While sitting in the room that Hae-Won had rented for today, Adam's avatar silently looked at the wave of goods that were brought into the VIP room with a complicated expression on his face.
When she said that she had wanted to give him some gifts, he had honestly expected many things in his mind. But none of them were really thoughts about anything being particularly impressive. After all, they had only met for a very limited amount of time, only twice at most, and he didn't believe just one night of passion would've been enough to create a great bond between them.
In fact, the interaction between them was nowhere near enough to build a solid relationship. Or so he thought…
He underestimated the affection she had for him a bit too much…
"This is…"
"I hesitated greatly about what I should give you. But since this is the first gift that I am about to give to you, I wanted it to be something memorable and stylish. So here we are with all this…"
She was clearly a little fidgety about her gift but Adam could only barely keep his mouth from hanging open because he was using an illusion right now.
What Hae-Won was showing him currently was a pocket watch.
It was a golden pocket watch with a rather intrinsic design that mixed both style and elegance in a small package. The watch also gave him a sense of nobility as though just wearing it would make him scream "rich."
While Adam was not super knowledgeable about wine, he did make some research on watches as they were one of the accessories used the most by men and this was why… he knew exactly what he was wearing was…
"George Daniels Yellow Gold Space Traveller's…"
"Oh. You recognized it?"
Then her face paled all of a sudden, "Sorry! I didn't mean to say that you couldn't recognize a branded watch. It was just… I…"
Hae-Won shuddered and winced when she understood the implications of her previous words. After the years she had spent with her husband, she understood how much importance men gave to pride and what she had done just now was no different from insulting Adam by insinuating that he was not rich or wealthy enough to even think about or to know about an expensive watch as this. Which was why him knowing about it was surprising to hear.
"Pfft. Why are you acting so fidgety? Honestly, all I know about this watch is the name of it and that it is crazy expensive. So don't worry too much about it, ok?"
Hae-Won felt a weight leave her heart at his nonchalant words and she was finally able to smile again, only slightly though, "This watch is indeed a Gold Space Traveller's… More precisely a Gold Space Traveller's I."
This was a watch that sold for around 4.561 million dollars. There was also the model II that sold for only a few hundred thousand dollars less than the I so she made her choice to buy the best one.
Initially, she had opted to give him something a little less expensive, but when she went to buy those watches and her eyes fell on this pocket watch, she couldn't help but think about how cool it would look with the style and mannerism that Cinder was so used to showing so naturally. It was a natural fit for him, she thought in his mind.
It would be like watching a true noble gentleman of old and as such she went ahead and bought the watch with no hesitation whatsoever. This would hurt a little bit of the reserve of money she had saved up from her small business, but she was sure that it was worth the price.
She also went ahead and bought two suits and even a new mask as well as a cane with a bald eagle head and a top hat.
In a way, this was like trying to buy clothes for your favorite cosplayer or a small doll but this was why this made things all the more interesting for her and she was so enthusiastic about it.
In the end, the whole package was two complete suits with a certain flair, each worth around 50 thousand dollars, two top hats worth 2 thousand each, and two canes, one with a lion head and another with a bald eagle head, worth around 10 thousand each and last but not least, a Pocket watch, worth 4.5 million.
All in all, she had spent 5 million USD on a man she had only met a few times. So few that it was not even enough to know about him clearly, and in fact, she did not know anything about the man other than the fact that he was a charming lover. But if one asked whether she regretted it or not, the answer would be an astounding no.
It had been a long time since she had sincerely felt happy like she did now. All she had was only a feeling of duty and obligation as a wife and a mother.
But Cinder gave her the happiness as a woman she had desperately wished to have all her life. With him, she didn't have to worry about a thing, she could just entrust her body and leave everything else to him.
This was a very blissful moment in her opinion and this was worth every bit of money she was willing to spend.
Adam's eyes twitched when he used the Eyes of Truth to get a certain estimation of just how much she had spent on him. He once thought that having 20 million made him absolutely rich but suddenly he was receiving gifts that amounted to one-fourth of his whole fortune and he suddenly didn't know anything anymore.
'Truly the wonder of capitalism knows no bounds.'
He didn't know why he was being surrounded by so many rich women but this was certainly quite a shocking discovery to him.
"This is a little too much. I don't think I can accept all this, to be honest."
Even for Adam, this was a little too much. So much that even being a scumbag would not be enough to describe what he was feeling. He was already using this woman in every way possible and she was also giving him money and all these expensive objects?
This was the very definition of a giving tree. No, he refused to exploit her any more than what he was doing already.
"Keep them. I insist. Either way, there is no refund possible."
It was rare to see the meek and obedient woman be so headstrong so in the end, Adam could only relent.
"I really don't know what to say. I feel like simply saying thank you isn't enough for all this…"
She shook her head and gave him a thin but refreshing smile, "I don't need you to say anything."
She placed a hand on his and grasped it tightly, "I know very well that this isn't a love story. I am just a client for you and perhaps right now you are even laughing at how stupid I am to gift so much money to someone I barely know."
"I am not…"
She applied more force in her hand, "Even if you don't, I know how it looks. I seriously do. This whole relationship is nothing more than a lie and I am well aware of it. I am risking everything I have for someone who does not really care about me. This isn't the first time this has happened. So, I don't care."
After all, she had given up her life for a husband who did not really love her.
"At least… In this case, I am happy."
Hae-Won knew that she was being stupid, a little naive, and acting extremely shamefully. But for the first time in years, she simply felt free and happy.
Was it too much to ask to enjoy this feeling for longer?
Even if everything was a lie, even if this was nothing more than a beautiful dream, an illusion woven by a skillful manipulator. She was willing to drown in this illusion until the harsh reality decided to wake her up.
Until then, she would enjoy every instant and live freely without looking back.
"Cinder, do you know the story of Icarus [1]?"
Adam nodded. It was a story that was known by basically anyone with little interest in mythology.
The story of a man who escaped from prison thanks to the wings made out of wax and feather. After flying too close to the sun, the wings melted and Icarus fell into the sea and died.
"Icarus' story is told a as cautionary tale. But I believe that it could be interpreted as a desire for freedom even at the cost of your own life."
She smiled at him. A truly carefree and invigorating smile, one he had never seen in her before. If she was Icarus, then Cinder was her Sun.
This story would most likely end badly for her. There would most likely be no happy end in store for her. Perhaps, a life worse than anything she could imagine was waiting for her in the future.
But… even if the end was sad… The journey would be a happy one.
That… she was absolutely sure of.
It was enough… for the woman called…
Hae-Won…
——
[1]: So yeah this is pretty wild. Firstly we have Daedalus. So our man created a fake cow in metal for the wife of a king. The wife used this to hide in it and get fucked by a Sexy Bull (Aphrodite made her fall in love with a bull). Anyways Queen gets pregnant and gives birth to Minotaurus.
King is obviously angry about getting cucked by a bull and makes Daedalus create the Labirynth of Minotaurus. Then he throws Daedalus and his son Icarus into the labyrinth. There Dae creates the Wings of Icarus and tell his son to not fly close to the sun or close to the sea.
Welp, we all know how it ended.
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