The weekend, filled with tailing Alex's target and working out with Jessica, had passed. On a bright Monday morning, as Owen was sipping warm coffee and leisurely watching the news in the living room, Clara walked in and sat on the sofa next to him, speaking in a softer-than-usual tone.
"Uh… Owen, do you have a moment to talk?"
Owen nodded with a friendly tone. "Of course, Clara. I always have time for you~"
Hearing that, Clara smiled slightly and explained with a worried expression, "Ever since we found the herb to treat Grandma Alice's illness, she's been taking even better care of me. She's even given me a raise several times, even though I refused. So, I'm trying to work harder to repay her kindness. I'm so exhausted after work I barely have any energy left. Could you please drive and pick me up from work every day?"
This time, Owen didn't intend to use his Choice System power, but it appeared before him automatically, meaning his answer in this situation was quite important to Clara:
…..
[1. Wow~ You're such a good person, Clara. Don't worry about it, I'll pick you up! (Affection +3, Angel Path +1)]
[2. Oh~ Just like my kind angel who doesn't like to take advantage of anyone! I'm so jealous that Damian got to marry you… Of course, I'd be happy to drive you every day, if you're willing to give me a kiss on the cheek in return~ (Affection +3, Demon Path +1)]
[3. Sorry, Clara, but I'm too lazy to drive. Why don't you ask your Damian? (Affection -5)]
…..
Of course, he had to choose the Demon Path. A sly grin appeared on Owen's face. He put his coffee cup down on the table and said to her in a flattering tone, "Oh~ Just like my kind angel who doesn't like to take advantage of anyone! I'm so jealous that Damian got to marry you… Of course, I'd be happy to drive you every day, if you're willing to give me a kiss on the cheek in return~"
He smirked and looked into her eyes teasingly. This made Clara slightly embarrassed; she even averted her gaze from his, her heart pounding. She could only remind herself internally, 'Don't act embarrassed in front of him, Clara. You're not at an age to act like that anymore. Owen is just teasing you. He probably isn't serious about hitting on you, because you're an old, married woman. Keep it together, Clara!'
Once Clara thought that, she relaxed and nodded her thanks to Owen. "I knew I could always count on you, Owen. But about the kiss on the cheek… you were joking, right?" Her voice was tinged with a slight nervousness. When Owen saw that cute side of Clara, his smile widened.
"Why would you think I'm joking? I really want it. Who wouldn't want a kiss on the cheek from a beautiful woman like you if they had the chance? And it would probably give me more motivation to do things for you. Of course, it's just a friendly kiss between close friends, you know. Or… are you thinking of me as more than that?"
Of course, Clara had to wave her hands and deny that question instantly. "No, Owen, I don't think of you like that! Okay, fine, I'll give you a kiss on the cheek as thanks every time! Hmph~ And don't you dare tell Damian about this. I'm afraid he'll get the wrong idea."
Owen nodded with satisfaction, seeing his plan succeed. "I won't do that, Clara. It'll just be another 'secret between us'… Speaking of which, what should we film for OnlyStar today? Have you prepared an outfit yet?" Owen didn't push the matter further, so he smoothly changed the subject.
Hearing the question, Clara's eyes immediately sparkled, as she wanted to go for another walk in the park. "Can we go shoot at the park again? The atmosphere there is so nice. Our followers would definitely want to see me in my workout clothes again," Clara said with an excited tone. Even though Owen knew she just wanted to go for a walk, he didn't object, so he naturally nodded in agreement.
"Of course, Clara. You look very sexy in that outfit. By the way… you're starting to figure out what your pervy followers like, aren't you?" Owen smirked teasingly, which made Clara blush again.
"Hmph~ Why wouldn't I know? I secretly read their comments in my free time. Even though I'm happy they like an older woman like me, I don't like it when they sexually harass me so openly like that!" Clara grumbled.
Owen could only laugh at her pouty face. "Haha~ You should get used to it, Clara. Because that's your average OnlyStar follower."
After a short time preparing, Owen drove Clara to the familiar park. The late morning sun shone down on the lush green leaves, and a gentle breeze created a relaxing atmosphere. They started their usual OnlyStar content creation. Clara posed naturally under Owen's guidance, who meticulously arranged the camera angles.
Unfortunately, today seemed to be a bad day for them both. Suddenly, a group of three men walked straight toward them. There were two young men, about 20 years old, and one adult man, about 35. All three were dressed in strange and intimidating Awakened leather armor.
"Oh my god! What am I seeing! Isn't that her? The woman with the Mount Fuji boobs we're following on OnlyStar!" one of the young men shouted in disbelief, his eyes wide.
When his friend shouted, the other two in the group immediately turned to look. "Wow~ It really is her. Let's go talk to her!" The other one nodded in agreement and licked his lips disgustingly. "Yeah, yeah. I can't believe we live in the same city as her. What a coincidence~"
When Owen and Clara saw the group of strangers approaching, they temporarily paused their photoshoot. Owen instinctively knew that this group was up to no good. He stepped slightly in front of Clara to shield her. "Who are you? Do you have business with us?" Owen asked in a firm voice.
Hearing this, the young man on the left retorted with an arrogant tone, "Oh, oh~ Just a photographer. How dare you speak to us in that tone? Don't you know we're Awakened?" His friend on the other side nodded in agreement. "That's right. We didn't come to talk to you. We came to talk to the lady next to you."
The 35-year-old man in the middle followed up. He spoke as he opened his palm, releasing a fist-sized fireball from it as a threat, causing the surrounding temperature to rise instantly.
"That's right. We only have business with the lady, because we're her fans. We just want to take her to make some content together~ We'll just shoot a clip or two with her, that's not too much to ask, right? Besides, she can even post our clips on her OnlyStar. It's a fair deal, isn't it?" he said with a sly, lecherous smile. This made Clara tremble with fear. She bit her lip and held onto Owen's arm tightly.
Hearing that, Owen's face darkened. He tried to calm himself and think of a way out of this crazy situation. There was no way he and Clara could fight these professional-looking Awakened. So, Owen immediately used his Choice System power, and the translucent window appeared:
…..
[1. Punch him! And tell Clara to run. (You are critically injured, enters the path where Clara gets raped.)]
[2. Aren't you afraid of the police, talking trash like that? I'm calling them right now! Don't think you're the only Awakened ones here! (They will temporarily retreat, enters the path where Clara gets raped.)]
[3. You're messing with the wrong person! Don't you know I work for Governor Alex? If you want to keep living in this city, get the hell out of here before I call his bodyguards! (They will retreat and not bother you again, Clara's Affection +5.)]
…..
Owen immediately chose the third option. "You're messing with the wrong person! Don't you know I work for Governor Alex? If you want to keep living in this city, get the hell out of here before I call his bodyguards!" Owen said in a fierce tone, his expression grim, as he raised his phone, ready to make a call.
This made the three men turn pale. Their expressions changed from arrogance to clear fear. They stepped back and quickly apologized. "Huh? You… you know Governor Alexander? Shit! We're sorry… We didn't know you worked for him. Please don't report us. We were just joking around!"
The other young man quickly added, "Yeah, yeah! We really didn't know you were his man. We'll leave right now. We won't bother you anymore. Goodbye!"
With that, the three of them quickly walked away in a panic and ran out of sight. This made Owen and Clara sigh in relief. "Thank you so much, Owen! For getting me out of that situation. I was so scared! I was afraid they were going to do something bad to me! Sob~" Clara threw herself into Owen's arms, hugging him tightly. Clear tears seeped from the corners of her eyes. Her large breasts pressed firmly against his strong chest.
Being ambushed by Clara like that, Owen, who had been tense from the incident moments ago, felt like he had ascended to heaven. It was so soft, bouncy, and fragrant. And he wasn't shy about taking this opportunity to hug her back, his hand stroking her back to soothe her battered spirit.
"It's okay, Clara. I'm still here. I'll always be here for you, you know that..." Even though his mouth said that, deep down, Owen knew that if he didn't have the power of the Choice System, today's incident would not have ended well. This made him start thinking about the future. He shouldn't rely solely on the Choice System's power. He had to find a way to become stronger, strong enough to fight most Awakened and protect the people important to him!
…
Several days passed after the incident at the park…
Clara finally managed to recover mentally and return to her normal life. She just became more cautious. If she wanted to go out, she would always go with Owen. She no longer dared to go out alone. Even when she went to work at Grandma Alice's flower shop, she had Owen drive her. This made Damian and Julian start to wonder why Clara and Owen had become so close. The two of them were practically attached at the hip.
While Owen was playing a game in his room, Clara came in with a key in her hand. "Owen, take this. It's the key to my closet. I think it's time we increased our follower count significantly! So, I need to dress sexier. Of course, only in a private place like my closet. What do you think?" Clara said, her eyes full of confidence.
Owen took the key from Clara, confused. When he processed what she was thinking, he immediately nodded in agreement. Who wouldn't want to see her dress more revealingly? "Oh~ That's a great idea, Clara. I fully support you. When should we start filming?"
Clara thought for a moment. "Hmm~ How about late at night when Damian's asleep? That way he won't suspect us," Owen nodded in understanding.
"Got it. If you're ready, just knock on my door. I'm always up late. Besides, did you know that our first month's OnlyStar income wasn't any worse than your friend's? Maybe even more! It must be because of your unique beauty and charm. It made $25,000," Owen couldn't help but praise her.
Hearing that, Clara's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wow~ It made that much, Owen! I really wasn't wrong to do OnlyStar with you! Now we have hope of paying off the 10 million debt. Yay!~ I'm so happy, Owen. It was you who did a great job. Without you, I wouldn't have known how to start. By the way, what should we do with this first payment? Our household expenses are all covered. Or should we use it to start paying off our debt?"
After thinking for a moment, Owen said, "I think we should invest it in a better camera. We're still using a cheap camera to film right now. Don't you agree, Clara?"
Clara nodded in agreement without a second thought. "You don't have to ask my opinion, Owen. I trust you~ You always know better than me what to invest in…" After talking a little more, the two went their separate ways to attend to their own business.
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