something came to his mind. He didn’t rethink it.
"You want to see what changed?"
Davina’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. She didn’t answer immediately.
And Tom’s hands moved to his belt. He unbuckled it, then slowly drew the zipper of his trousers down. The sound was loud in the quiet room. Davina swallowed her and she blinked.
"Come here and see," he said.
Davina’s mouth opened slightly. She stayed where she was for a moment, clearly weighing something. Tom felt a flicker of doubt - maybe she would turn around and leave but the fact that she had come to his room, locked the door, and started this conversation told him otherwise. She was already halfway in.
He remembered the wet heat of her mouth, the way she had swallowed him down without hesitation, and his cock twitched hard inside his open trousers, beginning to thicken and rise.
Davina’s gaze dropped for a fraction of a second. Then she stepped forward.
She had taken only two steps when a sharp knock sounded at the door. Both of them froze.
"Mr Tom, are you in there?" A voice called from outside. A voice that Davina knew well.
Davina jolted.