Chapter 19-The end of an era (2)

Chapter 19: 19-The end of an era (2)

Dylan’s face paled. Her words entered his ear and rung like loud irrelevant noise that made no absolute sense to him.

For several moments, he couldn’t think straight or even respond. After a full minute, he finally retuned to his senses.

"Mara, what..."

"I know about you and Sarah."

The words fell between them like a blade. Aymara didn’t back down, his shamelessness to come to her and demand such a huge amount of money had cast off the revenge she’d decided to hold back on until the apocalypse.

After the apocalypse, she wouldn’t get the chance to stand close to him and slap him to her hearts content so she took the chance now.

Dylan’s expression changed instantly. The anger disappeared from his eyes. Guilt flashed across his face before he hurriedly replaced it with his familiar expression of tenderness.

"Aymara..."

"Don’t," she raised one hand.

Dylan immediately stopped. He wanted to protest, but something in her eyes warned him not to push any further.

"If you have even a little shame left," Aymara said quietly, "leave me alone."

She turned away from him. "Our relationship is officially over."

Dylan stared at her back. He looked as though he had just watched the ground disappear beneath his feet.

Aymara reached her car and stopped beside the driver’s door and then she glanced back over her shoulder.

"I sincerely wish you and Sarah a long and happy life together," her expression was calm. "Just keep me out of it."

She had no intentions of letting them be happy, she said it for show. Their happiness came at the cost of her life in the past, she’d be a saint if she let their none fairytale story end at the famous "and they lived happily ever after".

"Happy?" She spat on the ground. "They don’t deserve it."

She walked back to the car and opened her door, ready to take detour and leave that toxic place.

Dylan suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Aymara, wait!"

She pulled away. Wiping her wrist after removing it from his hold. Her eyes were cold and full of disgust that she didn’t bother to mask.

"Listen to me!"

"You have nothing to say to me, Dylan. And I have heard enough."

"Sarah seduced me, Mara!"

Aymara stared at him. Her eyes were nearly rolling out of their sockets out of shock at his excuse to justify cheating on her.

"She tricked me!" he dropped to his knees. "Aymara, please hear me out!"

She looked down at him. All the hatred she held towards him multiplied at his audacity to push the entire blame on Sarah instead of taking accountability of his own actions and choices.

"I made a mistake."

"You made a choice... those are two different things."

"I’ll end things with her!" he desperately reached toward her and Aymara dodged before he touched her again. "I’ll leave Sarah and come back to you."

Aymara almost laughed. "Come back?"

"Yes! I’ll do anything," he pleaded at her feet but his eyes lacked genuine remorse, just regret that he might lose his generous ATM.

"Anything?"

Dylan nodded desperately. "Just transfer the one hundred million and I’ll choose you. I’ll always choose you."

Aymara stared blankly at him. There it was again, him revealing his true motive under false tenderness. What he’ll do anything for wasn’t her but her money.

She gritted her teeth and slapped him again.

SMACK!

Dylan’s face snapped sideways. His vision blurrying at the countless shocks he received from Aymara.

"You shouldn’t overestimate your worth," he stared at her. "You aren’t worth a single cent to me... even one cent holds more value than you."

Aymara opened her car door. "You can be with whichever shameless woman is willing to keep you," she let out, coldly. "I am done raising an ungrateful bastard."

Dylan scrambled to his feet. He was still disillusioned that Aymara was reacting so strongly because she was jealous of Sarah. The level of her anger just showed how much she loved him.

"Aymara!" he called out.

Aymara closed the door and the engine started. She rolled down the window one last time.

"Good luck with your true love. Don’t look for me again," she warned him. ’After the apocalypse, I’ll have plenty of time to make your life a living hell.’

Without farther thoughts, she drove away.

Dylan stood alone in the middle of the road, too shocked to move. Aymara didn’t look back. Not once. And she had even cut ties with him, he couldn’t believe it.

---

DING!

Aymara nearly laughed when the system appeared after she drove away.

[Congratulations, Host!]

[Secret Mission Unlocked.]

[Mission: Put Your Ex in His Place and Protect Your Pride and Dignity.]

Aymara’s lips twitched. "You have missions for everything, don’t you, System."

[Mission Successfully Completed.]

[Reward: Ship Upgrade.]

[Additional Reward: Space Multiplication Function upgraded.]

Aymara’s eyes widened. "Space multiplication? By how much?"

[Current multiplication rate: ×1,000.]

She nearly slammed on the brakes. Her frame becoming more shocked than Dylan after that confrontation. "One thousand?"

[Affirmative.]

Aymara burst into laughter. "This system really likes me."

The possibilities were incredible. One bottle could become one thousand, one bag of rice could become one thousand. She gripped the steering wheel.

Her exhaustion suddenly felt much lighter as the ship had upgraded again. Her space had become even more valuable and Dylan? He was no longer her problem.

"Good," Aymara smiled. "Very good."

---

By the time she reached the cruise ship, exhaustion finally caught up with her. She walked aboard.

The moment the doors closed behind her, the silence felt wonderful. There was no traffic, suppliers, negotiations or her enemies. It was just her and her fortress.

Aymara opened the status screen and checked the status of the ship so far.

[SURVIVAL CRUISE STATUS]

Ship Level: 5

Hull: Reinforced

Defense: Advanced

Surveillance: Active

Combat Drones: Active

Intelligence Drones: Active

Medical Facilities: Advanced

Agricultural Facilities: Expanded

Storage: Unlimited

Multiplication: ×1,000

Aymara stared at the progress and felt that all her exhaustion was worth it. She smiled proudly.

"Not bad, Aymara. Not bad."

She looked around the luxurious interior. Every room was fully furnished, organized. Food, medicine, weapons were stored. Technology was ready and the ship was becoming stronger every day.

It gave her a genuine sense of security. She would survive the upcoming doomday nightmares and more importantly, Nathaniel would survive.

Aymara leaned against the wall. "In my first life, I was too kind," she remembered the passengers on the cruise.

The people she had rescued, trusted and treated with kindness, who had watched her die. She shook her head and with it, the stupidity of empathizing with other people’s suffering.

"Never again."

Kindness, trust and naivety had killed her once. And she wasn’t a cat with nine lives nor an idiot to take her second chance for granted. This time, she wouldn’t make the same mistake.

"Why should I blame the wind for the mess it made when I am the one who opened the window?"

She would not open her doors to every desperate person who knocked or let strangers onto her ship simply because they cried out for help ever again and she certainly would not risk Nathaniel’s life for people who might stab them in the back.

Only one person would receive her unconditional kindness and that was Nathaniel. Everyone else could fend for themselves or drown.

Aymara walked toward the bathroom. "Now..." she smiled. "I’m going to enjoy the benefits of my hard work."

The bathtub was enormous. She prepared the water to her desired temperature and sank into the warm water with a long sigh.

Her muscles relaxed immediately. Steam curled around her. A plate of pork chops sat on a small table beside the tub. Beside it were other dishes, fried rice, vegetables and a glass of white wine.

Aymara picked up the plate. She took a bite and her eyes closed.

"Finally," she chewed slowly. "This is life."

She took another bite and continued to enjoy her warm bath. Outside the window, the sea was calm.

The irony wasn’t lost on her. The same ocean that had killed her once now surrounded the place she intended to survive in.

Aymara leaned back against the tub. Her eyes slowly closed and practiced her breathing. Four days ago, she had been dead and now she had a fortified cruise ship. A survival system that put her ahead of others in the upcoming struggle for survival.

Tomorrow would bring more preparation but tonight, she deserved rest.

Aymara lifted her wine glass. "To my second life," she made a toast and took a sip. "And to Nathaniel," her expression became soft.

"Just wait a little longer."

She would go to him soon but when she did, she would no longer be the foolish woman who had abandoned him years ago. She would be his shelter, his fortress, his protector and his entire world, if that was what he wanted or needed.

Aymara looked toward the dark ocean beyond the glass. "You won’t have to fear the endless oceans or any sea monsters... you have me."