Danger.

Maya

I saw the slap coming the moment he moved his hand. Swiftly, I stepped to the side, and Lucas's palm cut through empty air.

The force of his swing pulled him forward, and he stumbled and crashed into the small table by the window, knocking off the champagne bucket.

"Lucas," Lydia yelled and rushed to him. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Baby, look at me."

I almost laughed at the scene in front of me.

Pushing my chest forward, I said, "Don't ever try to hit me again. The next time won't be so nice."

Lucas lifted his head, his hair a mess and his eyes burning with hatred.

I turned around and walked to the door, then stopped just before I grabbed the doorknob. "I'm taking back what I said. You have one hour to make a decision. Just. One. Hour."

"You can't do this…" Lucas said behind me, his voice shaking.

"Watch me."

After I left their suite, I walked back to the hall and grabbed my purse, ignoring all questions about Lucas's whereabouts and why I was leaving.

I left the hotel a little past 9 p.m.

Going back home would mean giving Lucas a chance to corner me, though I doubted he'd be leaving that hotel room anytime soon.

I took a taxi across the city and checked into a five-star hotel, one he would never think to look for me in.

On the way, I stopped at a clothing store and bought something simple to change into.

The moment the door closed behind me, I dropped on the bed and spread my hands to both sides. After years of sleeping on cold floors and hard ground, the mattress felt like a cloud. I had forgotten that anything could be this soft.

"So," I said in my head. "How did I do?"

The blue screen flickered into view, hovering right above my eyes.

When I sat straight, it came to my front. On the screen were the words, "Rating Host Action," while the mechanical voice spoke in my head.

[You walked into a room, threatened two people, and dodged a slap. For someone who was crying in a bathroom stall an hour ago, that is acceptable.]

I raised an eyebrow, not satisfied with its evaluation. "Acceptable?" I asked in disbelief.

Here I thought I'd get praise as a badass.

[Do not let it get to your head, host.]

I smiled, because I had heard what it didn't say. Even if the system hated to admit it, I knew it was proud of me in its own annoying way.

"Check my quest progress," I said.

[First Quest: Divorce Lucas Black and sever all ties with Lydia.]

~Progress: 10%.

Ten percent… Hmmm… I twisted my lips to the side, my eyes pinned on the screen.

It wasn't much, but it was a start.

I took out my phone and dialed Caleb, a lawyer who had grown up in the same orphanage as me.

He answered on the third ring, his voice thick with sleep. "Maya? Do you know what time it is?"

"I'm sorry to wake you, but this can't wait," I said, meaning every word. I didn't wait for him to speak before I continued. "I want a divorce from Lucas, and I need the papers to be ready by 8 a.m. tomorrow."

There was a long silence on the other end, as though he was weighing my every word. "Are you sure about this? This is a very big decision," he said, his voice drenched in concern.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," I replied.

"Once I've signed, I want the papers sent directly to Mr. Black's office, and I want you to watch him sign."

"I understand," he said slowly. "I'll get started right away." I told him what I had requested as my divorce settlement.

After the call ended, I ordered food from the hotel menu. The food was warm and fresh and I didn't have to fight anyone for it.

I burped loudly after I finished eating, rubbing one hand around my stomach, which now had a small bump.

Finally satisfied, I looked around the room, taking in the details.

I could take a hot shower whenever I wanted and could sleep without one eye open.

My throat tightened.

Everything I was looking at now would be gone in a month, replaced with the horrors I had experienced firsthand, and no one in this city knew it.

I didn't care about losing any of these comforts. I didn't care if the world would end and everything would be lost.

All I cared about was survival and revenge.

I'll get my revenge on everyone who caused my death. But first, I must plan for my survival.

I took a long, warm shower before climbing into the bed. The moment my back touched the soft, smooth mattress, my eyes fluttered closed.

The next morning, my phone buzzed me awake. It was a text from Lucas.

Turned out he had sent a reply just thirty minutes after I left the hotel room, but I had been too occupied to check.

This particular message was his twentieth.

Lucas: Maya, we need to meet and talk about this. Just the two of us.

It seemed my threat had gotten to him more than he let on yesterday. I imagined him tossing and turning on the bed, anxious about losing the one thing that mattered more to him than anything else.

'His position as the heir to the Black family.'

My phone pinged, and another message was added.

Lucas: Please.

The "please" almost made me roll my eyes. Last night he had tried to slap me, and now he wanted a conversation.

My hands danced on the screen.

"No. My lawyer will be speaking with you. Direct all your messages to him."

Caleb brought the divorce papers for me to sign at exactly 7:50 a.m. My hands didn't shake as I placed my signatures in the required spaces.

The day rolled by quickly, and I waited patiently for Caleb's update. But I tried to keep myself busy. After all, there were a lot of preparations to be done.

I sat at the small desk by the window with a notepad from the hotel and a pen and began to write.

Rice, beans, canned food, salt, water purifiers, antibiotics, bandages, fuel, generators, batteries, weapons, warm clothes, seeds.

The list grew longer.

Thirty days seemed like enough time to prepare for the end of the world, but it wasn't.

Most importantly, everything on this list cost money, and I would need a place to keep it all.

I stopped writing and added one more line at the bottom. "Go back to the Black mansion. Take my things."

Letting out a tired breath, I grabbed my phone to check the time. It was past 10 a.m. I checked the system for the remaining time for the quest.

[55 minutes remaining.]

I sank my teeth into my bottom lip as nervousness crept into every fibre of my skin. It was just a signature. What could have gone wrong? If I didn't get this done, I risked losing this system.

Just then, my phone beeped. It was Caleb's text message.

Caleb: It is done. Mr. Black has signed the divorce papers.

I let out a breath and smiled for the first time that morning. Lucas had signed the papers. He was afraid, just as I wanted him to be.

Thirty minutes later, my phone chimed again. It was a bank alert, and the number on the screen made my eyes widen.

Five hundred million dollars had landed in my account. "Yes!" I screamed, doing a little victory dance, then turned to the system. "Check my progress."

[First Quest: Divorce Lucas Black and sever all ties with Lydia.]

~Progress: 50%.

I glanced at the timer.

[23 minutes remaining.]

My smile fell.

"Fifty percent? That can't be right." I stared at the screen. "He signed. I signed. The money is in my account. What else is left?"

Before the system could answer, my phone rang again. I would have ignored it had Caleb's name not flashed across the screen.

I picked it up immediately.

"Caleb, what is it?"

"Maya." His voice was tight, and my stomach dropped. Something was wrong. I could tell before he spoke.

"We have a problem."

At the same moment, the blue screen in front of me flashed red, and a loud alarm blared inside my head.

WARNING! WARNING!

[DANGER!]

~SYSTEM AND HOST ARE AT RISK!