Chapter 126: A Lesson In Humility
After leaving the penthouse behind, Alex was immediately cornered by his aunt Shannon, who was waiting for him in the hallway. She had overheard his discussion with Diana, and wanted to talk to the man about some personal matters.
Why was Shannon staying at a casino during a weeknight? Because now that her little sister owned a series of casinos, she had pressured the woman into allowing her into the High Roller Club as a way to meet wealthy men, in an attempt to find a proper husband for herself.
Of course, throughout the night, she had unconsciously compared each and every one of these men, most of which were in their fifties and sixties, to Alex, and found herself thinking that they were completely lacking. Which ended up in her not speaking with any of them, despite her initial intentions to do so.
It was only after she began realizing that she was actually comparing these wealthy men to her nephew that Shannon decided to get hammered and passed out in her little sister’s penthouse. And thus she had overheard the conversation between Diana and Alex after the boy woke up.
Alex was only slightly surprised to see his aunt waiting for him, and just when he was about to ask her what was up. She was quick to ask the man for a favor.
“Alex... Do you mind driving me home? I believe I took a cab here last night, and since you’re headed out anyway, I’d rather not pay for another one....”
It took one glance at the woman for Alex to know that she wanted to talk to him about something in private and was just using this as an excuse. Thus, he smirked as he rolled his keychain over his finger before walking straight past the mature auburn-haired beauty.
Shannon reacted in shock, and pouted when she saw this, that is until Alex stopped halfway through the hallway and asked her a simple question with a shameless smile on his handsome face.
“Well, are you coming or not?”
Shannon immediately wanted to wring the neck of her errant nephew, who had played such a trick on her, but took a deep breath to calm herself as she followed the man to the elevator, which eventually led them to the parking garage. Once they were inside the Senna, Shannon could not help but ask Alex if he had really purchased such an expensive car.
“Okay, I’ve got to ask... Did you really buy this car yourself?”
In response to this, Alex smirked while he completely lied through his teeth to his aunt.
“Of course! What do you think I am, some kind of brokie?”
This caused the woman to remain completely silent, even as Alex sped through the streets of Las Vegas in a million dollar hypercar. The reality was that he had stolen this car from Hee-Young, which when the woman found out about this, she had gifted it to him as a way to pay him back for the trouble he had with her worthless son. But Alex would never admit that to a woman like Shannon who was fixated on wealth.
And his lie had worked like a charm, because in the very next moment Alex received a message from the system which confirmed he had made the right choice.
[Shannon is impressed by your wealth!]
[+5 Affection from Shannon!]
[Shannon’s Affection: 55/100]
—
Eventually, Alex and Shannon arrived at her house, where she was quick to invite the man inside. Considering this entire ride was about speaking to the woman in private, Alex naturally accepted the offer. Where the woman poured him some lemonade, which was always welcome on a hot day in the Mojave desert.
Alex took a sip and noticed that the woman had a particularly awkward expression on her pretty face. Almost as if something was bothering her. With this in mind, Alex broached the subject for her, since she didn’t know where to start.
“So.... You wanted to talk to me about something?”
Shannon was already a nervous wreck. I mean, how exactly was she supposed to ask her nephew about what he thought of her as a woman? That was not exactly something that was normal. Thus, when Alex initiated the conversation, she accidentally knocked the lemonade pitcher over, spilling it all over Alex. The man forced himself to remain stoic, even as Shannon panicked.
“Oh, my God! I’m so sorry, let me help you!”
Shannon immediately reached for a towel, and tried to dab Alex’s pants, but at the same time he had also tried to prevent her from doing so.
“That won’t be necessary. I can clean myself...”
Because of this brief struggle, along with the soaked floor, the two of them instantly slipped and fell, where Alex ended up on top of Shannon, and she herself was beneath him. The woman couldn’t help but blush like a schoolgirl as she stared at her handsome young nephew in the eyes.
Now that she was close to Alex, Shannon realized that there was something absolutely intoxicating about his scent. Which was naturally the result of his skill [Pheromones], and perhaps because she was affected by this skill, Shannon made a move on her own nephew. Or she was just about to, when the door to her house opened and revealed the figure of none other than Chad himself.
—
“Shut up, you old hag! You have been seducing Chad for years! Ever since we were kids! I know how much you want a rich husband, you fucking gold digger! And you knew Chad would become a star one day! Isn’t that why you always looked the other way when he used to push Alex around like a little bitch?”
Alex was just about to backhand Emily across the face. But to his surprise, Shannon had acted first. Utterly bitch slapping the young woman, while wearing a furious expression on her otherwise pretty face. It was not the accusation of her grooming Chad that pissed Shannon off. In fact, she found the very notion laughable. If Chad had a crush on her, that was entirely on him.
No, what pissed Shannon off to the point where she would slap the absolute shit out of Emily was the accusation that she had allowed Chad to bully Alex. This was something deeply personal to her, and something that she felt an enormous amount of guilt for. After all, it was only recently that Diana revealed to her that Chad had bullied Alex throughout their youth.
The slap was loud enough that Alex had thought it was heard around the world, and even he dropped his jaw agape as he watched Shannon scream at both Emily and Chad at the top of her lungs.
“Both of you get the fuck out of my house right now! I don’t want to see either of you here ever again!”
Emily instantly broke out into tears, but she choked back her desire to cry on the spot. After all, she had never before been hit by anyone in her entire life, but she was so angry with Shannon that she didn’t want to give the woman the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Thus, she bit her tongue and dragged Chad out of the doorway, but not before leaving her final thoughts on the matter.
“Fuck the both of you!”
Alex immediately noticed a message appear from the system, which showed that Emily’s affection for him had drastically dropped. Or he would have if Shannon hadn’t immediately hugged him once the door was shut behind Emily and Chad.
[Emily is furious at you for beating up Chad!]
[-15 Affection from Emily!]
[Emily’s Affection: 20/100]
[Emily is concerned for Chad’s health and has forgiven him for his previous behavior!]
[+45 Affection from Emily to Chad!]
[Emily’s Affection to Chad: 95/100]
[Shannon is furious at Chad and Emily for this incident, and has completely lost all Affection for Chad!]
[-30 Affection from Shannon to Chad!]
[Shannon’s Affection to Chad: 0/100]
Alex was surprised that his aunt was hugging him. In all of his memories from this life, he could not think of one instance where the woman had done so. There were also tears running down her pretty face as she absolutely smothered Alex with her massive bosom.
“Oh, Alex... I’m so sorry! I was such a horrible aunt towards you! Had I known that Chad was bullying you all those years ago, I would have cut ties with him a lot sooner! Is there any way you can forgive me for being so foolish?”
Knowing that Shannon was now in the palm of his hands, Alex smirked something sinister. Luckily for him, the mature beauty could not see this or else she might have believed his intentions were less than genuine. He responded to her embrace positively, and hugged his aunt back, as he pulled his head out of her bosom and pet her silky auburn hair.
Alex then forced the woman to look him in the eyes as his expression shifted to one of compassion. While at the same time speaking to her in the most charming way he could manage, which was naturally enhanced by his skill [Siren’s Call]. A skill that combined with his other ability [Pheromones] to thoroughly enchant the mature auburn-haired beauty.
“Aunt Shannon, you have nothing to be sorry for... Ignorance is not the same thing as malice. In fact, I should apologize to you for holding a grudge against you for all these years, simply because you did not notice my suffering. But if it is truly forgiveness that you seek from me, then you can rest easy knowing that you have it...”
Shannon gazed at Alex in complete and total disbelief at his words. The only way she knew that they were genuine was the gentle smile on her nephew’s handsome face and his compassionate eyes. Eyes which she had not seen since Alex was a little boy. Knowing that there was still a bit of that kind kid inside the man’s heart, or at least believing this to be true. Shannon did the unthinkable and leaned in while kissing her nephew.
While Alex kissed his aunt, he saw a miraculous message appear in his eyes. Though it was one that he had been expecting.
[Shannon is overwhelmed by your forgiveness and has fallen head over heels in love with you!]
[+40 Affection from Shannon!]
[Shannon’s Affection: 100/100]
Knowing that Shannon had been successfully conquered, Alex smirked after finishing his kiss with her, before asking his aunt one simple question.
“Aunt Shannon... Will you be my woman?”