Rosaline and William stayed quiet while watching the bustling city below the mountain.Lost in their thoughts, they did not realize how long they had been sitting there until it got too hot.“Let’s go down. I’ll take you to a nice place.” William proposed, having noticed the sadness in her eyes. “Alright!” Rosaline agreed without too much thought.They climbed down the hill, but halfway through, William stopped and started off to a path that was not quite visible, most likely a track left by some animal. Rosaline was intrigued. She had never ventured beyond the few direct trails that led to the top. The narrow path was even more rugged and harder to traverse.William had to, multiple times, support Rosaline as they moved away from the main trail. The winding path went up for a while before taking a sharp turn downhill. After a short stretch of flatland, the duo climbed uphill again.Even when focused on the path, Rosaline did not miss the lush green trees with wildflowers of mult

After William explained his story, they stayed quiet.Rosaline commented after a lengthy silence, “You admire her.”It was not a question, and they both knew it.“Yes, she has both a high IQ and EQ. Even at 8, she understood me better than my family.”William answered truthfully, with a hint of self-mockery. “I always knew my EQ was low. Supriya taught me how pitifully low it was. I took psychology classes after that incident. I guess I just admire smart people in general.”He shrugged. “Unfortunately, her personality is quite terrible. But most importantly, she lacks a moral compass or a bottom line.”“I doubt there’s anything she would not do to get what she wants. Combine her lack of morality with her natural intelligence, which she must have honed over the years; she becomes scary.”William gave his emotionless analysis. “What do you think we should do?” Rosaline asked, looking at him intently.“I was too busy to do anything about her when she fussed around Pete and others. And

William shook his head.“Silly!” “Tell me, what don’t you like here?” Rosaline was surprised that he knew she did not like something there. “What do you mean?”He explained, “In the beginning, you liked it. And then you frowned soon after we entered.”“Aren’t you paying a little too much attention?”“Would you rather I ignore you?”“That’s not what I meant, and you know that.”“You seem to know what I meant pretty well too.”“Why don’t I think so?”“Are you not going to tell?”Rosaline rolled her eyes and explained.“See the plants here - they are all fake and overdone. It’s worse because it’s right outside the forest perimeter.”“The ceiling is decorated like a pub with dim lights and all. It’s not a pub, and the location makes it relatively awkward as most of the customers are likely to be people who have come back from the park. Tired and hungry ones.”“All the ACs are placed on the side of the road. It would be better if it were on the side of the forest as the emissions from AC

“You're breathtaking, by the way,” William said. Rosaline had to hide her blush. “Thanks! I guess. You look great too.” “Thanks!” “This place is great. I did not know the private rooms were even more luxurious than the open area downstairs. The view from here is just wow.”William smiled.“I’m glad you like it.”“Of all the buildings I have seen in this city, I find this one the perfect blend of good architecture and interior. The low-key luxurious appearance sets off its high-end style in great contrast. And the security and service are unparalleled in this city.”Rosaline nodded. “I couldn't agree more.”“I remember the first time I came here when I was just about to start college, and my brother had sneaked me in to show me the interior since that was my major. I was frankly blown away and took so many pictures.”“I had used my cousin’s ID since I was still underage. They caught and sent me away before I could satisfy my curiosity.” Rosaline finished with a pout.William smiled

“Alright, let’s lay out some details first,” Rosaline spoke after some time.William nodded, eager to hear her ideas.“I don’t want her to know my address and get to my family. That’s too much of a hassle to handle.”William immediately proposed.“I think we can get you a fake ID. That should solve your problems unless she finds a professional to dig deep.”Rosaline nodded. Talking to him was so easy.“We should also find out what she has been doing all these years, what she studies, what she is good at, who her friends are. We need to have better countermeasures in place.”William had already started to gather it.“On it! I asked Pete to dig something about her. She is likely to find that out. But I also asked someone I know to get all her data and hack her laptop, but not do anything with it. We should have that in a few hours.”Rosaline was curious about Pete and asked.“What’s going on between Pete and her?”William made a face and explained.“She labeled him a cheater based on yo