Adrin arrived late in the evening. It reminded him of his past life when he returned home after a long day at work. It was tiring but he had fun, well, most of the time.

The door swung open and Lily practically jumped into his arms for whatever reason. He had gone for one day, not the whole week or something. He wasn’t complaining as it felt good to be wanted but it had raised a concern inside his head.

It was also weird when she was already up and about after last night. He recalled the girl had said something about taking a pill after she had a talk with Emi. According to her, the pill was first made to help women to give birth more easily, but what was it called again?

Adrin shook the thought out of his head. He preferred not knowing the details, but he was glad that Lily wasn’t traumatized, it was her first time after all. It was a bad decision to adopt the ability, he had to admit, he wasn’t perfect. At least, now he knew that he had more things to consider before bedding any other woman. The significant other should know at the least.

He patted the girl back to calm her down. She let him go soon enough and bowed before escaping to the kitchen. He could hear the girl preparing something right after.

Nerina was by the stairs, and because of the worried look on her face, she probably had run down the stairs. Adrin swallowed a sigh and took a seat. He didn’t like where this was going.

“Did something happen?” He asked Emi who had placed the book in her hands on the table.

“I’m sorry, but the family found out somehow,” she said while reaching to hold his arm. “Someone came over to ask where you are.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ve half expected that,” Adrin said.

“You mean, you did go into a dungeon!?” Nerina exclaimed before she sat beside him. “That’s really dangerous.”

“I’ve told them both that you’ll be fine, but that woman, she kept saying horrible, stupid things until even I got worried,” Emi explained. “That damn bitch, she made me doubt you,” the girl cursed and she rarely did.

“I’m sorry, but maybe she is angry because no one caught me?” Adrin chuckled and tried to pinch her angry cheeks.

The girl snapped and swatted his hand away. Emilia was so furious until she couldn’t tolerate him. She must have been really worried about him.

“Go take a bath or something,” the girl demanded him to get away from her.

He had to admit, it was his fault, and the girl could be really unreasonable even when her anger wasn’t directed at him. It was disheartening but he couldn’t blame her.

Emilia would stay like that for an hour or so before she cooled down. He wasn’t surprised, as women were more emotionally driven than men. Anger would make anyone behave unreasonably and it was more notorious in women. Most of them could only process everything after they had let out some steam.

The girls had a real scare. It could have become a real nightmare if their fellow apprentice had died in the dungeon.

It must have been so disturbing when even the tough Emilia had been shaken to her core. He wasn’t prone to suicide run but no one could tell what was inside his head. The woman who came might have used that unknown factor against these poor girls.

But he would never allow anyone to dictate how he would live his life. He didn’t ask them to like him or any of this. If they didn’t like it they could find someone else cause, unlike Lily, they could make their own choice.

Maybe this was it, the crack that would eventually separate them.

Adrin patted Nerina’s hand and got up without saying a word.

He probably needed a bath even if he could just use [Cleanse]. There’s nothing that could replace a long dip in lukewarm water, and what it could do to your mind. He needed it to think about what he should do next.

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He walked up the stairs, entered his room, and prepared the bath. A few minutes later, he was groaning blissfully in the magical fountain of water.

Nothing felt better after a long day outside.

The small pool was big enough for several people to dip in if they didn’t mind some skin contact. The only thing missing was an integrated jet whirlpool. Maybe he should add that to the list of things he should reinvent here. Adrin chuckled.

“Master,” Lily addressed him as she knocked on the door.

Adrin sighed inside, “yes, Lily?”

The girl opened the glass door. Adrin breathed in relief when she was still fully clothed as brought in some drinks and food.

“Thanks, Lily,” he said as the girl placed them near the tub.

The girl then bowed and left the room. He left the bathroom with the supper in his hands not long after that. Lily was really a good cook. She reminded him of his old-world mother.

Adrin slept undisturbed that night.

---

Dave was living his dream life.

He had a gorgeous loving wife, a house, and big land for him to retire. He had three beautiful daughters, all were already adults by the time he reached the dreaded four zero. His mid-life crisis felt like an annoyance instead of an overburden.

Dave still had plenty more years in his career and he loved his job too. There was no way he was quitting his well-paying job anytime soon.

Life wasn’t perfect but it still felt like he was the luckiest man alive.

Anyone could tell that he had committed early and married his first love. She wasn’t perfect, of course, but nobody was perfect, not even himself. They had just learned to accept each other’s flaws and live with them. Many were against it but he was happy for twenty long years. He had never felt the need to even look at another woman.

But everything was destroyed with a simple email. Another woman claimed that her fiance was having an affair with his wife.

Of course, he refused to believe such a story until he saw the pictures. A woman who looked just like his wife was riding another man like she had lost her mind.

It was like seeing entirely another person. More pictures of her were sent to him but he couldn’t even see any of them anymore. It destroyed him inside.

It felt like a living nightmare.

There was no excuse to him because they could have talked about it if she felt lonely. If he had worked too much. They had promised to talk about anything. She knew that.

Two decades of dedication washed down the drain just like that.

He just sat there staring at nothing.

What he did wrong? Was it the karma of his past life? Was God punishing him for something? He only had questions with no answer. He couldn’t think of any.

Hours passed by until the soft cushion under his seat felt like stone.

Dave knew at that moment, he couldn’t even return home anymore. He messaged his family that he was going on a business trip for a few days while he lived in a hotel. Dave knew that he wouldn’t be able to act as nothing had happened when he saw her smiling face again.

David had no delusions, he wasn't a great man as others liked to throw at him. His patience had its limit and he might explode. The last thing he wanted was to commit a crime.

But what happened during his absence had completely crushed him.

He had set the cameras himself and configured them to upload the footage to secure cloud storage. Everyone knew about the camera and local data, but only he knew about the remote backup. He acted on a hunch but it turned out to be horrifying.

The wife who he thought had loved him brought another man into his home, and worst of all, his daughters knew about it all along. He saw them in the security camera footage, talking to each other like they had known one another for a long time. Even his favorite Sarah didn’t become angry at her mother or something. She just let the man in when he knocked on the door.

His own family had betrayed him, and at this point, he wasn’t even sure the daughters were his. He didn’t even want to know the truth as he might never be able to continue to care about them.

He might as well went insane if it was true.

That very night he quit his job and transferred everything he got and could to a private swiss account. He bought everything he needed and went hiking in another country.

He had sacrificed enough.

The only thing he left for his family was a message telling them that he had learned about the truth and how his own girls knew about it. They might not care, but he still wanted them to live knowing their choices had to do with his decision.

From then on, he lived chasing his dream, alone in the middle of nowhere.

---

Adrin woke up with tears in his eyes. It was just a dream but it felt so real, so visceral until he was left staring at the distance. It felt like it had happened only yesterday.

The betrayal was so painful and he never wanted it to happen again.

He didn’t feel anything when Lily helped him to dress up. She was hiding her concern but he had no courage or energy to tell her anything. The dream memory had hit him hard in the guts.

Girls might want to sleep with him, but it was out of their own selfish needs.

Love is only a chemical reaction.

He had forgotten about those facts.

The girls already left the house for their classes without even waiting for him. He didn’t know why or someone had made them leave, but it still hurt all the same.

Maybe it was time to leave.

A carriage was already waiting for him as he got out.