Chapter 33: LOYALTY: 0%

I unlocked my deadbolt and cracked the door open. "Hey."

Another ten Sinpoints. Not important right now.

The woman spun around, her high heels clicking on the concrete. "Oh, fuck. Am I at the wrong door? Are you the one who called?"

"No, I didn’t call," I said, leaning against the doorframe and lowering my voice. "But... can we talk inside for a second? I can pay you. A lot more than whatever that asshole across the hall was going to give you."

She looked me up and down, checking out my apartment before crossing her arms over her tits. "Look, kid, I don’t swallow, and a condom is an absolute must. No exceptions."

"It’s nothing like that," I chuckled, stepping back to let her in. "Just come inside. Please."

She let out a loud, irritated exhale, snapping her gum. "Fine. Make it quick. And just so you know, I don’t do any costume roleplay either. The deal with the guy across the hall was strictly anal sex, and I already cleaned my ass out for it. So whatever you want, you better make it worth my time."

"Yeah, yeah. Trust me, it will be. Come on in."

She popped her gum again and stepped inside, but as soon as the door closed, she reached into her designer purse and wrapped her fingers around a canister of pepper spray. She just stood there, waiting. What the fuck was she waiting for? She was literally holding it out, waiting for me to make one shady move so she could blast my eyes out.

"There won’t be any need for that," I said, letting out an annoyed exhale. "Trust me."

"Then stop acting so fucking weird."

"Okay, look. I need you to do a little job for me," I said, getting straight to the point. "There’s a guy living right upstairs from me, Hubert. His name is written right on the door frame, you can’t miss it."

"And?"

"And... he has a wife," I continued, keeping my expression deadpan. "But Hubert is a piece of shit. He’s abusing her. Hitting her, mentally torturing her every single day."

She popped her gum loudly, her eyes narrowing into a hard stare. "Poor gal. Honestly, fuck all men."

"R-right," I said, mentally smirking. "Exactly. So, I want you to go upstairs and act like Hubert was the one who called you in today. When he inevitably denies it and tries to throw you out... I want you to improvise. Tell him stuff like, ’Oh, you always call me over when your wife is working that shitty bartender shift.’ Just layout all that jazz."

She immediately dropped the pepper spray back into her purse and held out an open palm, her acrylic nails clicking. "Two hundred and fifty."

"What?"

"Two hundo and fifty bucks cash. Take it or leave it."

Fuck my life. Two hundred and fifty dollars? That was practically all the money I had left to my name for the entire month. If I had wasted that money on my leech of a sister, I’d literally be starving right now and begging for extra shifts at the coffee shop. But... fuck it. Whatever. I desperately needed to tank that Partner Loyalty stat down to zero.

"Fine," I muttered, letting out a sharp breath.

I walked back into my bedroom, snatched my stained work pants off the floor, and pulled out my wallet. I fished out the bills, walked back into the living room, and dropped the cash straight into her palm. She expertly snapped the bills, counted them within two seconds, and shoved them deep into her tight leather skirt pocket.

"Now you just watch, honey," she smirked, giving me a wicked wink. "Let me show you how a real bitch gets things done."

"Can’t wait."

"Heh."

"Oh, and one more thing," I added as she reached for the doorknob. "He was missing from home two days ago. He was completely pissed off about his wife’s... messed up and childish hobbies, and he came running to you for moral support or whatever. Throw that in."

She paused, looking at me with a twisted smile. "Wow. You really don’t like your neighbors, do you?"

My smirk matched hers. "You have no idea."

She turned the handle and slipped out of my apartment, her heels clicking purposefully down the hallway.

I immediately crept up to the door, cracking it open just a tiny, imperceptible sliver so I could listen in on the chaos. I watched through the gap as she marched up the concrete stairs, her hips swaying under that tiny skirt. A few moments later, the heavy thumping of her fist against Hubert’s door echoed down the stairwell.

The door flew open with a violent creak.

"Who the fuck are you?" Hubert’s loud, aggressive voice boomed through the hallway. "Get the fuck out of here!"

"Get out of here?" the hooker shouted back, her voice dripping with attitude. "You called me in, you fucking weirdo! What the hell do you mean, get out of here?"

Inside the apartment, I heard another voice chime in. "Hubert? Who is it?" It was Sarah.

"Wait, is that the wife you were whining about?" the whore yelled, louder now so Sarah could hear every single syllable. "Oh my god, you were just with me two days ago, talking about how fucked up and childish her stupid hobbies are! And now you two just suddenly made up?"

"W-who are you?" Sarah’s voice floated down, completely trembling, laced with instant panic.

Fuck, I wish I could have seen the look on their faces instead of just listening from down here.

"I’m the girl he fucks when your pussy gets cobwebs, sweetie!" the whore spat back maliciously. "Why the fuck do you call me over when your wife is actually around, you total idiot?"

"Y-you don’t... I’m... what the fuck is happening here?!" Hubert stammered, his voice cracking completely as he tried and failed to compute the setup.

Suddenly, a bright, massive crimson notification block slammed directly into my field of vision, the system chimes echoing in my ears like a victory fan-fare.

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TARGET: Sarah Angi

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[ RELATIONSHIP ]

> Partner: [Hubert]

> Loyalty: 0% [▼%90]

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[ SYSTEM SYNC ]

> Favor: 100% [!!!]

> Threat: None

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> GRIEVANCE LOG

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"I can’t believe you," Sarah’s voice echoed down the stairs, completely broken and sharp with tears. "I can’t. I CAN NOT DO THIS ANYMORE!"

"W-wait! Sarah, stop! Let me explain!" Hubert bellowed.

Holy shit. The text rolled over, and a massive +350 EXP slammed right into my level bar. Finally. Fucking finally! Her Partner Loyalty was officially sitting at a dead zero. There was absolutely nothing left connecting her to her husband anymore. I did it. I actually fucking did it. I had to act like the exact kind of manipulative villain I’d always despised, but the results spoke for themselves.

I felt a massive rush of pure happiness. Contentment.

I felt incredibly strong.

Suddenly, the heavy, frantic stomping of sneakers came rushing down the concrete stairs. It had to be Sarah. She was storming away from her apartment, crying her eyes out. I knew I had to seize the absolute perfect moment to catch her in her breakdown.

I quickly pushed my apartment door wide open after grabbing my coat, stepping out into the hallway just as she reached the bottom of the steps, acting like I was just casually leaving my place.

"Oh... Sarah?" I asked, putting on my best shocked, concerned face.

She cleared the last step, her chest heaving as tears streamed down her flushed face. She shook her head violently, completely overwhelmed. "Not now, Chance. Please... just not now."

I didn’t give her the chance to pull away. I quickly stepped in and gripped her firmly by the arm. She gave a half-hearted tug to shake me off, but she couldn’t break the hold. I wasn’t doing this to play the role of the sweet, concerned neighbor. Fuck that. This was about completely locking in her trust and finally getting into her pants.

Reaching up with my free hand, I gently pulled the hood of her coat over her head to shield her face. The moment I did, she stopped squirming against my grip and looked up at me through her tears.

"At least wear this. It’s pouring out there," I said, offering a perfectly calculated, comforting smile.

That small gesture completely broke her. Her crying intensified instantly. "Chance..."

She lunged forward, slamming her body against mine in a desperate hug that actually forced me back a couple of steps from the sheer momentum. Acting like I had absolutely no idea what drama had just gone down upstairs, I wrapped my arms around her and rubbed the back of her head, letting her sob uncontrollably into my chest.

"Look," I murmured into her ear. "I have no idea what’s going on up there... but if you want, we can go outside, get away from here, and..."

She shook her head violently, keeping her forehead pressed hard against my chest. "No... just, no. Please."