The Heart System

Chapter 186: Chapter 186

Holy fuck. What happened yesterday?

Delilah... the girls... shit. I told her all those filthy things. How I’d fuck her while Ivy was in the next room, how I’d keep her dripping with me while her daughter sat clueless at dinner. She’d come so hard she soaked the sheets. If Ivy ever found out, I’d be dead. Buried. Deleted from existence.

But Ivy wouldn’t live here, anyway. She’d always hated sharing space, even back in college. If I casually mentioned the penthouse, she’d just shrug, say ”cool,” and keep scrolling on her phone. So yeah, Delilah could move in tomorrow and Ivy would never have to know her mom was getting railed every night by her friend.

And, I was actually doing solid number-wise. Another One quest complete: level up, 250 credits, 200 EXP, plus Delilah’s milestone reward of 50 EXP.

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- SHOP

==========================

• Aphrodisiac Drink (10c)

• Silk Lingerie Set (25c)

• Sensual Massage Oil (15c)

• Mystery Pleasure Toy (30c)

• Flirt Potion (20c)

• Hypnotic Perfume (40c)

• Time Stop (90c)

• 500 Dollars (50c)

• 1 Ability Point (150c)

• 1 Mastery Point (160c)

==========================

- Credits: 290c

- Select item to purchase.

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A new item, huh? Could be handy.

╭────────────────────╮

- Evan Marlowe (Lvl 10)

==========================

- Age: 21

- Height: 180 cm

- Weight: 74 kg

==========================

- EXP: [███░░░░░░░] 697/2162

╰────────────────────╯

Three fresh ability points from the level-up. Strength was tempting, but Pleasure was the real grind machine. I dumped two into Pleasure, one into Strength.

I was also level ten. That was a big fucking deal. The system had popped a special notification last night: hitting level ten unlocked a Mastery Tree for any stat already above ten. I had two choices: Pleasure or Libido. No-brainer. I picked Pleasure.

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- CURRENT STATS

==========================

- Strength: 4

- Charm : 12

- Manipulative Charm

⤷ Honeyed Words (⏹⏹☐☐☐)

⤷ Gaslight (⏹☐☐☐☐)

- Emotional Charisma

- Seductive Allure

- Libido : 10

- Pleasure: 20

⤷ Sensory Overload (☐☐☐☐☐)

⤷ Erogenous Insight (Passive) (☐)

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”Now, let’s see...”

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Sensory Overload

==========================

Overwhelms a partner’s senses

during intimacy, making every

touch, scent, or whisper intensely erotic.

A graze feels like a climax, leaving

partners dazed and craving more.

==========================

+10% Pleasure

==========================

Duration: 60s

Cooldown: Once per day

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Nice. This could be useful, though. But maybe not as much as Honeyed Words.

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Erogenous Insight

==========================

Passively reveals a partner’s most

sensitive erogenous zones and

psychological desires during intimacy,

appearing as subtle visual cues or

intuitive knowledge. Allows precise

targeting to heighten pleasure.

╰────────────────────╯

Huh... this was good too. So I had two new possible skills.

With Pleasure at twenty, Sensory Overload would push me to twenty-two for a full minute. Erogenous Insight was just passive gold—every weak spot glowing in my head like a heat map. I was basically a walking sex weapon now.

Kim came up behind me, kissed my cheek. White shirt, tight black pants, ponytail swinging. ”First day at TechForge. How do I look?”

”Like you’re about to crash the entire server room,” I said.

Jasmine strutted out in a navy skirt suit that hugged every curve, did a slow spin. ”Cute?”

”Cute? You look like the reason HR needs new policies. Being this cute should be illegal.”

Tessa followed in a charcoal blazer, blouse unbuttoned just enough to be dangerous, pencil skirt lethal. ”Rate me.”

”Deadly. Ten out of ten. They’re gonna need a fire drill.”

Jasmine clapped her hands and flopped onto the couch, snatching the laptop from the coffee table. She flipped it open, eyes sparkling like a kid on Christmas. The penthouse air was... wow. Perfect. Calm. The kind of peace I never had back in that roach-infested shithole I used to call home.

Kim slid onto a stool at the kitchen counter, scrolling her phone with half-lidded eyes—still wrecked from last night. That marathon had been brutal. Glorious, but brutal.

”Oh,” Kim said, perking up. ”Liz and Carrie are playing here again. Charity concert.”

”Those two?” Tessa asked, yanking open the fridge.

”Yep,” Kim said. ”I used to hate them, especially their lyrics, but damn, the beats slap.”

”Should we go?” Tessa glanced at me, pulling out a lemonade. ”Could be fun.”

”Sure,” I said. ”When?”

”Tomorrow night,” Kim read. ”Tickets are fifty bucks—charity thing. Top donor gets their name blasted on the screen and a shout-out. Fancy.”

”Hey, we haven’t gotten our first paycheck yet,” I reminded. ”No crazy ideas, alright?”

”I know, I know,” Kim sighed.

Nala stepped out of the bedroom, dressed sharp. Tight blouse, knee-length skirt hugging her hips, hair tied back in a sleek ponytail. That round ass made me want to cancel the Stingy Ladies plan and spend the day buried in her instead.

”Everyone ready?” she asked, tugging the hem of her skirt to check the fit.

”Yep,” Jasmine said, snapping the laptop shut.

”Little excited,” Kim admitted, exhaling. ”First real job. Official and everything.”

Tessa walked over and clapped her on the back. ”Popping your corporate cherry at TechForge, huh? Lucky bitch.”

Nala moved behind me, arms sliding around my waist, chin resting on my head. I grabbed her forearm, rubbed it slow, then kissed the inside of her wrist.

”You ready to meet Sarah?” she murmured.

I leaned back, head nestled between her tits, and tilted up to meet her eyes. She bent down, lips brushing mine, soft and warm.

”Guess so,” I said.

She smirked, her lips brushing mine as she talked. ”Let’s go kick her ass.”

I chuckled. ”Yes, ma’am.”

❤︎‬‪‪❤︎‬‪‪❤︎

The rain hadn’t stopped all morning; it clung to the window like the city refused to wash itself clean. Neon lights pulsed against the glass, reflected in the puddles below, streaks of electric red and blue smeared by the downpour. Inside the office, the air felt too still. Even the hum of the central air system seemed to hesitate.

I sat on the couch, my back sinking into the leather, cigarette balanced between my fingers. Nala hadn’t said a word in the last five minutes. She was behind her desk, perfectly straight, the faint tapping of her keyboard the only sound between us. She’d tied her hair into a neat bun, eyes focused on the spreadsheet open on her laptop, or maybe she wasn’t really seeing it. Her face gave nothing away.

Smoke curled toward the ceiling. I stared at the window, the distant hum of traffic blending into a steady drone. My thoughts kept looping back to that name, Meridian. That and the woman who was about to walk through the door.

Footsteps. Sharp heels on the tile.

We both turned our heads at the same time.

Sarah appeared at the doorway, every bit as smug as I remembered. Black pencil skirt, crisp blouse tucked neatly, coat draped over one arm. Her hair was tied high, lips painted a deep red that looked like it belonged in a courtroom or a crime scene. She didn’t knock. She didn’t even hesitate.

”Here goes nothing,” I muttered, crushing the cigarette into the ashtray.

”Yeah,” Nala said quietly. ”Let’s see what she wants.”

Sarah walked in like she owned the place. She didn’t even glance at me, her eyes locked on Nala the entire way. When she reached the desk, she smiled, slow and evil.

”CEO Nolin,” she said, sitting down. ”I can’t tell if I should be honored or terrified to be summoned so quickly.”

Nala closed her laptop with a soft click and folded her hands over it. ”You’re here because you made a very serious threat against this company.”

”Oh, I didn’t threaten,” Sarah replied smoothly. ”I made an offer. Two million per month, in exchange for silence. Simple economics.”

”Extortion,” I said flatly.

Sarah’s gaze flicked to me, a brief glance, then back to Nala. ”Call it what you like. I prefer compensation for information control. It even rhymes.”

Nala didn’t react. ”You’re aware that attempting to blackmail a corporation is a federal crime?”

Sarah smiled faintly. ”And yet you invited me here instead of the police. That tells me something, Ms. Nolin.”

The silence that followed was heavy. Nala leaned back slightly, crossing one leg over the other. ”You came prepared, I assume. Let’s skip the dramatics.”

Sarah reached into her leather folder and slid a thin drive across the desk. ”Everything you’re afraid of fits on that stick. Signed reports, internal memos, timestamped digital logs. The Meridian acquisition, and how the VP of Strategy at the time falsified compliance records under duress.”

Nala’s jaw tensed, but she didn’t flinch. ”You’re confident for someone walking into the lion’s den.”

”Because I already know the lion won’t bite,” Sarah said. ”If you were going to, you would’ve done it days ago, when your brother handed over control. But you didn’t. You kept his secrets.”

I thought about speaking, but Nala lifted a hand, stopping me before I could open my mouth. ”You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sarah gave a small laugh. ”Oh, but I do. Guy was clever, he built his own little insurance plan before he ran off to whichever tax-free paradise he’s hiding in now. I was part of that plan. He gave me the files, told me to keep them safe, in case his dear sister ever decided to rewrite history. But the thing is...” She leaned forward, elbows on the desk. ”Guy doesn’t pay me anymore. Well, I mean he pays me, but not enough. And I like getting paid... shit ton of money, excuse my language.”

Nala met her eyes. Calm. Controlled. ”You think you can squeeze two million dollars a month out of TechForge without consequence?”

”I think,” Sarah said softly, ”that the board won’t hesitate to hang you out to dry once this story breaks. And they’ll pay whatever it takes to protect their own names before yours. So yes, I think I can.”

I stood from the couch. ”You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

”On the contrary,” Sarah said, glancing at me. ”You’re the stray the company picked up. The one who doesn’t belong in this tower. You look like you’re still learning how to wear a suit. I know exactly who I’m dealing with.”

Nala straightened in her chair. ”Ms. Kade,” she said, her voice dropping its warmth entirely. ”I don’t negotiate with blackmailers. You came here thinking you’d scare me. You came here thinking I’m still the woman my brother manipulated. But here’s the difference between then and now: I’m not covering for anyone anymore.”

Sarah tilted her head, lips curving. ”And yet you’re sitting here, talking to me, instead of calling security. Interesting contradiction.”

Nala didn’t blink. ”You won’t get a cent.”