Ethan lay weakly over Cassandra, his body soaked in sweat and his heart racing. He could barely breathe, his face still buried in her neck.
"Ethan… move, you're crushing me…" she murmured, panting, though her voice sounded more tired than annoyed.
He immediately rolled to the side of the bed, covering his face with his hands.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… it's just… I lasted so little… I don't know what happened…"
Cassandra turned her face toward him, looking at him with a mix of tenderness and exhaustion.
"Don't apologize so much. It happens to everyone… besides, it was… intense."
Ethan lowered his gaze, biting his lip. He swallowed before speaking softly.
"It's just… Cassandra… I'm… a virgin."
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"What…? You mean…?"
"It's the first time I've been with someone… I never had the courage before."
Cassandra stared at him incredulously, then laughed softly, though with a trace of bitterness.
"And you decided… to give something so special to me? Ethan, I'm an old woman, with wrinkles, a ruined marriage… I have no beauty left, nothing to offer…"
He awkwardly moved closer and took her hand.
"Don't say that. To me, you're beautiful… even more than any of those young girls I never had a chance with. You're real, Cassandra. I always thought no one would ever look at me the way you did… and now that I have you close… I don't want to let you go."
[Owww… how sweet. If you weren't so pathetic, I might actually cry, Romeo.]
She lowered her gaze, and for a moment, it seemed her eyes were about to tear up.
"You're such a fool… how can you speak to me like that after what we just did? I should feel guilty, but you make me feel… alive again."
[Wow… sugar level over 9000. Prepare for diabetes.]
Ethan frowned and muttered under his breath:
"Shut up already!"
Cassandra looked at him, confused.
"What…? Are you telling me to shut up?"
"No, no! Sorry… I didn't mean you…"
[Sure you didn't, champ. Tell her to shut up right when she's opening up emotionally. Genius.]
Ethan leaned in, desperate to fix it, and kissed her hand.
"I'm sorry, Cassandra… you're the most important thing that's ever happened to me. I don't want you to think I despise you… on the contrary, I'm… I'm falling for you."
She looked at him, stunned, her heart racing.
"Ethan… don't say that. We barely know each other…"
"But that's how I feel. It might sound ridiculous, but… when I'm with you, nothing else matters. Not what people say, not what happens after… I just want to be here."
[Alert, Romeo detected. Next achievement: propose on the first date.]
Ethan clenched his jaw and blurted out without thinking:
"Shut your damn mouth!"
Cassandra looked even more confused.
"What's wrong with you, Ethan? Who are you talking to?"
"Sorry, sorry… I… I'm nervous, saying stupid things. I just want you to understand… I'm not like him. I would never treat you badly, Cassandra."
She swallowed, feeling a part of her wanting to believe him, though reason pulled her the other way.
"If I had met someone like you before… maybe my life would have been different."
He smiled, feeling a strange warmth in his chest.
"We can still change that… let me show you that you can be happy with me."
She watched him in silence, and for a moment, the air carried a different tension: it wasn't lust, it was a spark of something deeper.
But then Cassandra pulled away sharply and covered herself with the sheet.
"No, Ethan. This can't happen. Outside of the passion, outside of this moment… my husband could come back any second. And if he finds you here… he'll kill us both."
"Please, Cassandra…"
"No. Leave."
The coldness in her voice cut him like a knife. Ethan lowered his gaze, grabbed his clothes in a hurry, and started getting dressed, while his mind roared with anger at the system.
"Damn you! You always ruin everything!" he thought furiously.
[Relax, Don Juan. She kicked you out, but hey, you gained experience, points, and some cash. Not bad for an ex-virgin newbie.]
Ethan clenched his fists in anger as he buttoned his shirt. Glancing at Cassandra, he realized there was no turning back. She watched him silently, her eyes clouded with conflicting emotions.
Without saying another word, he slipped out the window like a thief, muttering under his breath, while the mocking echo of the system lingered in his head.
[Well, Einstein… first-date marriage mission failed. Next attempt: Casanova beta version.]
Jax slowly left the room, still hesitating at the doorway, as if afraid to move, glancing at Cassandra with a pleading look.
However, Cassandra shot him a freezing glare from the sofa, a cold beam that made him step back a few paces. Without a word, she got up and left, leaving the apartment in silence.
Jax closed the door behind him, but the silence only filled his mind with melancholy. He stayed there, leaning on the frame, thinking about everything that had happened, cursing the system for not letting him concentrate for even a second.
With a sigh, Ethan arrived at his door to collect his things, but as he tried to turn the handle… he froze. His mind had forgotten a crucial detail: the lock didn't work, and he was trapped outside.
He stood in front of the door, staring frustrated at the ineffective lock, a mix of rage and despair flooding him.
[Oh, champ… looks like now you're an Einstein with no entry. Good job, genius.]
Ethan cursed under his breath, softly pounding the door with his fist, while the echo of the system's mocking words resounded in his head.
"Could you shut up for a moment? I really wish you were like those novel systems that don't talk and just give users stuff."
[Hahaha, give you stuff… Hahahaha… said give you stuff.]
The system roared with its sarcastic laughter, mocking Ethan, who didn't know where to hide his head to escape the annoying sound.
[Come on, little Tesla, how much fun would life be if it were that easy?]